Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode
by SKOOLATOON
Summary: Reimu's mother was lost some time ago. Familial partings aren't uncommon, after all. Over a decade after her passing, Tsukiko Hakurei again awakens. Stacked against the mystery of her death and new life, and the immense change of the past years under her daughter's reign, she endeavors to reclaim the life she once lived, and more.
1. Hakurei Maiden

_Click!_ The clicking of iron mugs rang out around the campfire.

"Hehyeah!" Rinnosuke Morichika tugged his mug in towards himself. "Ohp- _piss…_ " The sake spilled onto his plain, ragged blue shirt.

"Nice one, idiot." Keine Kamishirasawa's face was blushing from the alcohol. "Just watch. Next time you'll clock yourself in the face."

" _Fuck you,_ Kei~ne." He briefly flicked her a middle finger. "Go- goddammit…" Still, he couldn't help but grin.

"Man…" Marcus Kirisame sat on a nearby wood chair he brought along, just so he could read. "Last time I buy _you_ twats alcohol, if yer gonna just spill it everywhere. Fuckin'- that's pure A, kids! _Pure A!"_

"If you wanted to save money, y'shouldn't 'a _given_ it to us, _twat._ " Becoming immensely smug, Keine smirked back at him.

Tsukiko Hakurei licked her lips, the tinge of the premium-grade alcohol warming her throat. ' _Hot damn. This really is some pure-A shit. Hoo~.'_

"Where'd you get _this?"_ She was seated on a stump. Briefly, her eyes ran across her red hakama- or, her red pants- making sure she didn't spill anything on them.

Marcus looked up at her, before grinning. He began to stroke his beard. "Ah? Ah- yes, the premium craft. Y'see- I had a real recent deal wit' these _tengu_ who're tryin'a invest in a beer company in the village, gave me a buncha sample drafts 'cause I got 'em some land. Shit's ten thousand yen a _pop_ , normally!"

"Ten _thousand?"_ Tsukiko's brows raised… "For-... a _bottle,_ you mean?"

"I dunno wha' else a _pop_ would be!" Grinning incredulously himself, he shook his head. "Damn!"

"Yeah. Damn." She looked down at her mug… "You're letting us drink this outta our shitty iron mugs?"

He shrugged. "Well, the young'uns here pro'lly wouldn't give ten craps 'bout _finery,_ figured they'd like the taste…"

' _Typical.'_ She smiled down at her drink. ' _Gets a ton of expensive booze on the side of a good deal, ends up fucking pissing it away by tossing it to these assholes. And, me.'_

"It's actually _really_ good…" Keine spoke quieter, now. "Tha- thank you, Marc…"

"Ye- yeah…" Rinnosuke's reply was as sedated as hers, as he felt the alcohol burn his throat. "Man. Who made this shit, anyway. It _burns_ \- my _throat…"_

Marcus huffed. "That's called _alcohol_ ya stupid. That's- how it works, when there's a certain density of it!"

"Fuckin'..." Fed up with the answer, Rinnosuke shook his head. "Ugh. I'd rather drink _soda,_ or _piss._ Or- you know, _good beer._ "

Marcus's angry grin intensified. "That _is_ good beer, ya little shit! Don't make me cast _confusion_ on yer dumbass…! Next time I'll run ya a freakin' tab!" He faced Tsukiko. "Hey- how's that sound? The 'Kirisame Magic Bar'! Sounds like a real fuckin' art, ah?"

...Getting cozy on her stump, Tsukiko gave him a small expression. "Don't think about it too hard."

' _These guys're great.'_

This was the fifth year she's known Keine and Rinnosuke, and about the twentieth year she's known Marcus. She looked up, sighting the stars over the clearing where they were drinking. _'...Man.'_

Every time she thought back over her life, she really couldn't help but wonder. ' _...It was one hell of a time getting here.'_ This was perhaps the most at home she's felt since she met her husband, and had Reimu.

' _...Keisuke.'_ She missed him. ' _I'll see Reimu raised right.'_

The fire before them clicked, and flickered.

"Stop staring at the miko's boobs." Keine gave Rinnosuke a playfully aggressive look…

Tsukiko looked at him. He looked away. "I-... I'm _not!"_

"Are too!"

...Tsukiko smirked, and moved the heavy cloth apron she had on aside. Underneath it were her breasts, bound with a black leotard which left little to the imagination. "Aren't you a little _young_ for me, Kourin?"

...He looked back in her direction, and saw her full, leotard-bound breasts. "Aa- _well-_ fuck off…" He pushed his shirt down, over his crotch.

Keine giggled. "Hehehe! Kourin wants to have sex with a miko~!"

"And fuck _you!"_ Rinnosuke thrust his beer mug in her direction, but ended up splashing himself with the momentum. " _Agh-..."_

Keine giggled further. "Ko- Kourin…! Hehehe!"

...Tsukiko re-adjusted her cloth, while he heated up. ' _Man. These shitheads are always a good time.'_

Rinnosuke was now thirteen, and Keine was fourteen. ' _...Is Reimu gonna be as much of a shithead as these two, when she gets older? I mean, I don't remember myself being this-... rowdy. Provided, my own mother was still alive at the time, so-... yeah, it's probably a parenting thing.'_ She sighed to herself, relieved…

"How's Marisa doing?" She asked Marcus…

He snorted. "Ah, fine. Michelle's lookin' after her, like usual. Told 'er this was a uh, _business venture._ "

"Business venture, huh." Tsukiko nodded… "Yeah, we're gettin' real busy here."

Keine had a naughty smile. "And Kourin wants to get busy with _you._ "

"Dh-..." His brows twitched, glaring at her. "Nn- no, I _don't…!"_

"I've got an idea!" Keine held her hand up, eyes lighting up. "Miko! Miko! You should fight Kourin!"

"Wh- _what!?_ Why!?" Rinnosuke slammed his beer mug aside himself, and raised from his wood block seat. "What'd I _do!?"_

"It should be a competition…" Keine's face began to blush harder. "If- if Kourin wins-... he should get to do something _naughty_ to you- Miko!"

...Rinnosuke was sobered by the thought, frozen by the idea.

...Tsukiko exhaled. "And, if I win, inevitably…?"

Keine relaxed. "Well, uh, we give you a shiny rock from our pile, or something…"

"What a fair tradeoff." Tsukiko remarked in monotone. "I accept the challenge."

"Re- really…?" Rinnosuke stared Tsukiko over again. "If I-..."

"Don't let your head go to your dick, now." Tsukiko stood from her stump, setting her own beer down. "I'll embed your skull between your shoulders if you're not careful."

"...We- well." Rinnosuke got up, backing away from the campfire, and raising his dukes. "If-... if you say so."

-+- _Vs. Rinnosuke Morichika, Shunned Half-Youkai -+-_

 _Cri- crack._ Tsukiko cracked her neck. She stretched one of her arms, before sliding her legs out, striking a basic pose. "Alright. Let's warm up, a little…" It was just the onset of winter, so she was looking to get into activities like these to warm up…

' _Let's run through some motions.'_

Rinnosuke stood across from her. "Don't-... don't make me feel bad- if you lose."

Around them were the piles of rubble that Rinnosuke and Keine called their 'fort'. There was too much crap around for ambient youkai to care about it, and it was relatively close to Tsukiko's stomping grounds as it was. ' _The shrine's literally one minute away from here, so…'_

Albeit, it _was_ on the edge of the Forest of Magic; a territory known for its wild and dangerous magically-enhanced youkai. Not only that, but it was a home to many other traditional youkai, due to its nature.

' _I knew this when I lead these two here, to set up shop.'_ Knowing the patterns with which youkai housed themselves, Tsukiko all but _created_ this place for the two youkai friends of hers to take refuge. ' _Most youkai on the very outer edges of the woods are all little shits anyway, so if there's ever a territory dispute, I'll be able to solve it while picking up groceries or something.'_

Rinnosuke finally looked ready. "Oo- okay…!" He had his fists up, expression fierce.

Keine patted on his shoulders. "Tr- try and win, Kourin…"

"Aa-..." He gave a look back in her direction, before focusing on Tsukiko again.

' _Alright…'_ It was time for Tsukiko to practice her motions.

' _Let's start with-... a basic chain of attacks.'_ There was one good perk to having youkai friends, she's come to realize. ' _Not only are they rowdy and fun… they make great punching bags.'_

Rinnosuke came at her, his instincts flaring. "Al- alright…!"

 _Whi- whi- whish!_ As he came closer, he tossed three hooks forward, shutting his eyes.

 _Fwish._ Tsukiko vanished in a shockwave of wind, which whirled where her form was.

...When he opened his eyes, he widened them. "Uu-... uh- oh shit…"

 _WHA- CRACK._ She was behind him, now. She snapped her whole body into a full-armed palm thrust, which struck him in the arch of his back.

 _WHCRACK- WHCRACK!_ Wind lapped off of her form as if her body itself released the world's breeze, her form moving just fast enough for the eye to track, as she powered two more metal-rending palm thrusts into his back.

 _WHCRACK- WHCRACK- WHCRACK!_ She kept going, sliding along the ground from the force of her own whole-body thrusts. Rinnosuke was no longer on the ground, propelled forward only by the might of her attacks.

 _FWISH!_ White, pure, holy light bloomed forth from the center of her being, contrasting the way her palms and arms became black as shade, making it look like her skin gained an opalescent tint.

' _Now- to finish this!'_

 _KACRUNCH._ She snapped a leg up, and into his spine. "Ghk-..." He finally had time to make a noise.

She pivoted around on her standing leg's heel in an instant, and-

 _WHACKACRUNCH!_ She unleashed the second kick with the same leg; the Dragon's Kick.

" _Huugh- uuah…!"_ Rinnosuke went fucking flying away. His form flailed through the air haphazardly, before-

 _KABAM!_ It met a tree, across the clearing, his spine striking the bark. " _Kh- haukh…!"_

...Tsukiko tilted her head back and forth again, but nothing cracked, since she'd just cracked her neck moments ago. ' _Still gotta work out some of that stiffness. Been too long since I last exercised- taking care of Reimu and all…'_

... _fwish._ Rinnosuke's form lit up with yellowish energy, as he stood up in the dark clearing, his yellow eyes fiercely glowing in the dark. "Th- that _standard shit-_ won't work on me _today- Miko~!"_

He sprinted across the field, coming towards Tsukiko with inhuman velocity. Were someone of the outside world witnessing his speed, they'd instantly declare him a monster, and they'd not be wrong.

 _WHCRACK!_ When he dashed into range of Tsukiko, however, she instantly met his stomach with a full-body palm thrust to stop him. " _Huu~!"_

' _Let's try some grappling, since he seems to be in a randy mood…'_ She figured he'd like that.

 _WHCRACK- WHCRACK!_ As he tried to bring his arms up to defend himself, Tsukiko thrust a left palm into his left shoulder, then her right for his right.

With his defenses down, she reeled an arm back, white and black spiralling along it. ' _Alri~ght…!'_

 _WHUNK- KUNK._ Her readied, telegraphed palm met his stomach, striking twice with one blow, because the recoil from the ferocity of the strike was just that fierce. Rinnosuke wilted. " _Hh- hh…"_

 _PAP._ With her crouched against his stomach like this, she used her other arm to grab him by the back, near his waist and ass. With the palm that struck his stomach, she held onto his collar.

She flipped him up, over her back.

 _CRI- CRIK- KRACK!_ She bent his spine the entirely wrong way, by pulling his two halves down against the top of her back and shoulders. ' _Hehe- holy shit! I love the noise that makes!'_

 _WHUMP._ Once that was done, she tossed his limp body ahead, and it bounced against the floor.

"...Ha~h." Tsukiko exhaled. "Nothin' like gettin' your ass kicked to sober up, huh, Kourin? Not a bad way to get over hangovers too, not gonna lie."

Slowly, Rinnosuke staggered off the floor. " _Kh- kaugh…"_ He coughed up blood, as he opened his eyes again…

 _Fwish…_ Then, his wounds began to heal. "I-... I won't _ghive u~hp!"_

' _...Either he's really hurt, or really, really attracted to me.'_

While he stood there, his body regenerating, Tsukiko strutted up to him. ' _Alright. I think this's been enough warming up.'_

She brought her arm back, readying to meet him with a palm-

 _Pap!_ That's when he broke from his posture, and tackled her. " _Got- you!"_

"Aa- ah…" Tsukiko staggered back, the smaller figure forcing her to slide back meters with his tackle. His face was buried in her bust, and he held on with the force of a machine.

' _Ah- right.'_ She quickly thought of a way out of his vice-like grip. ' _Let's just…'_

While he buried himself in her bust, she let herself couch down, grabbing onto his waist.

 _WOOSH._ Tugging up, she lifted him up, away from her body. Using the momentum of the pull and the uneven weight of his body, she flipped him around while still pulling up on his waist-

 _Pap._ She'd tugged him into prime position to power bomb him back into the floor. In this posture, his crotch was in her face, his legs cast over her shoulders, with her arms viced onto his thighs. ' _Oo- oh…'_

 _WHACRUNCH!_ She leaned down, smashing Rinnosuke into the floor back-first. " _Huu- uh…"_

 _Crack!_ Something about his body snapped while he was down there, and he rolled onto his side. " _Aa- aah- rrh…"_

...Tsukiko took a few sniffs of the air. ' _Mu- musty. Maybe fighting while you're horny really is a strategy even more effective for youkai. Maybe that's why everything's so fucking hard to fight.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

"...Aw." Keine seemed a little disappointed. "Man."

...Tsukiko gave him a flat stare. "You _really_ wanted to see me get laid in front of you, didn't you?"

...She looked away from Tsukiko's gaze. "We- well…"

Exhaling, Tsukiko began to stroll back towards the campfire. "When Kourin's blood's all back in his body, tell 'em we're probably still by the campfire. Night's just begun, after all."

As she went, she sighted Rinnosuke twitching on the floor. ' _Better luck next time, Kourin. Not that it'd be good if you won; that'd be fucking awkward.'_ ...She briefly considered the mental image of herself servicing him. ' _Too young to even get pervy about. That's also the thing with youkai of his type; let something like that happen once, and they just keep coming back for more. Nothing's worth that sort of trouble, even if we're friends.'_

Soon, she was back at the campfire. Reaching into her sleeve, she took out a magically replicated vial of holy mana-napalm. ' _Hello, molotov.'_

 _Crack!_ She leisurely tossed it onto the fire. For a moment, its amber glow shifted to a holy, blue-white one, before it turned back to normal.

"Ah." Marcus looked up from his book. "Y'done bein' a pedophile?"

"Yeah." Tsukiko moved for her stump, again. "...I _really_ need to buy a toy, at some point."

He snorted. "Y'don't have any left over? Y'know, from before _him?"_

Tsukiko snorted. "Well, I had a _few_ that he used on me, but my entire old collection got too dusty, and y'know, I wasn't into anything _breakin'_ on me at a bad time. Plus, now that I'm as old as I am, I don't really need that many."

"...Hu~h." Marcus mulled over the book. "Musta been a hell of a toy himself, then."

Tsukiko rolled her eyes. ' _Ah, shut the fuck up, Marc.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

The night had grown late. The fire amidst the seating arrangements in the clearing had begun to grow dimmer…

Marcus had a book on his lap, and Keine looked over it with interest. "Wh-... _what._ How's _that_ move the fire?"

He held his hand out, towards the tiny flames. "It's all _mana,_ kid! I mean, look..."

 _fwi- fwi- whish._ He drew a squiggle in the air with the fire, his distant waving finger directing it. "Hah! Y'see…!?"

Rinnosuke drowsily swayed back and forth on his wooden block seat, fully recovered from what just transpired moments ago.

...Tsukiko stifled a yawn. ' _Mmh. It's-... not even that late yet.'_

After that event, everyone had mellowed out a little. ' _I burned through the teens' energy… and now I'm just peaceful. I kinda wish something exciting would happen…'_

 _Fwi- fwish._ Then, she saw something move in the brush ahead. No one else was of the mindset to pick it up, but Tsukiko snapped into wakefulness. ' _Wha' was that.'_

Standing abruptly, she moved for the figure she saw. Talismans slid from her arm sleeves, as she marched out into the brush. ' _Let's see, what've I got to contend with this time. If it's one of those bush monsters that go for the groin, I hope Marcus has his brain in his skull long enough to stop it from torturing me.'_

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish, fwish._ As she progressed into the foliage, she couldn't feel the aura or soul of anything abnormal, however. ' _Oh. Is it just a human…? That magic, though… a magician?'_

 _Fwish._ Then, she came face-to-face with a young girl, past a generous wall of trees and foliage. "Yo." She greeted Tsukiko.

...Plainly, Tsukiko stared down at her. "Ah. You're-... Marisa. What're _you_ doing out, this far?"

' _Is she- ah, she really is Marisa.'_ Sendai gave her mana and being another once-over as she stood there, and could confirm that it was Marcus's daughter. _'Marisa Kirisame.'_

"...I saw you beat up that dude." Marisa stated plainly. "...That was cool."

"Ah, yeah…?" Tsukiko rubbed the back of her head. "You've- been watching us, that long? I hadn't even noticed you…"

' _And that's really saying something.'_ She felt very off, about this. ' _I can sense Kourin or Keine miles away, as well as any garden variety youkai. I can sense humans coming up the hill before they're even in eyeshot of it. But- she's been just outside the light of the camp fire, and I just now noticed her? Come to think of it- her magic was hard to see until I got close, too. Must've been why I was so skeptical...'_

She was a small, blonde girl, of young age, wearing the usual villager clothes that tykes wore; tiny overalls, and a little coat. ' _It's a little more excessive than normal. She planned for the cold, even. But, she's-... she can't be older than five.'_

"Yeah." Marisa stated bluntly. "...My dad gets mad at me, sometimes. For sneaking around. But-... 'cause of him, I'm good at it." She stared into the woods casually. "...I wish he would just relax, sometimes."

Tsukiko pointed at her. "It's _really_ dangerous out here, you know? You're lucky you didn't get killed or eaten. Big men-type youkai love you little ones, you know? Heck, even the little girl-type ones might just lure you in and then eat you."

...Marisa smiled. "You would save me though, 'cause you'd know they'd be coming!"

' _...Huh. Damn.'_ Tsukiko rubbed the back of her neck… ' _Tyke's kind of got a point, there.'_

"You're so cool." Marisa's smile widened, before becoming dangerous. "So-... what do you want me to do with that clown?"

' _Oh, not this again.'_ She remembered Marisa's antics well, the last time she visited the Kirisame household…

"Forget about it." Folding her arms, Tsukiko gave her a flat look… "Who're you even referring to?"

"That beast dude." Marisa pointed back towards the distant campfire. "He wanted to put his dick in your mouth. You're too kind, miko. Soft as a marshmallow..."

"Wh- who taught you language like that…" Tsukiko gave her a more-amused-than-worried sort of look.

"You shoulda, like…" Marisa smirked. "Gone like _unh."_ She stomped the ground. "And then jumped on him like-"

 _fwish._ Doing the tiniest leap, she stomped on some leaves.

"And then like-!" She threw her fists at the air, almost losing her own balance.

Tsukiko was required to smile warmly at this. "...Maybe next time. Actually-... how would you even 'take care' of him?"

Marisa beamed at her. "I'd fight 'em _myself._ Wit' my _magic."_

"...You know magic already?" Tsukiko wondered. "Still… I wouldn't let you do something like that."

"Huh…?" Marisa blinked. "...But, I'd do it for you. I don't want you to suck a guy's dick."

Tsukiko resisted giggling. ' _Seriously, who taught you about that…!'_

"And, I can handle it myself." She responded. "You don't have to worry about me, right? I'm worrying about _you._ "

"Hmm…" Marisa wasn't totally satisfied with this, but eventually smiled anyway. "Well. Okay. But-..." She held a finger up at Tsukiko, mimicking her pose. "If you ever get a dad again-... you gotta make sure he doesn't make you suck his dick a lot!"

' _What the fuck.'_ Tsukiko slowly raised her brows.

"...We- well, I'll keep that in mind." She decided. "But…"

Marisa stopped again, her thought process visibly shifting. "...But?"

"I'm going to do things my own way." Tsukiko felt the need to declare this to someone an eighth of her age.

...Marisa beamed up at her. "Your own way…"

' _Ahah.'_ At her awe, Tsukiko mentally fist-pumped. ' _Found a way to turn this into a healthy learning experience. Mom points, plus one.'_

"What way would that be?" Marisa wondered.

Tsukiko blinked. "...A- ah. Well-... it'd be the right way."

Instantly, Marisa's demeanor became somewhat frustrated, instead. "The _right_ way…?"

Tsukiko paused at her visible displacement. "...Yeah?"

"Sounds like somethin' _dad_ would say." Marisa glared up at her. "And, coming from _you,_ that's stupid. You're stupid. I'm gonna fight you."

 _whump._ Marisa punched Tsukiko in the knee. It wasn't very effective…

"Um." The adorable motion made Tsukiko's motherly senses tingle… "Huh. Wow. Why, though…?"

"I'm gonna make you fight me!" Marisa was determined to fight about this.

 _whump. whump. whu- whump._ She kept slowly punching Tsukiko in the knee, each impact like a marshmallow against the earth's tectonic plates. ' _Oh my god, she's adorable. I wanna nuzzle her.'_

Marisa glared back up at her. "That enough reason to _fight?"_

"...Sorry I made you mad." Tsukiko apologized, for reasons dubious to even herself.

"What…?" Marisa paused… "Nn- no. Be cool, and fight back!"

 _whu- whu- whump!_ She rapidly punched Tsukiko in the knee, shutting her eyes to channel one hundred ten percent of her full power.

...Tsukiko propped her arms on her own hips. Marisa leered up at her, and huffed…

 _whish._ Reaching into her coat-overalls combo, she drew a tiny wand, with a little star at the tip of it.

...As Tsukiko stood there expectantly, Marisa slowly rotated around, and pointed her little wand at Sendai. " _Fire!"_

 _woosh._ A tiny plume of fire stretched up from the tip, darting towards Tsukiko's eyes in almost an instant, before dissipating right before the bridge of her nose.

' _...Wh- what just happened? What was that light…?'_ The way the wimpy fireball came at her, Tsukiko hardly even _saw_ it come at her. ' _Huh.'_

"...Man." Marisa let her wand arm drop. "You're really tough. You don't even get _annoyed."_

' _It's hard to be annoyed when you're so tiny.'_ Tsukiko still marveled at the very tiny Marisa. ' _Marcus's raising a keeper, I can tell.'_

"Still…" Marisa shook her head. "You should do cool stuff all the time. Isn't it boring, sometimes just _not_ doing cool stuff?"

Tsukiko considered this question. "...Sometimes there's not a point."

"...You think guys who want you to suck their dick care if there's a point or not?" Marisa tilted her head. "If you keep holding back-..."

"Alright no- seriously, who taught you about dicks." Tsukiko couldn't take it anymore. "If you tell me it's your dad, I'm going to _actually_ murder him."

...Marisa smiled. "I heard about it around the village. Wait no- can I say it was him, so you beat him up anyway?"

...Tsukiko let her arms rest idly at her sides. "No matter what you say, I'm not changing how I do things. I'm pretty in-control of my life, at the moment."

Gazing into the evening black, Marisa took a great pause.

' _...Well. I guess that's-'_

"No matter what… huh?" Marisa repeated, staring into the starless void that was the Forest of Magic nearby. She centered her gaze on Sendai again.

' _...Hmm?'_ Tsukiko found the silence a little awkward.

"You _got it,_ the~n!" Marisa suddenly leapt with energy. "I'll have my eyes on ya twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week!"

"Oh…?" Tsukiko blinked.

"And- when I'm old enough…!" Marisa pumped her fists into the air. "Are you gonna fight me!?"

...Tsukiko blinked. "I-... wouldn't know, until then."

 _Clap!_ Marisa clapped her hands together. " _Heck yeah!_ Aw...! All I need ta do- is make ya come up with a plan to fight me, then!"

Pivoting around, she gave a tiny, jolly walk away, into the darkness of the unforgiving landscape. "Look forward to it, cool miko! This is gonna be _sweet!_ Yeah, yeah, _yeah!"_ She clapped her hands again, dancing away as she ran.

...Tsukiko silently watched her bounce off into the black.

' _...I- should go save her, before she gets herself killed, or worse.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

' _...It's almost time for bed.'_

It was some weeks since she had that night out, with her hooligan friends. ' _Genji does really make a good babysitter. Blessed shrine turtle.'_ She was thinking of spending tomorrow evening out and about, too. ' _Anyway…'_

Reimu leapt about in place. "Candy!"

"No." Tsukiko smiled back at her. "Bed."

" _Wha~t."_ Suddenly, Reimu appeared encumbered. _"No~."_

"Ye~s." Tsukiko moved to steal her from the floor. "Let's get you to your room."

...Slowly, Reimu tried to stomp away, hunching herself in a manner she knew her mother adored.

The strategy didn't work this time, because Tsukiko ignored it and just hoisted her up. "Got yo~u."

"Aw-..." Reimu relaxed in her mother's grasp. "Mrhm…"

 _Shoof._ As they moved, Tsukiko slid the shrine door ahead open with a slow kick used solely to sweep it open, since it was a sliding door.

Reimu didn't quite have her own room; this was simply Tsukiko's room, with an additional tiny futon connect to the side of hers.

Something about the bedroom always invoked a carnal, basic fear in Tsukiko, however. ' _...It's safe.'_ She reminded herself. She had _bad_ experience with trying to use futons and beds like actual sleeping places in the past, and the idea of letting her daughter rest in such a vulnerable state now made her want to simply not go to sleep, and to stand vigil. ' _It's safe.'_

Slowly, she tucked Reimu in. "I'll be to bed soon. I've just got to make sure all the doors are closed, for the evening. And, yes, I'll get you your water…"

 _shoof._ Reimu slipped deeper into the futon, only her eyes and nose poking out now, since she had nothing to say about this, anymore.

Moving through the bedroom door, and into the kitchen, she looked around. ' _Kitchen door sealed? Yep.'_

The kitchen was a small room. If one walked up the stairs, it'd be the left extension to the shrine, and it was one of the three rooms it actually had. Centered in the torii gate's view was the main room, naturally, and tucked behind the kitchen and main room was the bedroom.

The design used to be symmetrical, but when the shrine was attacked two years ago, Tsukiko chose a more defensive approach. ' _...I'm so fucking retarded.'_ She kicked herself over the previous design. ' _Fuck.'_

Shaking off the bad memories, she moved for the back door…

It was shut, but that wasn't enough.

 _Shoof._ Sliding it open, she looked out at the shrine grounds. At a glance, they were dark, the sun having passed the horizon, leaving the land as a silhouette inhospitable to humans.

 _Fwoop._ Tsukiko let out a sonar-like beep, her inner aura flashing white for a moment.

All across the lawn, lights lit up. Holy mines, magic-reinforced traps, some akin to mouse traps but bigger, some as barrels set to magical triggers at the bottom of the hill, and some as various flavors of elemental purgatory meant secondarily to confuse and delay intruders. Primarily, all these traps weren't preventative measures; they were to serve as a warning, and a time buffer.

Only the occasional single trap went off in the past two years since the incident. '... _Fucking youkai.'_ Tsukiko glared into the dark horizon. ' _If only I'd-...'_

Shaking her head, she shut the shrine door, and placed a green-teal talisman on it. She didn't know much about holy magic, or Hakurei technique, but Marcus was more than willing to help after she was as broken up about everything as she was.

' _Just, stop.'_ She stopped herself. ' _You don't-... need to think about it, anymore. It's done…'_

She moved back to the kitchen to get the water.

 _Shoof._ On the way there, she shut the kitchen-to-main room door, and put a warning talisman on it, too. Not so much as a single _chip_ of wood of this shrine could be out of place at any time that Tsukiko was there, or she'd be ready to flip out.

...Looking up, she tensed an arm. Black, white energy coalesced in it-

 _WOOSH!_ She uppercut up, into the ceiling, the might she put into this single motion carrying her meters into the air.

 _CRUNCH!_ The ceiling made an unhealthy noise in response to her fist.

 _Clack!_ She grabbed the top, wood rafter beam, and climbed up onto it. Now up here, she closed her eyes… ' _Rooftops check out, no signs of anyone there.'_

 _CLACK!_ Landing on her sandals again, the kitchen shook in response to her landing. ' _Let's get Reimu her water…'_

She came to the jug of stored, pure-in-more-ways-than-one water. Popping the top, she stared inside… ' _Checks out.'_ Then, she finally allowed the automatic motions of pouring a glass to take place.

The years had left her paranoid to a fault.

Finally, Tsukiko marched into the bedroom, and slid the door shut behind herself.

 _Slap._ With a dismissive motion, she locked the final talisman onto the last door.

...Reimu looked sleepy. "Mmh…"

 _Click._ Reaching past her, she sat down the water next to her. "Good night… Reimu-chan." Leaning down, she kissed her daughter on the forehead.

"G'night-... mom…"

...Tsukiko shifted to lie facing up, in her own futon.

' _...Keisuke.'_ She was pretty glad it was about time to sleep, because her emotions had been welling up this whole evening. ' _Why do I keep getting reminded of you, so recently…? You'd think, after my mother died, I'd be used to losing people.'_

...As her anxiety and memories kept bubbling up, she closed her eyes. ' _Man. I really do need to take tomorrow off. Fu- fuck…'_

She rolled onto her right to watch Reimu. _'...I love you, Reimu.'_

It took twenty minutes more, for sleep to claim her.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

"Mom?"

Tsukiko was happy, staring at all the colors. There was a girl next to her, but the orbs of morning light around her made it hard to see. Everything was ringing.

"...Mo~m."

' _what'_ She didn't recognize the sound. ' _where am i'_

"...Mom?"

Tsukiko tried to turn around, but the colors everywhere were too bright. ' _I can't see.'_

' _Kourin?'_ She turned to the grey. ' _Wait-... did I set up-...'_ She wondered if she checked the house over, this evening.

' _I guess I'm patrolling today.'_ She shifted her hand to ready her travel pack, but it wasn't there. ' _Wh-...'_

' _...Didn't I just eat?'_ She stared straight up. ' _Where is the sky…'_

"Mom? Mom?"

Tsukiko moved through the lights, the world around her impossible to decipher.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

"Are-... are you making breakfast?"

' _Where's Keisuke?'_ Tsukiko searched for her husband. ' _I left him-... here!'_

She fell onto something.

"Mom- what're you doing."

Getting back up, Tsukiko felt her holy energy flare through her body repeatedly. "...Go- got you."

' _Now-...'_ She looked around. ' _Let's find Reimu.'_

"Mom…?"

Tsukiko found her. "Hey, Reimu…" She smiled at her daughter.

...Reimu smiled back, sheepishly. "Hh- hi. Um…"

' _Bright…'_ Tsukiko couldn't see.

"...Are you making breakfast?"

Now that she was alone, Tsukiko moved.

 _Thump_. She hit something, and it was kind of frustrating. ' _Ugh-... why am I-...'_

 _Thump- thump- thump._ It was a solid sort of something.

"Mom-... that's a wall, mom."

Slowly, Tsukiko traced along the exterior of whatever it was, using her knowledge. ' _It should be… here!'_

 _Thump!_ ' _Damn it!'_

"Mom…?"

 _Thump!_ Tsukiko hit it again. ' _Get out of my way! I need to see him!'_

 _WHACRACK!_ She kicked something. ' _That oughta do it.'_ ...She smiled at herself. ' _Huh. I guess I'm getting better at this.'_

 _Shoo- shoof- clack!_ Something she pushed on gave away, opening. ' _Aah. I found it.'_

The light was even greater, in the new space. The world shifted and churned, wind and sound making everything impossible.

' _What…!'_ Tsukiko was alarmed. ' _Where's Reimu!?'_

"Mom…?" Reimu was behind her, standing on something. "He- hey..."

Tsukiko saw her. ' _Oh, thank god…'_

Kneeling down, she hugged her daughter, and began sobbing. "Re- Reimu…"

"Mo- mom…?"

"I love you."

Tsukiko held the embrace, for a moment or two.

When she let go, her mind switched gears again, and she forgot why she was crying. ' _Too bright…'_ The lights all around her mixed with her tears.

"Mom…?"

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

The light was irritating, incessant, and painful.

Tsukiko crawled on a blurry surface. ' _it hurts'_

The sky was a mixture of yellow, white and blue, arranged in no cohesive order, and the ground was a dull green.

' _so warm'_ Tsukiko clawed at the fabric on herself. ' _too warm'_

Breathe in, breath out. She had to focus on her breathing, because it grew difficult. The lapping of water was nearby, and the sky's lights constantly shifted.

Tsukiko felt the urge to laugh at something, but she didn't know what. ' _That's-...'_

She coughed. Now lying face up, facing the sky, she kept coughing. ' _That's- better.'_

' _Where's-...'_ She looked left, and saw colors, as hexagons and circles of light. ' _Reimu?'_

"Re- Reimu…" She rasped out. Her face began to itch, so she brushed her hand over it. "Aa- ah." The texture of her face and scalp felt weird, as she brushed her hair back, and kept brushing it. Holding onto some of the weird feeling, she brought it to her face to look at it, and saw black streaks blur her vision.

"Rei-... mu." She held up her arm, trying to feel at the colors above herself. "Where-..."

Her eyes began to close. ' _keisuke'_

"I'm-..."

The colors that reached past her eyelids stopped.

' _breathe'_ Tsukiko felt wrong. ' _don't stop don't'_

...Suddenly, for a moment, she felt like she could move. ' _Oo- oh… oh my god…'_

' _Finally!'_ She sat up. There sat a river's shore, the surroundings ironically sunny, and the temperature pleasantly temperate.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

' _...What the fuck was that.'_ She looked around, and down at her hands. The strands of her own hair she held were gone, now. ' _I feel like- I can breathe again…'_

' _I-... tucked Reimu in, I went to sleep, and-...'_

She remembered hours of complete nonsense. A scramble of confused senses and memories, being unable to use basic motor functionalities, being oddly satisfied with herself for no reason; and, in the midst of all the nothing, an odd sense of warmth that intensified right up until now. Now, it was all nice and cool.

Water lapped clearly now. When Tsukiko looked up, she could see the sky, and feel the breeze. ' _Everything makes sense again, but…'_

She searched her surroundings. She was staring at a river's water. Behind her, there were woods, some odd flower types, as well as a small series of glorified hill-like crags, mountainous only in their steepness.

' _...This is-...'_ She knew exactly where she was. Her mind made her doubt for a moment, out of the sheer implausibility, but-... ' _Alright. I'm-... gonna need some answers.'_

 _woosh._ Ahead, there was a small pier. From across the water, a boat bobbed across the idle waves of the Sanzu River.

The boat was small, almost mistakable for a dinky raft, if not for the somewhat ornate red design of it. ' _That's Higan geometry.'_ Tsukiko recognized the material and style of it…

Gently, it pulled in to rest at the sand aside the wooden pier.

 _Clack, clack._ The ferrywoman stepped off, her hair red, with two fluffy pigtails. "Aah. Looks like the VIP fer today…" She spoke to herself, as she patted off her blue-white outfit, and adjusted her bust right. "There we go…"

Tsukiko gestured to the water, and the boat. "What the fuck's this. Where am I."

...The ferrywoman scratched the back of her own head. "Eeuh. Um-... yer Tsukiko Hakurei, yeah?"

"Not the answer to my question." Tsukiko clenched her fists. " _What_ the fuck is this. _Where_ the fuck am I."

"Yer ride." She gestured to the boat. "I'm Komachi,' she answered preliminarily, "and yer _dead._ "

"Bullshit." Tsukiko's eyes sharpened. "Fucking-... I don't even know how I fucking _died!_ I-..." She thought of Reimu. "Oh- god, Reimu!" She looked around. "She- she's okay, right?"

Komachi waved a hand placatingly. "Finer than fine. If it makes ya feel any better, yer our only guest fer today. And, Reimu's still got some long years ahead of 'er! But, uh..."

"She _needs me…!"_ Coming up to Komachi, Tsukiko held her arms at her own sides, ready to lash out at a moment's notice… "You-... you can't take me away from her! I'm not _done_ yet!"

"C'mon…" Komachi sighed. "Please. Don't make this harder than it needs ta be. Look, I _know_ it sucks, bu' we can talk about-... mmh." She watched Tsukiko grow angrier before her. " _Tsukiko."_

"What?" Tsukiko began to step back… "Fuck off. You don't know- what she's going to _go through,_ without me! You don't know what _I_ went through!"

"Ah, shit, c'mon…" Komachi held her own forehead. "Look. If it's-... _any_ consolation, I _know_ she'll be fine. The higher-ups told me ta relay some infermation to you. Look- it's not as bad as-"

" _Bullshit!"_ Tsukiko cut and ran.

 _Ti~ng!_ Her face smashed against a reflective, powerful barrier, which had formed directly behind her. ' _Hah! Oh no, you don't!'_

 _KA- TI~IING!_ She plowed a fist into the barrier, but it didn't so much as ripple.

 _KA- TI~IING!_ She kicked it this time, the impact greating an explosion of wind, but there was nothing different about the result.

"...I can see why they assign you guys a whole day fer this sorta thing." Komachi remarked under her breath…

Tsukiko flicked a copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo from her sleeves. ' _This should work…'_

" _Holy Spark!"_ Flicking back from the barrier, she posed, with an arm outstretched to the air.

 _WOO- WOO- WOO- WOOSH…_ An octagram of light lines were drawn between nine different Chronicles of Gensokyo, which were translated out from the first copy that she tossed up.

 _VRRRRR~!_ A huge, house-sized beam of rainbow energy met the barrier, stopped perfectly by it.

 _RRRRR- rrrr…_ As the beam died out, Tsukiko swallowed. ' _No…!'_

" _Divine Fantasy Seal!"_

 _KROOM!_ Stomping the ground, Tsukiko charged her fists with rainbow-colored energy. " _Hrah!"_

 _KA- KLINK!_ She punched the barrier directly, transfixing a barrier of her own over it, and shattering it. The original barrier still remained. ' _It- failed…!?'_

Komachi shook her head. "The big idea's that Hakurei aren't _supposed_ ta y'know, beat the crap outta the shinigami an' then go muck about. Can you _imagine_ how screwed the world would be if all yer ancestors just _refused_ to die?"

...Her face long, Tsukiko faced Komachi, and walked closer. "What age does Reimu die at."

...Komachi raised a brow. "Good _question,_ actually. Y'see-... I don't _know._ And- that's just the thing: _any_ shinigami knows exactly when someone's going to die. Of course, we can't really tell the _living that,_ or- well, we _can,_ but then things just change around a little, no cheating allowed. We _can_ tell the dead, 'cause yeah. And-... the _only_ people we don't know the deaths of, are those who beat death itself."

...Tsukiko blinked a few times. ' _I knew Shinigami could tell people's deaths-... but, I knew nothing about them being unable to tell deaths. Those who beat death? Are those hermits? Wandering ghosts? Youkai? ...I'm going to bet on hermit, actually.'_

"...Well." She was a little calmer, now. "Huh."

Komachi stepped onto the ferry boat. "All aboa~rd. Or, y'know, you could wait. Ain't no goin' back, though."

...Her expression more solemn, Tsukiko stared back at the shore of the Sanzu, and the trees and mountainside which barred sight of the Human Village.

' _...I'm sorry, Reimu. I'm sorry I-... fucked it up, somehow, Keisuke. Fuck.'_

There was no delaying it. Tsukiko stepped onto the ferry boat, and took a seat.

...Komachi leaned down next to her. "Oh, yeah. Y'gotta _pay the toll."_

' _...Ah, right.'_ Tsukiko searched herself. ' _Ah-... I left the money at the shrine, because I wasn't going out that day.'_

"Pst." Komachi whispered to her. "Y'got three coins in the right pocket…"

...After some digging, Tsukiko pulled out three round, ruby and jeweled encrusted, O-shaped coins, which felt more like discs. ' _The fuck…'_

Komachi snatched them. "Ahp- yeah, thank y'very much. Pleasure doin' _official business."_

"...Ah." Tsukiko supposed it was best not to question that.

 _Shi~ng._ Komachi summoned her great scythe, which was taller than she was. Reaching its sickle down into the water of the Sanzu, she began oaring the boat with it. "Al~right."

"Let's see, how much've you _sinned…_ " Komachi held her hand out towards Tsukiko. "...Ah. Ha~h… decent fer a shrine maiden. Not like it matters, y'Hakurei types get the _special course._ "

Tsukiko blinked. "Special course?"

"Mhm." Komachi nodded. "Y'see-... Hakurei don't go to _heaven,_ they don't go to _hell,_ an' we don't let 'em _reincarnate._ They go to-... well, it's _basically_ a heaven, 'cept just fer Hakurei. 'Cause, let's be real, some of yer _ancestors-_ they could very well just up and fu-... up an' _walk outta_ hell. An' that's no good! Can't have none 'a that."

"Re-... really, now." Tsukiko supposed the afterlife seemed at least interesting. "...Huh."

' _...Right before I was gonna take a day off, too.'_ Tsukiko stared down at the boat's hull. ' _...Yeah, I remember Reimu being fine. She was calling out to me, while I was-... ugh. What happened? Who-... what did that to me?'_

"So." Komachi stared down at Tsukiko, while she oared. "What's the story?"

...Tsukiko stared up at her. "Of how I died? ...It was blurry, like my mind had stopped working. I could hear my daughter call out for me-... but, fuck…" She thought of Reimu again, and brought her knees to her chest.

"Ah, yeah." Komachi nodded. "Thought they retired that stuff. Guess _someone's_ still goin' around usin' it."

...Tsukiko blinked at her. "Th- that stuff?"

Komachi nodded. "Ah, yeah. Just gonna say, a certain _someone_ was pretty trigger-happy wit' that kinda crap back in the day. Screws up the mind, then the body follows. It's the most invisible of poisons, considerin' the era an' place it's bein' used in."

"Did-... someone _inject_ me, with something?" Tsukiko guessed…

Komachi snorted. "Eeh, close. Y'see, it starts by gettin' placed in the _brain,_ so y'can't fight back, an' that way talkin' about how ya died is just-... overall more _confusin'._ Watch yer cause of death be totally different in the paper tomorrow, too. Probably drowning, or _fire,_ or somethin'."

"Who?" Tsukiko wanted to know. "Who'd have done that?"

"Now _that,"_ Komachi held up a finger. "I ain't allowed to tell you that. Hakurei god ain't allowed to know, and it knows this… and, hell, it probably _already_ knows, but we got a _lotta_ people watchin' this boat ride, and I ain't eager to take a ride to the paperwork dungeon."

'... _How strange.'_ Tsukiko began to calm down again. ' _I guess there's no use in fretting about things now. It's a little late for that.'_

"Enough about _me_ , an' _us,_ and the forty-or-more old dudes watching us." Komachi looked down at her again. "An'- by story, I meant like, _life_ story. Gimme tha' scoop."

Tsukiko gave her an uncertain look. "Don't you already know?"

Komachi snorted. "I know the _date_ ya die, not everythin' _about_ you. Although-... I can infer _some_ things. Considerin' I had ta ferry yer mom."

"...Ah." Tsukiko tilted her head back.

' _That-... must've been a fucking ride.'_

"Guessin' yer age when ai had ta do that…" Komachi shifted her focus to the water for a moment, then back to Tsukiko. "I'm bettin' this is feelin' all too familiar."

"Fuck me, it is." Tsukiko admitted. "Da~mn."

...For some moments, she simply took in the paddling of Komachi's scythe against the water. As they'd began crossing the Sanzu, a mist had overtaken their voyage, leaving the beginning and destination vague.

"...Well." She started talking, sitting up a little higher. "When I was twenty, nearly thirty, I began really picking up on martial arts. I had Reimu when I was thirty five… and, my husband died when I was thirty eight. Now I'm forty, and also dead. That's the gist of the time between when I was fifteen, and now. I met some friends… fought a bunch."

"Oo~h, did you fight." Komachi began to grin. "You killed like-... you killed exactly _one hundred seven_ youkai, just about-... a~nd, you injured at least between a thousand and a couple thousand. Y'didn't kill any humans unjustified- thank fuck- but you did kill-... _twenty three_ in self-defense. Ya injured about one fourth of the human village, which is like five hundred fifty-something people. You've eaten about three hundred deer in your lifetime, around a thousand cows, and- hrm, the food stats're always inconsistent…"

' _...Huh.'_ Tsukiko never looked back on her killcount, really. ' _That's interesting.'_

"Nice to get some concrete numbers on that." Tsukiko supposed.

At that, Komachi tilted her head. "Mmm… fer a Hakurei, it's a bit _small_ compared ta others. Y'know 'bout cher grandma? She killed like-... one thousand _directly;_ indirectly through her military leadership, she lead the death of over a hundred thousand."

"Holy shit…" The number sort of staggered Tsukiko…

The scythe clicked and clapped against the calm of the Sanzu, as they continued into the eternal afterlife.

"So…" Since Tsukiko didn't feel like saying much more, Komachi considered some basic icebreakers… "What's most important ta you?"

...It didn't take Tsukiko long to come up with an answer. "My family." She left it at that, too.

...Looking up, Komachi tried to think up another good one… "What do ya want outta life?"

Again, Tsukiko had a rather prompt answer. "To be strong."

...At that, Komachi rolled the response around in her mouth, for a moment. "To be strong, huh? S'that really so important?"

"Yes." Tsukiko nodded. "Without my strength, I would have died. If I had more strength-... my husband would still be here. I might not have died now, if I were stronger."

Komachi snorted, but just barely. "No~ guarantees on that one…"

Once again, the conversation had died. Taking in a breath of the river's air, Komachi went for another real stinger. "What're you afraid of?"

This question had a few answers for Tsukiko, actually, so she actually had to think on it.

' _My fears…'_ She pursed her lips. ' _I fear for Reimu right now, if that counts. Can I fear dying, now that I'm dead?'_

"I _would_ have said dying." Tsukiko decided. "...I suppose 'getting old' would fit my idea best, too."

"Don't those kinda contrast?" Komachi smirked at her.

"...Now that you mention it, yeah." Tsukiko admitted. "They're both fairly weak states of being. Provided, in the latter-... Reimu wouldn't need me anymore, then. I mean-... the situation I'm in _right now_ was pretty much my greatest fear."

"Fair enou~gh." Komachi nodded gingerly… "Lotsa people fear death. Some fer similar reasons ta yours… an' some for less so similar reasons!"

Slowly, the mist began to clear up. ' _Are we almost there…?'_

"Ooh." Komachi had an idea. "Y'know, I saw this on a quiz pamphlet at HQ. Destructive power, magical power, or enduring power?"

"...The hell kinda question is that." Tsukiko raised a brow. "Really _does_ sound like you found it off a pamphlet."

"S'cause I _did."_ Komachi grinned at her. "Ya gotta pick one, and spit on the other one."

"Fuck magic." Tsukiko immediately disparaged magicians. "Enduring power, I guess."

"I guess that was kind of a silly question, fer you…" Komachi smiled, looking ahead. "Oh, hey. We're almost done here."

...Standing up on the ironically well-balanced ferry, Tsukiko stared ahead with her.

As the mist parted, a land locked in dawn was depicted ahead. The sun was rising, behind the tip of a large, red-roofed structure; but it wasn't so bright as to hurt the eye, even.

It was like the Hakurei Shrine, except one hundred times as grand; as complex of different levels, rooftops, and twisting, branching pathways. The wood and shingles were eternally pristine. The term 'shrine' didn't befit a structure of this magnitude: it was a Hakurei-styled castle.

To the sides of the river's shore, where the truly unique land of the afterlife began, as opposed to the regular Higan-esque shore, there were smaller, Hakurei-styled structures, as well.

"If it's any consolation…" Komachi spoke beside her. "All yer other family members are here too. _Including_ yer mom."

"Aa- ah…" Tsukiko blinked at that idea. "...That's not so bad, either."

 _Shoof._ The ferry boat slowed, as it neared the shore of the Hakurei afterlife.

"Whelp…" Komachi faced Tsukiko, and smiled. "Here's yer stop."

 _Clunk- thunk._ The boat stopped abruptly, next to the pristine pier, making Tsukiko flinch for a moment. "Aah."

...Taking a gradual moment, Tsukiko stepped off the boat, and onto the pier.

She let out a breath. Looking back, she saw Komachi wave at her.

' _Well…'_ Moving forward, she took in the grandiose castle's appearance.

Moving towards the huge stairway up, she chose to walk up the stairs regularly. Imposing obelisks dotted either end of the stairway, as she made her way up the lush hillside, approaching the castle atop it.

Near the stair's top, she could see how the great complex resembled the Hakurei Shrine. Even with this level of complexity, the door to the main room was still where it always was, and the walkway to it was the same.

Tsukiko looked back. The ferry boat at the bottom was gone.

….Turning back around, she gazed around the courtyard ahead. It was populated, to her surprise, with shrine maidens with vastly varying degrees of apparel, most in regular kimonos. There were men there too, in robes and various geki outfits. Some even wore armor; in fact, there were women there in armor, as well.

In the center of the stone path ahead, Tsukiko saw the figure of her mother standing there. She seemed as she remembered, clad in her slightly modified kimono, with her long brown hair flowing.

"...Time to go." Tears forming in her eyes, she faced the torii at the top of the stairs, smiled, and walked through.

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

1

Hakurei Maiden

Tsukiko Hakurei was awake.

' _O- oh… ugh.'_ Also, she had one hell of a hangover, or so it seemed.

...Slowly sitting up, the six foot tall miko found herself lying in a grassy field.

' _I-... did I go drinking? Woah…'_

Wind softly blew through her long black hair, and through her red-white clothes. Even though the season wasn't compromising, her toned and weathered body took the breeze easily.

A late day's hollow embrace soothed her eyes, and the auburn tint coming onto the distant trees made her feel warm inside.

' _Wh- when did it become fall…? How smashed was I?'_

She wore a black leotard underneath a thick red cloth apron, and a hakama. Two long Hakurei arm sleeves hung off each arm, attached by mysterious means; which were most likely strings.

' _I'm still dressed? Huh…'_

Then, they came.

Memories of battle met her again, against the many youkai of the land. ' _Wh- wait...'_

It'd been some years since she had gone on definitive hunts, or rallied with her friends against the monsters.

Those that defiled, those those who knew no mortal emotion. Those who saw humanity as stepping stones in their sometimes selfish, sometimes ascended perception of the world. This included not only those of youkai kin, but those of fragmented humanity as well.

Of course, it'd be one-sided to exclude those who acted out of need, desperation, misinformation, or true ignorance. ' _What-...'_

The sensations of memory rushed through her, like the breeze. Each moment came in pieces, mere disjointed sequences of a complete film, fragmented and incomplete. A whirlwind that called back to the void her soul had just been released from.

Countless warm days of sitting on the porch with her daughter. Cold winters clambering up the shrine steps…

Reimu. Keisuke. Fights. Marcus. Keine, Rinnosuke, magic, air- running- iron- holy- mom- Reimu- water- light- blurry light- pain- Reimu-

"Fu- fuck…" She held onto her own head.

' _What-... what is- going on…? I- I-...'_ In the middle of this, she couldn't place this ailment. ' _I-...'_

That's when the most recent parts came back in shards. She tucked Reimu into bed, locked the shrine up tight, and then…

Her mind had seemed broken, or fragmented, at the time. ' _...Re- Reimu.'_ She remembered waking up on the Sanzu's shore, but nothing more. ' _Reimu! Oh, gods!'_

She began running, from the field she began in. Her legs had no speed, her jog scattered and at best consistent, but she used nothing but her muscles to push her towards the shore of the Misty Lake.

Stopping near the water, she paused, out of breath. "Aa-... ha~h… ha~h…"

' _Are-... you kidding me…?'_ She looked down at her limbs. ' _Why am I-...'_

...Stopping in the reserved, pleasant day's light, she gazed at the Hakurei Shrine in the distance. ' _...If Reimu's-... been alive, for awhile, then… what am I?'_

Across the land, in her era, she was known as the Hakurei miko. She told her name to few people; only those who she felt had a right to know. _'Tsukiko Hakurei. That's-... that's my name, right. Um…'_

She was in Gensokyo, land of fantasy; and she was its keeper. Keyword being 'was'. She is now the miko who came before; Sendai Hakurei no Miko.

' _The miko who came before.'_ She settled on her new personal title. ' _That's not gonna get old fast, surely. I think I'll just-... hmm. I'll tell people what I am when I get around to it, I guess. Cross that bridge when I get to it, so forth.'_

Bringing her arms behind her head, she stretched. "Hn~h…"

' _So…'_ She looked around. Slowly, she brought her arms behind her head, and began stretching... ' _Hnn~. I thought I was dead. What gives.'_

Finished stretching, she ran her hands through her hakama pockets. ' _Ah. I still have my things._ ' She remembered them, but somehow, they felt unfamiliar...

Bringing her hand out, she took out a Hakurei talisman, and threw it forward-

 _Woosh._ It left a glowing trail of light as it flew off like a bullet, soaring into the distance of the plains… ' _Wimpy talismans, check.'_

Again reaching into her pocket, she took out a small yin-yang orb this time…

Holding it up, her magic made it maximize to about the size of her upper body in diameter with her magic.

"Hup!" Once it was fully expanded, she jumped into the air, she brought her other arm back to slap it.

 _Smack!_ The blow sent the orb arcing into the air. It soon succumbed to gravity...

 _Bam!_ Moments after she landed, the orb also landed, bouncing in the dirt.

' _Good. All my-... weird toys seem to work. I don't even have any cramps..._ ' Reaching a hand into her right sleeve, Sendai muddled about.

' _...Oh._ ' She took out a handful of holy salt, freshly generated by magical means. ' _Now's probably not the time to fool around with all this stuff..._ '

Idly, she tossed the handful forward. The thick salt clumps fell to the ground lazily. '... _I'm sure the grass will appreciate that.'_

Turning, she gazed into the water again. Seeing her own reflection in the shallows was sobering.

' _I should get a grasp on just what the hell's going on around here.'_ Sendai gazed into the sky. ' _Damn. At least it's a nice day for this sort of thing.'_

Turning away from the lake, she began her trek to the path towards the Hakurei Shrine. ' _Screw everything else right now. I need to get home and find out what the hell's up.'_

...As she marched, she looked at the sky. Some cute fairies were approaching her, all of a sudden. ' _Ah, good. Target practice. Let's take out my confusion on them.'_

They almost beelined towards her, which she supposed was to be expected. "Heya, Reimu!" The blue-haired one waved down at her. Upon getting closer, she gaped, too. "Woaa~h! Your hair got super long!"

"Uh- uhm, Cirno-chan…" Floating up behind her friend, the green-haired greater fairy stuttered and jittered. "I don't think... that's the shrine maiden you're looking for…"

' _She's adorable.'_ Sendai wanted to hug her.

...Hovering closer, Cirno narrowed her eyes. "...Well, then she can get outta my way! Eye wanted to talk to Reimu!"

Abruptly, a barrage of icicles whirred out to meet Sendai.

' _What…!?_ ' Tensing up at the luminescent spectacle, she braced for the impact with her arms. ' _What power-'_

 _Ti- tick, tick._ The bright, translucent particles shattered into magic against Sendai's skin. The impacts were unimpressive and blunt, and vaguely left her arms itchy.

Still, this didn't really compare to what she'd experienced before. ' _Huh. Is this… danmaku? Really…?'_

She remembered the magic distinctly. It was one of few things she picked up from her mother, and she taught it to Reimu to give her something to play with. It was especially handy, since budgets were tight. ' _Why's some random fairy running around, using it? Provided… it's probably not that complicated of magic, anyway.'_

"Hahaha~! Eye hit her, Eye hit her!" Pumping a fist into the air, Cirno ceased firing the danmaku and mocked her. "Stupid fake shrine maiden!"

...Lowering her guarding posture, Sendai simply began to continue around the lakeside, outwardly indifferent. ' _Well, that was cute.'_

"Cirn- Cirno-chan…" Again, the great fairy spoke up. "She's leaving."

"What!?" Roaring towards Sendai, Cirno up behind her and tried to grab her shoulders. "Haha~! You can't run from me, fake-"

Sendai stopped, and pivoted on the heel of her sandal. ' _Now!'_

The move was nowhere near as graceful as she imagined. Failing to elbow the fairy with any force, Sendai rotated around gradually, and threw a huge hook. "Fuck _off!"_

-+- _Vs. Fairies_ -+-

 _WHUNK!_ _"Ghk!"_ Cirno held her own stomach, the hook to her body staggering her. "...Oo- ow! _Ihdhiot!_ "

Memories of combat only just trickled into Sendai's body. ' _Um.'_

' _...What do I do, again?'_ It was a very scary sensation. ' _I guess- hit her, obviously, before she hits me back. Wh- why can't I-...'_

Standing up onto both legs, Cirno pumped herself up, flexing both arms into the air. "You're a _super idio~t!"_

' _He- hehe!'_ Sendai couldn't help but grin at her, however. ' _Super idiot, huh. Well, she's just a fairy, so... I should be able to warm up easy enough.'_

"Nngh…!" Full of power and childish anger, Cirno sprinted up to the bigger woman, reeling her arm over her head for a powerful overhead thrust.

 _pap._ Sendai brought up both arms, and guarded cross-style. ' _Ooo.'_ This action was pretty much automatic, and she supposed it was okay. It'd stopped the fairy's arm and fist pretty easily.

' _Now…'_ There was more to fighting than taking a hit, she remembered. ' _How about I dodge, this time?'_

"Nrrh…" After clenching her fists, Cirno slapped them together before herself. " _Take this!"_

 _Fwa- fwa- fwash!_ In a moment, luminescent, person-sized blue icicles whirled from her form, towards Sendai.

' _Woah!'_ Sendai recognized this as real magic.

 _fwish._ She'd jerked all of her muscles, as if flinching, but the motion let her sandals glide across the grass, the precise motion pulling her form with some kind of martial grace.

' _...Ah.'_ She supposed she saw how that worked… ' _Huh. Ah- right… it's a-... magic thing? Maybe my body just does it? If I tense all my muscles, I can do it, so I'm gonna do it from now on...'_

"Whah…" Cirno saw what happened, blinking with her eyes widened. "I can _slide fast_ too! I read the mangas-... too!"

 _fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Abruptly, Cirno dashed around similarly on her bare feet, before stopping… "Oo- um." The quick sliding made her disoriented…

' _As cute as this is, I've got to move on.'_ Sendai's curiosity ate at her.

" _Haa~h…!"_ Calling on her inner magic, Sendai-... lost her train of thought. "A- aa…"

' _My- magic…?'_ She'd tried to call on her spiritual power, to supercharge one of her replicable items. ' _I felt really lightheaded, and then nothing happened…'_

 _pap._ Cirno succeeded in giving a cute punch to Sendai's abs. " _Got_ you…!"

...Plainly, Sendai lifted a yin-yang above her own head. As it expanded in her arms, she guided it forward, lugging it down into Cirno's skull.

 _KRI- KRUNCH- Pi~chun!_ Cirno was squished.

"Ci- Cirno-chan!?" The great fairy's jaw dropped. "O- oah…! Oh, _no~!"_ Almost on a delay, she held her own head, her whole body tilting back in a dangerously adorable manner.

...Seconds later, she darted away when Sendai made eye-contact with her.

' _So damn cute.'_ It was business as usual for her, when it came to fairies. ' _I needed that.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Taking a deep breath, she looked up at the spiral of clouds in the slowly whirling blue sky above.

' _...For some reason-... I feel so good.'_ Sendai smiled at the day.

The path to the Hakurei Shrine was before her, recognizable and beckoning. Marching forward, she took onto it. ' _On the road again. At least it's not the dead of winter.'_

' _How much have I forgotten?'_ Sendai searched herself, and her mana...

She thought to her weird tools- or toys- again, since they were the first thing that came to mind. ' _My… weapon things.'_

She still had the myriad tools she used to use. _How_ to use them effectively, however, was somewhat of a mystery again.

' _Hakurei talismans. They weren't ever really complicated, to use… you just throw them at youkai.'_

' _The yin-yang orb. It might be simple to bounce it forward, but it's also really helpful to just use as a weapon itself.'_

Then, there were the more unorthodox items. ' _...The Gensokyo Chronicle? Oh, right- it's enchanted to go nuts, and the pages attack things. Hmm…'_

' _Rebound stone. Or, stones. Sharp, crystal-like stones that bounce around really nicely. With enough force, they cut like knives. They're holy, too. I think they were a Hakurei thing...'_

' _Salt.'_ On impulse, she drew some salt from her sleeves. ' _...I- I don't know. I think it was to help with cooking, actually. I do hunt animals for food, sometimes.'_ The process of hunting was mundane and native enough for her to remember.

' _Oh, man. That reminds me of the time I had Kourin curse a deer, just so I could lay down talismans on it to cripple it. That was actually really good at killing it painlessly…'_

Letting the holy salt flop to the dirt nearby, she continued to think about what she had control of. ' _...Holy molotovs!'_ Her friend Marcus had actually helped her with those. ' _He helped with that… Gensokyo Chronicle enchantment, too.'_

As she approached the shrine stairs, the sun began to set.

One of her strangest magic items was the Dragon Palace flintlock. She drew the tiny pistol, and held it towards the grass nearby.

 _zap- zap._ Upon pulling the trigger, small blue bolts of electricity zipped out, randomly meeting the ground. ' _What.'_ Sendai didn't remember this at all, actually. ' _...I know it came from the Dragon Palace. I don't remember a whole lot else.'_

She pulled out a rusty stopwatch.

...Then, she shook it about. ' _It won't open. Wait-'_

 _Clack!_ It popped open after she smacked it. The hands inside were stuck. ' _Aw. That's lame. Telling the time would've been handy.'_ This was a watch she'd bought at the village, and had Marcus help fix to her spiritual energy, she remembered.

How any of these sub-weapons worked was a science similar to how she could craft ofuda, talismans and yin-yangs from her spiritual energy. While she couldn't discard the Hakurei-centric relics, or at least not without effort she'd never explored, it was relatively easy to get help with blessing and making a holy tool of a number of other items.

For some items, it wasn't possible or convenient. ' _I tried to make chairs a holy tool once. Sometimes, they just didn't come out right… or, they broke when I used them, or they ejected from my sleeves. Ngh.'_ It took a lot of care to properly orient an item, so she didn't do it a lot.

As the day grew later, the ground's color was yellow, as Sendai climbed the stone steps.

"...Gorgeous." Facing the setting sun, she took another deep breath of fresh air.

Her eyes scanned the horizon, taking in the contours of distant mountains bathed in the horizon's azure fog. '... _What lies beyond those mountains?'_ It was a thought she'd returned to time and time again, although at this point, she was content with not knowing. ' _I can't help but want to explore. But, Gensokyo's big enough for me.'_

There was one mountain she'd scaled a bunch, however. It was inside the barrier, and not very horizon-colored due to its proximity. ' _Not quite as alluring as the ones outside it...'_

A wind hugged her, as she came towards the torii at the apex of the steps. "Well…"

No one was out on the shrine yard, at the moment. Just as Sendai always remembered, the shrine's main room sat there in plain view, with only the kitchen extension to the left throwing off the symmetry. ' _...Gotta do what you gotta do for safety.'_

"...Time to go." She faced the torii at the top of the stairs, smiled, and walked through.

' _...I don't know why I wanted to say that, but, I did.'_ She felt satisfied about it, too.

 _Click, click._ Leaving the apex of the stairs, her sandals clicked against the stone landing atop the stairs, which was part of the path ahead.

Stopping on this stone path, she looked at the dimly lit shrine ahead. ' _Why's she got the lights on?'_ Furrowing her brows, she both criticized and observed… ' _That'll attract attention. Although… the steps and everything seem to have been refurbished. It's actually really nice looking, even if the evening might hide some of the wear.'_

Stepping onto the shrine porch, she proceeded to the door. ' _It's time to face this head on. Just yesterday, I was tucking her into bed. I don't actually know what to expect...'_

Cli- click. As Sendai stepped forward towards this door, a woman clad in a flimsy maid outfit appeared near her.

' _Hmm?'_ Sendai spared her a look, as she she did her.

...Then, the silver-haired maid just trotted ahead, chugging from the booze she had with her. ' _Weird. Who the hell was that.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

 _Shu~nk._ The shrine door slid open plainly.

...Four girls stared up at Sendai, from a kotatsu ahead.

A shrine maiden sat; the new Hakurei miko, Reimu. Her back was to the front door. Slowly, she turned…

Next to her, a witch and a green-clad girl looked Sendai over, looking half-buzzed…

Someone in a business suit and rabbit ears sighted her too, her red eyes visible from the kotatsu's back, examining.

…

"Wha-..." Reimu Hakurei's gaze was plain. "...Oh."

' _That's…'_ Ignoring the weirdos, Sendai felt herself stop… ' _Reimu.'_

"Aw, lookit…" The blonde mage girl- with the world's _poofiest_ hat- gestured to her. "First time we've seen one 'a these in awhile, ze!"

The lavender-haired rabbit girl stood. "I could take care of her-"

"I'm used to cutting down pests." The white-haired girl began to stand, too-

" _Coo~l_ it…" Grinning, Reimu stood before them, holding a hand up. "Wow, you guys are trigger-happy tonight. Sit down. I'll set it straight myself, so it stops coming back."

"Re- Reimu…" Sendai felt like melting from relief. "Oh my god…" She dropped onto her knees. "I'm-... I'm so glad you're okay."

 _..._ Shuffling across the shrine floor in her white socks, Reimu looked the woman up and down. "Cool costume. Right- who were you again? Is this Chitose? Doppel?"

' _...Wh- ah.'_ Sendai felt herself drain. ' _She-... she doesn't- think I'm me. Of course she doesn't- she thinks I'm some doppelganger.'_

 _Crack. Crack._ Ignoring those names, Sendai stood, then cracked her own neck, and her knuckles. "I… am the miko, who came before."

"Nice." Rolling her eyes, Reimu held up her gohei like a sword, or a bat. "I guess I'll beat your costume off and then question you."

-+- _Vs. Shrine Maiden of Paradise, Reimu Hakurei_ -+-

 _Crack. Crack._ Sendai cracked her neck, then her knuckles. ' _How-... am I going to prove myself, to Reimu?'_ Her body felt distant, and different…

"I-... I don't want to fight you." Sendai didn't want to hit her daughter.

Reimu took a few practice swings with her gohei, like it were a bat. "...Ready when you are." She didn't seem to care.

' _...Well. Alright.'_

 _Woosh!_ Sendai ran straight at her, fists ready. She lunged a hook forward-

 _WHUNK!_ Reimu thrust her gohei forward, with enough force to stop Sendai entirely, making her cringe. ' _Unh- the hell-'_

 _CLACK!_ She brought her gohei down on Sendai's head. ' _Ouch- fuck-'_

Reimu spun around in an instant. "Take _that!"_

 _WHACLACK!_ She landed the backside of a spinning swing attack on Sendai, sending her skidding back from the knockback. "Ohn-...!"

' _She hits like a fucking-... grown man!'_ Sendai nursed the stinging sensations along her body. ' _No- she hits even harder! What the hell!'_

Leisurely, Reimu strolled to the left, her gohei now over her shoulder. "...That's what pain feels like, doppel-chan."

Sendai began to glare at her. "...Re- Reimu. Please. I'm-... I'm _Tsukiko."_

"Give it a rest." Reimu began to waltz closer, now.

 _FWA- FWA- FWAP!_ A string of glowing, holy ofuda met Sendai's stomach.

...As she stood there, they fluttered off. Reimu furrowed her brows.

Sendai frowned at her. "The night I died-... the morning. Don't you remember that morning? The morning-... where I wasn't all together?" Sendai teared up a little, thinking about it. "I-... I died later that day, didn't I?"

"What the _hell is your proble~m!?"_ Reimu roared. "What the hell do _you_ know!? Where do you _shitheads_ get off!?"

"...You can _tell_ when Reimu's mahd…" The blonde, witch-hatted girl spoke up in the background. "She starts ta actually swear!"

At this point, Sendai had enough of everything. "Wh- where do _you_ get off, Reimu…!? I- I know-... I don't have a lot for me to verify myself, to you, but-"

 _Cla- cla- clack!_ Reimu ran at her. "Hrh…!" She leapt, lugging her gohei up in a huge, overarm swing.

 _Woosh._ Sendai moved to hook her in the stomach.

Reimu appeared behind her, the hook meeting nothing for meters. ' _What-'_

 _WHACLACK!_ The gohei met the back of Sendai's head. "Aaa-..."

' _Da- damn it…'_ She stumbled forward. ' _I can't-'_

She turned to the right, where Reimu happened to appear from next.

 _Whunk!_ Thrusting an arm forward, she managed to land a hook on Reimu's midsection. ' _Gotcha!'_

"Nnh!" Reimu recoiled, her eyes narrowing, as she brought up her gohei to defend herself-

 _CLICK!_ Upon punching the gohei with her other arm, Sendai's momentum was completely reflected, making her stagger back. "Wh- what-"

 _WHACLACK!_ Reimu whipped her gohei up, along Sendai's body.

 _Thud!_ The strike was so great, that Sendai fell over from it. ' _Ho- holy shit…'_ She grimaced up. ' _She's-... she's not even that good yet, but- she's only a young adult, and has this power?'_

 _WOOSH!_ Reimu unleashed a yin yang orb, in Sendai's direction. ' _Wh- aoh!'_

 _BAM!_ Rolling aside it, then standing, Sendai took a glance at the crater it made in the floor. ' _How'd she use that so fast-'_

 _BAM- BAM!_ It bounced off the wall behind her, then a rafter above-

 _CLAP!_ Sendai caught it with both arms. ' _Yeah!'_

 _WOOSH!_ Lugging it forward, she hurled the chest-sized yin yang back at Reimu.

 _CLACK!_ Smacking it away with a two-armed gohei swing, Reimu frowned ahead at Sendai. "Really…"

' _The lights, when I died-...'_ Sendai thought of her own death, again. ' _Goddamn it.'_

 _Click!_ Suddenly, Reimu whirled ahead, through the air towards her. " _Hyeah!"_

 _THUNK!_ Sendai blocked a massive, forward cleaving gohei strike with both arms. "Gh-"

 _THUNK!_ Reimu leapt again, doing the same downward cleave-

 _WHATHUNK!_ One last leap-and-cleave broke through Sendai's guard, smacking an arm to the side. ' _God- damn it…!'_

 _Pap!_ Lunging a hand ahead, Sendai got her by the neck. "Nnh…!?" Reimu's eyes widened.

 _Woosh- BAM!_ Spinning around, Sendai tossed her back into an nearby shrine wall. Hurrying up to her, she lunged a punch forward.

 _WHACK- BAM!_ She rammed two arms into Reimu's chest, one after the other. ' _Now-...'_

 _WOOSH._ She rammed her fist into Reimu's head, or, she tried to.

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish._ When her palm crushed Reimu's head into the wall, her figure exploded into a mess of ofuda, glowing and holy, like confetti. ' _What…'_

 _WHAM- CLACK!_ Reimu swung her gohei into Sendai's head, smashing it into the wall. " _Nghk-_ anh…"

 _Thud._ Falling back from the wall, Sendai looked up…

Reimu pointed her gohei down, at her. "Just- _stop,_ will ya? I'm just trying to _have an evening,_ and here you are fighting tooth-and-claw just so you can _annoy me._ "

"Nn- no…" Sendai began to push herself off the floor, and she stumbled for the door, while turning to face Reimu. "I- I won't just-..."

"Fine." Reimu held her arms out, and floated into the air.

' _What…?'_ Sendai felt her adrenaline spike, her mind reeling. ' _She's-...!'_

" _Divine Spirit!"_ Reimu announced the name of her magic. " _Fantasy Seal!"_

 _Fwi- fwi- fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Orbs generated in the air above her, rotating around her.

 _FLASH!_ That's when they lit up with dangerous, rainbow-colored energy, bending the light around them.

' _She knows- item crashes…!'_ Sendai braced her arms, shutting her eyes. ' _Fuck…'_

' _Wait-...'_ She looked up, seeing the rafters, and remembering her last night. ' _I can just-'_

 _WOOSH!_ Dark energy, _only_ dark energy flooded up her arm, as she uppercutted.

She didn't even gain more than a meter off the floor, taking her nowhere near the rafter. "Aa- ah…"

The yin-yang orbs came for her. ' _Oh- n-'_

 _FWAM- BAM- FWAM- BAM- BAM- FWAM…!_ The orbs rolled into her one after another, exploding. The echoing blasts of color rocked her body, the light around her becoming an ineligible mess as she got torn into.

' _Ho- how…'_ It was like an explosion.

The blossoming, unnatural and magical pain wracked through her. ' _Not-... like this…'_ Her heart beat harder than she thought she could know, but a part of her knew this was… in some strange way, normal.

 _BOOM!_ The last orb exploded against her body-

 _Shunk!_ The shrine door shut. It took her mind a moment to catch up, but she was flung outside.

 _Thud._ Body aglow with luminescent, danmaku residue, Sendai landed hard, her head vibrating against the stone it flopped against. " _Aa- ahn…"_

Deflated, defeated, and submissive, Sendai stared up at the dim blue sky. Her head reeled and her soul shuddered. ' _I-... I...'_

All of her energy drained, she felt herself slip away.

' _Reimu...'_

Her vision faded out, body slowing…

Reimu stood over her, a dry gaze meeting her eyes through the blurring world...

' _im proud'_ It was all worth it.

It was all worth seeing Reimu again, even if it had to end like this.

Reimu was doing fine. She wasn't needed anymore.

Almost as warm as the chill of death, Tsukiko's consciousness fell away, one last talisman of danmaku properties meeting her head.

' _i love you'_

She welcomed it again. Reimu would kill her under her beliefs, and that would be that. Tsukiko knew she could return to peaceful rest once more.

She was no longer the Hakurei miko. She was the miko who came before.

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE: **FINAL MIX**

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

hello _**again**_ chapter one!

except this time i'm a BIG STRONG LAD with a BIG STRONG JAB, er, hook

this intro should have a hell of a lot more weight since it actually like _sets up_ some past stuff, and shows off some key characters that sendai appreciates in her life to give weight to things

also how she died that was pretty big too

there's a lot of really good stuff in this chapter!

INDEX:

 **CHEAT CODES:**

Prologue: you are here

Return of the Shrine Maiden / Force Addiction Chapter 2

A Reintroduction to Marcus Kirisame Chapter 5

Reimu Hakurei Chapter 10

Parry Addiction Chapter 14

Crash Addiction Chapter 18

A Reintroduction to Rinnosuke Morichika Chapter 19


	2. Reignition

Sendai felt nothing. Blurry black and pain filled her vision.

That's when she felt something. ' _Ow…'_

Then, she opened her eyes, and saw things.

She woke up in a pile of lumber, discarded wood and rocks. This material-heap was located at the bottom of the Hakurei hill, past some trees to keep it hidden-ish. It was still night.

' _Did-... I even get any sleep?'_ She felt half-dead. ' _Gods…'_

 _Clu- clunk._ Climbing from the wood pile, she exhaled. ' _What-... did I get drunk again? How irresponsi-'_

The memories hit her, again. ' _...Reimu!'_

She shot up, sitting up straight-

"O- ow…" Her sides and back hurt.

' _...Damn. What happened… to me?'_

It felt like just a few months ago that she was fighting large youkai in the woods. Now, she felt… removed, from herself. ' _Reimu's… no joke now, either.'_

She gingerly looked down at the trash pile. ' _She didn't even kill me. She just put me in the trash.'_

...Her mouth curled into a grin, as she felt herself over. ' _I'm not really sure what to think of that.'_

 _Cla- clunk, clunk…_ Wood and rocks tumbled as she rose from the debris pile, standing tall atop it despite everything...

' _That was so stupid of me. I should've done it like in the books, where she only figures out after we fight together that I'm her mother, and we have some drama… thing.'_

Her gaze traveled to the nearly, but not quite, full moon. ' _Euh. Drama's... not really my strong suit.'_

' _I solve fights with my fists… and whatever crap I can find. Personal honor notwithstanding...'_ She was more about direct results. Honing her body had direct results, as did punching a youkai in the face to make them stop moving.

Stepping off from the pile, she took a breath as she hobbled into the evening. ' _No bleeding. No fractures or real bad bruises…'_ She began checking herself for damage. ' _The hell. How'd I get out of that...?'_

It didn't take long for her to reach the Hakurei path, which was only a few trees from the heap Reimu left her in.

' _At least nothing ate me or raped me while I lied there. How long was I out?'_

Her body still hurt, and her movements were slow… ' _I need food. I need… a lot of things, right now. And- what the hell's with my body!?'_

 _Fwi- fwish!_ She delivered two quick punches to the air. ' _...Damn.'_

 _Fwi- fwish!_ She repeated this motion. ' _Come on! Faster!'_

 _Fwi- fwish! Fwi- fwish! Fwi- fwish!_ Again and again, she let her fists whip out at the air.

 _Fwi- fwish!_ With her last two jabs at the air, she casted her fists into darkness, pitch black energy rolling along her arms, overtaking her skin.

' _...Fuck.'_ It felt like an insult. ' _Is this… post-revival stiffness? This... sucks. I need to work this out. At least I don't feel like a scrawny kid again. And...'_ She remembered it.

In her mind's eye, Sendai remembered the ability to take a punch, and keep fighting. The constant push; throwing her arms again and again, and then some, pushing her own force to the limit to drive back enemies. The willingness to keep fighting, no matter what it took.

 _Woosh, woosh._ She hooked two fists into the air, experimentally.

 _Woosh!_ She jabbed one where an imaginary opponent's face would be.

 _Woosh!_ She kicked at the air, before almost bounding over her own leg, reeling up an overarm thrust, darkness infectiously coating the arm she chose. " _Hrrah!"_

 _WOOSH!_ Azure energy flared off of this finishing strike. Sendai exhaled, warmed up after that. ' _That-... should be enough for now, I guess. That wasn't quite like-... how I remembered fighting, but okay.'_

' _...And, speaking of whatever crap I can find…'_ She turned to the junk pile nearby again. ' _Let's look around a little, I guess.'_

So, she spent some minutes of this nebulous, night-esque time of the day to look it all over. ' _Reminds me a little of the junk pile I arranged for the little shits.'_

...She closed her eyes, focusing on her magic.

' _...Um.'_ The pile was mostly featureless of mana, except… _'I feel like I could sense more than just-... mana, but… what more would I need to sense? Maybe youkai.'_

 _Clack- thunk._ Digging through the wood stuff and old clothing, Sendai found a sheathed tanto. ' _So this is where all the mana's coming from. This thing's really old, too…'_ It clearly wasn't made recently. As she felt it over, she unsheathed it slightly- ' _Woah- fuck-'_ -then, she sheathed it again. ' _Spooky.'_

...Slowly, she sat it back down. ' _Feels like it's on the verge of becoming a tsukumogami.'_

After everything, there was still one thing she could take comfort in. ' _...At least Reimu's okay.'_ She smiled, panning back in the direction of the shrine. ' _She seems strong now, too.'_

This was also enough standing around for her tastes. ' _She's more than okay, really. Who the hell were those people, too…? I'm gonna have so many goddamn questions. Wait-...'_

After thinking it over, she began to move. ' _Maybe Kourin's still around. Marcus, Keine… I wonder if Kourin still lives in that little hut outside the woods with Keine. I wonder if they're grown up…! Oh, man.'_

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

2

Reignition

The navy blue sky's starlit hue showered Sendai's shaded path, she she shifted through shimmering brush.

' _He better not have moved, or I'll be pissed.'_

On her way through the brush, she eventually managed to find another path, which had deviated from the one that was always parallel to the shrine. ' _Oh, hey. Does this path go there…?'_

" _Hoh!"_ She got a running start to clear a large valley in the soil below, accenting her limbs with the dark energy from within her to aid her jump-

 _Swish- swish._ She rolled to a stop on the other side. ' _Yeah, that's… bad. I should be able to clear that jump without thinking. That actually took some effort.'_

 _Thud- thud- thud- thud- thud!_ Once she worked up a run, however, she tried to get up to her tengu-rivalling pace, clouds of dirt kicking up as she joined the path. ' _It's taking me longer to work up speed… I'm not moving as fast as I could, either. I feel-... so slow...'_

 _Shoo~f._ She skidded to a stop. There was a clearing at the end of the path, so she couldn't go much further.

A one-story storefront sat out here, in the middle of nowhere. ' _What's this…?'_

It sat in the midst of the clearing where Rinnosuke and Keine's junk piles used to be. ' _A house?'_

Moving up to the lit, glass front door, she tugged on the handle, and swung it open.

 _Di- di~ng._ A little shop chime greeted her. ' _Oh. That's cute...'_

Stepping into the room, she saw piles of crap everywhere. ' _Woah.'_ ...Not literally, fortunately. Instead, piles of weird objects and instruments lined the walls, some actually on shelves, and the rest in piles.

The faint illumination from the muted shop lights served as a reminder. ' _This place reminds me of the village, some…'_ It was night, so there were only these dim lights.

Turning her head to the right, she saw him. ' _That has to be him.'_

Kourin- or, Rinnosuke Morichika as he was more properly named- seemed to be serving as a shopkeeper here. He held a book in his hands, eyes scanning the pages, not even bothering to look up at her.

' _Wow. He's got a lot of meat to him, now…'_ She sized up his more well-off form… ' _Not the scrawny teen he used to be. Cute glasses, too. Everything's so weird, now…!'_ She felt distasteful with herself, describing anything about him as 'cute'.

...His gaze eventually met hers.

' _Uh oh.'_ Sendai grinned at him. ' _Here we go.'_

…

"This is the first time someone's tried a doppelganger of _you_ on me." Idly, he placed a bookmark into his book, and shut it. "That's vaguely worrying."

Sendai lowered her brows. "I'm getting _pretty_ tired of people accusing me of still being dead, y'know."

' _Not that many people have yet, but I know this'll be a running trend, and it sucks.'_

"Because she still is." Frowning, Rinnosuke places his arms on the counter. "I'll have to ask you to leave."

"Oh, shut up." Furrowing her brows, Sendai dug through her sleeves… "I've got my proof right here, _Kourin_."

When she made this motion, his body seemed to jolt into action. He slipped a hand under his counter, pressing his fingers against the underside.

 _Cla- clack- thud- cla- thudclackclack…!_ Somewhere behind her, piles of garbage and miscellaneous trash spread out.

"Reconsider this." Rinnosuke glared her down. "My defenses are no joke, you know."

Meanwhile, she was looking through her sleeves still. ' _C'mon. Should be in here…'_

' _Ahah!'_ She drew the Dragon Palace's flintlock from her sleeves. ' _He wanted to look at this earlier. Probably years ago, for him. The zappy effect really made him nerd out.'_

 _Click._

Something- or someone- behind her lowered a katana past her side. The blade pressed into the counter next to her warningly.

' _...He's got a body guard? Huh.'_ Sendai looked the blade over with a vague expression.

Rinnosuke saw the flintlock she held next. His eyes widening, he lowered behind the desk-

 _Shi~ng!_ A barrier lit up across it, to protect him as he hid.

 _Cla- clack!_ The being behind her reeled its katana back, to cleave into her with.

 _Woosh._ That's when Sendai's form vanished entirely. She'd never realized the same method of teleporting that her ancestors knew, instead transforming what she knew into a sort of flash step that distanced her from reality, but for only a moment.

 _...Cli- cli- click._ Slowly, the armor turned to face where she was going to appear, as if it could detect her.

' _I- I can't believe-... of all things to remember.'_ While she traveled in this vague space, she would have smirked. ' _But- this does feel pretty useless, outside of looking cool…'_

When she appeared again, behind it, it was already turned around. The being was inhuman, nor was it biological; a suit of generic, red and gold samurai armor had risen from the shadows and stood against her.

-+- _Vs. Kourindou Armor_ -+-

 _Cla- clack._ The plates and metal clicked and clipped one another, as the armor rose the katana menacingly…

' _If it's not too fast… I think I'll be able to screw with it.'_ Cautiously, she watched it raise its blade… ' _Even something like this is intimidating, now.'_

 _Woosh!_ Jerking ahead, it cleaved its blade downward, after a generous windup.

 _Fwish!_ Almost too early, Sendai jerked her whole body to slide to its right and her left, getting along its side. ' _Didn't forget how to dodge things again. This is good.'_

' _But... just- dodging once made my blood spike!'_ Moving fast again, especially from a live blade, was a thrill for her.

 _Cla- clack._ The armor began to rotate around, proning its sword for a great sweep.

Sendai quickly pulled herself back, legs pushing against the floor to get a distance. ' _Ah, shit, it's about to attack.'_

 _Woo~sh!_ The circular swing was immediate once she left vicinity. After spinning around clumsily, slashing wide all the while, it finally stopped after a full rotation.

' _How am I gonna fight this thing…?'_ Sendai wasn't sure how exactly she'd do damage to an armor suit… ' _Better question: why is this even something I'd consider a challenge? I've fought way tougher. But-...'_ She stared down at her arms. ' _I guess I'll have to try first, at least.'_

 _Clack! Clack!_ Since the sluggish armor was stopped, she came up to it, her sandals clacking against the floor.

 _Bap! Klack!_ She threw greedy, grand left and right hooks, making her arms meet the metal hide of the warrior.

Each reverberating blow on the metal was felt through Sendai's fists, which were wrapped in azure and black to protect them from the otherwise silly idea of punching metal. ' _Yeah, this… isn't quite working, I think.'_

 _Clack!_ After a short windup, she thrust her right entire right fist into the chest plate, making the entire being jitter and shake from the vibration's onset, her knuckles to its steel.

 _CLACK!_ Impulsively, she jolted back and flicked a kick high, her sandal meeting its chestplate. It didn't stagger, but the metal shook and shuddered more.

 _SKRIK._ Unknown to Sendai, the metal armor had slowly brought its blade back along the ground. While she was busy hitting it, it now flung it forward anew, the blade flourishing up.

 _Shunk._ "Ah- _damn…!"_ It took Sendai a moment to realize what happened.

The blade had met her side, crudely cleaved up some of her sidemost flesh, piercing her red clothes.

' _Oh- that-... what?'_ Pain suddenly met her, after she'd realized she was hit. ' _Sh- ow- ow, when the hell did it-'_

 _WHAM._ It slammed an arm into her, to remove her from the blade.

 _Thud._ Sendai landed on her back on the hardwood floor, limbs spread out from the impact, blood staining the ground beneath her. "Dh- dammit…" Slowly, she pushed back up off the floor to stand back up...

The being before her was poising its blade to thrust down into her, as she tried to recover. She'd only made it into crouching by the time she saw. ' _Ah- oh fuck, fuck-'_

 _SHUNK!_ The blade met the floor nearby, because Sendai tossed herself aside it.

Pushing up off the floor, she exhaled. ' _Fuck…!'_

Once standing, she brought her arms together, and cracked her knuckles again. ' _Alright. Fuck me.'_ Her heart was pounding so hard, already. ' _I don't immediately have the strength to shatter this- oh fuck-'_

 _KRICK!_ The floorboard snapped, the katana pulled free in an instant by the armor.

Behind the barrier, Rinnosuke was standing, arms held open to control the armor. " _Spin!"_

 _Shi~ng!_ Pale, green light flared up the red and black armor. All of a sudden, it jolted its blade arm back, getting ready.

Sendai poised herself again, wincing at the wound in her side. ' _Alright. This is telegraphed as fuck, so…'_

 _WOO- WOO- WOOSH!_ Spinning around, the armored warrior came at her, the constant whirling slice whipping up wind across the shop.

 _Clack!_ Despite having the potential to step out of reality and evade, Sendai climbed onto the nearby counter, as the swordsman whirled closer.

' _If I channel dark magic to my legs-... I should be able to-'_

 _Whish!_ From there, she channeled energy and magic into her legs, bounding up and generously over the swinging blade. Azure energy flared off of her form, as she threw herself against Rinnosuke's protective barrier, using the wall's friction to hang out of reach, for just a moment.

 _TING!_ The katana whipped against the barrier that protected Rinnosuke while he stood behind the counter, making him flinch. "Ah…"

 _BAM- thud- clack- clatter- clack!_ When the possessed armor rebounded off the barrier, it was sent careening to the right, and into a pile of trash, which came crashing down.

"What do you _gain?"_ Frowning, Rinnosuke had his arms folded. He wasn't happy about the damage that was just caused...

 _Clack._ Landing on her sandals amidst the noise, Sendai faulted for a moment. ' _Damn this sword wound. It, ugh…'_ She felt at her side again, and brought her hand up, seeing red. ' _Fucking Kourin.'_

 _Cla- clack! Cla- bam, bam!_ The pile in the back of the room was truly pretty huge, and clattered more as the armor tried to pull its blade from the mess it was tangled in.

 _Cla~ck!_ As it swung its arm into the mess to dig itself free, a rusty bicycle rolled down from the pile, bouncing off of its seat before flopping onto its side.

Sendai saw opportunity. ' _Aah…'_

She ran over aside the armor, and lifted the entire bicycle. "Oo- oh…!" Her wound's pain told her to stop, but she kept going. "He- here we go…!"

The bicycle clattered, clunky in Sendai's arms, as she lifted it over her head. ' _Let's see it fucking take this!'_

 _Clatter- clack!_ Finally free from the mess, the armor poised its blade to face her.

She let the bike fall, her hands still on it, as she swung it ahead. ' _Hehaha!'_

 _KLABAM!_ Sendai hooked the entire bicycle into it, staggering it. " _Nnh!"_

" _Spin!"_ Rinnosuke demanded again, a brief pulse of commanding magic coming from his hands.

 _Click._ The armor ceased stumbling, its blade arm pulling back sharply-

 _CLA~CK!_ Sendai thrust the rusty metal mess into the armor wheel-first, forcing it to re-orient itself and prepare again. " _Hgh…"_

' _Fucking metal!'_ She mentally cursed both the bike and the armor.

Despite the growing pain in her side, the blood flowing down her outfit, Sendai felt her adrenaline flare. ' _Fucking…!'_

 _WOOSH- WOOSH- WOOSH!_ The armor began spinning directly before her, coming at her like a whirlwind.

" _Hra~gh!"_ Stumbling back, Sendai wound up the bike around her side, and channeled dark energy to both her legs and arms.

 _WOOSH!_ She spun forward, pivoting on one heel as she lugged the bike, eyes shut. ' _Eat shi~t!'_

 _BAM!_ Mangled bicycle met sword.

 _woosh._ Sendai was left with half a bike. The armor was left with a dull, kinked blade. As the armor stumbled into prime position again, Sendai could see an entire L-shaped piece of scrap caught in the sword… ' _Ho- holy shit!'_

 _Cla- clack._ Through her pain and the force she just exerted, she discarded the metal pieces. ' _Wait…'_

Of the odd items she possessed, she remembered what truly made them the most useful to her.

She slid the Dragon Palace flintlock from her sleeves. Every one of her spiritually-addled items was also able to be shaped and reformatted by the Hakurei God's holy blessings, in the same manner that the yin-yang orb or her talismans call power. ' _This magic…'_

Flooding the talismans with holy power… let Sendai make a lot of talismans. Therefore, they would be her technique ' _Thousand Talismans'_. This same manner let her make a lot of talismans folded into the shape of axes, ' _Thousand Blades'_. Powering up the yin-yang orb revealed the wielder's inner essence, ' _Fantasy Heaven'_.

This holy energy was one of the few gifts she could say the Hakurei God has given her. Something so innate to her profession was only natural to her.

' _Why didn't I-... how could I forget?'_ The fact it took this long to come back to her was something strange, however.

 _Cla- clack._ With the blade ruined, the armor discarded it. Orange energy lit up along the metal body.

"I'll have to take direct control." Rinnosuke's body was lit up with similar energy. "You may be strong, but this guardian is stronger."

' _He- hehe...'_ Her mind thought back to a few weeks ago. ' _Fuck off.'_

Twirling the flintlock in her hands, Sendai moved up to get within hugging distance of the armor.

' _If this thing actually survives what I have in mind…'_ Sendai wasn't sure, but it was the last real option she had.

She came up to it-

 _Pahp!_ The armor instantly hugged onto her.

' _Ngh…'_ She felt it begin to crush her. ' _Al- alright…'_

"I'm afraid you have lost." Rinnosuke hugged the air. While not mean about his announcement, he emanated a kind of smugness only Sendai could read.

' _Fuck you!'_ Admittedly, it pissed her off.

Her mana surged through her body, blood pumping to the rhythm of a holy incantation known only to her. It was a technique she deemed _Item Crash,_ as she brought whatever item she held to its full potential, at the cost of her mana and the God's power.

" _Vol Fulger!"_ Once caught, she arched her body back, and yelled.

Magic surged through her, holy and dark spluttering out from her power within. It blended with the item she'd drawn, flaring through it and herself, like a short circuit.

 _ZAP- ZAP- ZAPZAPZAP!_ From the flintlock, it took the form of an almost literal short circuit. A sphere of blue-white electricity enveloped her, blooming forward from her being.

 _KLANK- KAPLASH!_ The electricity poured raw into the metal, feudal-styled golem's magical wiring. It blew away from her in parts, demolished and overcharged. The pieces bounced from Rinnosuke's defensive barrier, and bounced around the room.

 _Sendai learned Powerful II!_

 _Gained 660 Yen._

...Once the spell was over, the electric magic leaving her body, she stumbled back. ' _O- oh… oh, god. I feel so… empty again…'_

She kneeled down before the broken armor, pressing her fist into the floor.

Very quickly, standing back up again, she looked to the counter… ' _Ow- my wound. Ugh.'_

' _Still… this power. I'm a Hakurei shrine maiden.'_ It was an attribute she felt like she just now remembered, even if it was always with her. ' _It's the power to… something. What good is being a damn shrine maiden, if the world's just gonna keep shitting on me like this?'_

Rinnosuke was looking over her, as she righted herself.

"...Hey." Purged from her thoughts, she decided to break the ice.

"That attack…" He had his brows furrowed, in contemplation.

Sliding her stout flintlock away, she proceeded closer to him… "I'm going to put holy salt on your lunch and make you eat it. Especially after you stabbed me, you fuck."

"It can't be you, though…" Rinnosuke was still in disbelief. "You _died_. You were _buried_."

"Yeah- guess what." Her grin was bittersweet. "It's me. What's up."

"But- wh…" Looking between her and the counter, he was completely baffled. "That's… it just… _can't be._ "

"I'm hungry." Sendai was eager to get down to business. "Does Keine still live around here?"

...Setting his book down once and for all, he shook his head. "Well- no… no. You're… really her? Then-... I… I have so many questions."

"That makes two of us." Her grin became more genuine. "...I'm also fucking _wiped._ "

 _Click._ After shifting her sandal, she realized she stepped on some coins. ' _Oh. Money…'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

In Kourindou's dim backroom, Sendai relaxed on one of the ultra-tiny chairs. Her wound was healed, having been treated to one of numerous potions in stock at no cost to her.

 _Click._ Rinnosuke laid down a rather plain steak he'd just prepared. ' _Wow. For grilled food, that was pretty painless…'_

"Sorry, about the wait…" He regarded her plainly. "I had to make sure no youkai swooped in and stole it while it was cooking."

"Oh? S'fine…" She readied to tear into it, bringing up her fork and knife. "Really quick, for grilled..."

He gave her a thumbs up, and a sharp look. "I'm proud to announce, after many months of… fuddling about, I've gotten that grill of mine working. It's outsider technology."

' _Outsider tech, huh. I guess he's gotten that shop he wanted, after all. Even managed to set it up outside the village and everything…'_

"Omf…" Sendai took a big bite of the juicy meat, after isolating a piece.

' _...It's alright.'_ She figured it could be better, but meat was meat.

"Are you not angry?" Curiously, Rinnosuke paced back. "At what I did just before."

After swallowing her piece, she grinned up at him. "Yeah. More interested in touchin' base again, and _then_ extorting you over it. What _was_ with that _defense system_ of yours?"

"...I mean, if you were _actually_ a doppelganger, it would've worked." He figured, his grin becoming lopsided. "It's to ward off would-be aggressors easily. I set it up myself."

Staring off to the wayside, Sendai swallowed a bite of steak. "You may wanna give him more attacks. 'Cause that was kinda silly. Seriously, your ace up the sleeve was _grappling_ me?"

' _...It would've worked, if I hadn't remembered my holy-... thing.'_ Sendai searched her mind for a word to describe it. ' _Item Crash? Maybe. That sounds cool, so I'm sticking with that.'_

He nodded half-heartedly. "Well, you know… it wasn't made to fight _you_ of all people. Most would run from the sight of something like that."

"...I somehow doubt that." Cutting the meat, Sendai shrugged it off. "You havin' youkai problems?"

"Is _that_ why you're back from the dead?" He jested stoically… "You might be disappointed to find that I'm not. Most youkai around here are friendly."

' _That's an oxymoron…'_ Sendai wasn't sure about that...

Finishing her water cup, she rested it on the stout table... "Cozy place this's become. Didn't you have that one table that was too big?" She remembered the days of the junk pile...

"It's gone." He supplied. "This one I got for cheap."

"What about that high chair I broke, but got fixed?" Sendai half-smirked, leaning back in her chair... "That was-"

"Gone." He shook his head idly.

She stared him in the eyes. "How about those speaker things you were working on?"

"I actually managed to sell those." He relaxed, smiling warmly… "I made sixty thousand yen."

"Wait- what." Her eyebrows shot up, energy jolting through her system as she got excited. "Sold 'em to _who?_ How…!?"

"They were setting up a band, so they needed equipment. I had them covered." He gave her a confident smirk. "...I know- I can't believe they came to me, either. I bet the kappa would've had one, too."

' _No shit, huh…'_ She nodded at the dim wall, looking over the pile of things against it. Boxes, appliances and wires were strewn about, the evidence of his hoarding plain and simple. ' _At least that's the same. He always liked his random shit.'_

"So." He folded his arms, relaxing into his chair. "I really can't believe it. You're just… back now."

"How do ya think _I_ feel?" She slouched a little in her chair, half done with her steak already. "I woke up like I just… came out of a coma, or something."

"...I don't think anyone even knows how you died." Rinnosuke tilted his head forward, as he relaxed into his own chair...

This made her pause. ' _How I… died. How did I die?'_ She'd tried to remember earlier, but was distracted. ' _What killed me?'_

...She remembered the evening she put Reimu to bed. She remembered going to bed…

She remembered the lights, and the absolute cluster of thoughts, emotions and sights. It had lasted an eternity, but it was as short as a day, and left her with more worry than it did sentiment or answers. ' _What… the fuck.'_

"I… don't think I know either." She spoke hollowly. "This really sucks."

"...What are you going to do now?" He held up his own water, ready to take a sip of it…

Running her gaze across the dim candle light that held from the back room's roof, she considered it.

Crea- creak. As she adjusted her posture, the chair beneath her groaned. ' _This chair barely holds my ass..._ '

"...I think I'm gonna head to the village." She considered. "Marcus ain't dead yet, is he?"

"Fortunately, no." Rinnosuke began to stand, his cup finished…

He moved towards some of the stuff in the back of the room, before facing her. "Keine's got her school now, too. You should probably talk with her, and see what she knows."

Sendai let her brows raise again. ' _She got her school? No shi~t! Good for her! I always thought she was just talkin' a big game, but-... damn!'_

"That's great…" Sendai poised herself to rise from the really tiny wooden chair-

 _Crack._ "Oh…!" The chair died beneath her. She ended up falling onto her bum...

...He winced. "That was five hundred yen."

Caught off-guard, she giggled plainly from her new seat. "Hehe- heh… great chair."

Springing back up, she quickly stretched, her reinforced cloth apron waving as she raised her arms, inadvertently compressing her breasts. " _Nnn~..."_

' _I should sleep for real…'_

Rinnosuke was staring away. "...Nice. Wh- anyway, it's rather late, isn't it…?"

"If you don't have two beds, you're using the floor." She made the conditions quite clear.

"You'd be surprised to learn there's a guest bedroom in the attic." He smirked at her in turn, folding his arms again.

' _Ooo. Kourin's not quite as teasable as he used to be.'_

"I think I'll look into that…" She gave him a smile and a nod, lowering her arms again. "It's good to see you again, Kourin."

"...You too." He seemed to relax against the counter, as she stepped towards the door out.

...She paused, looking out into the main room where the broken armor still laid. "Where the hell's the attic, by the way."

"Here- let me…" He moves to help show her. "It's a panel on the ceiling…"

"Ah, nice."

 _Crea~k._ Between the back and main room, a string hoisted to the wall was able to be pulled; and from this, Rinnosuke was able to bring down a small, rickety staircase…

"Be _gentle_ with it." He advised her. "It's about as durable as that chair you saw back there."

' _Oh, boy…'_ She apprehensively began to scale the attic stairs…

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

It was cozy.

A small bulb lit up the shop's top from a tiny, decorative window in the attic's front wall, which also shone into the attic itself more than it did out. ' _No one seems scared of lighting lights outside the village anymore. It's weird.'_

The tiny bed creaked beneath her as she relaxed. The attic was cool, but she didn't mind. ' _It's still fall, huh. Wait- yeah. Happened to wake up in the same season, and everything. At least I'll get to see the leaves turn.'_ She remembered thinking it _wasn't_ fall when she died, for some reason.

' _The trees, for some reason, always seem the darkest at night, on this month.'_

The thin covers were enough for her as she curled onto her side in the pseudo-candlelit attic. ' _One of those… LED bulbs, I think? It's nice…'_ She stared ahead at a weird, tiny, white light that made the space feel contained, and isolated.

It felt great. ' _So-... different.'_ She felt like she had time to herself, for the first time in what seemed like forever.

'... _Maybe I should be apprehensive about possessive spirits out this far… but, I think I'll be fine.'_

Sleep crept up onto her quickly, the day's events more than enough for her. ' _I don't want to think about all of this anymore. I thought I'd finally gotten a good hold on life...'_

She stared up at the bland ceiling of Kourindou's attic, as she turned.

' _I'm still not going to stop.'_ She felt vaguely apprehensive of the challenge ahead, but remained optimistic. ' _I can stop when I die... again. I thought I'd get rest when Reimu killed me… but she chose not to. I've also got no idea how the hell she fights, because that's some wild teleportation bullshit._

 _It shouldn't have even been a problem, for me. If I had the… sense and power I used to hold, I would've rivaled her, even with… teleporting, tengu-dashing, whatever she learned to do. It's like I've… softened, in the time I've been dead. Not by… a lot, but it's depressing.'_

Tomorrow, she would go to the village and see what she could learn. Tonight, however… she would relax. The time would come for her to step up once again, but for now, she would spend this evening alone in an attic, unknown to the land cast in shade.

Except for Rinnosuke; he knew she existed. ' _Not sure if that's a sobering thought or not.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

"Ninety-eight…"

Sendai was doing pushups in the Kourindou front lobby, while Rinnosuke made deft effort to only focus on the book held in his hands. "Ninety- _nine…_ "

" _O~ne hundred."_ She exhaled. "Good enough. For now..."

"I~ thought you were going to the village." He turned a page of his cookbook he'd pulled out for today's reading…

...Propping herself onto her legs, she grinned at him. "Not after a little training first. I'm weaker, now… probably because I spent… how long was I dead?"

He looked up at her. "...Reimu's eighteen now. She was… about four or five when you died."

' _Twelve years. Yikes.'_ She felt like she'd come out of a time capsule- especially considering yesterday, it was almost literally.

"...I should've told her I was sorry." Sendai knew the horror of growing up with no one in this land; and she'd doomed her daughter to the same fate. "That should've been the first thing…"

"She'd probably jump you as you are, right now." Rinnosuke considered the logistics of that idea… "I'm… I'll be honest, I don't know who'd win a fight like that. It'd be best for you to avoid it, for now."

' _...You're a little fuckin' late, Kourin.'_ Sendai gave him a lopsided grin.

"...What's with that look?" He noticed the sudden semi-mirth of hers… "I'm serious. Reimu's pretty powerful, now. She's even got sort of a reputation…"

"I visited the shrine." Sendai informed him plainly. "She kicked my ass and left me in a pile of trash."

He cringed. "Oh. Wow…"

"It'd be more even if I actually had my-... reflexes and shit back." Looking down at her arms-

 _Fwi- fwish!_ She punched forward twice again. "...It's so frustrating. I can see the movements, and I know what they _should_ feel like- but they _don't._ It's… _fuck._ "

...Rinnosuke looked back down at his book. "It would make sense. But, I don't suppose I can sympathize. I don't really... do a lot of fighting."

' _Probably for the best, the little shit you were…'_ Sendai's lips curled into a smile.

Stalking up to him, she rose a brow. "Oh, really? I thought you said something like 'someday we're gonna make the village better, with our fists and claws'?"

...He exhaled at her. "Ho~w do you still remember that."

"For me it was a freaking week ago. Maybe two or three." She grinned wider. "For you, it was twelve or fifteen years and a few weeks ago."

' _...Reimu was five when I died. How old is she- nevermind, Kourin said she was eighteen.'_

...After letting out a brief shudder, he retreated into his book. "Young me was… a very interesting individual."

"You sure as hell mellowed out, though." Looking around the shop, Sendai let the conversation taper off… "I thought you'd still be living in a little camp, catchin' youkai boars and eating them 'cause you _could_."

He snorted. "Yes, well… it sort of… happened."

"Aw…" Sendai began to grin at him. "Remember, three weeks ago? When Keine goaded you into fighting me, 'cause you really wanted to have sex with me?"

"Wh- _aa…_ " Rinnosuke looked _winded._ "Of-... course you remember that. And I _still_ kick myself for leaving you with _that kind of_ parting memory."

"Not like it was anything new. Not like you knew when I'd die, either." Sendai raised a brow… "Where _were_ you thinking of, anyway? It had to have been the breasts, right?"

He folded his arms.

"Alright, alright, I'm joking." She casually waved off the idea. "Still, it's fine."

...She stepped up to the pile of stuff, looking it over. ' _Kourin's really got a lot of crap.'_

She looked back at him. "Sorry."

He rose a brow, still looking in his book.

"For dying." She clarified.

...He looked up at her vainly. "I… don't think that's something you have to apologize for, personally. It's… understandable?"

Flashing a momentary grin, she continued. "I guess _not._ Considering I don't even remember, it was probably something really fucking dumb." She stared down at the counter, letting her smile fall. "Yeah."

Gaining a smug expression, he nodded at his book, then looked up at her. "Perhaps. Well-... I don't know much about how you died, but… it was weird. I can't say much more about it, personally. Marcus knows more. Perhaps Hieda no Akyuu, as well."

' _Marcus, huh.'_ Sendai considered this… ' _Also- shit, Akyuu's probably a teen or adult, now. She was just born a couple days ago, and I thought it was super cute. That's gonna be an experience.'_

"Well. This sounds like a plan." With a nod, Sendai turned away. "Oh- hey. Before I go~..." Pivoting back to him, she gave him a warm smile. "You wouldn't happen to have any~ _potions_ now, would you?"

...His gaze drifted up to the ceiling. "...For _you_ , I might."

 _Obtained two Potions._

-x- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -x-

The walk to the village was peaceful. Calm, pleasant sunlight shined down on Sendai as she marched towards the village gate…

It was taller than she remembered it, walls now beset with stone rather than wood. ' _Um… that's new. Fifteen years never made that big of a difference before.'_

The large, iron bar-clad gate stood between her and the village interior once she'd closed the sunbaked distance towards it.

A purple-haired samurai girl seemed to be sitting on a plain wooden chair before the gate, her legs crossed and eyes closed. ' _...Looks like today's guard. Not just anybody, either.'_

Sendai stared at her expectantly once she arrived.

...After enough staring, the woman finally spoke. "Fake maiden. I won't allow you inside."

' _Wow. I can just jump the outer walls, honestly, but this was the fastest I've ever been denied.'_

Sendai propped an arm on her own hip… "Why not?"

"That attire." She looked Sendai over… "You're pretending to be Hakurei. I have enough qualms with the _actual_ maiden, and the guard's lust pets. We don't need posers like you."

"You've got it wrong." Sendai decided to lead her along... "Our outfits just _look_ similar. I get that all the time."

' _She doesn't like Reimu? Why? Also, who does she mean by 'the guard's lust pets'?'_

The samurai girl narrowed her eyes and scanned Sendai once again. "...Well, then. What kind of youkai are you? If you're not them, and you're not Reimu, you should be _nobody._ "

"Beast." Sendai responded bluntly.

"...You don't look very beastly." The samurai girl was equally blunt.

"Says you." Getting impatient, Sendai asserted herself. "Look- I have things I need to be doing."

"As do I."

Standing from her sentry seat before the gate, the woman brought up her sheathed katana. "I need to keep annoying youkai _out_ of the village. It's simply your misfortune to find someone as dedicated as I, today."

-+- _Vs. Human Village Youkai Hunter, Meira_ -+-

 _Cra- crack._ Cracking her neck and knuckles, Sendai took a few steps back from her opponent as she got into her memorized combat stance…

The purple-haired woman smiled as she readied up, raising her sheathed katana. "You should make for good training."

' _Hah…'_ Sendai smiled back at her. ' _I was thinking the same thing, too…'_

"I'm pretty sure it's against regulation to challenge passive-type youkai." Sendai announced back to her. "Not that there are many like that."

' _The passive-type regulation was pretty ass-backwards to begin with. It was mostly to save face with the most powerful youkai who refused to start shit near the village. Like, Kazami…'_

"Then, you weren't a passive-type." Regardless of certainty, the woman countered her point. "Stop making excuses, and accept your fate."

' _Out for blood, huh. I can relate.'_

...As the two faded into silence, they watched one another's movements. The samurai girl held her blade up neutrally, ready for her opponent.

' _I could use my items… but I'd rather save my mana for now. Considering how limited it might have become. She's using her sheathe anyway, so I don't have to be very careful.'_

Instantly, Sendai powered towards her in the day's sunlight, arms raised as she jogged, as if to simply bulldoze into her.

 _Fwish- woosh!_ " _Hah!"_ The purple-haired woman slammed her sheathe down, but Sendai had jerked her body to the side as she did.

' _At the last moment!'_ Sendai began to smile, disbelieving of her own agility. ' _...That was a pitiful fuckin' exchange, but I still feel proud about that!'_

 _Fwi- Clack!_ Swinging it up from the ground, the girl slapped the blunt sheathe against Sendai's side.

She wasn't very physically strong, though. The blow didn't really do much to Sendai, so she just brought up a leg and kicked.

 _Thunk!_ " _Uuh…!"_ Taking it to the gut, the samurai girl immediately doubled back in pain…

 _Whap!_ Hooking her right arm forward like lightning, Sendai hooked it simply into the woman's gut.

She began to right herself again, but Sendai brought her right arm back for another attack.

 _WHUNK!_ Plowing it forward, she connected it with the girl's cheek.

" _Nn- uu…"_ The blow was disorienting, making the woman stagger back, almost as if to fall over, but she caught herself at the last minute-

 _WHACK!_ Immediately, Sendai followed up with a left thrusting hook of her arm, right into her gut.

No longer having any of it, the samurai managed through the pain and refused to let it knock her around. " _Ha- haa~h…!"_ Finally in a position to act after recovering, she began to bring up her sword, as if to cleave it down. " _Know your_ pl- _place-_ ngh..."

Reaching forward, Sendai picked her up and lifted her by the collar-esque hem of her red-white kimono. It was only barely, the girl's feet still on the ground, as Sendai lead her towards the village gate with tugs and force…

' _I have an idea…'_ Sendai looked the hard, metal bars of the gate over and knew opportunity when she saw it.

" _Le-_ let go…!" Struggling back, the girl brought her arms up to fight Sendai's one-

' _Now!'_ Adrenaline flared through Sendai.

 _WHAM!_ She threw her arm forward, throwing the girl face-first into the village gate.

 _Cla- clack!_ The girl's body rammed against it, metal bars shuddering at the impact of her face and limbs.

Sliding down onto her knees to part and recover from the gate, the girl-

 _WHA- CRA~CK…_ Sendai thrust a knee forward, connecting against the back of the girl's head, crushing it into the square iron bar before her.

" _Kh- hh~..."_ Eyes low, teary, blood exploding from her nose, the samurai girl let herself limply fall away from the gate when it was all done…

 _Obtained 1120 Yen._

 _Sendai learned Terrain Essence._

Some moments later, Sendai was standing before the gate with a casually impatient look again.

"So- shorry…" Meira- as Sendai eventually learned- now had her face done up in a big bandage. "I- ih… I'll leh' you in…"

' _Now I feel a little guilty…'_ Sendai looked down at the thousand or so yen she'd shaken off of her as compensation. ' _She was hardly carrying anything. Still, this could have gone a lot worse if she'd attacked a vampire or something. Let this be a lesson to her.'_

"If I wasn't who I was, you probably would've done alright." Sendai spoke to her plainly… "Still, if you were to ever fight a youkai way over your level… I think the next thing you should work on is attacks you can easily recover out of."

 _Cra- cra- cra- crank._ As she reeled the gate open easily, Meira looked back at her through red, moist eyes. "Wh- whah d' you mean…?"

"Even when I was just slapping you with girly punches, I had myself in a position to get out of the way if you recovered." Sendai informed and instructed her. "Your… one blow, while not able to do a lot to me, left you wide open to counter-attacks. And, with a blade, jabbing just works better, even if it's sort of dishonest while sheathed."

' _I'm not into swords, but that's what I see as the bare truth of it. You wanna do damage with it, not play pretend sword fighting…'_

 _Cra- crunk._ The gate was now fully open…

"Ohk- anh…" Meira took a moment to breathe, and expel blood from her nose. "S'ophen."

"Are you going to be okay?" Sendai didn't want to leave her here just like this…

"I- I ghot… some potions." Meira dismissed her hospitality... "I'll 'member whah yoh said."

With this, Sendai turned her gaze to the human village ahead. The sun glazed the now stone-accented road, extending into the square which was visible just ahead. Houses lined either side of the road.

Moving through the tall, stone and wood gate, Sendai took in this visual. ' _This is…'_

-+- x -+-

 _New Human Village_

-+- x -+-

Leaving the gate and its protector behind, Sendai proceeded into the village walls.

' _This is very different!'_

As opposed to the crappy huts and dirt roadwork that she'd seen prior, the village was now outfitted with at least two story, oriental buildings lining every road. While they still weren't the prettiest structures, by comparison to her expectations, the village now seemed to be a huge fortress. ' _Most of them even have slanted roofs, like the shrine!'_

The human villagers were more well off than she'd remembered, too. Everyone had not only brown-shaded clothes, but rich maroons, crimsons, navy blues and deep greens. The women looked tidy, and the common man either tidy or fit for work. ' _This is… this is something.'_

Proceeding down the village road, she moved towards the town square. Her sandals clicked against the worn but well-paved cobblestone road beneath her, the noise drowned out by the hustle and bustle of the village populace.

"Who is that?"

"Don't look at her for too long. She can tell."

"Doppelganger…"

"Pft-... how can you even tell a _doppelganger_ from a _project girl_ anymore?"

"Damn. She's… ho~t!"

From around her, the villagers began chattering at her abnormal appearance. ' _Some things never change.'_

Once she reached the village's midst, she gazed at the big fountain built there. ' _Wo~w…'_

Upon shuffling up to it, she gazed into the shimmering, flowing water inside, and felt the urge to get something to drink. ' _That's beautiful. About time this place didn't look like a pile of shit in the middle of nowhere. Now, it's… overcrowded, and still in the middle of nowhere, but it's at least pretty.'_

In the village's midst, there were stalls circling the round shape of the 'square'. Below her, Sendai saw a large, strange and perhaps superficially decorative symbol ingrained into the stone pad beneath. ' _...Well. This is something, alright.'_

' _Should I bother with a drink vendor, or should I just go somewhere? I'm sure Marcus's will have some water. Where would he be shored up today, though…? Last I remembered, he actually got his own kid. Never saw much of him on jobs or raids after that, and for good reason, really. I wish I could spend more time with-... Reimu.'_

The thought was almost comical now, as she stood thoughtful in the square, still gazing into the fountain. ' _Well, guess that wish is granted. Technically. Now I just gotta find a way to convince her I'm not some evil body-snatching hooligan.'_

' _Kourin said Keine got her school… so, maybe I can run around looking for that.'_

With this idea in mind, Sendai pushed her way past some unassuming villagers to make her way deeper into the village. ' _Let's find it…'_

The only question was where to begin. ' _Everything's so crowded. Where the hell would I…'_ She figured it was time to stop some people. ' _The people would know this place better than me, now.'_

"Hey." She stopped a maroon-kimono'd gentleman she'd began to pass on the western edge of the square. "Excuse me. Do you know where I could find the school…?"

...The middle-aged man turned back to her. "Why do you want to know?" Looking her up and down, he seemed immediately suspicious.

"I want to talk to Keine." Sendai figured she was either a teacher, or head of it. Nor did she know if there was more than _one_ school at this rate, but she couldn't imagine it being necessary.

"Why?" The flat-haired, vain man frowned at her. "I can't help you."

...Rolling her eyes, Sendai left him be as he stomped off. ' _Distrusting sacks of shit. Let's try again...'_

Moving up the road, Sendai distanced herself from the bustle and hustle of the square itself, and tried to see if someone on the road would be more kind.

"Excuse me." She approached a fair-haired, stout woman. "I'm looking for the school."

She paused, looking Sendai over, before furrowing her brows. "Okay?"

Her response quickly became just staring, so Sendai got her attention again. "...Could you tell me where it is?"

"Sorry- I- I got to go…" The woman turned away and lightly jogged off.

' _Just as unhelpful as always, too.'_ Sendai folded her arms… ' _Yeah, fuck it. Let's just run around for a few hours. Village ain't that big anyway…'_

Her first guess was to jog down the west main street. The village had four roads; which, were more like two that intersected at the square. There were no other roads, except those which deviated midway down each; of such kind, there were only two, on the north and south roads.

As far as Sendai could remember, anyway. ' _This place is too small.'_

 _Woo~sh._ A particularly rowdy gust of wind billowed through her clothes. ' _Ooo~. Nice…'_

' _It really is a gorgeous day today, too. Can't wait to get out of this heat pit of a village, and maybe run around in the woods a little.'_ It may've been the onset of winter, but she still felt hot just wondering the densely populated village center…

Very quickly, she'd powerwalked into the midst of the west road.

To her right, she saw a large, red brick wall set apart by a large sliding gate in the midst. ' _Woah. This used to be a grasslot, too. One of the few in the village. Now someone put crap here...'_

Coming up to the big gate, she looked up at the big structure inside. ' _It's kinda ugly looking, too. Architecture looks older than the other buildings, and it's just bricks and stones. Where the fuck'd this come from…?'_

...After she'd stared at the structure long enough, she considered committing crime. ' _I might wanna investigate just what the hell-'_

"Hey."

After she'd stared the sunny building over long enough, someone came up and got her attention…

It was a village guardsman. He was different than she remembered; clad in metal armor that properly covered his whole body. A blue plate made the chestpiece distinct. Yet, he had no helmet.

' _They updated the armor! It's not shitty anymore!'_ Sendai took a step back in surprise.

"Who're you?" The guard demanded of her.

'... _Oh, great. Don't tell me...'_

"A visitor." Sendai was discreet with her greeting. "I'm just looking for Keine."

"Kamishirasawa? Why's that?" The short-haired man leaned back… "Have you got business with her?"

"Old friend of mine." Sendai told truthfully.

...He shrugged. "She's in the school behind you. Classes are in session, however. I'd visit later in the day."

' _...That's the school!?'_ The realization washed over Sendai. ' _Oh!'_

"I think... I'll do that…" Sendai decided. "Thank you. First person here to actually _help_ me."

He gave her a smile and a nod. "...Well. Take care, then!"

"Yeah." She gave him a plain wave as she moved to depart herself.

' _Villagers are so draining to interact with. Anyway…'_

She stared up at the full, blue sky. ' _What the hell do I do until then?'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

' _So much has changed. It's like I time traveled. Well-... I guess I did, technically.'_

Walking down the village roads, Sendai killed time by refamiliarizing herself with the village road network. ' _Layout's really similar. I might as well just find a diner or something and hook myself up in the meantime.'_

She had seventeen hundred yen, give or take. ' _Should be enough for a small meal. Why the hell wasn't I carrying money when I died…'_

Pocketing the money, she moved further onto the farm-accented road she'd traversed onto.

Unlike what she remembered, it seemed a lot of the smaller properties now worked together as larger land entities. ' _Entirely justified, since two hundred feet wide farms were just stupid. Now they're… six hundred feet wide farms. Not a whole lot better, but you make due I guess.'_

The road was rather empty, this one being barely stone-clad at all despite its otherwise prominent role.

' _It's nice and cool, over here.'_

...As she proceeded down the dirt trail, cluttered houses to her right and depressingly tiny farms to her left, she valued how little people walked on this road. ' _Peaceful, too.'_

...Passing some houses, she gazed into a dirty alley between the two. ' _Bet this village's alleys are still the scum of the earth. It seems like crime's always happening in them half the time.'_

She took another deep breath, carefree. ' _This weather's perfect. I guess the village isn't so bad to walk around in, if you stick to the outside of it. Less dirt and debris shitting up the place, so it's actually… a little cozy.'_

"Hahaha~!"

Coming out from around a nearby alley, three village boys were laughing with one another. They looked to be about young adult age, hands in their pockets as they meandered out, sticking to the barren, barely grass-clad dirt bank to the right. It was off the path, and nearest the houses.

"Them fuckin' _maroon kimonos!"_ A black-haired boy was full of mirth, gesturing to his friend's kimono. "God _damn!"_

" _Maroon_ kimonos…" The maroon-clad boy just shook his head. "This is _dumb!"_

The third boy clapped his hands together. "Fu~ckin' _maroon!_ Fuckin' retarded, man... _"_

' _No idea what the hell they're talking about.'_ Giving them a vague smile, she ignored them and continued on her way.

' _I should see if that place on north main still exists. I could go fo~r… well, I guess I'll see what they've got. Maybe some fruit…'_

" _He~y!"_

She turned her head, one of the black-haired young men trotting onto the path before her. "Hey! How's it goin'!?"

"...Good." She stared at him, unimpressed.

"...I just wanted to say…" Exhaling, he stopped before her, smiling widely. "Y'know- you're pretty beautiful!" As he said this, he looked her up and down, his eyes drawn to a certain central region.

"...You're a few decades too young." Sendai dismissed him plainly. "Go hit on a _girl._ You're not ready for women yet."

"Oo~h, damn…!"

Behind her, one of his blonde-haired companions held a hand to his own mouth. "Da~mn!"

"Dude- Rai, she _killed_ your ass!" The other black-haired guy jeered behind her, too. "Du~de…"

…'Rai' was now blushing, glaring her down. "What- hold on, what the hell's that supposed to mean…?"

"It means I'm not interested." Sendai's voice was monotone. "Go away."

"Pfto- hoho~h! Ooo~!" The blonde young man reeled over. "She shut you _do~wn!"_

...As Sendai moved to pass him plainly, he reached out and grabbed onto her arm.

' _What the fuck.'_ She turned to him expectantly.

He held onto the arm with both of his. "Cutie. You know who the _fuck_ you're talkin' to?"

"Pfthah- dude, Rai chill!" The blonde guy stepped up… "Chill, Rai…!"

"Oh shit- you sure 'bout this, Ramen…!?" Coming up close to them, the other black-haired young man brought his arms up. "Are- are we really gettin' here!?"

Rai looked back at them, then at Sendai. "You're the prettiest damn woman I've ever laid eyes on."

"You need to get out more…" Sendai gave him an awkward smile.

He grit his teeth. "Come _on._ Come with us. Let's have sex."

Sendai's smile shifted, but was still awkward. "Are you a psychopath?"

The guys behind him seemed to be getting ready, circling around her. Yet, she could tell they were uncertain.

If not by their body language, by their not-so-hushed whispers. "Kuni- you sure we can do this…? If this gets out man- we're fucked."

The blonde shook his head back at the black-haired guy. "I dunno- I trust Rai, man. We get into some shit I know, but-... I dunno man- we'll be nice to her. _Hey._ "

Beaming, Rai smiled back at them. "Shut the fuck _u~p,_ boys. I struck a _good deal_ \- and any bitch in a _shrine maiden_ outfit's ours."

Stepping up to them, the blonde guy held a hand out to Sendai. "Well…! Then- we'll buy ya dinner and treat ya, if you fuck us."

Rai groaned at him. "Ugh-... hell- dude, no. We could keep her in an _alley,_ even! I'll tell you 'bout it later!"

' _What in the fuck'_ Sendai stared at him vainly. ' _They're pent up as hell. Keep me in an alley? Are things really that fucked up, now…!?'_

They were all visibly getting eager, as she wasn't immediately rebuking them verbally.

Rai rose a hand, moving it for her full chest. "In- in fact… if you just-"

 _Pap._

Sendai's hand locked around his wrist, stopping it.

-+- _Vs. Human Villager Youths_ -+-

After she'd pushed him back, Rai ominously trotted back towards her. "I- I want _you._ I'm not gonna let you get away."

 _Crack. Crack._ Sendai cracked her neck, then her knuckles. ' _If this is how they want it to be. You'd think looking like a Hakurei would be enough. What was that about shrine maidens? …Or they're just that horny.'_

Seeing her take an offensive stance, Rai brought up his own arms. Kuni- the blonde one- and the other yet-to-be-named black-haired youth stuck where they were, arms up with no real ambition or force…

' _They look like they're made of glass.'_ Sendai didn't really figure this would be a challenge…

"I'll show you, just how much I want you…!" Running towards Sendai, Rai began to spread his arms out. "Be mine!"

Leaping towards her, he tried to tackle her, his arms wrapping around her sides as he pulled himself close. ' _Aa-'_

 _Papf._ ' _What…!?'_ She tensed up as he hugged on against her will.

"Hehe! Go- got you…" Looking happy, he squeezed her form with his stick-like arms, and leaned in to try and kiss her. She was a few heads taller than she was, so his face pressed into her cloth apron instead.

' _Disgusting…'_ Sendai felt gross, both from how easily she was sprang onto, and his perversion.

' _Actually… this would be a great time to grapple back.'_ She recalled how much of an opportunity this sort of posture was. ' _Not like he can do anything here, either.'_

In this moment, Sendai slid her arm up between their torsos, grabbing onto the collar of the shirt beneath the boy's kimono.

"Hn~h!" Grunting, Sendai bent her legs as she joined another hand at his collar, pulling with great natural force-

 _Woosh._ She lugged the boy over her shoulder entirely.

His eyes went wide. Her motion forced him to flip forward, rolling over her back.

 _Wham!_ He landed on his own back, behind her. " _Uhu~..."_ His limbs flopped down with him, losing drive for the moment…

' _There.'_ Sendai smiled down at the fallen youth. He wasn't quite a boy, but not quite a man. ' _The fight should just be over, now. Really.'_

Kuni's jaw dropped. "Hoholy _shit!"_

Double-taking, the other black-haired boy seemed to step back. "Damn…"

Sendai stepped back to the side from the three, eyes on Rai as he moved to get back up… ' _Let's be polite to him for now, I guess. I don't-... really want to take advantage of that, for some reason. It's just not coming to me… what to do here. Well- I could've, hmm… the fight should be over after that, regardless.'_

"Ok- okay…" Getting back onto his legs, Rai brought his arms up again. "I'll tire you out first. The- then… you'll have no choice!"

' _...I- I just threw you over my shoulder, and you're still not done yet?'_ She was reminded of Rinnosuke, a little… ' _Except, he had the power to back his shit up, at least.'_

"That's rape." Sendai droned plainly. "...You know that, right?"

Her statement made him falter, looking away. "...Ye- _yes,_ I know that!" He snapped his gaze back towards her. "I mean-... would- wouldn't it be so _hot?_ Sittin' down under me- and…" As he blushed harder, he stopped speaking.

' _...Oh.'_ She gave him a vague look. ' _Are you serious? What fucking trash.'_

"He- hey…" Rai beckoned for her attention, holding up a pill. "If you take this, too-... you won't be so mad…"

' _What the fuck.'_ She eyed the pink pill with new worry. _'Are you-... wow. I think I'm worried about the village, now.'_

" _Rai-_ dude- I'll hold her in place!" Since she was distracted, Sendai hadn't noticed the other black-haired teen, who had stalked up behind her.

' _Wh- ah…!'_ Sendai felt him slide his arms under hers, and raise them, binding her in place. ' _Fuck! Are you kidding me…!? Wait…'_ She tested his strength, by moving her own arms. ' _Huh.'_

Rai's face was flushed as he came up to her, now that her arms were 'bound'. "Tha- thank you! Now…!" Bringing his hands up, he held out the pill. "Take this and _shut up!"_

 _Wham!_ As he neared, Sendai brought her leg up and thrust it forward, kicking while bound. She'd accidentally brought the guy behind her along a little, too.

" _Ugh…!"_ The sandal-clad foot's impact against his gut sent him onto his ass. " _Fu~ck…"_

The pill had landed aside him. Noticing it was out of his hands, his emotions flared. " _Ugh-_ bitch…! You- you know how much that… costs?"

 _Pap!_ Sendai'd freed her arm with one tug, and delivered an elbow to the face of the guy behind her. "Ngh…" He held his face where she struck, stepping back and letting go.

' _Right. Elbowing requires your feet to be firmly on the ground. Hand-to-hand is all about momentum and force…'_

"Stop _fucking_ with them!" Kuni ran at her, throwing his entire body into action. As he got near, he began to skid on his own sandals, moving to elbow her with his entire weight.

 _Fwish._ Sendai jerked her own body to slide to the side of his. ' _Fighting at least makes me feel alive again. I could've just run away from these guys, but… seriously, what the fuck. I've also never seen a pink pill quite like that before. New drug?'_

"Woah- woa~h!" Kuni almost fell over in her absence, expecting to hit her. As he righted himself, he turned towards her. "The hell…"

' _Well… let's get this over with.'_

Sendai ran towards Kuni, and his eyes began to widen, as she brushed his blond hair back.

He threw a jab-

 _Thunk!_ It came short of Sendai, and she hooked a bodyweight-addled arm into his stomach. " _Ouh-"_

 _Whack!_ She rammed her other arm into his face, then. ' _Hehe!'_ She felt sheer pleasure from the simplicity, and the direct force she exerted...

Wincing and recoiling, his lean form jolting like jello to the blows, he turned to her, bringing his arms up to stop her from striking his stomach.

 _Whap!_ One more good, weighted hook from her hit his face, and he reeled from the blow. " _Nghk. Nrgh-"_

To counterattack from all of the oncoming pain, he tried to lash forward at her, throwing his entire body forward.

 _Wham…!_ Sendai kicked high, and her leg met his face. " _Nhk…!"_ Eyes teary, he began to stumble back, the hit entirely reversing his momentum.

' _Now!'_ Sendai felt a rush, beaming. She bounded off of her other leg mid-kick, her body's entire momentum roaring forward, unable to be stopped.

 _WHACRACK!_ She threw everything into an overhead thrust, which met his chest with the greatest possible force, addled by both gravity and raw momentum. " _Huua~gh!"_

 _THUD!_ The blow's power made him do a backflip, landing on his shoulders. The momentum slowly pulled his legs forward, and then he snapped onto his stomach. " _Ua- aa- ah…"_

"He- hehe!" Sendai giggled to herself like a psychopath.

' _Wow!'_ She beamed down at her own arms. ' _Get fucked!'_

Slowly, the rush from her combo died down. '... _My limbs are still just, really slow. They only work well here, because villagers… well, they suck. Especially these kids.'_

Rai ran up to her while she was staring down at him, and grabbed onto her shoulders. "Look. I- I'll buy you anything you want- _please_ , just… give me a chance. I- I know some guys who'd pay a lot for you, too... _"_

 _Pap._ Sendai pushed him away plainly. ' _Haho~ly shit. This kid doesn't know when to quit.'_

" _Ra~h!"_ Bringing both arms up, the other black haired man was back up agian. He ran at her, and attempted to hammer these arms down on her-

 _Pahp!_ The arms came down on Sendai's body like pillows. He stumbled back after connecting with her shoulder, as if not expecting landing the blow at all. ' _Dumb boy.'_ She felt somewhat indignant about getting hit at all.

 _Fwish!_ Suddenly sliding back away from them with her whole body, Sendai sprinted up to a rustic, wooden chair on the edge of the path.

She had an idea. ' _Yeah- actually, I did a hell of a lot of this, back in the day! Random shit is always the best to fight with.'_

 _Clack._ Slapping her arms around the top of the plain chair, she lifted it over her shoulder, and began to run back towards them. ' _Alright- time to teach 'em some discipline!'_

The black-haired boy looked between her and Rai, and waved at them. "Alright- I'm _sorry,_ Rai, but I didn't fuckin' come here for this shit! See ya!"

 _Cli- cli- click!_ Tossing yen bills and coins behind himself, the boy began to sprint off.

" _Motherfucker!"_ Rai turned back to him and yelled as he left. "We could've had a- a fucking _love doll!"_

...Frowning, he flicked his gaze back to Sendai.

 _WHAKRACK!_ Sendai smashed the chair down on his head, and it shattered into parts.

" _Wugh…!?"_ He didn't even fall over, his arms held out in shock as his body hung in a standing position, legs shaky and giving away-

 _Wham- Wham!_ Sendai thrust into his stomach twice, alternating fists and keeping him standing-

 _Wham- Wham!_ Again, she thrust twice, the boy stumbling back in mind-numbing agony as she kept him up-

 _Wham- Wham!_ She took out her day's frustrations on his stomach, turning it to mush with two more thrusting jabs-

 _Wham- Wham!_ Rai was beginning to turn to jello from her fists, crumpling, unable to keep withstanding the impacts. She noticed this, and-

 _WHAM!_ -hooked his jaw with her left arm to finish the combo. Blood gloriously splattered into the air from his nose and mouth, face bleeding openly. " _Uh- uunh… hu~..."_

She watched him fall away, his expression vacant and teary. ' _He- hehe. That oughta learn ya, shithead.'_

 _Obtained 5330 Yen._

Rai was still on the floor, looking up at her mourningly. His features had stopped bleeding, whatever open wounds there were beginning to clot. "Ih- I'hm shorry…"

Kuni had an arm on his face, and on his stomach. "Look- eeh… I- I can't- I can't begin to apologize enough, I- I'm _really_ sorry… so please-..."

"I accept money and crap." Sendai held out a hand. "Gimme."

...While Kuni and Rai scrambled for whatever bills they had on hand, Sendai spoke down to them. "So what the hell was all of this? You always try to rape women who make you horny?"

"W- whell, nhoh…" Rai was almost unintelligible due to the damage to his nose.

"I- I was just- lookin' out for my buddies…" Kuni weakly gave an answer… "I mean- I wasn't sure if I wanted to, like, uh…"

"Uh huh." Regardless of his intents, he was willing to fight her over them. "Find better friends. You're lucky I didn't break that chair on _your_ head."

"Yeah- I _might._ What the hell, Rai…" Hurt in more ways than one, Kuni frowned at his friend.

 _Cli- click, clink…_ Bills and coins were deposited into Sendai's palm.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Sendai chugged her glass of milk. "Mmh…"

She'd just dusted a meal consisting of another steak, rice, water, and now she was having the milk as an afterthought. ' _Cost me about… two and a half grand yen as a whole. Heart goes out to those stupid kids, 'cause this was good…'_

She'd found the cafe on north-main she was thinking of. It was a quaint little place, of teal interior design. ' _Has a second floor now, which I guess is for the people to live in or store stuff. Menu's a lot bigger now, too.'_

The atmosphere was slow, and the lighting was low. If she wasn't so active, she'd consider just lazing about for the rest of the evening. ' _Ever since I've been taking care of Reimu, I've had a lot less time to devote to being a fighter. Who knows what the fuck I'm gonna do now, though…'_

Her mind trailed to the recent events. ' _People've tried to jump me before, but that was the first time in awhile some young guys tried to rape me. First time it's happened that weirdly, too. Usually they bring knives, at least one mage, and act like real scumbags. That one kid just acted like a huge asshole, while the other two didn't wanna be there. I mean, still scumbags, but… totally unprepared for anything. Pretty much broke, too.'_

 _Click._ She set down her glass. ' _But, y'know, fuck it. Free money.'_

By this point, it was sunset, the evening setting in. ' _I should go see about that school, now. Should be open… or visiting hours, or however schools are supposed to work.'_

The cafe itself was small. Located right on north main street, it featured big booth-esque seats and open view out of a large window. The day's brightness had given way to a pale evening sky, the floaty blue above soon to fade out to the mystic shine of stars; a nightly occurrence in Gensokyo.

Sendai only paid the huge, empty sky a passing appreciative look. ' _Let's pay the tab and go…'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

The school's gate was open wide, now. Children seemed to pass freely to and from the school building, of various ages, sizes and appearances…

Sendai stood next to the sunset-baked gate like a child predator. ' _Where could Keine be…'_ Except, she was looking not for a child, but a teacher.

In efforts to not look like a child predator, as well as get a move on, Sendai began to move through the gate, towards the school's front. ' _Don't want anyone asking weird questions, again. I'll look suspicious if I just sit outside like a hawk…'_ She recalled the last guard that had come up to her...

Pressing forward towards the school's front, Sendai took in the few trees that stood within the village walls, planted on the school's front soil. ' _At least that looks nice. I'm not taking back what I thought about the architecture, even if this is Keine's place._ '

"Hey…"

Sendai stopped, when she heard a woman's voice. ' _Hmm…'_

Stationed on the little dirt path towards the school building, Sendai faced the voice.

A blue-dressed, pastel blue-haired woman stared her up and down. "...Are you here, for something?"

' _...She's Keine!'_ Sendai quickly recognized most if not all of her features, aside from the one's she'd gained with age… and her hat. ' _Wow! She really filled in!'_

"Hello?" Her face was perplexed as she looked Sendai over again… "Wait-... _no."_ Then, it began to fall. "A… _doppelganger?_ Or, imitator? Of you? Heavens…"

"I've been getting that a lot." Sendai gave her a grin.

"I'd imagine so." Stepping back from her, Keine glared. "I'll have to ask you to leave. If you'd come back without your disguise on, I'd see about talking with you. I'll have to ask you to book an appointment, too."

"You're awfully busy, huh…" Sendai folded her arms, looking her over plainly…

...At her posture, Keine turned, beginning to leave-

"Hey." Sendai called out to her.

...Looking annoyed, Keine stopped and gave her another glare. "I have nothing to say to you."

"You're pretty sassy, for someone who pissed on a window seal."

"Pft- hehehe…!" Kids passing nearby heard that fragment of the conversation, and were undoubtedly amused. There's no reason why they wouldn't be.

...Keine's glare became an expression of gaping awe and mixed distrust. "I- I don't… recall-"

"I guess it's not fair, since I put you up to that, an' got you drunk first." Tilting her head a little, Sendai recounted the event… "Kourin got a fuckin' kick out of it, though. Both of you guys _hated_ that old fuck of a guard captain. I did, too! I don't think I'd piss on his window, though-"

"That didn't happen." Keine declared. "You're just _lying,_ now."

Sendai rolled her eyes. "Pft. Oka~y. How about the time you tried to make Kourin have sex with me? Three weeks ago for me, we got drunk in the woods, and you _really_ wanted to see him rail these breasts." Smiling warmly, she slid her cloth apron aside, showing Keine her leotard-bound breasts. "You convinced him to fight me… on the promise that I'd _fuck him_ if I- er, he won."

"What the hell...!?" Defensively, Keine had her hands raised to adjust her weirdly rectangular hat… "Who-..."

"You _already know_." With a wide smile, Sendai stepped closer.

"That kind of thing doesn't happen!" Backing away again, Keine looked around, trying to see if anyone else of note was around… "You-... you _can't_ be back! That's- that isn't how it works!"

"That's what _I_ said." A grin crept further across Sendai's features… "Then the riverman shook his head an' gave me my two yen back."

...Keine furrowed her brows. "You mean river _woman_ , right- that doesn't matter, what-…!?"

' _Pff- riverwoman…?'_ Sendai thought she was joking.

...After Keine tugged on her tiny square hat for a few more moments, she crossed eyes with Sendai. "Come on. Let's… go inside."

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

The office was rather plain. One of the side walls offered a row of slidable glass windows, mounted towards the top third of it. A brown, wooden desk lined with papers awaited Keine herself, and there were shelves along the nearby walls.

' _I don't know where to place this room's atmosphere…'_ Sendai felt it somewhere between derelict and rustic, and on the cutting edge of what the latest knowledge repository should look like. ' _In other words, it's old and new at the same time.'_

"Take a seat. I'll get you a glass of water…" Keine began to make her way towards the water cooler in the back of her office.

Sendai considered declining her offer, as she made for the plush, armless chair before the desk, but let her get it anyway. ' _Can always do with more water.'_

 _Cli- click._ Placing the glasses down, Keine took her own seat at the desk, as Sendai sat down herself. ' _Wo- woah. This is squishy…'_ The chair was comfy.

"Sorry about the… accommodations." Keine looked around her dim, warmly lit office. "This was-... just so short notice. I didn't have-... well. I suppose you wouldn't care..."

"Pft." Sendai grinned at her. "You think I care? Hell- _you_ sound the most stressed, and I just got back from the longest fuckin' walk of my life." Observing the neurotic ways Keine double-checked herself, Sendai rose a brow.

Pausing at her friend's comment, Keine shook her head. "Oh, don't worry about _me."_ She began to smirk. "So… is there any _particular_ reason you're back, or did they kick you out of hell?"

' _Don't worry about you, huh…'_

Grinning, Sendai took a moment to shift gears… "I guess _so._ Woke up in a fuckin' field, like I just climbed out of a crypt. My muscles are like _jello_ right now."

"I'd take it a ' _fuckin'_ field is different from other fields." Bringing up her glass of water, Keine leaned back in her chair, breaking her upright posture. "But, anyway… what have you been doing now? I mean, now that you're um, alive again, and everything…"

"Not a lot _yet._ " Sendai admitted to her. She stared into her own cup of water. "Figured I'd run around and convince everyone I'm not a _psychopathic doppelganger_ , first off."

...Keine stared into her eyes. "Have you… met your daughter, yet?"

"Yeah. My jello bones, versus the latest Hakurei maiden." Sendai's grin became bitter. "She kicked my ass, and put me in a pile of trash."

"...You probably should've known better than to attack her _first thing."_ Keine chided her. "Because, _really_."

"Not like I planned on it at first, but y'know..." Sendai brought up her water. "I tried ta convince her otherwise, but… she's stubborn. My emotions demanded I see her again, too. I had to know she was okay."

' _She's like me. She also kicks serious ass, too. Next time I see her, I'm gonna be ready. Or, try to be, at least.'_

Sendai paused to drink, after completing her thought.

While she chugged from her water, Keine continued. "I still can't get over that, that you're just _back._ I mean- a lot of weird things _happen_... but I thought _mortality_ was a barrier we weren't going to cross."

 _Click._ Sendai mounted her empty cup on the table, and grinned. "Ha~h. ...I crossed it. In more ways than one!"

"Well- yea~h…" Smiling harder, Keine looked to be at a loss again.

...The pile of paper on her friend's desk made Sendai apprehensive of her line of work. ' _Looks like a show and a half. No wonder she's stressed.'_

"Is that everything you know?" Keine asked a question from the silence. "About your… circumstance."

"Pretty much." Sendai had offered all the info she could. "Woke up in a field. Felt like crap. And- before you ask, I _don't_ remember how I died."

' _Not that how I died would mean much to anyone. Some kind of-... fucked up poison, maybe. Or maybe like-... maybe my soul broke. Wait- that doesn't make any sense…'_

"... _Oh._ " Keine considered those circumstances with furrowed brows. "That's… peculiar."

...Taking in the setting sunlight outside the window, Sendai spoke. "I'm glad no one's cried over me. But, it still leaves me feeling a little weird…"

Keine gave her a softer face. "...What makes you say that? Of course we've cried over you. All of us."

...Sendai smiled back at her. "I meant _recently._ Of course... ten-fifteen or so years is a _pretty decent_ amount of time for wounds to heal. Just thought somebody would've gotten a little teary-eyed about it."

"Considering the way we approach problems in Gensokyo now, we're all very used to… degrees of self-abstraction." Keine informed her the best she could. "Skepticism."

...This also reminded Sendai of something else. "You guys are all _really_ mellow now! What happened to my hellraisers…?"

Keine snorted… "Well, _life_ does that to you, I'd suppose. We've matured."

"I guess." She'd have to wait and see. "Or you've been neutered."

"Oh, hush." Waving off her friend's objection, Keine sank into her big chair further…

After closing her eyes for a moment, she spoke. "I must say… it's been nice seeing you again."

' _This happened with me and Kourin, too. Speaking like we're friends who met after… being disconnected for years. It's like we're distant, and it makes sense as to why, but... it really sucks. We're giving eachother a hi, a bye, and really just… none of the spark's there. The kind of spark that can only be made by accident, or...'_

"Yeah." Sendai's answer came off vacantly. It was clear that she was in thought.

' _Not like this is the time to mope over that like a poet. I can't afford to let all this shit slow me down. Stuff'll right itself again… I think?'_ Considering revival wasn't a thing that could normally happen, she wasn't sure where to put her expectations...

Before actual silence could set onto them, Sendai refocused herself. "You know where Marcus and Michelle shacked up?"

Keine noticeably paused. "...I don't _think_ you were around when he got his newer shop," she figured, "it's on south main."

"Cool. Wonder how their kid's doin'..." Sendai began to grin in creeping dread at the idea of a third Kirisame…

' _I remember seein' her, that night.'_ Sendai thought of her conversation with the young Marisa Kirisame.

"...Mmm." Keine looked like she was between a rock and a hard place.

'... _Oh, good. Something bad happened, and I'm not gonna know what until I walk right into it. That's my favorite kind of discovery.'_ Judging by her friend's idle will to avoid the topic, she had a feeling something was wrong. ' _Maybe they just divorced or something. Can't imagine that, but… you never know.'_

' _Well, whatever. Let's not think about that right now.'_

...When things fell into awkward silence, Sendai decided to expand the topic in a new direction. "So, what's got you stressed?"

"It's nothing." Keine said the wrong thing to get herself out of this situation.

"Which means it's something. Spit it out." Sendai therefore manhandled her verbally.

"...Well, grading papers, for one thing, but…" After putting her afterthought first, Keine continued. "Running this school's also become rocky, recently. Don't get me wrong- I love doing this, and I'm fine with all the general obligations, but the village council has beco~me…" She trailed off.

Shifting side to side in her seat to reorient herself, she elaborated more. "It's hard keeping this school protected at all times. I do what I can, but I have to teach, too. The guard's divided thirty-seventy, the minority in favor of protecting this place."

"What the hell do they care?" Sendai thought that was odd. "You're told to defend a point, you defend it. Not everyone's a badass who can do whatever."

Keine responded to her observation. "Well, council members, in this newer era, have sort of… politicized me. Not that it matters to most people, because the council and the town are very disconnected when it comes down to it. Increased taxes, and tighter restrictions. Above that, I _know_ the captain of the guard is vying to dismay his men towards this place. There's no other reason so many would shirk and falter here, where otherwise they do alright jobs.

"And while intrusion is uncommon here, it's _happened._ Gang-types, dishonest humans and youkai alike… it makes me fear for my students. I don't want to run a school where I can't even trust the halls to be safe of _mortal danger_ on a given day." By the end of her venting, Keine looked tired… "With time, it's-... it's only gotten worse."

Now engaged in the problem herself, Sendai sat forward. "Well, fuck. What've you tried to get around it?"

' _Any guy not doin' his job as a guard deserves to get fired. I mean, he deserves an asskicking, but that's probably not kosher. Not like the village has a lot of people to spare for the guard to begin with, but fuck if we're gonna take some spineless assholes who can't even be guards right.'_

She tilted her head a little. ' _And… damn. Keine thought I was a stranger a few seconds ago! Now, here she is spilling her problems out. Guess I did a pretty damn good job convincin' her.'_

Riled up again, Keine continued in response to her question. "I try to have guards stationed… well, everywhere. But if something bad happens in the halls, the _three_ guards there happen to all be on break, taking a _piss,_ doing _something._

"Anyone outside just leaves. Rarely, someone keeps to their post and tries hard, sometimes two. And, you know what I've learned? I think some of them are being paid off. Outright _paid off._ Not that there's... _anything_ I can do about it, at this rate…"

Keine brushed her face with a hand. "S- so. I've set up scrying spells around the school, both to see what the guards _do_ , and to keep it safe…"

"You make it sound like you're being fucking sabotaged, here." Sendai's brows were furrowed. "That's not right."

"I think I _am._ And… I don't know what to do." Shifting uncomfortably, Keine let her face lower. "I've just been trying to do the best I can. My words hold less and less weight in the council, despite everything. It just, it all feels wrong. I'm... worried."

"How do you know they're getting paid off?" Sendai wanted to make sure, still trying to gauge Keine's new demeanor compared to fifteen years ago.

Keine looked her in the eyes. "I've asked the guards individually, I've sought… help, in strange places, talking to people I normally have no business with. And, when it comes to obtaining information in general, that's not a huge difficulty for me. Little in this village can stay hidden from me… if I can be incited to look in its direction. All of this said, it doesn't help me _act_ if something's just… beyond me."

' _Geez...'_ Sendai felt bad for her. ' _...And, where the hell's Reimu in this?'_

"Did you try talking with… Reimu, about this?" Sendai expected _some_ kind of result from this question.

"I don't think she would care." Keine shook her head. "It's not her problem, anyway. Neither is it yours."

' _Hold the fuck up…?'_

Frowning, Sendai contested her point. "She wouldn't care? Have you tried?"

"Well… yes." Keine nodded along with her own sentiment. "She's tried to do things before, but she's not in any position to be… bullying villagers. After enough red tape and considerations, it got too complicated for her to care, even if she agrees things are bad."

"Who cares about 'bullying villagers'...?" Sendai didn't see what was holding her back. "When I was around, any problem that reached me, went through _me_. Including dumb villager problems."

"Yes- when _you_ were around." Keine smiled. "...Aside from right now, you pretty much aren't. And- I don't _think_ I've seen you take on the _whole_ guard before."

Sendai was now on the edge of her seat. "I could fuckin' do it, if they made me. That's why they _didn't._ "

' _The whole guard at once would never be sent out, even against a significant threat. You have no men, that means you have no tactical power, period. You want at least a little left over if you get totally fucked by something; I've learned that from watching captains come and go._

' _It's also just dumb to send everyone after one thing to begin with. It's a huge risk that leaves everything way open, and I'm sure by the time you've organized like fifty to a hundred men, the_ one target _you were shooting for is long gone, or ready. Strength may be in numbers, but that's defensive thinking, and to apply that to an offense against smaller foes is-... bad.'_

...Once again, quiet beset the two. Keine twiddled her fingers a little, and superficially reached out and flipped some papers.

Sendai's gaze towards Keine was level and assured. "Well, Keine. I'm back in town now."

"I can't trouble you with something like this." Keine's own gaze was almost as reassured, all of a sudden. "If I wanted someone else to take the fall for this problem, I would've called on… one of my other friends. I'm just telling you about it, because, well..."

"Because you remember me as someone who got shit done." Sendai confidently smirked at her. "Your 'other friends' probably can't level the entire damn guard in a weekend… provided, I need to get practiced again, but I'm sure _these guys_ would be perfect."

...Keine sighed. "You're both just as _stubborn_. I'll tell you what… I don't want you to act on _my_ behalf…"

' _Are we just gonna keep talking around-'_

"But if you want to go around asking about things… of your _own_ merit…" Keine smiled at her. "Just, don't be obvious about it. I know _questions_ aren't really your thing, but I know you're also really smart when you put your mind to it."

...Folding her arms, Sendai considered these options. ' _Well. Inherently, there's nothing wrong with that, I guess. But before I go and do that…'_

"Where would I go first?" Sendai inquired…

"Ask around for the guard captain. You'll be able to network around from there." Keine closed her eyes… "I'm only egging you on _at all_ because, you do have a record for conflict resolution here. That, and, unlike that other friend of mine, I think the nature of your abilities and your demeanor… suits it, better."

"I can kick ass." Sendai began to grin back at her… "And, make stupid traps."

"Still…" Keine relaxed back into her chair, seemingly done with this discussion, yet still pressing on. "I just don't want you to… sully your name, or make people fear you, or… I don't know. I just want what's best for _everyone,_ even if it's not very easy or probable..."

Sendai gave her a fair, neutral stare.

"Let them fear me."

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

==x==

 _x /_ _Sendai Hakurei No Miko_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==x==

INVENTORY:

X _Sub-weapons:_

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Sendai doesn't like using this.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

X _Pocket items:_

(2x) Potion - A potion used to restore health. Basic, but the best choice for human users. Provides heavy health regeneration for some seconds.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Evolution - Heals the entire party, as if they were all given a potion. Equal to a Mega Potion, but consumes an item crash use to produce these effects.

Four thousand, six hundred ten Yen - Money used to purchase goods. Takes up no inventory space.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards...

(2 slots remaining)

X _Armor:_

x _Body:_ Hakurei Maiden Combat Outfit: DP - The shrine maiden outfit of the miko who came before. Made for a large bust, and bolsters both martial offense and blunt defense. Features a hakama bottom for easy leg movement, and a black leotard so the upper body can move easily.

x _Misc:_

Reinforced Apron - A royal red, reinforced cloth apron. Defends Sendai a little against incoming magic and blunt physical attacks.

Nothing.

Nothing.

x _Weapon:_ None.

==x==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

 _X Body_

Endured I - Sendai has forged her body through a long cycle of training and combat. Still, something feels wrong…

Powerful II - With constant, repeated motions and strength training, Sendai has built up her body to strike fear into the land's youkai. Hits now vaguely resemble her former strength.

Dark Affinity - Inherently, Sendai has channeled inner, dark feelings for most of her life. Grants 50% dark resistance.

Holy Rage - When in Fantasy Nature style, Sendai is 50% weak to holy sources of damage. Also confers 100% dark resistance and curse immunity.

 _X Soul_

Heated Spirit I - A fragment of the resolve she used to wield. Allows Sendai to use one item crash per fight.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Magic is ingrained into her body to allow her to replicate certain objects as long as she has enough mana. Becomes unusable when all item crashes are used up.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

Rebellious Soul - Able to channel her magic to her limbs, which takes on the form of dark enchantments. Reduces damage where she applies it, by strengthening the body itself.

Terrain Essence - Sendai can use the environment to deal devastating damage to her enemies. Executable off of walls, the ground, big objects; by lifting tables or chairs, etcetera. Boosts in power the less item crashes Sendai has used.

 _X Technique_

 _x Normal Style:_

Dark Power - Sendai accents her body with dark magic, reducing incoming damage and heightening outgoing damage when she wills it.

Quick Step - Sendai slides on her sandals to avoid an attack, jolting her muscles to evade. Pretty much muscle memory to her, at this point.

Youkai Buster Combo - A series of punches aided by quick kicks, which gives most foes little time to recover.

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Faze Step - Lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward some distance. Makes her highly knockback resistant while it executes.

==x==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

and now here's some of this dude

key differences being how fights are done now, and we're getting… the first BIG DEVIATION dude

\+ village is different and better, for some reason

\+ but it's also shitty in the same governmenty ways that's never gonna change

\+ maybe

\+ keine talk! we also don't fight her anymore because she's just that powerful and while it's technically possible and easy depending on execution we just _d o n ' t _ _ t o_

\+ underscores were necessary in that last sentence because ff net eats spaces for breakfast; if that sentence is still gone please be angry at ff net

\+ that and if we did the whole "no danmaku because fighty time" thing it'd be over rather quickly

\+ keine's the prim and proper type to use danmaku no matter what though

since i'm abusing the bulleted points for nothing important i'm just gonna stop using them XD

also yeah village tension; if you were looking for the end-plot from the other sendai fic _JUST HOLD YER HORSES SON_ because we're getting there

sendai's going to do all the living she couldn't do in that fic in this fic

interactions are also less depthlessly RPG-y because rigid fight placement worries don't exist anymore

aka if i want just a bunch of conversations for one chapter i can do that now XD

also we're keeping our assholes away from too many named touhou battles unless they're quick fights because _we all know how a properly spaced out named touhou fight goes_

spend 10k words fighting the prismrivers dude

oh yeah, updates for this will release semi-regularly when it's all done just so that people can see it over the course of like twenty million years and this thing doesn't get trampled on by bob and ted's excellent adventures: the multi-fic saga

as always, see you all next time!

==== second pass revision marker! ====

i also gave this chapter a once-over after revising the intro chapter

it was still mostly alright actually but i did reference the previous chapter in fun ways, and also made that first mook fight even better than it already was

that was FUN

as always, see you all next time!


	3. Recollection

The school's front door shut behind Sendai with a resounding, airy and echo-y _thoom_ kind of sound.

' _I'll see about the guard later. For now, I'm going to head to Marcus's. Better get there before they have bedtime, or something.'_

Their conversation had gone on awhile after Sendai's declaration, but it was clear Keine didn't want to talk about anything serious from there. She seemed contained and aloof.

' _Pretty sure giving the captain a once-over will be the end of this, anyway.'_

Night had set onto the Human Village, and with it came less people on the road.

The warm glow of street lamps illuminated the paved main roads. Although Sendai remembered them being the dominant light, the now two-three story homes and storefronts before the road put out far more light than even the lamps.

Combined with Gensokyo's starlight from above, the village was surprisingly well-lit for only having candle and lantern flame lights. ' _The town's… actually really pretty. Not in a lonely way, either; it feels pretty happening.'_

Even the actual quiet nature of the roads had changed. As Sendai stepped back into the fountain square of the village, she did see some people still perusing vendor selections, and a few owners still operating, their fronts open for business at the darkest hours.

' _Pretty cool. I just wonder how safe it is, like this. Unless they got more men, this'll be hell for the defense to account for. When I was around, there was a curfew for civvies, for a reason.'_

...She continued to get distrusting stares, _especially_ at this time of day. ' _It's important to be defensive, at night. Only time it's really dumb to be skeptical in the village of all places, is during the day. It's not like I'm Kazami or something.'_

Treading freely down the village road, she slowly took in the lit and unlit storefronts. ' _Keine said it was gonna look like a shop. And-...'_

Once she'd powered down two-thirds of the road, she saw it. The Kirisame Magic Shop, lit up with a very attractive neon light on the top. ' _That's bright!'_

Moving towards the store's front, she looked in through the lit window. ' _That's him! And- wow, he's old looking. I made fun of him for being an old bastard before, but twelve years did a number on him...'_ Suddenly, her own fear of growing old ebbed at the back of her mind.

' _...I mean, at least I have a chance to get old now. Is that a good thing? Ah, fuck it.'_ Worrying wasn't good for anyone, and trying to do so now was especially confusing, so she wouldn't. ' _Let's go freak him out.'_

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

3

Recollection

' _I should've told Keine about those guys who tried to rape me earlier. Fucking- great time to think about that. It's a little late now! Not like she needed more crap on her to-do list. I guess I'll consider this the favor I owed 'em for lending me money.'_

 _Di- di~ng, ding!_ A clattery, rickety shop bell greeted her as she pushed her way in.

' _Really cozy place…'_ She looked around the compact shop with a smile. ' _Lotta crap here, too. At least it's not like Kourin's place, where everything's just in piles. That was… something. Very like him, at least.'_

The shop was indeed compact. If she leapt at full strength, she could probably clear the store's entire width. ' _Not that my strength's a fair assessment. I'm really fucking strong for a human, from what I remember. That's probably not changed.'_

The store's light wasn't anything fire-based, that she could tell. Some kind of bleak, dim white lighting came from a single glowing tube that hung loosely to wires on the ceiling. ' _What the hell kinda light is that? It's… really different.'_

"Ooh?" The aged man at the counter perked up, grinning widely. "Good business today-... aa~h, huh." He trailed off, seeing who entered the store.

"What's goin' on, ya old windbag?" Marching up to the counter like a hooligan, Sendai smiled at him. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Marcus Kirisame once again looked her over. He did so multiple times, before sort of leaning onto his big counter, along the store's right side, and resting his head upon his arm. "...I _don't think_ I'm old enough for the dementia to start kickin' in, am I?"

"...You're what now, sixty? Sixty five?" Sendai began to grin even wider. "That's gotta suck. Maybe a bit young for dementia."

"More like fitty." He half-grinned. "Yer a pretty good _clone_." He also nodded at her in appreciation, standing up straight and giving his beard a stroke. "Personality's right. Body's right…!" He beamed down at Sendai's form…

She snorted. "Sixty sounds just right for dementia."

"So~..." Clapping his hands, Marcus took a step back. "What's the story this time? Gensokyo under attack by really aggressive leaves're somethin'? Reimu step into a big bear trap an' ya came back from the dead so I can save 'er? Yukari takin' a nap again?"

Sendai gave him a dry look. "Would you believe me… if I said I was _not_ a doppelganger?"

"Fuck no." Marcus grinned, shaking his head. Then, he pulled a big, grey tube from under his desk, the instrument reaching his arms magically. "And fuck _you_."

 _Fwoa~m!_

-+- _Vs. Marcus Kirisame -+-_

...After ducking the colorless laser he'd fired, Sendai stood up. ' _He's gonna put holes into his store like- this... he wouldn't put holes into his store.'_

With this realization, she pivoted around. When she saw what was coming, she decided to drop onto her back-

 _Fwash!_ The pulse of laser energy came back to the tubular object he held, like a boomerang, landing back in the barrel. It'd cleared her face only barely, risking blowing through her head. ' _Woah!'_

 _Thud._ She landed on her bum. ' _Sneaky!'_

"Hahaha~! That one's a _fun_ one!" Tossing the implement aside, Marcus began to search his sleeves… "Alright, now let's _see._ I'm awful surprised ya lived through that!"

 _Woosh._ Sendai thrust back onto her legs, pushing her arms against the ground to spring back up. ' _Let's see what his next trick is, and see if I can counter it. He's not outright trying to explode me with anything, so all I've gotta do is convince him.'_

 _Fli- fli- fli- flick!_ "For my _next trick…!"_ He held his arms out, a deck of cards unfurling and organizing itself. Becoming a ring of fifty two floating cards, it expanded between his arms as he spread them out-

 _Cra~ck!_ Sendai smashed a holy molotov on the desk; one she'd procured from her sleeves, replicated magically.

 _Fwoo~m!_ The airy blue flames of holy flared up on the counter, their rich flickering flaring superficially upon the counter's top. Unlike real fire, it wasn't something that spread or survived easily, nor was it something quite as effective on things such as wood.

This was observable now. Both Marcus and Sendai stared into the holy spectacle, before it died down on the desk, hardly leaving any burnt residue…

Marcus had let his cards drop. "... _Tsukiko?"_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

"Wha- can you _not…"_ Sendai furrowed her brows and cringed over the smouldering blue residue. "Well, whatever."

...Marcus propped his arms on his hips and gave her the stink-eye. "Ya had a kid and _died_ an' yer still all fussy about dudes callin' you yer name!"

"...I'd _prefer_ 'the miko who came before', at this point." She negotiated.

"An' before it used ta just be, 'the miko.'" His grin grew twice in size… "Aw, thank you, pretty shrine maiden! What's yer name!?"

He turned right, as if responding to himself. " _The miko."_

Turning left again, he gave his hypothetical miko self a strange stare...

"Yeah- well…!" Suppressing some snorts, she contested him. "It's not, like… I mean, you _know_ what I prefer. Don't give me that crap."

Marcus looked purely ecstatic. "Twelve years is a _lo~t_ of time ta think about this shit! I've got no idea how you got a-... hmm, shit. I've done and thinked myself into a corner." He folded his arms. "I was 'bouta say 'how'd you get a date' but then I realized yer freaking _hot."_

"More like how _you_ got Michelle." Sendai returned. "...Then again, you're pretty much two peas in a pod. I guess it makes sense. I can't believe someone like you _still_ has a wife."

...Marcus exhaled. "Yea~h. She was awesome."

Sendai's heart skipped a beat.

' _Was…?'_

...She picked her words carefully. "Um. What happened…?"

For a second, she'd seen someone way more done with life than she'd anticipated. "Oh. You know. People... die."

The implication was solid. ' _...Fuck. I-... damn.'_

She regretted asking it. ' _I'm a fucking dumbass. Fuck me. Why the hell-'_

"I suppose you'd know a lot about that, huh?" He began to grin up at her again, taking his own mind off the sentiment.

' _Oh- god, don't start hiding it too- no~!'_ She focused less on the quip and more on the internal churning she felt seeing him like this. ' _What even happened!? Is- is this my fault? It probably is. If I was alive- maybe something killed her, fuck, fuck!'_

She dismissed the bad thoughts from her head, before the shock could turn to anger. "I'm… sorry."

"Oo~h. Nothi~n' you could've done." Marcus shook his head. "Don't beat yerself up."

"If I wasn't dead, I could've saved her. I know I could." Sendai instantly chided herself.

He smiled. "Hah. You'd better think again, 'cause it wasn't a _person_ who killed 'er! It, ah… it was… it was a magic accident."

Deflating again, he seemed to stare to her side.

' _...A magic accident?'_ Sendai now just felt bad, rather than mad. ' _She was pretty off-the-wall. I can see that…'_

"How about your kid?" Sendai asked him. "Marisa?"

"Oh- she's doin' pretty well. I think." He perked up at her mention. "She don't live wit' me anymore, so y'know, hard ta keep track. She stops by every now an' then, though!"

"Already _moved out,_ huh…" Sendai once again felt like she missed a lot… "What street or sector's she in?"

"Ah, none. Lives out in the _Forest of Magic."_ Awaiting her reaction, he began to grin...

It took Sendai all of one second to jump to a conclusion. "She lives- she's _became a magician_ on you…!? Oh, _damn!_ Does- does Reimu know about that…!?" Sendai's mind began to fill with another, new kind of dread.

' _That poor girl!'_

"She's still a human." Marcus's smugness reached peak fruition.

...Sendai deflated. "Who, just… _lives_ in the forest. Like a lunatic."

Marcus was still smug. "Who do ya think yer talkin' to, here?"

"Yeah- but you were never _that_ insane…" Sendai began to softly shake her head. "We~ll. Whatever."

Gaining a normal smirk again, Marcus began to move around the counter to talk more regularly...

"So, what the hell disrupt yer slumber? Does necromancy actually work _this_ well now? Ooo- did anyone make requests of ya…!? Cultists, old fans…!?" As he approached her, Sendai got a full once-over of his robed form.

"...I just woke up in a field." She delivered plainly. "I feel like shit, too. Feels like my joints're still dead."

' _I remembered… being dead. Newly dead. Waking up on the Sanzu. I felt… those fucking lights.'_ She'd never forget the helpless, broken state the world was in that one day. ' _Goddamnit. I'm so sorry, Reimu. I'm a fucking moron.'_

He snorted. "Y'know, they might _be._ Mind if I _check?"_

"If you use your hands, your joints are the ones that'll die." Sendai gave him a dangerously ginger stare. "Check my magic and stuff."

"Phooie." Smiling, he moved a little closer, and held his hands up… "Stay still fer a moment, an' don't make no~... _sudden_ movements."

 _Vuu~m._ As he held his hands out, a sort of numb, vibrating sensation came onto her flesh; nearest his hands.

It felt a little like a massage in a way, but only barely. ' _I should get a real one, at some point. Bet my muscles are all kinds 'a fucked up…'_

...After traveling her back, he moved around her side. "Well, already, yer mana pool's a little~... lower than I expected. S'curious. There's not as much _energy_ flowin' through ya. Like, holy an' dark stuff. Mostly dark stuff knowin' you, but…"

"I felt as much, already." Sendai echoed her experiences… "I ran into Reimu. She wanted to fight no matter what. My body was not ready."

"Pft- oh…!" Marcus wasn't ready for that, either. "Hehehe! Yeah- Reimu's pretty kinky, ain't she?"

' _...That's great.'_ Sendai rolled her eyes. ' _I- you know, I didn't originally intend it like that...!'_

...When silence set in over their previous conversation, Sendai relaxed. Getting her magic 'checked' was a weird sensation. ' _It's getting pretty late, too…'_

"Every time I think I can just stop questioning things, something ridiculous happens." Marcus let his thoughts drip idly.

At his idility, she snorted. "Not being dead anymore's weird."

"Yeah, I hate when that happens." He nodded chummily…

' _Hah. You a~ss...'_ Sendai stared up at the ceiling. ' _...You're a lot nicer than you used to be. I can already tell.'_

Her eyes met the big light cylinder he had hung up there. ' _It doesn't hurt to look at, for some reason. I don't think I should, though…'_

Pursing his lips, Marcus finally gave a deduction. "Pretty much, your magic as a whole's just weird right now. You've also got a lotta~... _holy_ residue on ya, not quite the Hakurei kind."

"Is that so?" Sendai rose a brow at him. "...Weird. That could be a clue, or something."

"Or something." Grinning again and making his way around his desk, he stroked his graying beard. "We might need ta go see someone who ain't me at some point! 'Cause all I can do is shove ethers down yer throat, or a panacea, an' hope it does something."

' _As if there's anyone who could help with something this unprecedented…'_ Sendai let herself sigh. "Thank you for your help, I guess."

...Leaning and checking the big storefront window, Marcus returned his gaze to her. "S'awful late. Why not stay the night?"

Somewhat surprised by the offer, and how automatic Marcus's movements were in regard to it, Sendai took a moment to reply. "...Sure."

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

The shop didn't really have a guest room, but for some reason Marcus had a couple futons in stock, so she'd found a use for them.

In the shop's gloom, she'd simply set it up along the floor in one of the shop's back rooms. He apparently lived here as well, which made her wonder what happened to his house and his old folks. ' _They're probably dead, too. Not that either of us knew or cared for them too much.'_

The crowded back room had been easily vacated enough to leave her generous space. Marcus's telekinetic magic served in moving some boxes and crates.

That had passed in a flash, since Marcus himself seemed tired, too. ' _Mellowed out pretty hard, but he's still kooky. At least talking to him doesn't feel like I'm at my own funeral, even if, well…'_ She let her gaze shift across the ceiling. ' _Poor guy.'_

The feeling of death still followed her mind. ' _...Ironically, it's not very forgettable. It's… very instinctive, and carnal. Once you're over the edge, I think your body just… gives up, and accepts it. Not just 'over the edge', I mean… pretty much when you are already dead. Or, maybe it's something to do with the soul. I did show up at the Sanzu, so…'_

All of this had reminded her of her of what she'd lost on the way here, aside from her own life.

' _...Since I'm back, I guess I can still fulfill my promise to you, Keisuke. I might be twelve years late, but I'm still going to-… I'm still going to make Reimu happy. I still love you.'_

Compacting in her futon, she rolled over.

The nameless storage room was cold, but the remote nature was something of a comfort to her. She felt alone, again; something familiar and comfortable, both from her natural prior introversion and being isolated after her own mother's parting.

' _I… I still love you. I loved the way you listened to me-... the way you made jokes- and, just-... it sounds cliche, but goddamn it, I loved you. Fuck youkai.'_

Tonight, since she was alone, she splurged a little, giving into her emotions. ' _I miss you, Keisuke. Reimu-... probably doesn't even remember you- but she would have loved you, too. You were so dedicated-... and, you stayed with me for so long. Thank you so much, for everything. For comforting me- those years after I lost mom, and- and being so kind… and-...'_

She didn't like thinking back, for long. Life was life. It never stopped moving forward, even if she did.

But, tonight would be an exception. ' _I love you! Keisuke...'_

Her hand slid down, between her thighs. ' _...Let's-... let's pretend. It'll calm me down, so I can sleep.'_

Once she calmed down, sleep took her.

 _Sendai learned Heated Spirit II._

…

"Nn~h…" Sendai rolled out of her futon.

' _I feel so much better, for some reason…! I must've been really tired...'_

Softly, she rested on the wood floor next to her futon, chin on the grain beneath her. She took this moment to relax peacefully.

With the warm sun splaying in from a tiny slit-like window at the top of the storage room, she rose.

' _After two days of this shit, I probably smell like crap. Not like I can afford to get dry-cleaned, with only one outfit. Actually, since I'm not technically the Hakurei maiden anymore… I could wear whatever the hell I wanted.'_

Her eyes shifted to her royal red, reinforced cloth apron. ' _I like this outfit, though. It's great for moving around in, and it defends me pretty well. I can't imagine looking like just some pretty girl nobody.'_

Standing up, she gazed at the door ahead. ' _Let's see if Marcus is up yet.'_ Rubbing the crust from her eyes, her hand rested on the door's slider handle…

 _Shoo~f._

Outside the door, Marcus was standing behind the counter, facing a customer.

This customer was a certain blonde-haired girl. Her hair was long, messy, and on her head was the great witch had that Sendai knew she saw before. ' _...This girl was in Reimu's shrine.'_

"...Whah!?" The girl leaped back, her arms held out. "Yo Dad- wha- who the _hell's_ she!?"

Cringing at the timing, Marcus snorted. " _She_ … well, that's kinda hard ta explain really."

' _Dad? Then…'_

Marisa Kirisame began to strut behind the counter, mouth curling into an absolutely predatory gleam. "Hey. _Doppel-chan._ "

' _Oh, no.'_ She looked Marisa over, repeatedly. ' _I thought she lived elsewhere, now. Why's she here? She already sounds like a hellraiser…'_

Marcus fretted in his own, sort of aloof way. "Now- Marisa, look-"

"You can't be _serious_ dad. Falling for something like _this?"_ Marisa was practically incredulous as she gestured up to Sendai. Then, she turned for her again. "You caused Reimu some _shit_ the other day, ze. An' now you're playin' my pa…?"

"I'm not playing anybody." Sendai talked down to her. "I'm just trying to get by."

"By _eatin' him!?"_ With a yell and a flourish of her arm, she gestured back to her father.

"I came to stay the night at an old friend's house." Sendai really didn't care for this, this early. "If you have a problem with that, then I'll leave. I've got things to do today anyway."

...Marisa seemed to hang when she saw Sendai's tired expression, but quickly this served to fuel her anger instead. "You _son of a bitch._ "

" _Marisa."_ Marcus frowned at her. "Please."

This was the first time she'd heard this tone of his in awhile, so naturally her body took it like an impact. She whipped to face him.

"...I'm seeing about the situation." He winked at her.

...Marisa blinked. "Ah…?"

"You know." He winked again. "I know. Everybody knows."

...She slouched, relief washing over her features. "Oh. Oh, right. I'm fuckin' dumb, ze. Um, sorry…" Scratching her hat, she simply began to sidle out of the shop. "Sorry 'bout that…!"

 _Di- ding, ding!_ The store bell rang as she bolted outside. Sendai watched her run across the front face of the store, before ending up out of sight.

"...What's... this, _thing_ that everybody knows?" Sendai turned to him curiously…

"Nothin'. I just said that ta make her think I had this situation under control!" He turned to Sendai with a big grin. "Thought I was bein' duped, but then I was like 'aw I know'! So she was like 'aw shit, I'm steppin' on his toes'! Hehaha! 4D Shogi, Tsukiko!"

' _This family's unbelievable...'_

Sendai shook her head, a grin creeping onto her own features. "Great. You know, your daughter turned out _exactly_ as I expected."

He chuckled, before moving to the far side of the counter. "Aw, yeah? I get that now an' then!"

 _Click._ A plate of waffles magically found its way across the counter to Sendai…

She blinked at them. "What-... the hell're these." She couldn't immediately place what they were, but they reminded her of cakes, only vaguely.

...Marcus gave her an alien look, for a moment. "These're _waffles!_ They're uh, super neutral stuff. Confectionary-type things, except they're mostly, like-... the _taste_ mostly comes from stuff ya put on it, like butter 'er syrup. S'pretty good!"

This didn't sound good for her at all. ' _This isn't food, but I'll pillage it anyway.'_ However, she'd take what she could get for free.

...Since they weren't syruped, and had a mild amount of butter on them, she just picked up the four waffles, folded them like a sandwich, and took a bite. "Omf…"

' _Pretty good.'_ She was at least happy with the flavor.

...He gave her a wry look for a moment, put aback by how bluntly she consumed the waffles.

 _Click._ Levitating a water glass in, from parts unknown, he sparked a new conversation. "Y'know, I didn't get ta say much last night 'cause we were all _tired_ an' _sad,_ but I was wonderin'..."

' _Yeah. Last night was awkward and brief, even if not as awkward and brief as the rest of everyone's meetings were.'_ Sendai was sort of tired of the scale of everything already. ' _I'll work this atmosphere off.'_

While she inhaled her waffles, he moved for his shelves. "Aside from how you may've gotten along wit' the _other fellas_ , I was wonderin' like… what exactly you wanna _do_ now." He looked back at her…

...Once she swallowed her snack, she spoke. "Ah. Well… I'm thinkin' of… so I met Keine and Kourin, right?"

"Oo~h." He nodded, leaning against a shelf near him. "How'd that go? Was yer body ready?"

Sendai snorted. "We- yes, it _was_ ready. The meetings went well. Everyone's kinda… formal, though. It's offputting."

Marcus offered her a shrug. "Well, y'know. _Twelve years_ is… a _lo~ng_ time. Not quite so long for myself; s'like I'm meetin' someone who was away on an _extended vacation._ An' I know yer real, 'cause I can see it in yer eyes an' yer mana. No hoke~y doppel-chan's _this_ good. Them, I dunno. S'probably anticlimactic, ta them. They're still in their heads, rigid about the way they like their lives and their decisions, and you comin' back is just like…"

For emphasis, he slouched, as if withering. "Oof. Y'know what I'm sayin'...!?"

"I hear you." Sendai smiled at his way of explaining it. "They're gonna have to get used to it. Unless someone kills me in my sleep, or Reimu finishes the job, I don't plan on going anywhere."

' _Marcus is-... so much more personable. What kinda hell'd he go through? Man…'_

Pocketing his hands, he skirted around the subject of people dying... "Yea~h, I wouldn't go takin' that to the bank, though! Basically, they're gonna~... take a little more _convincing_ and _warmin' up_ at this point. You've not only been gone like _eons_ , but you've like… invaded their perception of loss an' death! Ya've screwed it all up!" He threw his arms into the air for effect.

"Aa~h. Whoops." Sendai made amends for destroying physics. She picked up her water… "Anyway… Keine said she was having some trouble with the council. I'm planning to go ask around…"

"Lookin' like that?" He smirked at her, still against the shelf. "Correct me~ if I'm wrong… but you've had those clothes on for awhile now!"

"Fuck." She spilt the beans. "...Yeah. I was... hoping no one would notice."

"Oh, they'll notice…" He gave her a warm nod. "Lucky for you, I got some _shit_ here." Giving her a big thumbs up, he began a merry march towards the back rooms again. "Stay here! I'mma show ya what we got in store!"

"I'm afraid." Sendai stared at him idly as he moved…

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

"So~!? How's this…!?" Marcus held a bunny girl outfit in his arms, folded up. "It's XXL size, too!"

"Fuck off." She shook her head fervently…

Pulling from a pile he made on the counter, the next thing he had in store for her unfolded between his hands…

Sendai gave the maid outfit a wounded expression. "I'd rather burn it…"

"Pfthehe~!" Casting it aside, he pulled from the pile again.

The business suit made Sendai take pause. "...Not bad, but suits are weird for fighting in."

He snorted. "Eeh, suit 'cherself. Lemme tell ya, even these civvie-grade lunarian suits're some whacky shit."

' _Civvie-grade… lunarian suits?'_ One of the latter terms were completely foreign to her. ' _Wait. 'Suit yourself'... was- was that a pun? Fu~ck…'_

He pulled up a copy of Reimu's shrine maiden outfit. "...I mean, this'd _work_ but it wouldn't help that doppelganger image 'a yers!"

"Let's not." Sendai felt like that would be a bad idea. "...Her outfit's _skimpy_ , too. I mean, she flies and stuff now, but still."

In the mid-morning light, as it sort of spacily dawned on the shop, Marcus drew another dress.

"Aw- what if ya did up your hair?" He held out a plain, cyan skirt and a teal sundress. "You'd look a lot less like someone who'd punch my lights out if ya had pigtails! Aw- what if ya had _blush…!?_ "

"Bo~y." Sendai shook her head at him… "It looks like the sanest thing so far... but you made it _weird_."

Setting it aside, he nodded compromisingly… "Let's see~. You could always run around in a _bikini…"_

"I think I'd rather die. Again." Sendai began to close in on him… "I'll take that _one_ plain dress of yours. It looks clean, even if the top's a little… small."

-+- _Obtained Busty Sundress._ -+-

Stepping out of the shop's back rooms once more, Sendai frowned down at herself.

Having skipped out on any makeup, she still attempted to don the teal sundress, along with the cyan skirt. In the end, her midriff was exposed due to the dress's size, although the skirt at least went down past her knees. ' _I kept my bindings on, because there's not even any bras here, and the one that goes with this dress is tiny.'_

Marcus's expression was somewhere between smug and bewildered. "...Yeah, yer right, it does kinda make you look like a hoe."

"Yeah." Sendai knew as much, at this point. Her hair was now done up into two huge tails on either end of her head. "I look like a hooker. Nice job."

"Thanks!" He took pride in his success. "More seriously, there _are_ some clothes shops aroun' town, still. This should hold ya over though- _and_ it'll work as a disguise!"

"I won't even have to fight anyone. I can just seduce them." She folded up her previous shrine maiden outfit… "I'd like _this_ cleaned up at some point…"

"I'll hold onto it fer now, and do perverted shit to it." Marcus gave her a big nod. "More seriously- I'll get it cleaned fer ya! S'the least I can do, you being not-dead and not-old and all…!"

"Since when were _you_ a saint?" Sendai was healthily skeptical of his generosity…

Smiling back at her, he shrugged. "...Since you came back like the son 'a Christ! 'Cept you're _real!"_

' _...Who's Christ?'_ Sendai did not know of Christianity. ' _Whatever.'_

"Oh- I almost fergot…"

Leaning under the counter, he pulled out some little bottles, and put them onto the top of it. "Here. I got some of these from, u~h… a friend. I was supposed ta loan 'em ta Reimu, but I'm givin' 'em to you."

"What the hell are these." Sendai looked the tiny bottles over… "Rat poison?"

"Yes- exactly." Holding up one of the little, cheaply decorated bottles, he read the labels on it. "This i~s… Tauriner! S'an experimental sorta thing, but I was basically told it's supposed ta help wit' her _spirit energy_. Which, I thought was mana, but it's apparently a little different!"

' _Spirit energy…?'_

Stepping over to the counter, Sendai frowned at the way her breasts jiggled with every step. ' _Even my bindings aren't helping, this dress is so tight…'_

"Yeah, spirit energy." Marcus let his head tilt. "From what it feels like, there's some weird shit goin' on in these here bottles. S'apparently supposed to work for everyone who uses god powers as a… a _thing._ Catalyst? Hmm, maybe..."

While he let his thoughts trail off, Sendai picked it up a bottle. ' _Tauriner. Restores mind and spirit. Do not use if pregnant or… driving? What the hell?'_ The latter term was entirely unfamiliar.

"Marc, where the fuck'd you find this. This looks like some outsider shit…" Sendai wasn't sure how to trust the labels, or the artwork, or anything about it.

"...They, u~h…" He was gonna have a fun time explaining it to her, he could tell. "Fer now, let's just sa~y… they're a good dealer, sort of!"

"Wow." Sendai was not at all convinced. "...Whatever. I guess I'll take some, since you seem to be convinced it's _okay."_

"Atta girl." Relaxing, Marcus seemed to lean into his counter a little…

' _Not like it'll kill me. At the worst, I'll probably just feel like crap for a day or something.'_

 _Obtained two Tauriners._

...After browsing the shelves, Sendai came back to the front counter. "Hey, Marc."

"Ya were browsing for all of two seconds." He grinned at her in exasperation… "I thought the conversation was over!"

"I found dildos on your shelves." She gestured back to the shelves. "Why do you have dildos on your shelves."

"I~ sell dildos! So I put 'em on my _shelves!"_ Throwing his arms up and shrugging, his expression was merry. "...S'not like anyone's gonna _use 'em_ or anything-"

"You know what. Nevermind." Sendai wasn't sure she wanted to know, anymore.

"...That _does_ remind me!" He held up a finger. "You still know how ta use _item crashes_ , right?"

"Yeah." Invigorated at the change in topic, she spoke back… "I used one just recently, actually. Felt like... I was getting my soul ripped out."

"...Huh." Marcus frowned, but nodded. "Guess it has ta do with your low mana. Just felt like askin', ta make sure. They were a lotta effort ta get'cha…!"

' _That's right…'_ She looked to the shelves, forming an idea. ' _I should fuck around with something in here. But-...'_

Forming a terrible, awful idea, she progressed into the shelves…

"Ohp- oh, okay." Marcus looked back down at the magazine he had on his counter. "Conversation's over again!"

Back in the store's midst, she grabbed a big, pink dildo from a further back shelf. Silently, she stalked back up towards the front counter…

Feeling her magic and adrenaline flare through her body, she thrust it forward. " _Pleasure Breaker!"_

 _KRI~NG!_ From the floorboards before her, a phallus-shaped metal rod erupted before her, poking into the air for one instant.

 _Kroo~m._ Then, It sank back into the earth, leaving the wood boards violated.

...Sendai slouched. "Fuck…"

' _That… ate more out of me than it should. It's like I'm just waking up again…'_

"Nice one!" Marcus gave her a thumbs up again. "You fucked my floor!"

"I fucked my mana…" Slowly standing up straight again, she laid the dildo on the counter. "I feel like shit again."

Her item crashes used the same spirit energy her Hakurei techniques did. Taking any object, she could expedite her mana usage, and through slamming it with her innate holy and dark abilities… she'd get _a_ result. A _consistent_ result. It's just, the way Marcus taught her to create output of just flaring her mana… she wouldn't know what the result would _be_ until she used it.

...Pursing his lips, he laid an idle hand on the dildo. "Hmm. Might be 'cause item crashes use… _holy_ energy, fer their extreme results. Try downin' this."

 _Click._ He laid a third bottle of Tauriner on the desk. "I wanna see if it'll have any effect. We got potions and panaceas here incase it freakin' blows ya head off, or somethin'."

' _...I guess now's as good of a time as any to try it.'_

 _Kri- krick._ Popping open the bottle, she lifted up the energy drink, and took a sniff…

' _Ugh. It smells… stuffy. Like death and pain.'_ She was very apprehensive. ' _...Well. They say good medicine tastes bad, so…'_

"Mmh…" She began to chug the tiny bottle, and managed it in a quick series of gulps.

The viscosity was inky, and the tinges of taste made her think of the color blue, then black. ' _...What the hell'd tha- aa- aah...'_

Her eyes widened, and she felt light-headed for one moment-

 _Fwaash!_ Her body lit up with black haze, pulses of her dark magic rolling through her without her volition. "Wha- aah…"

The tiny bottle fell away as she looked her arms over, the energy and raw adrenaline pulsing through her body with such intensity that she felt like she would explode. ' _So- so much- so much…!'_

With every beat of her heart, she felt her eyes dart about the room, her body in combat mode as she scanned Marcus's face, then his surroundings, her surroundings, and then did it again. She flicked her head towards the window, and just saw people passing the shop.

It also worried her. ' _Sensory-... overload…'_ She was reminded of the colors, and the blinding light, the day she died.

...After standing still, taking in the glaring sunlight outside, her limbs flickering with the unhealthy black tar-like enchantments she'd been accustomed to... she began to calm down. "Ha~h… ha~h…" It sort of put strain on her, but she felt like she was reaching a medium of some kind.

' _One… one hell of a pick-me-up!'_ She looked down at the bottle she dropped, now empty. ' _Hot damn! I feel like-... I feel like I didn't fuck up my energy a few moments ago. A little coffee-high, but I'm otherwise back to normal. Getting here was a hell of a trip, though...'_ She felt at her chest, to see if her heart was still pounding as intensely as before, but it wasn't.

"You oka~y…?" Marcus questioned her innocently from his counter…

"Yeah." She gave him a strong nod. "Felt like I was having a stroke for a moment there, but it's all good. It just… supercharged me, is all. I feel better now."

' _Must've looked particularly weird, 'cause you can see me focus dark magic to my arms and abdomen…'_ From her exposed midriff and sleeveless arms, not only were her muscles visible, but so was the way her skin became an inhuman, paint-like black whenever she channeled her magic to them.

Clapping his hand together, Marcus beamed. "Great! Now to start sellin' 'em to people who aren't Hakurei, so I can see what happens!"

"You do that." Taking towards the sun-baked front door, Sendai gave him a wave. "I'm gonna go see about… everything. I'll come back here when I've got the time; you having this store and everything…"

He gave her a wave. "Don't explode yerself again so soon, y'hear? We've got some catchin' up to do!"

' _Yeah…'_ Sendai half wanted to spend the rest of the day relaxing in the shop, but the idea came off awkward, and she had things to be doing. ' _I'll come back later. Right now, I need to focus on my body… and on my mind. Everything. I've got a lot to be doing…!'_

 _Di- di~ng._ The shop's bell clattered on her way out.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Now on the village road, Sendai let her thoughts wander as she idly made forward with no initial direction. ' _Maybe I should find the guard center._ _Not sure if they relocated or not. Guess I'll just ask around.'_

' _...On that note, I just realized. I should've asked Marcus if he knew about what happened to me. That can come later, I guess.'_

Making her way towards the square and away from the shop, her gaze traveled to the blue sky. ' _Sunny weather always feels wrong when weird shit's going down. I think this period of my life counts as a perpetually weird situation…'_

"Hey."

' _Hmm…'_ Her brows furrowed, someone already stopping her, despite her new dress. ' _People aren't even giving me so many strange looks, now. Not the angry kind, at least. Why'd someone stop me...'_

She turned to her heckler.

Marisa trotted up to her, broom slung over her shoulder, her other arm rested at her waist. "How's it goin'?"

"...Good." Sendai regarded her plainly. "And you?"

"Not ba~d, _Doppel-chan."_ Marisa gave her a sneering grin. "So what'd you want with my pa, ah? Strikin' a deal?"

Sendai blinked at her. "I bought a dildo."

"A- ah…" Marisa double-took. "...That's good! I'm _gla~d!"_

' _While we're here…'_ Sendai felt adventurous, between the weather and everything.

So she made some chit-chat. "How do you know my dau-... Reimu?"

' _Now that I think about it, them being friends is… actually very fitting.'_

Marisa returned to hunching towards her dangerously. "You _still_ goin' on with that lame joke, ze…? You're _not_ Reimu's mom. She'd never go around lookin' like a _hoe,_ either." She looked down at Sendai's chest and midriff… "You look like ya'd make a boy real happy, though! Why don'cha just, run along and do that?"

"Maybe I am." Deciding to vex her, Sendai folded her arms… "You don't know what I'm up to."

...Marisa furrowed her own brows. "Then- why the hell're you goin' around pretendin' to be Reimu's mom? Are- are people inta that sort of thing…!?" She began to look concerned…

"Sure." Finished with the conversation, Sendai began to walk away-

"Hey- _hey…!"_ Marisa dashed ahead, to get in her way. "I ain't done wit'cha yet..."

"Please. I have things to do…" Sendai resorted to just asking her to leave. "I don't have time to fuck around."

"If you're gonna go around actin' like _Reimu's mom…"_

 _Click!_ Flicking her arm up, Marisa held an octagonal box out from her pocket in one hand, and a broom in the other. "I'm gonna hafta hold ya to her level, then! Can't wait ta tangle wit' this _badass Youkai Exteriminator_ standin' before me, ze!"

"I don't feel like dealing with a little shit like you right now." Sendai glared her down, and began to raise her arms…

...To her surprise, Marisa seemed to relax a little. "I thought what you could do the other day was weird. The arm stuff, expectin' Reimu's teleports, and just-... _"_ Her glare towards Sendai gained new definition. "I honestly wasn't sure what the fuck to think. I was _half-drunk."_

' _Huh.'_ Sendai remembered seeing her there, among some other girls...

"Awesome." Letting her arms down again, Sendai's voice was monotone. "Go drink more."

"Even the way you _act now…"_ Dropping her smug friendliness, Marisa only had her glare left. "It pisses me the hell off. If I wanted you dead, you wouldn't've even had the chance ta see me coming. But- no one can even _touch_ Reimu if she don't want 'em to. And-... "

Marisa's glare was solid. "It doesn't make any sense- why you _act_ like her mom, but... seem like a crappy knock-off in _every other way_."

...Sendai exhaled. "I don't-... I don't want to talk with you, okay?" She gave her a drained look.

' _Reimu must be pretty powerful now. I also doubt Marisa of all people would be capable of hurting me.'_

"Stop _acting like her!"_ Marisa now had nothing but a grimace. "It can't be _that_ hard...!"

Frowning simply, Sendai looked her over… "That's what I thought about you. What does it take to get some _little shit_ of a magician to leave you alone?"

...Marisa gained a glint to her eyes, looking Sendai over as her expression become neutral again. "...If you don't take that dumbass disguise off right now, you're gonna get blown away. No one likes you, _Doppel-chan._ Not when you're this much of a shit-fer-brains."

"I bet Marcus is really proud of that mouth on you." Sendai took note of her creative vocabulary…

"Pft-... hehe _he!_ _Fine!"_ Seemingly having snapped, Marisa beamed forward at her. "Here I come, _Doppel-chan!_ Show me yer _Hakurei shit!"_

-+- _Vs. Famous Youkai Exterminator, Secondary Primary Incident Resolver, Ordinary Magician Marisa Kirisame_ -+-

 _Cra- crack._ Sendai cracked her neck, then her knuckles, as she stepped up towards the pragmatically stanced magician before her.

Marisa seemed ready to jump ten feet the moment she did anything, so they stared one another over for a good moment.

' _Really…'_ Sendai was at first immediately unimpressed. ' _Fuck it.'_

She began walking to pass her. ' _I'm not gonna bother-'_

 _Woo- woo- woosh!_ Marisa flicked her broom-toting arm forward, and the broom itself spun wildly according to her motion. Sendai brought her arms up as it came closer-

 _BOOM- BOOM BOO~M!_ Airy green, luminescent starbursts of raw non-elemental power flicked straight off of it, exploding right in Sendai's face and filling her vision.

 _Thud!_ " _Huhk- aagh…!"_ Immediately, her body was beset by painful, pulsing energy, the blinding light tossing her forward like a ragdoll. Each blast was thrice the strength of a punch, and pressed against her front side like a giant boulder.

' _Wh- what the fuck...'_

As she pushed against the ground and got up, Marisa coasted by her side. Seated on her broom, coasting by, she aimed her octagon at Sendai with a flick of her arm.

 _FWABOO~M!_ A blue, unshaped blast of raw magic flared out from the weapon, clipping Sendai's legs and sending them straight out from under herself. " _Whuoh!"_

 _Wham!_ Landing hard, rolling around, she ended up on her back.

Staring up at the blue sky, she was unable to focus on it. ' _Are- are you-... fu- fucking, kidding…'_

" _Hehehe~!"_ Stopping some distance away, Marisa hopped off her broom and giggled. "Even the _human village_ ain't a safe place for a _doppel-chan_ like you!"

Springing back onto her legs with a thrust of her arms- although her movements betrayed how lighthead she now felt- Sendai got back into an aggressive stance. ' _I- I guess… I shouldn't have underestimated her.'_

Bringing her octagonal handheld blaster up, Marisa grinned ear from ear. "... _Still_ movin'? Aw man, that was my _one-two_ , too."

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Flinging her arm, Sendai sent out a three-spread of linear, bullet-like ofuda, generated along her arm as if her sleeve were still there.

 _Woosh!_ Marisa's broom tugged her out of the way of the talismans, regardless of how little threat they posed to someone like her.

' _Thi- this… is danmaku energy.'_ Sendai noted the numbing sensation running through her body. It made her limbs even heavier than they already seemed. ' _She's playing with me, the bitch…'_

 _Woosh- woosh, whish, woosh!_ Her hand still gripped onto it, the broom flung _Marisa_ around as it flew in a wide circle. She kept a hand on her hat and one on the broom as it spun... " _Whehehe~!"_

' _What the hell is this attack…'_

 _Cli- clink, clink, clink!_ Along the roadside, vials filled with various colored mixtures flew from her hat as she revolved.

 _Flop._ Marisa landed softly on the ground, before using the broom to pull herself up. "Alri~ght…"

' _Woah-'_

 _Fwish!_ Sendai jerked herself out of the way. The broom slipped from Marisa's grip and roared straight for her in an instant.

 _FWA- FWA- FWAM!_ Aside Sendai, massive, dazzling green starbursts bubbled off the spinning implement before it returned to Marisa. Their arcs continued uselessly into the air, unable to home towards Sendai...

' _So much power just being flailed around. For Marcus's daughter, she's way stronger than he is…!'_

Marisa caught the broom like it winded her, slouching and after a moment, crouching. "Ha~h…"

Sendai eyed the bubbling concoctions all around her, which were obviously traps. ' _...She's very obviously faking being winded. And, I have an idea.'_

She sprinted forward, and-

Her form vanished.

...Marisa exhaled again. "Ha~h." It wasn't a very convincing exhale.

Sendai appeared behind her. Not immediately behind her; she'd appeared past the field of alchemical landmines.

' _...She's not doing anything. She's waiting for me to fall for it.'_

Drawing a yin-yang orb from her sleeves, she expanded it, and gave it a simple, gentle toss inside.

 _...Shunk._ It landed in the dirt behind Marisa-

 _KABOOM- KRACK- BOOM- BLAM!_ Around her, all the mixtures exploded, a dazzling array of different colored, star-shaped bullets and flares of firework-like magic swirling and spiraling around, like a tornado of alchemical destruction.

However, this short-ranged magical monsoon was soon over, the particles stretching in the air past Marisa uselessly once it was over. She'd stood in the epicenter the whole time, basking in the lights and noise.

' _Holy crap.'_ Sendai smiled up at the spectacle. ' _That woulda fucked me…'_

"Hahaha~..." Arrogantly, Marisa laughed as she began to turn. "Dumb son of a-... uh."

Sendai sprinted along the same direction as Marisa's back as she turned, and made her way to her rear-

 _Wham- whunk!_ One after another, Sendai slid hooks into Marisa's back with either fist.

" _Ugh- uh!"_ To her surprise, Marisa's body convulsed at the blows, but she didn't topple over or stagger.

 _Whack! Wham!_ She flicked a fist into Marisa's upper side, and hooked one into her lower back.

 _Fwish!_ Then, her adrenaline pumping, Sendai pulled herself back-

 _FWAM!_ Whipping around, one hand on her own stomach, Marisa made her miniature weapon let out a white-blue explosion of raw non-elemental power to defend herself.

Sendai was already out of the way, but the magic flared just shy of her. ' _Oh-...! Damn, she's got some magic…!'_

Right after the blast, Sendai sprinted back in-

 _Bam, bam!_ Her legs flared with dark energy, her exposed flesh becoming tar black as she kicked tufts of dirt behind herself. Like this, she pumped them into the floor to move forward-

Marisa's eyes were wide, and she tensed her arm again to fire her flare. Sendai moved with sudden, unexpected speed.

 _WHAM- BOOM!_

Sendai jumped into a motion where her left leg lifted up to clip Marisa. Her right leg still skidded on one plain mary jane-style shoe to accommodate this.

Marisa's magical box of mass destruction had sent out a huge blast at the same time, straight past Sendai, under the leg that rammed into her in turn.

... _Thud_. Marisa fell on her ass. "Uguh..." The gut blow had bowled her over. She shot too late, and missed completely.

 _Bam._ Once she was on the ground, Sendai stomped the gut where her leg hit previously, grounding her even further. "Stay _down."_

" _Ngk…"_ Marisa shut her eyes at the pain, body jolting once, then jittering.

…

' _Well.'_ Sendai backed away from her, facing her. Her eyes turned up to the spectating villagers. ' _Oh, look. People.'_

 _Gulp, gulp…_ "Mmh…"

When she focused on Marisa again, she was already standing, chugging from a potion. ' _What…?'_

 _Pop!_ She tore it from her mouth with a pop. " _Hehehe!"_ Grinning wide, she chided Sendai for her mistake. "Really threw me off- _fuckin.'-_ guard there! Shame you didn't follow through, huh!?"

"I can keep hitting you…" Sendai's body still ached from the initial danmaku she took, like she had a headache that exploded and took her body over. "If that's what you want."

"Try me, bitch!" Beaming greedily, Marisa allowed her broom to float under herself, and she got onto it.

" _Thousand Talismans!"_ Drawing her ofuda from her dress's pockets, Sendai began to almost flail her arms to toss them, more ofuda supplied directly from her shoulder sleeves, before sliding down her arms and into her hands.

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwap!_ Marisa tried to coast to the talisman stream's side. Yet the relentless, unyielding and nearly instantly traveling river eventually clipped into her once she couldn't so simply drift anymore, each one striking the magician like a bullet.

Spectating villagers flinched back and shied away of any messy, stray projectiles from the tossing. The fight had worked up a small audience...

" _Nnh- nn- ngh- nnh…!_ " The magic flared off of each talisman as they impacted Marisa; less effective on a human, but they still had their place like this in that they made up for their lack of power in quantity.

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwap!_ The relentless stream eventually ended, when Sendai flicked her left arm back, and-

 _WOOSH!_ -sent one final, violently glowing talisman forward-

 _Fwa~m!_ It exploded into a small, holy nova, sending Marisa sprawling, her broom dropping from the air. " _Hua~gh…!"_ Rolling from the wood, she ended up on her back, then her side, her hat drifting onto her face from the abrupt tumble.

...Sendai let out a breath, her posture slipping. "Fu~ck…"

' _Well. That settles… that.'_

" _Mm- mmh…"_

When Marisa sat right back up- her broom pulling her into standing right then, too- her hat fluttered off of her face, a potion bottle revealed in her mouth. ' _Again!?'_

"Pftoo." She spat it out.

 _Crack!_ It exploded against the floor between the two. Once she was standing again, her broom navigated between her legs for her to sit on.

' _She probably brews potions. No wonder she's got an endless repository…!'_

Marisa held out the octagonal box, and Sendai watched it carefully-

 _VRUU~M!_ A beam stretched right from it, meeting Sendai right in the gut. ' _Wh- ah…'_

 _Kroo~sh!_ Accelerating, then skidding along the stone road next to Sendai, Marisa's heels made sparks on the ground, making her broom drift like a vehicle in the air.

 _Fwish- fwish- fwish- fwish- fwish!_ In her wake, a volley of huge, green magic missiles shaped akin to pine trees stretched towards Sendai. ' _Wha- oh-'_

 _BOO- BOOM! BOO- BOOM! BOO- BOOM!_ They struck her in waves, each blooming explosion sending her rolling through the air, her limbs sprawling as she painfully glided over and into every individual blast. " _Aaa- aa- aa~h…!"_

" _Hahaha~!"_ Guffawing over how Sendai's body flew, Marisa held a hand up to her hair to block the sun. "Watch 'er fly, ze!"

 _Thud._ Once the juggling was done, Sendai landed on her side with a sound impact.

' _...I- I can't let-... fu- fucking Marisa of all people-...'_

...As she got back up-

 _FWAM._ Marisa shot a bolt straight into her side. " _A- anh…"_

"Hehe- come on…" Marisa got a kick out of how it made her writhe. "Fer all yer _tricks_ , yer a _paper bag…"_

...This time, as Sendai tried to get up, Marisa had the courtesy to at least let her.

' _Ev- everything hurts…'_ Sendai couldn't recall the last time she was pushed this far, this quickly. At the same time… ' _I'm so much weaker now…'_

While Sendai looked miserable, Marisa silently shot forward with almost instant velocity.

Almost falling off her broom- before voluntarily leaving it- Marisa skid to a stop on her boots alongside her. " _Heya~!"_

 _Woosh!_ She tried to clobber Sendai upside the head with a high-momentum swing of the same broom.

Ducking under it, Sendai rolled away.

 _WHAM!_ Dust bloomed out from where the broom came down, intent on striking down Sendai where she'd crouched.

Running up to a storefront nearby, Sendai's eyes locked on the front patio's guard rail. ' _I- I… don't think I can pull that off, but-'_

 _Woosh!_ Marisa was on her broom again, roaring towards her like a shooting star-

Sendai's adrenaline flared. ' _Wait- yeah!'_

 _FWAM!_ Half-ducking, half-leaning under a neon, rainbow-colored beam the size of her torso, Sendai sprinted straight at her.

 _Thunk!_ The rainbow beam softly bowled over a table on the patio behind Sendai.

As she passed the broom, Sendai latched on with one arm and tugged, with as much power as she could. "Ngh…"

" _Woah…!"_ Marisa flew off of it.

 _Fwa~m…!_ Black, inky energy ran along Sendai's exposed left arm, and in the same instant Marisa was launched, she grabbed her by the ankle, before tossing the broom away with a push of her other arm. ' _Oo- okay!'_

 _Woo~sh…_ Now with both arms, she lugged Marisa around, pivoting on the heels of her own shoes.

 _Woosh!_ After skidding around a three-sixty rotation with Marisa held tight, Sendai pulled hard on the ankles she held to flip the girl over herself-

 _WHA- CRACK…!_ She brought Marisa down onto the broad fence before the outdoor restaurant patio adjacent to them. Marisa's soft midsection struck, almost molding into the smooth, metal railing as she folded in half atop it, taking the insertion to her stomach.

" _Ghou- ka- kauf- kauf…!"_ Immediately, Marisa spat out a gush of blood from the impact, crimson drops flecking the plain, sunbleached wood porch.

 _Thud._ Rolling off the side of it, she was crying tears and coughing out blood. "Uu- uuh… kaugh- kaugh..."

' _There.'_ Sendai exhaled. ' _That ought to-'_

 _FWAM!_ A tiny, white beam shot from her octagonal implement, striking Sendai in the face, between the eyes. ' _Aa- aa~ow!'_

As she stumbled back-

 _WHAM._ Marisa's broom plunged into Sendai's gut. It didn't pierce her, but it still felt like an arrow, and sent her sprawling.

" _Uu- uuh…"_

Landing hard on the ground, Sendai felt her eyes grow heavy. ' _N- no… I- I can't be out of energy, yet…'_

Marisa was standing over her, somehow chugging from another potion bottle.

"Fu- fuck you…" Vying to stand, Sendai began to prop her arms behind herself, her legs moving to push against the earth-

 _Wham._ Marisa's shoe came down on Sendai's face.

"Nnn…" Sendai was grounded again. ' _Ho- how…!? Am- am I made of rocks!? Move, damnit! Move!'_ Her spirit still had the strength to continue, but her body didn't.

As she tried to sit up once more-

 _Wham!_ Marisa kicked her in the face with her boot, this time. " _Fuck yo~u!"_

"Aa- anh…" Sendai let out a whimper. Her body had no more fight to it.

 _Whunk. Whunk. Whunk._ As she lied there, Marisa continued to kick her, now in the gut.

' _I- I just… I just wanted to... keep going…'_ Sendai's eyes began to well up as she lied there uselessly. ' _Rei- Reimu…'_

"Fu- fuck you…" Marisa's eyes were still teary from before. "Fuck you…"

 _Whunk. Whunk._ Sendai felt her mind begin to numb, finally. ' _I'm sorry, Reimu…'_

"Fuck yo~u…" Marisa's voice became a weak drawl. Her kicks become superficial prodding.

' _...She- she stopped?'_ Sendai felt nothing but shame and regret, at this point. ' _I'm as good as dead, anyway. I can't… move anything.'_

...Marisa stopped entirely. "Fh- fuck... _"_

...Sendai blinked at the blurry sky above.

Marisa hastily dropped down next to her, and held out a potion.

 _Sendai learned Endured II._

 _Sendai learned Essence of Finishing._

...Sendai was now standing, her arms around her gut where the broom pseudo-pierced her. The villager audience was gone, having filed out once the action seemed to be over. ' _Damn…'_

They were now leaning against the same railing that Sendai smashed Marisa by the midsection against. On further inspection, there was actually a little bend where Marisa's skinny bulk met. The blood that Marisa spat out was now decayed and brown...

"You might've nearly won that…" Marisa was speaking casually now, having also seen to her own medical needs. "But, I can tell. Yer not movin' so well, are ya?"

"Wh- what's with this change of heart…?" Staring at her through her drained eyes, Sendai was skeptical...

"You're her mom." Marisa let herself admit. "...It took me a moment ta get it through my damn thick skull, but... well, ya at least fought yer ass off. No doppelganger's as masochistic as that. And- that way you keep lookin' at me. It's like-... it's the look of someone just super done with life."

"...Am I really… that depressed looking?" Sendai's brows were furrowed.

"Pft, yeah." Marisa grinned at her… "An' I thought Reimu looked plain! I mean- aside from that _hoe_ get-up you got on…"

"Don't remind me." Sendai felt even more drained from the insult, for some reason…

' _I guess everyone you know no longer knowing you, your daughter dismissing your existence, and feeling like you went to your own wake does that to you. And- when I thought about just, how shitty this whole situation is-...'_

"A good doppelganger would risk their life for this sort of thing." Sendai supposed, thinking over Marisa's deduction. "I've had to kill ones in costume, before. They don't just drop them because they fear death. In fact, they usually don't."

Marisa gave her a look. "Reimu didn't want to talk about you, last night. When the costume wouldn't dispel- no matter what _anyone_ tried, she just-... well, took ya outside. I _thought_ she killed ya. But, if she just-... let you go, it's just-... man, I dunno."

...Before things could get awkward and quiet, Sendai spoke. "Danmaku's... apparently fucking deadly."

Marisa snorted, and met her gaze. "Oh, yeah…?"

"Yea~h. I didn't even notice it begin to lock up my body at first. Or, rather, how well it was doing it." Again, Sendai felt at her limbs, the day's breeze not entirely kind to her skimpy outfit. Normally, she wouldn't mind, but…

"...Yeah." Marisa nodded at that. "Danmaku's kinda new. Reimu put it in place, so people'd have less psycho killgore beat'em'up fights. Like, the one we just had."

"Did a lot of good." Sendai smiled vainly. "I'm glad."

"Aw, shuddup." At her inflection, Marisa shook her head… "S'usually open-season on misbehavin' doppel-chans, 'cause they screw up everything if ya don't exemplify 'em. Not that many _do_ \- but y'know… the ones that _do_ , sure do!"

' _I'd imagine so. The ones that copied powers were the most intimidating, but I don't imagine there are too many like that, now. If I remember correctly, me and the captain went on a hunt for those types awhile back. That kinda sucked.'_

Springing from the metal rail, Marisa turned to smile at her. "I dunno what life was like _back then_ , but Gensokyo's… well, s' _kinda_ a playground, but ya can't just go around hittin' people in the gut, without expectin' to get a bazooka's worth of magic ta yer face."

' _How many people know magic, then…? Or, she's just trying to intimidate me. Nearly killing me did that well enough, thank you.'_

"Right now, _especially_ with just whatever that dark stuff of yers is, you're just like any other crappy beast youkai walkin' in like he owns the place. Y'got like _no magic,_ no horsepower, no technique. Literally just like yer garden-variety youkai. That's all ya are now." Staring Sendai down, she seemed to let her jovial disposition drop too. "There really _wasn't_ a reason I shouldn't've just bagged ya. But, I had a _hunch…_ "

"You probably could've, too." Sendai stared ahead at the sun-casted, oriental houses and storefronts… "Are you just a good person, or was there some motive?"

"Nah, s'cause I'm _kinda pissed."_ Marisa began to grin at her again. "Fuckin', here you are, _Reimu's mom-_ I _think-_ an' I'm just like…" She seemed to lose her words as she gestured at Sendai.

' _...Wow.'_ Once again, Sendai realized how _poofy_ that hat of hers was. ' _She's cute.'_

"Y'know what- I won't even say it." Feeling awkward enough, Marisa turned away to look at the same buildings Sendai was. "If ya don't wanna die in some worthless skirmish wit' someone like _me,_ ya'd better get yer shit together real quick, _Doppel-chan._ The past so-and-so years've made you _shit._ "

"Did Marcus raise you to be so on the edge?" Sendai wasn't sure where her aggressiveness came from… "Because you seem-"

" _Can it_ wit' that Hakurei intuit- shit." Marisa held up a hand towards her to make her stop. "I don't need any _scathin'_ _personal observations_ from ya."

' _Aww~. She even knows the Hakurei intuition joke. I think that's just something that'll never go away.'_

...Staring at the clouds, she smiled. ' _I wanna meet Reimu as her mother. I just have to kick her ass to get there, but I'm gonna.'_

A little more sedated now, Marisa smiled at her. "There's one thing ya didn't lose, though."

"Oh?" Sendai blinked, at her.

"That _cool_ aura." She smiled wider.

"...Oo- oh?" Sendai blinked more, and raised a brow.

"Even as weak as a pissant, yer still so _damn_ assured about yerself." Marisa let her arms drop to her sides, looking simple. "You'll find a way back, again. Heck-... I won't be surprised if yer even fuckin' _stronger_ after all this shit. You beat _death._ You're fucking _special_ , now, as if you weren't already before. Hakurei shrine maiden..."

Sendai took a step back. ' _Is she-... really that confident, in me?'_ She remembered that night she spent three weeks ago, when Marisa showed up. ' _She always kinda looked up, to me. Uhm…'_

"Listen." Marisa stepped closer to her, smile stretching to overhyped proportions. "As long as yer in the human village… I'm gonna be on your ass. Wherever ya go, there I'll be."

"Do you really think-... that's what you want to do?" Sendai was skeptical of this idea.

"Hehe. Hell yeah!" Marisa got really closer to her face. "Next time I see ya, _Doppel-chan_ … you'd better learn some new tricks _real fast._ 'Cause I'm gonna _help ya_ remember. An' I'll be lookin' for you, too. We're gonna be catchin' up on-... _all twelve 'a those years_ we missed each other. I'm tellin' ya, if ya don't summon yer _shrine maiden_ powers real quick, I'm _so_ gonna _ice ya!"_

"...Why?" Sendai furrowed her brows, and finally focused on her. "Why do you care?"

...At first, Marisa didn't have a response, but simply stared into her.

"'Cause yer Reimu's mom." She returned. "An' yer a badass."

With that, Marisa turned, and her broom slowly drifted behind herself as she faced away.

' _...Oh.'_ That didn't quite answer Sendai's question, but it left her to think. ' _Hmm. She's like Marcus, if he was high on energy shrooms and elixirs the entire time. She's-... just as obsessed with me as she was three weeks ago, which is-... it was cute at the time, but now it's a little worrying. Well, it's still kinda cute, but-... damn.'_

While Sendai readied to abandon the patio storefront they'd disrupted, she watched Marisa slowly ascend with her broom, into the sky over the village…

' _That's fucking surreal.'_ Not so many people simply flew around like that in Sendai's era, even including the magic practitioners then. ' _She even looks like a stereotypical western witch like that.'_

...Dusting some of the dirt from her new, cyan dress, she looked down the road, then the alleys. ' _Let's get the hell out of here before the village guard shows up.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

' _Before I go do anything…'_

Sendai looked down at her oft-described 'hoe get-up'. ' _I'm getting clothes that aren't trash. And...'_

She walked along the walls of the seldom-ventured Hieda residence. She was currently rounding the outside perimeter, on her way to the front gate.

' _Yeah. I wanna meet this Hieda no Akyuu, now that she's old enough to walk and not sit in a diaper. I don't think the family guards would normally let me in, but…'_ She put this thought on hold.

The Hieda residence itself was located along the south-east quadrant of the village; the same Marcus's shop was technically in. Except, instead of being adjacent to the south road, or any main road, this residence was simply within the quadrant.

' _Technically, it's easiest to access from the east road, but I just went through the alleys. 'Cause, fuck it.'_ The village, while segmented into these quadrants awkwardly at times, was still very navigable from a series of just the most occasional roads, as well as the many many alleys between homes and structures.

She drew a Chronicle of Gensokyo from literally nowhere, being able to magically replicate it.

' _I chose the last edition to use as a permanent item… so that I could read it. Marcus helped me make it shoot lasers later, but otherwise it just flails around… which, he also helped make it do. Surely this should be proof of entry, of some kind. If there's a new version, I should be able to just switch 'em around.'_

The perimeter walling was solid brick for the first two meters, before expanding four more with simply ornate but dangerous looking spokes and bars. ' _More ornate than dangerous, but if you fell on one, you're getting skewered.'_

Taking her gaze off of the black-accented metal, and the manor rooftops past it, she noticed she was coming up to the gate…

' _Honestly, I probably could've jumped the gate… but I don't feel like fighting all the staff that live here. Don't even know if I've got the endurance for that, right now. Should probably do this right, so I don't have to get heckled by everything possible...'_

Stepping before the armored guards stationed there, she looked them over.

At this particular moment, they weren't doing anything other than standing, taking in the day's sunlight. They'd tensed up once she stood before them, asserting their grips on the polearms they held.

"State your business." The bigger man on the right spoke.

Sendai held out her Chronicle of Gensokyo. "I am here… to see if there has been any renditions, to the Chronicle."

' _Should work.'_ Sendai was counting on this being enough…

...The large man looked over the cover for a brief moment, before nodding. "Yeah, sure. Yosai, open 'er up."

Grinning, the older looking, shorter man moved for the gate. "...Open _her_ , or her?"

The bigger guy flicked his gaze up for a moment.

 _Crea~k._ Despite the size of the gate, Yosai pushed it open with a thrust of the polearm's butt, and it simply glided open, even coming to a stop before hitting the wall within.

Ignoring them, Sendai began to pace inside without saying anything else. ' _Friendly enough.'_

The interior garden was vastly different to the sort of bleak outer walls. Along the stone walkway inside, there were pink, yellow and purple flowers. Past that, there were large hedges, and the occasional bench. ' _Nice place. Seeing greenery in the village at all's refreshingly different.'_

' _...They also didn't give me any instructions. Where the hell am I supposed to go.'_ She considered walking back-

"Hello~..."

She paused, and a maid dressed in a plain dress of pink and white approached her. "What business might you be here, for?"

Sendai held up her chronicle. "This was leant to me, by the Hieda family. I was interested in getting an updated copy."

...After a few blinks, the navy-haired maid smiled and nodded. "Sure thing. Do you mind, if I take you to the lady?"

"Not at all." Sendai was actually hoping for that, so this panned out pretty well.

' _Almost too well. Getting jumped by karate maids in five, four…'_

...After a few seconds, the maid now turned away, Sendai flinched violently, throwing her gaze around.

' _Oh.'_ This wasn't the case, however. ' _You know, for a family where their honored lady dies every thirtieth birthday, they're more trusting than I thought.'_

 _Shu~nk._ The maid pushed open a sliding door ahead, and Sendai moved to follow. ' _She walks fast.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

The inside of the Akyuu residence was what Sendai figured most conventional housing in the village should have looked, and probably now _did_ look like. ' _Plain floorboards, some solid walls, and a nice color scheme that doesn't make me want to jeer about it.'_

' _...It also has any furniture at all, which is a big up over all the old houses. Not sure how that's changed, considering this whole village got redecorated.'_

It was only a few turns through some plain halls, before the maid stepped forward and slid another door open. "Here you are."

"Thank you." Giving her a nod and a smile, Sendai stepped inside.

The study was tidy as well as cozy. Royal red walls held the large room, with an open back window out into the garden, and a large bed to the right. In the room's very center laid a desk, beset with books, books and many more books; all the size of tomes.

A small, purple-haired girl was mulling over a glass of juice, when she looked up at Sendai.

' _...I think this is her.'_ Sendai didn't think purple hair was very common. ' _Still cute, too.'_

"Um… hello." Akyuu's greeting was quiet.

' _Aww.'_ Sendai let her brows raise in growing adoration…

"I came to return this chronicle I borrowed." Listlessly drawing nearer, Sendai held up the previous edition of the Chronicle of Gensokyo. "Your family loaned it to me, some years ago, before you were born."

...She rose a brow. "Really? With how few copies there were at the time, that seems… odd."

 _Thunk._ Sendai placed it down on her desk, where it would be least obstructive. "Take a look."

Akyuu decided to look, as recommended. After flipping just a few pages, she closed it again. "This is it, alright. You said we gave it to you, then…? Under what name?"

"Hakurei Miko." Sendai supposed there was no avoiding this admission at some point. "The one who didn't sign her name."

...Akyuu let her eyes pan up, and into the room's empty space, before returning to Sendai. "That's rather hard to validate, you know. And, forgive this _assumption,_ but… you don't necessarily look like her. Even if you _did_ , I don't think I can simply take your word."

Sendai held open the bottom of her skimpy, tight shirt-

 _Thu- thu- thunk, thunk, thunk!_ More Chronicles of Gensokyo flowed from inside, seemingly defying mass and volume laws.

 _Bambamthunkthunkthunkthunk!_ After awhile, she'd allowed a pile about as big as Akyuu's desk to build up alongside it.

"Um…?" Slowly growing more bewildered, Akyuu stared down at the tome pile with wonder. "Oh?"

Tearing the bands from her hair, Sendai let the giant pigtails down, too. ' _There we go. It was cute, but it felt stupid too.'_

Looking up from the copies, Akyuu looked over Sendai's face again… and then, she reached down and grabbed a tome.

 _Thunk!_ After flipping through the pages, she tossed it aside outright, and grabbed another. This soon became another, another and another…

Once twelve or so tomes were set aside, she looked back up at her. "Well. I'm… curious as to how you chose to _replicate_ them. In fact- were there not a ward against that sort of thing, on the copy? There _was._ " Akyuu recalled, before giving a nod to no one in particular. "Oh well."

 _Fwif._ Sendai sat down a stack of glowing talismans on the desk. It was tall, reaching from the desk up to her own height.

Appealed by the neat stack, Akyuu smiled up at them. "Oh…?"

Reaching her hands out, Sendai made them move.

 _Fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ The talismans took to the air, fluttering around before shifting and becoming a tight pole in Sendai's hands.

' _I learned that spreading darkness before my hands makes the talismans naturally attracted to it. You still have to interlock the talismans, 'cause once they get to the darkness, it's just gone; there won't be enough to just hold a one layer pole of rolled up paper.'_

 _Woo- woo- woosh._ Flicking the tiny, shiny holy pole into rotation along her hand, Sendai poised to toss it in the air while it spun, for a trick-

 _Pap._ Someone caught her arm. The pole fell from her hands, still spinning.

" _Ah-_ it's okay!"Akyuu sprung from her seat, holding up an arm of her own. "You don't have to… yeah."

 _Fwoosh._ Upon landing on the floor, the pole became a tiny holy nova, the talismans eating themselves.

Sendai turned to see who'd stopped her.

A blindfolded maid clad in black bowed past Sendai, towards Akyuu, before standing and moving for the room's exit. ' _Ahah. I knew it. Karate maids...'_

"You're…" Akyuu pointed up at Sendai to draw her attention, moving around her desk and the new tome pile. "Tsukiko Hakurei?"

"Where'd you learn that name…?" Sendai furrowed her brows…

...Eyebrows raised, Akyuu raised an arm to gesture to something away from the two of them. "Actually- Honoka, come back in here…"

...The blindfolded maid rounded the edge of the door frame, waltzing back in.

"I've had the misfortune of nearly entirely missing out on the last two generations of Hakurei…" Akyuu expressed her interest. "While your predecessors had archivists and documentary teams willing to write and chronicle their efforts… when you came about, there was hardly anything left, of the Hakurei. All I could get regarding you was gossip and formal words."

"I'm also supposed to be dead." Sendai had a brow raised… "Not many people are willing to believe I'm _not."_

"I don't entirely, either." Akyuu smiled at her. "But, if you're pretending to _be_ her… then, I might find some insight in the methods you use to do so. What you've shown me so far also lines up with what I heard… but the real test…"

Stepping away, Akyuu moved to gain a parchment and quill. "Hold on…"

...Sendai sized up the maid who was facing her. She had short pale hair, almost white in color, but she was otherwise rather plain. ' _I bet that blindfold lets her cheat. That, or she just uses mana detection or something.'_

"Alright." Now along the front of her desk, Akyuu poised herself to write. "Tsukiko. You know what… _item crashes_ are, right?"

' _Oh, boy.'_

"...Maybe." Sendai looked over at her. "What're you thinking?"

"I'd like to see some…" Making a pleadingly pleasant smile, Akyuu lets her lips curl to meet her cheeks…

' _...Well. I do have one of those Tauriner things, but…'_ Sendai inhaled. ' _I think two item crashes will be enough. I just have to pick things that're sort of iconic, but won't totally destroy the place.'_

-+- _Vs. Hieda Family Elite, Hieda no Akyuu's Third Bodyguard, Honoka Takuda_ -+-

Stretching her arms out a little, Sendai sized up the maid who took a sort of guarding stance before her.

"Don't feel shy to test them on Honoka. She's tougher than she looks." Akyuu gives Sendai a little nod to encourage her.

"Are there any you specifically _want_ to see?" Sendai considered. "My energy's… also in a _weird place_ right now. I'd like to keep this brief."

...At that, Akyuu allowed herself a little frown. "Really…? Hmm. Although- you _do_ have a point. Holy Spark and Thousand Blades would ruin the room… and, I like it as it is. Unless we took this out to the yard, but…" She seemed opposed to bringing this anywhere. "Alright. I want to see~... _Thousand Talismans,_ and _Fantasy Heaven._ "

' _Why~ the last one.'_ Sendai's expression was vain. ' _Whatever. It'll only be brief, so I'll probably be able to stop myself from going crazy on this maid here…'_

Honoka had one leg up, with both arms also poised to receive blows. ' _That is so not going to help her with anything.'_

"Alright." Taking some steps back, Sendai reached along her arms, to poise herself.

She closed her eyes, feeling her mana bubble along them. ' _When they start burning-... yeah. Wanna make this look good.'_

Then, she let her magic flare. " _Thousand Talismans!"_ Her arms glowed with white and black light.

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwap!_ Black matter crept onto her arms, so she could fling them at inhuman speed.

Once she began, talismans slipped through the air, one after another with almost no pause. The glowing, golden projectiles shot towards Honoka like bullets.

 _fwish._ Mysteriously slipping meters to the side in an attempt to avoid the stream, Honoka raised a leg and her arms to guard.

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwap!_ It didn't help a lot, since Sendai simply accounted for her new position. Each blow, unlike on Marisa, tore into Honoka with the force of punches, forcing her to drop her posture and stumble back, yielding to the pressure-

 _Fwip!_ Sendai tossed one last ofuda forward, this one glowing dazzlingly bright-

 _Fwa~sh!_ This one became a holy nova upon impact with Honoka.

" _Ngh…"_ Honoka leaned back and her knees buckled, as if the blow had almost blown her over.

Yet, almost miraculously, she thrust herself back into standing before falling over. Holy energy now visibly permeated across her form, and she was grimacing…

' _What the hell's she made of…'_ Despite the talismans stunning her harder than they did Marisa, Honoka refused to fall over, and this confused Sendai.

"What power…!" Akyuu looked at the talismans that stuck to Honoka's body, and took a step or two closer to get good visuals. "Those're dark-sapping talismans, alright."

Wordlessly, Honoka resumed guarding posture.

 _fwoo~m._ Before her raised knee, a disc of misty black and purple formed, protecting her and doubling up on her guarding stance. ' _What. She uses darkness, too? That's neat…'_

"Ha~h…" Letting herself exhale, Sendai refocused herself.

' _Damn. Even Thousand Talismans keeps kicking my ass to perform.'_ Gazing ahead at her sparring partner, Sendai searched herself. ' _Hope using my Fantasy Heaven here won't be a total disaster…'_

" _Fantasy Heaven!"_ She threw her arms out and arched back. Her body took to the air, only by a small margin.

 _fwoa~m._ From the core of Sendai's being, inky black energy flowed from her, along all of her limbs, and along her body. It flowed seamlessly, not nearly as grainy as when normally applied as a simple defense mechanism during martial arts or parkour.

' _Gods-...'_ Sendai regretted this almost immediately. ' _I should have asked for another thing- fuck…'_

Finally, the black substance her mana fueled had reached her head, and spread over her face. It'd enveloped her entire being.

She closed her eyes, letting the process proceed smoothly. ' _I should have- thought this through.'_ She remembered the feeling of using this times before, now. ' _It's-... it really is like death. Shi- shit…'_

"Oo~h…" Standing behind her desk this time, Akyuu scribbled from a distance.

' _So- sorry…'_ She thought of the maid before herself.

Honoka stared into two luminescent, yellow orbs that were in place of Sendai's eyes. They weren't simply colored eyes or anything; rather, it was simply as if she was staring into two distant candle lights, or lit fireflies.

' _dark'_ It saw ahead. ' _me'_

-+- _It's Perspective -+-_

 _Thu- thump!_ Now complete again, the dark being dropped onto all fours. Bouncing up from its hunched position, it clapped its hands together, a well of azure and dark magic blossoming forth from its body as it took a martial posture, arms held up and ready to strike or defend, tooth and claw.

' _im awake'_ It's veins were fluid like water; like an engine re-oiled, its old parts replaced factory-new. ' _im alive'_

Breathing was addicting, air flowing through it's form with a hyperventilation-esque rhythm. Azure light flowed from the veins of its flesh, brighter than it's all black clothes, all black skin, all black blood and all black smoke aura.

 _Fwish._ Knee raised into the air, guarding with her arms and leg, Honoka readied to receive a demonstration of its power.

She was afraid. She anticipated pain. She saw through her blindfold, and the whirling, hellish giant air wheel of mana from it's body was huge, intimidating and unreal; that of an entity from a living hell of another world.

If it had a mouth, it'd smile. ' _hehe he'_

 _whish._ It held both arms out at it's sides. ' _so much'_ It was almost like it opened for an embrace. Honoka's body emanated listless dark, fear, and life. The vulnerability was deafening.

 _WHUNK._ It snapped a fist forward, moving across the room in one moment, a palm meeting Honoka's stomach, past her defenses, in one instant.

" _Anh…!"_ Honoka's eyes were wide, beneath her blindfold. She'd spat out her saliva onto it, cringing hard, all the air punched out-

 _Pap._ It picked her up, with an all black hand.

' _Hh- how…!?'_ Honoka's thoughts were known. ' _All- my training…'_ She was searching her mind, rolling through pages of knowledge of how to break grapples, how to snap free, or hurt the opponent.

 _SHUNK._ She decided on a palm thrust up into its crotch. Dirty, but effective.

" _Hh~..."_ It hissed in response, it's glowing orbs coming closer as it loomed towards her face.

' _i like you'_ The holy orbs brightened, it coming nearly nose-to-nose with her.

Honoka heard it in her head. ' _Oh- god- oh god oh god-'_

 _Pap!_ She pushed herself away from it, breaking from the neck hold easier now. Black crept up her arm, and she hooked it before herself.

It missed the dark maiden, but landing it wasn't the point. With the momentum, Honoka rolled her whole body around, hands meeting the floor, her legs flicking up behind herself.

 _WHA- WHISH!_ Her heels smashed across its head. It leaned to the side, almost thrown over. ' _pain'_

As Honoka stood back up, it was in her face now, it's holy orbs static. ' _stop moving'_

 _WHUNK!_ She met it's crotch with a fierce, five-fingered palm again. ' _stop'_

 _BAM!_ With a punch to the stomach, she sent it back into the wall of Akyuu's room.

 _Bam!_ Lunging ahead, she connected a fist with its head. ' _Die!'_ She began to grin at the damage she was inflicting.

 _Bam! Bam! Bam!_ Grabbing onto its inky black hair, Honoka smashed the back of its head against the wall, over and over again.

The black of its skin was spreading onto her hand, while she held onto it. ' _Fu- fuck- what-...!'_ She snapped her hand away, shaking it around, the darkness splashing off and into the air.

Then, it had a hand on her neck again. ' _im back'_

' _Fuck off!'_ Honoka went for her crotch again-

It grabbed her wrist. ' _in black'_

 _WHUNK._ Then, it jabbed into her crotch, instead. " _Uu… uu-..."_ Honoka began to cry, under her blindfold.

' _hehe'_ It began to embrace her. ' _pain stops'_

"Nn- _eeh!"_ Honoka began to squeal, her arms snapping to her chest instinctually. " _Gh- go-...!"_

' _hehehe'_ It's body began to twitch; it was feeding so much, and it felt so good.

It crouched down, out of Honoka's sight.

 _fwish._ Then, it was behind her.

Honoka wasn't of the mind to check mana signatures just yet, however. ' _Where-...!'_ She felt at herself. ' _In- inside…!? No! No no no-'_

 _BAM._ It punched her in the back. ' _i am aether'_

 _THUD!_ She hit the wall ahead, flinching _and_ being blown forward at the same time. " _Aa- aah!"_

 _Thud._ Honoka dropped onto her butt, her movements cluttered. Her legs had tangled together as she tried to move, and her arms weren't going to do enough to get her to safety on their own. ' _La- Lady Akyuu-...!'_

It dropped onto its knees, before Honoka. ' _i was resurrected'_

"Aa-..." Honoka sobbed openly. " _Aa- Akyuu~!"_

' _to come back for you.'_ It was now eye to eye with her. Honoka's eyes were blue.

" _Eh- ha- aaa~h!"_ Honoka yelled.

This was the apex. The pinnacle of fear; raw, human _loss,_ jeopardy. And, what a rush it was. ' _exhilaration'_ It let its emotion leak to her, but she didn't pick up on the playful nature of it, luckily.

There were other resources left in her, however. ' _time-...'_ It shivered, interests conflicting. ' _to kill'_

That's when Akyuu intervened. " _Light!"_ Standing next to them, she took a Hakurei-styled talisman, and thrust it into the air.

 _FWI~SH!_ A pillar of holy enveloped her, and light blossomed forth.

A shockwave of reflective white met the two of them.

 _Bam!_ " _Hrhh!"_ The magic flung the being straight off of Honoka, and it landed in a steaming, smouldering and crumpled heap next to the room's wall.

' _burns bu burns it burns'_ It seized up on the floor, the light too bright. ' _not the light light light light reimu i love you reimu reimu keisuke reimu i love you'_

 _Sendai learned Essence of Assimilation._

 _Obtained 2500 Yen._

 _Obtained Human Villager Dress._

-+- _Tsukiko Hakurei's Perspective -+-_

...Sendai sat in a tired heap in one of Akyuu's chairs, black magic still burning along some of her limbs, as it slowly both returned to her body and faded into the air.

Honoka wasn't in much better condition, sitting in an adjacent chair. Her blindfold was half-off, a somewhat reddened blue eye staring out the window beside Akyuu.

Sendai looked down at her own clothes. ' _Oh... hey. I've got some villager-garb-y stuff on now… and it fits right.'_

"It wasn't _entirely_ necessary…" Akyuu warmly smiled at Sendai, speaking of the outfit change made for her while she was out. "But, it was for my sense of taste, and your's too, _probably."_

"...Thanks." It was pretty hard for Sendai to contribute vigor right now.

' _...I never have any memory of what I do after I use Fantasy Heaven.'_ Sendai took an idle glance at Honoka's shivering body, even if she was fine now. ' _Looks like she sure as fuck wasn't ready. At this point, I know what it does; I had forty long years to learn. But being a kid was a fucking uphill battle, after mom died.'_

"Also…"

 _Click, click._ Akyuu placed Sendai's tauriners onto the desk. "I saw these."

Seeing them too, Sendai nodded. "...Yeah."

"What _are_ they…?" With another curious twinkle in her eyes, Akyuu inquired of this. "They look to be an Eientei design."

"...I bought them." Sendai lied. "Pharmacy. They're supposed to restore spirit energy."

"Spirit… energy?" Wondering of this term, Akyuu brought her quill to her lips… "It's… a _faith_ supplement then, I might suppose. Or, god… energy, supplement? Faith and faith-based powers are actually a little different scale-wise…" After considering it, she shrugged. "Question for the gods, I suppose."

 _Kri- krack._ Taking one from the desk, Sendai snapped the cap open, discarding the plastic around it, before getting ready to chug it back.

"Mmh…"She closed her eyes and awaited the rush, downing the inky liquid.

' _This tastes wro- oo~h…!'_

 _Fwa~sh!_ Immediately, the smouldering black patches along her limbs flared out into big, unsightly blotches for one moment.

As Akyuu stood up, talisman in hand, and Honoka threw herself from her seat, the patches vanished, as if someone turned on a light and cast a room's darkness away.

Sendai, meanwhile, had already caught Honoka's arm after it'd come for her face, if only due to the perception rush she got from downing the drink. "...Do- don't worry."

 _Creak._ At that, Honoka collapsed back into her chair in an instant. ' _...I bet she's thinking something sassy.'_ For some reason, Sendai felt like she knew her better.

"I gotta admit… your uh, 'youkai self', gave us all sort of a scare!" Grinning down at Sendai, Akyuu began to sift through her notes. "But, you weren't quite acting like any I'd ever seen. Your movements all had..." She pondered how to describe it. "They all had _similarities_ to things I've observed before. The way they were stringed together and just sorta… impulsively thrown out, that was something unique."

"I don't _actually_ know what I'm doing when that happens, so it's hard." Sendai admitted to her, as she sat up. "I just wake up later."

"I'd heard similar… accounts, of your own accounts." Akyuu nodded at her, shifting her own chair to organize her papers while she talked. "All in all, I'm very convinced that you're _actually_ Tsukiko Hakurei. With, you know, some healthy skepticism remaining… because this _isn't supposed to be possible_."

 _Shoof._ Her chair slid back as she stood up. "What happened!?"

"...I dunno." Sendai gave her a very plain shrug.

Instantly, Akyuu deflated. "Ho- ho~w…? Um- how you died. Do you know anything about that, aside from where?"

...Sendai grinned at her. "I don't even know _where._ You know somethin' I don't?"

"Who revived you…!?" Akyuu brought her arms up hopefully…

"I just woke up. I have, no clue." Sendai shook her head.

...Slowly, Akyuu sat back down. "...Oh. O-... okay. That's… huh."

Silence set in, while she returned to staring back down at her papers and parchments.

"...It sucks shit." Sendai decided to state what they both felt.

"Yeah." Akyuu had to agree.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

==x==

 _x /_ _Sendai Hakurei No Miko_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

==x==

WEAPON: Unarmed.

==x==

INVENTORY:

X _Sub-weapons:_

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her mastery, Sendai takes on the form of the magic she channels most at the moment. Empowers all style attributes, but moves begin costing additional item crash uses, making this expensive to use. Before she died, it only brought out her pain-brought darkness, but...

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

X _Pocket items:_

(2x) Potion - A potion used to restore health. Basic, but the best choice for human users. Provides heavy health regeneration for some seconds.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Evolution - Heals the entire party, as if they were all given a potion. Equal to a Mega Potion, but consumes an item crash use to produce these effects.

Tauriner - Experimental medicinal restoration item. Restores 'spirit energy'. In Sendai's case, it restores a single item crash use upon consumption.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Seven thousand, one hundred ten Yen - Money used to purchase goods. Takes up no inventory space.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards...

(five slots remaining)

X _Armor:_

x _Body:_ Human Villager Dress - Common, cheap design most purchased by the common female human villager. Offers little defense, but comes with more pockets than most woman-centric dresses. Gives four extra inventory slots.

x _Misc:_

Nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing.

==x==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

 _X Body_

Endured II - Sendai has forged her body through a long cycle of training and combat. She's not as strong as she used to be, but she remembers what it's like...

Powerful II - With constant, repeated motions and strength training, Sendai has built up her body to strike fear into the land's youkai. Hits now vaguely resemble her former strength.

Dark Affinity - Inherently, Sendai has channeled inner, dark feelings for most of her life. Grants 50% dark resistance.

 _X Soul_

Heated Spirit II - A fragment of the resolve she used to wield. Allows Sendai to use two item crashes. At the end of every fight, she regains one use. Recharged by sleeping, or gaining new resolve.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Magic is ingrained into her body to allow her to replicate certain objects as long as she has enough mana. Becomes unusable when all item crashes are used up.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

Rebellious Soul - Able to channel her magic to her limbs, which takes on the form of dark enchantments. Reduces damage where she applies it, by strengthening the body itself.

Terrain Essence - Sendai can use the environment to deal devastating damage to her enemies. Executable off of walls, the ground, big objects; by lifting tables or chairs, etcetera. Boosts in power the less item crashes Sendai has used.

Essence of Finishing - Downed enemies are very vulnerable to extreme attacks, as Sendai's discovered. Follow-ups on downed enemies can now be critical hits, as long as Sendai's spirit remains full. Works with weapons, too.

Essence of Assimilation - When in Fantasy Nature style, Sendai attempts to consume the body of dark-elemental beings. Kills the target. Refills health, item crashes, and Fantasy Nature duration. Sendai inherits target's life force as a result. Bonus power deteriorates over time unless kept fed.

 _X Technique_

 _x Normal Style:_

Dark Power - Sendai accents her body with dark magic, reducing incoming damage and heightening outgoing damage when she wills it.

Quick Step - Sendai slides on her sandals to avoid an attack, jolting her muscles to evade. Pretty much muscle memory to her, at this point.

Youkai Buster Combo - A series of punches aided by quick kicks, which gives most foes little time to recover.

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Faze Step - Lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward some distance. Makes her highly knockback resistant while it executes.

==x==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

even for this chapter that had three- TECHNICALLY, more like two- fights, most of the content was not a shitton of fighting and the fights were just sprinkled about

...and the akyuu fight was less of a fight and more of a showcase anyway

spent most of this chapter CHILLIN' WIT MARCUS, but that's pretty cool; sendai needed a little SANITY TIME after getting THROWN INTO THE FUTURE

and then we had instant insanity time 'cause his daughter tried to kick tsukiko's shit in

that fight took more pages than ai ANTICIPATED but it should be snappy enough to not be a dronefest, and it's still like leagues shorter than fights in the alternative work

it was a little mediocrely tactical from the outside and ai have no idea if ai painted marisa's INHIBITIONS thick enough but ai think it works; also marisa gets smashed into a rail and coughs up blood so that's fun

a~nd then the honoka 'fight' which was pretty much just giving fantasy nature a proper setup and a _li~ttle_ background info; you don't really get shown how she's developed and sorta learned of it or what drives it but you're just kinda told it's there

either way ai think the tonal shifts worked way better here than in normal sendai 'cause fights are given pace to be in and of themselves and they also don't drown everything out even if they're gonna be like… they can't be a focus in a story like this, but they're GETTIN' SOME TLC WHEN THEY DO SHOW UP so they can be nicey nice and not so grueling and draining

of the like 45 pages for this batch 13 were fighting, and one of those is the marcus 'fight' and the rest are roughtly the honoka and marisa bouts, so on avrage they're li~ke… about 6.5 pages per, way different than the other sendai's grueling 20-30 page battles

that's also one of few times you'll see me use numbers and not romanize them :3 aside for resistance percents and things now honh

...although we know a LITTLE more about sendai's inner feelings now so we're closer to _forgin' the meaningful connections_

will we get there is the big question, but considering my deliberation, that answer is PROBABLY YES

as always, see you all next time!


	4. Humanity's Vanity

Now, Sendai Hakurei no Miko rested at one of the sunny outdoor tables, just outside the Akyuu residence's manor. She was in the backyard, gazing at some pretty autumn leaves that were flourishing a grand gold from the big tree that was back there. The grass was kempt and warm looking.

' _I could nap here. Wow.'_ Sendai thought this courtyard was something else. ' _This place has always looked nice.'_

...Approaching her, Akyuu took a seat near her at the table. "So. You _really_ don't know how you died…"

"Not a clue. I put Reimu to bed, hit the futon, and…" Thinking of the lights when she died was not fun, so she didn't. "Now I'm back, and everything's shitty." She leaned into the grey wood table. "Seriously, if you knew anything I _didn't_ , I'd appreciate it."

' _I also woke up on the Sanzu, but y'know… that doesn't help anybody to know.'_

"Well. I do, yeah." Akyuu nodded at her… "Before that, I'm kinda curious… what's been your decisions up until now? Like, what'd you decide to do after waking up?"

' _I'm gonna get this a lot, aren't I…'_ Sendai took in a breath.

"I ran into Reimu. She kicked my ass, and sent me off." She figured not to use the typical 'threw her in the trash' joke, as it'd grown stale to her at this point… "Then I met all my… friends, again."

"Rinnosuke, Keine and Marcus, correct?" Akyuu smiled up at her.

' _Doesn't miss a beat, does she…'_

She nodded back in clarification. "Mmm. After running into them, I… talked with them, tried to touch base again. I didn't quite connect with some of them like I used to... but, that'll come with time."

"...Yeah." Still writing, Akyuu continued… "Well, I wish you luck with whatever you decide to do. And, as for where you died…"

Reaching into a nearby folder she brought with her, Akyuu slid out a picture. "Of the scarce documentation on you, it was photographed _where_ you died, although no official pictures exist of you, at least not on my estate. None were taken of your body. This is a plain, near Misty Lake."

The picture itself was very nondescript. The grass was straw-yellow in one patch, and one tree in the back was very discolored.

"You were found broken." Akyuu recanted what she could ascertain, from her own studies. "...Literally. Your limbs were snapped at every joint, just about. While your flesh was unmarred, you were long dead since the time we found you, and some of your hair had seamlessly slipped from your scalp. You were holding some of it."

Some files were slid onto the white-painted, metal garden table they were seated at. "Despite the rot, your body was hot to the touch. People did not want to get close to your corpse, and it took careful handling and purification magic, to transport you to where you were later buried.

"Your grave location is… currently undocumented; a secret kept amongst only the current maiden, and your friends."

' _...I'm glad my dead body's private, at least. But...'_

"Purification magic?" Sendai felt that was very peculiar. "The hell for?"

Per her request, Akyuu met her gaze. "Those near your corpse reported creeping, deadly illness. Prolonged exposure for longer than an hour or two was not recommended for some time. Later, as it cooled, you were safer to handle. Not completely, but you were. Little formal investigation went into how you died.

"Marcus Kirisame continued to investigate, for some time after the village asked him to step down and formally disbanded any sort of investigating."

' _The village can go fuck itself.'_ Sendai figured that'd be how it went regardless. ' _Marcus investigated? I didn't hear anything about that. Next time I see him, I'll ask about it.'_

"Did Marcus learn anything…?" Sendai's next question came naturally. "What of the others?"

Akyuu shook her head. "The spot where you died, he discovered, also inflicted illness onto those near. After vomiting, among other ill effects, he retreated and healed. The grass remained warm for awhile. How long it took to cool is unknown. I don't know how it looks currently, but I don't remember seeing anything out of place.

"Some people mourned you." Akyuu pursed her lips. "...That feels awkward to say."

' _That's not a lot to deal with.'_ Sendai tried to process all of these facts. ' _No matter how I died, it was pretty fucked. Reimu…'_

"How'd Reimu take it?" This question came from Sendai with definition.

"...Well enough, I guess." Akyuu figured. "There is little documentation of her endeavors up until the installation of the spell card system. By that time, I was able to take up this mantle once again, and get some chronicling done myself."

Akyuu looked away, at the midday sun-crested garden, and the warm air. "I really ought to put teams into place, to carry on when I die…"

She gave the wood table a drained stare, laying her documents and writing down. "I was counting on the Hakurei minds. What happened to-... them-..."

She was about to continue, but turned in her seat to face Sendai. "I'm sorry. Do you know much of the-... of _your_ clan's downfall?"

"...I can't say so." Sendai admitted to her. "By the time Mom had me… most of them were gone. By the time I could remember, it was just me and her. She'd tell stories or passing mentions of the clan that came before us, but I never thought too much of them. At that point, I think she was just tired of everything."

' _I don't know how many people she watched die, but… she wanted at least me to be happy, above all else. Panned out real well when something snagged her too. I don't think I could live through being a teenager a second time.'_ She regarded her previous life experiences with combined senses of pride and dread.

Seinarubeki, a name which meant 'holy weapon'. Not a name Sendai dwelled on much, as she'd always known her mother as 'mom' instead.

' _Tsukiko's on the nose enough. I would've renamed myself if I was called a weapon outright. What was grandma like? Not that I'll ever know now. Thinking about the clan always makes me feel hopeless. At least I've got friends. Mom was sort of a loner, so… we weren't connected. It was really fucking scary when she didn't come back.'_

' _...But-...'_ It took awhile, but she found a way out of that fearful time. ' _Keisuke was man enough to care about me, when he really had no reason to. Back then, I was such a-...'_

Silence consumed the meeting again, while Akyuu sifted through her files. The bright sun's even glaze on the land was strange in comparison to how Sendai felt actually thinking this all over.

' _Well. Life goes on.'_

"I don't believe I have _much else_ that will be of interest to you." Akyuu admitted, leaning back. "I have a recent map of the town, if you need it. I have contact cards for the entire village council."

...Turning to get up from the plank-esque metal seat, Sendai panned her head to meet Akyuu. "...I might be able to do something with those contact cards."

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

4

Humanity's Vanity

Clad in decent villager garb, Sendai was now able to explore the streets with less expectancy of being stopped for her appearance.

' _Keine said I should ask around.'_ She evaluated her priorities. ' _I'm going to fix her problem right now. The last thing I need as a welcoming gift is to watch a friend of mine get fucked over after working hard.'_

With the latest edition of the Chronicle of Gensokyo now replacing her old one, Sendai proceeded out of the Akyuu residence.

"Thank you for visiting- I, think…" The elderly guard outside waved at her, attempting to recall if he let her in to begin with. Sendai gave him a careless wave back.

She briefly took note of her new, rich mahogany sandals she now had on. ' _High quality looking wood. ...Ye- yeah, this was an important observation.'_ It's moments like these, where she valued her alone time.

On her way to the main road, she held the cards between both hands idly as she continued to think.

Immediately unwilling to read them, she began thinking of her lineage instead.

' _Kiyoko Hakurei was the name of my grandmother…_ ' Sendai wasn't even close to being alive for when she was, but the similarities between their names was something of note. ' _I have no idea what she was like. The common word was that she was fierce and great, but that's really it. She founded the Hakurei Barrier, and everything.'_

Kiyoko meant 'holy child'. Tsukiko meant 'moon child'. ' _The dissonance… it's almost rude. It was also pretty foreboding when I was a kid. Just- my childhood was a fucking nightmare in general. I should stop thinking about it again. Why am I reflective about all of this right now…?'_

The answer came back to her quickly, though. ' _...My-... whole life has changed.'_

Stopping in the slightly warm village road, she once again half-heartedly looked over the boring white business cards she obtained. ' _C'mon, now. I've gotta do this for Keine.'_

...Just because she was resolute, didn't mean she wouldn't still find a reason to complain. ' _I don't really wanna deal with offices and shit. What I'd give to just get back to training. I'm almost hoping someone starts shit with me at this point. Someone who isn't a maniac like Marcus's daughter.'_

Sandals clicking on the paved road beneath her, Sendai finally began truly looking the cards over…

' _Okita Soji…'_ The first was of the chief financial officer. ' _Some money guy. Next.'_

' _Okane Dokusen, Farmer Baron. Rich boy's still fucking about, huh. Guard Captain Doppo Iwayama? New guy. Head Youkai Exterminator, Shurui Sutoro…? Holy shit, he's still on the board? Retire already. You probably have enough money to start a non-government hunting club or something.'_

Continuing again, she neared the village square. ' _All of them say to visit the council center. Guess I'll head there next. I don't have anything else to do.'_

Scanning the bustling and busy square one last time, she turned for the south road of the village.

' _The road into the rich part of town's actually right next to Marcus's shop…'_ Sendai realized, as she moved. ' _Should I really stop there again? I practically just left. Maybe later tonight, to see if he's washed those clothes. Haven't even given him more than a couple hours to get anything done.'_

The awkward restraint she had as she made for the village's south road- the road next to the shop- made her mentally pause. ' _...I was never this formal, when thinking about visiting him before. Ugh.'_ She kept moving, anyway.

The village stalls were active, and people were about and busy. Even along the main roads, there was the occasional stall rather than a proper storefront. The occasional guard dotted the road, looking some mixture of bored…

' _Really pretty day…'_ Sendai appreciated the sunlight again, albeit not as fiercely as before. ' _It's almost too bright.'_

While she gradually progressed, the voices of vendors and villagers could be heard. "Snow cones for sa~le…!"

"The fi~ne blades of Yoshimitsu~! Only _three hundred thousand_ yen!"

"I think… I think I'll work that job, after all."

"D'you think the Prismrivers are gonna perform again any time soon?"

"Wha- what an _asshole…"_

"I love you too, Koneko-chan."

The murmur of the road created a buzz to the air. At the same time, Sendai'd spent enough time in it for it to become monotone. ' _Almost to that road, now…'_

"Excuse me, miss!"

...Sendai slowed, as a suited man ran up to her.

"Please, stop by our restaurant some time!" The short-haired man beamed at her. "Have our flier!"

 _Sendai was forced to obtain pocket tissues._

' _What, no…'_ Sendai looked down at the ugly paper thrown into her arms. ' _...Lonely Smiles Bar and Grill. Sounds dumb.'_ Sliding the paper into her pocket, she shook her head…

"Excuse me!" Just a few feet away, the man heckled some other guy, giving him the same treatment. "Please! Our restaurant- it's for you! Here!"

 _Flick- fwish, fwish…!_ He was less successful stuffing the fliers into this man's arms, the papers fluttering away.

' _Talk about aggressive marketing.'_

...As she continued down the road, she looked to the left for the road she'd turn onto. ' _Should come up soon.'_

"Hey! Get the hell away from me!"

 _Whap._ The sound of vague aggression caused Sendai to turn her head in its direction…

"Pl- please…" A mid-teens looking boy jogged out of an alley, going after a girl with brown hair, and a big fluffy pony tail. "Miss- I need _help-..."_

"You sure _do!"_ A shrine maiden clad in dusty-rose colored clothes stopped once she was out of the alley, turning around to yell at him. "What the hell is wrong with all 'a ya!? Maybe I'd _lay ya_ if ya bought me _dinner first,_ ya fuckin' honky-tonks!"

Slowing down, Sendai began to step towards them. ' _What is even going on over here.'_

...From the alley, three more men, two looking boy-like and one actually being a young man, emerged.

"You buncha _fucksticks."_

The young, muscular man had some sort of leather jacket slung over his bare shoulder, his t-shirt fitted with an emblem depicting wheat, grains and harsh angles. "This is why I said to _surround_ her."

His hair was slick against the top of his head, the short haircut framing his already worn face.

"Sorr- sorry, chief…" At his side, a blonde, flushed boy stared off into nothing.

"She's pretty much _gone_ now." The older man sneered, tilting his head back. His sunglasses shone in the sun's glare.

' _His hair is way too shiny...'_ Sendai noted. ' _How much grease is in it? Ew.'_

"I was gone ta begin with!" Backing away, the woman propped her arms on her own hips. She looked a lot like Reimu. "Y'all need to learn to _talk to girls._ "

"Me? Learn to _talk?"_ The jeans and t-shirt-clad man leaned himself back, as if he heard a good joke. "I know all 'bout talkin' to pretty ladies. It's _you_ who's the problem."

"What's going on, here?" Somehow fitting in with these oddly-clad people, Sendai came to a stop between the two parties.

A shorter, brown-haired boy came straight at her. He moved right past the taller man, and came up to Sendai.

His hand went for her red hakama-

Sendai had him by the wrist. His gaze met her eyes, and she glowered back.

There was no fear in his flushed face. "...I- I wanna-... I wanna have sex with you."

' _...Is this a congealment of perverts, or something?'_

"Hey, uh, big girl." The pony tail-haired chick faced Sendai plainly. "Don't roll wit' them. These fucksticks tried to _rape me_. And-..." She frowned, hard. "If it was anyone but me, that'd be really fucked up!"

' _Another attempted rape?_ _So soon?'_

"Did _not."_ Strutting forward leisurely, the muscular, thin man made himself casual… "These dumb _farmhands_ just, you know, can't _help_ themselves. They see a pretty woman, and I guess instinct just, y'know..."

"Yeah, _fuck_ you." The brown-haired woman spat back at him. "Dieter, you stupid piece 'a shit. What's your _deal_ with chicks, anyway? I heard some _creepy rumors_ about you, y'know."

"Look." Dieter held his arms out. "I'll make it up to you. I'll keep these farmhands off yer case. Just come with me, first. I'll give ya dinner and everything."

He began to stroll towards her, but Sendai pushed away the young boy nearest herself, and grazed into his way.

He beamed at her. ".Oh? Unless _you'd_ like ta get a date wit' me instead. Fuck..." His beaming smile grew wider as he stared her over. "You're _fucking incredible,_ actually…"

Then, after she said nothing, he came closer. "What's your name, honey?"

"It's better you don't know." Sendai tightened her fists. "Who do you think you are?"

He tilted his glasses down. Sendai saw his grey eyes. "I think I'm yer new boyfriend."

Sendai was reminded of her deceased husband, and glared harder.

' _So. Here we are.'_

She sensed his predatory instinct. _'It was just a matter of time before this damn village would begin to see me as prey.'_

 _Whish._ From his waist, Dieter drew a dirty white washcloth.

Moving glaringly fast, he slid to shove it right into Sendai's face.

 _Pap!_ She blocked the oncoming rag with her forearm. "Too _slow-"_

 _Woosh._ When she tried to follow-up, he slid away from her, an amber afterimage left where he was.

...After giving her a long, ugly frown, he turned away. "Fuck this. Ain't worth a brawl in the street. Let's go, kids."

Pivoting around promptly, he power-walked away from them. He slung his black leather coat over his thin but muscular shoulder.

The boys followed him back into the alley, giving intent stares back at the girls, stumbling like they were almost somehow tethered to the man's existence.

' _I'm going to be see him again. Soon, I'm sure.'_

Sendai turned back to the girl, who suddenly looked very energetic...

"Can you believe it!?" She also began talking instantly.

"...Maybe?" Sendai wasn't sure what answer she wanted to hear.

The woman snorted. "No- I mean, Dieter's such a huge _pervert!"_

"...The hell kind of name is Dieter." Sendai was very set back by such a foreign-sounding name…

Pausing, the pony-tailed woman turned to her with vague shock. "What? ...Was that a _joke,_ or do you _actually_ not know who Dieter is?"

Despite quickly losing enthusiasm to speak with her, Sendai endured it. "Enlighten me."

"...Well, he's named Kowai Dieter." The woman seemed to awkwardly search her memory… "He's well-known around the village, for- _supposedly-_ being one of the most productive outsiders in recent history. He pulled me in off the road- he said for an _interview_ , but…" She began to deflate. "I almost got screwed, there… li- _literally._ ...Geez. An' not in the fun way."

"Does he work for anyone?" Sendai wondered. "You could probably raise a concern. The village is typically good about that sort of thing."

' _He's also named after fear, which I guess is pretty fitting.'_ Kowai meant 'coward'.

Bluntly, she shook her head. "Fhah? Who the hell raised _you?_ Dieter works under the _farmer baron._ He's pretty well-known for helpin' make chicks in shrine maiden outfits disappear. If yer part 'a that _project thing_ and gotta shrine maiden outfit, you run. I thought I'd be immune- 'cause I only got this outfit fer other reasons- but _nope..._ " Furrowing her brows, she patted herself. "Man, this sucks."

Awkwardly, Sendai blinked at her. ' _Chicks-... in shrine maiden outfits?'_

At Sendai's expression, the woman let her own gaze flick up sardonically. "...Did you, like, step out of a time capsule?"

"Yes." Sendai told the truth jestingly. "No, I just… don't get out a lot."

"...Oka~y." The shrine maiden-esque girl shifted a vain stare to the alleyway. "Well… it's pretty simple. You can't go onto his property, or you get shot. Ya don't get in the way of his business, and you don't get in the way of his workers. It's simple enough."

Then, she looked a little more bitter. "It kinda sucks. I mean, there's really no reason to _care_ about him, 'cause they normally keep ta themselves, but..." She sighed. "When there _is_ a reason to care, I guess you're just outta luck."

After this, she elaborated in an almost reluctant way. "And-... you know, I'll probably never see chicks like Keiko or Moriko again."

' _Ah?'_ Sendai wasn't sure what she meant by that.

"Hey…" She looked up, into Sendai's gaze. "Where do people go when they die?"

' _Damn.'_ It felt like a mundane question, but for Sendai, this cut surprisingly deep.

"Why ask that?" Sendai had to ask in turn.

The shrine maiden outfit-clad girl looked like she became uncomfortable. "I- I don't want to say. But-... do ya?"

Briefly considering an answer, Sendai nodded. "They go to the river Sanzu to get judged. If they've been good, they go to heaven. If they've been okay, they get reincarnated. If they've been bad, they'll go to hell. Pretty straightforward."

...The pony tail-haired girl smiled. "Um, thank ya. Be good, big girl."

After letting her brown eyes stare into Sendai's for one moment longer, she lowered her gaze and shuffled past her.

' _...Huh. That was-...'_ Sendai gave a somewhat woesome look, at the girl as she left. ' _Oddly resigned. I hope she's okay. Even more jarring, 'cause she seemed like a wacky person.'_

Facing the alley the boys took, Sendai's stare became more resolute. ' _What the hell were they about?'_

She moved, to follow them.

Between the village's two-story storefronts, the alleys were mostly empty dirt walkways. Sometimes, Sendai would pass a permanently fixed, metal rubbish container. ' _Dumpsters…'_ They were an odd invention, but she'd mull over that some other time.

In the intersection of the alley within, she panned around, before sighting her targets, to the left. ' _There they are. Didn't go far at all, in that time.'_

Moving up to the guy and the boys, she raised her voice. _"Hey."_

Dieter turned to her suddenly, almost flinching from the call.

" _Oo- oh!"_ The boys looked practically ready to leap on her.

"It- it's her…"

Feeling at his crotch, a third boy came out from behind Dieter.

In the face of this situation, Sendai stood her ground. "I'd like a proper explanation."

Laxing his muscles, exhaling, Dieter held out his arms. "For _what…?"_

"We just spoke." Sendai didn't feel like putting up with that question. "So speak."

...Smiling at her, he stepped closer. "Yer the one askin' the questions, here. Can't answer what ya don't ask."

"Why are you going around trying to rape women?" Sendai's glare hardened.

' _He's going around, abusing his power to single-out women, or outright assault them. I can't fucking believe this shit's still happening.'_

At her temper, he grinned, giving her an exaggerated shrug. "I mean, she was _lyin',_ lady. I get shit from bitches all the time. Nothin' for you to worry yer pretty little head about."

"And those children?" Sendai gestured to the boys. "They're not acting like human beings anymore. What did you do?"

...Half-heartedly scanning the shorter boys, he shrugged. "Hmh. Teenagers are horny."

"Teenagers aren't complete animals in heat. Not _like this."_

Sendai marched closer. "Stop spouting bullshit. Put your fists up." She wasn't going to get through to them with a stern talking-to, she was certain.

Absolutely not expecting such audacity despite her volume, he grinned and stepped back. "...What the fuck? Yh- _you_ wanna fight, pretty girl? Oh- you're just _askin'_ ta get that fat ass beat."

"Nothing I could say would matter." Sendai cracked her knuckles. "Scum like you only learns through an asskicking."

"Wha- what'll you do when we got you pinned?" He leered. "Cry? Scream? ...If I flatten yer ass, don't you cry now. That'd be a fuck you _earned._ Thinkin' you could just get in my damn way..."

Despite his demeanor, his legs shook.

With each step Sendai took forward, Dieter took one back.

Then, he pivoted one-eighty into a full sprint.

" _Hold it!"_ Sendai ran after him.

Very quickly, the three boys leapt into her way, their eyes wild and movements simple.

-+- _Vs. Human Villager Youths -+-_

 _Fwash!_ Ahead, raw amber energy exploded off Dieter.

This explosive aura left a trail of sparks in his path as he got the hell out of there, leaving Sendai to his strange young 'farmhands'.

' _Damn…'_ Sendai couldn't hope to keep up. _'What the hell. He's good at running away, at least. If only I'd had my speed…'_

 _Whew- wew!_ Dieter whistled as he ran, then yelled. " _C'mon bo~ys!_ We got a _rowdy one!_ First ta pin 'er down gets the first round! Let's _go!"_

The three young boys anxiously bounced in place before Sendai, taking grappling postures.

' _I bet this works really well on random women who can't fight back, but still resist.'_

' _As for me, however…'_

The boys said no words. First, the blonde one came at her, eyes glazed over and face flushed.

 _Thunk!_ Sendai unleashed a thrusting kick straight at him, sandal to his ribs.

" _Ungk- anh..."_ He fell straight onto his back, the kick blowing him right over.

Stumbling over him, trampling him, the brown-haired fifteen-year old leapt right at Sendai-

 _Wha- Crack._ Sendai hooked him across the cheek with her left arm. His young body still didn't compare to Sendai, even when she was at her weakest she'd been in years.

' _Damn. His joints cracked when I hit him across the jaw…'_ They certainly weren't _farmhands,_ all things considered. If they did farmwork, they wouldn't be so skin-and-bones.

 _Wham!_ She hooked him with her right this time. "Aa-"He gasped, bloody drops flying from his lips.

Sendai followed up with a low, underhanded _thrust_ with her left arm.

 _Wha- CRUNCH!_ It met the underside of his ribs. _"Ghuk-"_ He flew up and off his legs, landing on his ass a second later.

That's when the last boy, a black-haired one with a bowl cut, pushed up against Sendai from her side.

His head pushed against her left breast, and he immediately humped his waist against her thigh.

Sendai looked mildly annoyed, as she pushed against his forehead with her left hand.

"Aah- _nnh."_ The push bowled him onto his ass.

As he scrambled to get back up, Sendai reeled herself back…

Her left leg positioned way back, she began to affix her dark energy into it. _'Alright…'_

 _fwish._ Black ran along her leg inside the hakama, as she experimented with flooding her skin and muscles with darkness again.

' _This loser kids didn't know what woman they were trying to rape. I'd imagine three teens could easily overpower most women, too…'_

 _Fwash!_ Blue, azure light flushed up along her left leg, making the red hakama glow purple from the combined colors.

The black-haired boy jumped at her-

" _Hyah!"_ Sendai unleashed her charged kick, leaping into the air with a huge knee strike.

 _CRUNCH._ She met him in the gut with the ball of her knee.

 _BAM._ The blow was so great, he was thrown into the alley wall, saliva drooling from his mouth. _"Aa- a-..."_

Sendai wasn't done yet.

 _BAM- BAM!_ She blew a hook against either side of his ribcage, bouncing him against the wall.

 _THOOM._ She palmed his face, smashing the back of his head against the alley wall. Blood dripped out from her nose, running down her palm.

She released his head. The bowl-cut boy dropped onto his knees.

 _CRUNCH!_ Sendai kneed him in the face, the back of his skull meeting the alley wall again. This time, a red mark was made against the wood walling.

 _thud._ Half-dead, the black-haired boy was allowed to limply become a heap on the ground.

 _Obtained 540 Yen._

 _Sendai learned Charged Kick!_

 _Obtained Experimental Aphrodisiac._

...Sendai had her arms folded, glaring down at the two boys standing before her. The black-haired one was still on the ground, debatably conscious, but in a world of pain.

"Tha-... thank you…" The blonde boy held onto his gut where he was kicked. "I'm- I'm very sorry."

"Be happy I didn't snap your dicks off." Sendai threatened them bluntly. "Is this _really_ all the money you have?"

"So- sorry…" He seemed to shy away, guilty. "I-... that's most of my allowance, so…"

' _How fucking young are they? They look to be thirteen or fifteen…'_ She remembered the brief moment where that one boy's crotch was in her face. ' _Definitely fifteenish, actually.'_

"If you'd actually gotten anywhere in your attempt to rape me- none of you would be talking-... _breathing,_ right now." Sendai fumed at them.

None of them spoke back.

"I- wh- ah…" Almost crying, the blonde boy reached into his pocket, and shakily drew a pill bottle. "Th- he- here…"

Swiping it from his hands, she looked it over. "What the hell is this?"

She read the label along it. ' _...What. This-... this is an aphrodisiac. What the fuck.'_ She looked back up at him questioningly.

"...We, they- we took the- um…" He let himself trail off, shying away again. After a brief moment, he looked back at her. "We had to eat that. And…"

Sendai rose a brow. "Did that guy make you eat them? Why?"

The blonde teen looked spacey. "... Um…"

"What are your names?" Sendai decided to collect some information from them next.

...His numb face fell. "I-... I don't know."

...Sendai looked up. Ahead of her, six or nine other boys were receding back into the alleys, out of her vision. ' _What.'_

"There's-... normally more of us." The blonde boy stated. "I- I don't know where they are…"

She gazed at him skeptically. "And, you just… jump on women?"

"Ye- yeah…"

He came closer, as did the brown-haired boy.

"Please." He grabbed onto Sendai's right breast, and the other boy her left. "Just once-"

Sendai grabbed both of their arms with either of hers, and pulled back.

 _CR- CRACK._ The brown-haired boy's arm broke. _"Kh- ha- aaaa~!"_

The blonde boy's eyes widened. "Le- _lhet me go- I'm sorry- I-"_

"How many women?" Sendai glared at him. "How many women have you fucked?"

...His eyes were wide. "I-... aah-... a- a lot? Like-... ee- eleven-..."

 _CRACK- CRACK._ Sendai bent his arm backwards, and broke it.

" _Sto- aauh- aaaa~!"_

' _Let's see you fuckers do this again. It might be the aphrodisiac's fault, but I'm not letting this shit happen again. You take people's dreams, I take your arms. Fair's fair.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

' _Well. That… was fucked.'_

Questioning them lead nowhere, and Dieter was gone.

Moving back down the road, she continued to her previous destination…

' _This bottle just has a crude label of 'aphrodisiac' on it. It's high-quality plastic, just like my tauriners.'_

All in all, the entire exchange left her with more questions and thoughts than answers.

' _That woman… talked about shrine maidens like they were common. Did the village really get that much of a resurgence in random faiths?'_

' _How many more fucking rape parties like these are there? Why is Reimu letting them run around?'_

She looked down at herself. ' _Well. Since I'm in villager stuff, I don't have to worry about being jumped again. Why do they jump at shrine maidens specifically? Why is that a thing…?'_

' _What the hell is going on around here?'_

'... _What if they'd run into Reimu?'_ The idea left her feeling sour. ' _I don't even know how she fights, so-... I can't tell if she's even safe to come here. Maybe she stays away. Goddamn, this place went to shit.'_

She finally managed to turn onto the road into the richer part of town, where the village council's base of operations was located.

' _...Whatever.'_

The road to the council wasn't cobblestone; it was a neatly paved, flat stone walkway.

The unevenly spaced out two-story homes along the left and right of this ornamental lamp-decorated road were unchanged from how Sendai remembered them.

' _Mmm. Guess they didn't upgrade these houses. Three or four story houses would just look silly. In the past, they were bigger than the other houses to show wealth and superiority, but now it'd just be ridiculous.'_

As decorated and lush as this village segment seemed, it was also short. Sendai had already found the turn onto the one deviation on it, which was essentially the front walkway to the village council chambers.

' _This place used to be really jarring because of the size of the houses. Now it just looks wastefully luxurious, because of how spaced out they are. There're actual lawns here, too… and, it's admittedly refreshing to see some green. This place is a dirt pit.'_

Down the stone path on the royal road's right, there was the village hall. A massive, wooden box, fit with a dome top decorated with skylight-esque windows. The format of it hadn't changed at all since Sendai was last here, apart from the weathering and placement of outside equipment.

She stepped up to the front door.

 _Crea~k._ Pushing the aged, carved wood door open, she grazed into the warm front lobby…

The floor was decorated with red carpeting. Ahead, the audience room doors were locked. She'd have to access the top desks through the side doors.

' _No guards, today?'_ Sendai felt that was curious… ' _Just… no one in the lobby. Okay.'_

On either side of the stout lobby room, there were large entries to equally thick halls. Sendai progressed into the rightmost one, where she could find the council and talk to them directly…

Portraits and uninteresting furniture lined the left and right walls as she continued around the inner perimeter of the building, through the square hall circuit. A staircase was at the midst of each side hall of the building, to allow access to the second floor.

' _Hmm.'_ Sendai mulled over the long, red carpet along this hallway. ' _Why red? We don't really use red anywhere else. It's kinda tacky, and makes the place seem stuffy-... not in the aristocratic way, I mean, the air is uncomfortable.'_

While walking up these steps, Sendai passed kimono-clad, short-haired men, who gave her dull stares.

At the top, a brown-haired woman clad in a purple and white kimono fanned herself, sat upon a nearby end-table. She gave Sendai a frown as she passed her…

' _Bunch of money leeches and busybodies, here.'_ Sendai felt like going to sleep just looking at them. ' _Let's get this over with.'_

 _Crea~k._ The plain door to the audience room's upper level was open. Advancing inside, she looked around…

The meeting room was big. It was the centerpiece of the entire hall's design, built for the village people's access.

There were two halves to the meeting room. First was the 'great desk', a C-shaped wood barrier that the village council sat on. Second was the bottom, where the audience sat. From the bottom, one would see the village's leaders looming over them from way up above.

' _I heard this was a change made later, but it was before I was even involved in the village. This used to just be a background area, and the council used to sit in the lowered half-circle, where people could actually hear them.'_

There was a spot reserved for all council members. However, they all rarely showed up.

' _There's a meeting every month that like ten non-council people go to. As such, many decisions are made behind the village people's backs, and are only felt later.'_

Some council members checked in more often than others, however… and every member could be called in on public, anonymous request; something not advertised, but something Sendai discovered after enough heckling.

' _We'll see, however. I'll hunt guys down myself, if I've got to. It's more interesting than sitting around here like an idiot.'_

Of the people that were here, she recognized some of them. Okane Dokusen, the Farmer Baron, stood next to what looked to be the current village chief.

' _Who's that…?'_ Sendai didn't recognize this village chief. ' _They replaced the chief? Ouch.'_

Another notable mention was Dieter.

' _Hah. What luck!'_ She had a mean grin. _'That fuckass…'_

...On the other half of the C-shaped walkway shielded by the great desk, a woman clad in red and white sat, looking bored.

' _Who's that?'_ Sendai had never seen her before, but she looked familiar. She had a strange shrine maiden outfit on, but she certainly wasn't Reimu.

Moving around this C-shaped upper level, coming to the back of the 'C', Sendai gazed down at the chief.

"Oh… hello." The old, unknown chief waved at Sendai. "I've, ah, forgotten your name…"

' _... I've never seen you before in my life.'_ Sendai gave him a worried look.

"Dude!" Noticing Sendai, Dieter whipped his gaze to Okane. "She _chased_ me here! This's the villager I was talkin' about!"

' _...Huh?'_

"What is the- _meaning of this!?"_ Immediately, Okane was loud and assertive, leaping from his seat and stepping forward to confront Sendai. "What is _your name!?"_

Okane was someone Sendai recognized from her previous life. He was a businessman through-and-through, although he normally never saw much success.

He was far more huge now than back then. Level in height with Sendai, he puffed his chest out and glared her down.

' _Holy shit.'_ Sendai grinned at his volume. ' _We've really just jumped right into it.'_

"What the hell?" Not one to be outdone, she raised her voice back. "What the _fuck's_ your problem?"

"You have _interfered_ with the business of my man!" He gestured to Dieter, his face reddening up. "That is _harassment,_ and it is not allowed in our lawful nation!"

He didn't seem to remember who Sendai was, or even recognize her. _'Moron lived in his own world, after all.'_

"Village, you mean." Sendai corrected him. "And, I interfered because he was trying to get a woman gangraped. Sorry about that."

" _What!?"_ At her mention, Okane appeared to be the most surprised in his entire life.

He gave Dieter a grand, speculative look, before looking back at her. "Dieter is an _upstanding_ man, you _sow._ He was doing my duty, and performing peacekeeping amidst the village. It is no one's fault but _yours_ if you are so misguided- as to interpret his _work_ as _'gang rape'!"_

Sendai was reminded of the sedate girl, who had brushed the event off, but not without palpable fear and resignation. "Bullshit."

Okane began a fierce glare, his face reddening up again. "Well- I _never._ Where do you work? I'll see you fired."

"Nowhere." Sendai provided simply.

"Hah!" He beamed, all of a sudden. "As it should be. Then, if you're a non-contributing member, I may see you _jailed_ , for your treason."

"Treason?" Sendai snorted, grinning again... "When the hell'd a farmer have that kinda authority? Especially _you_ , money boy."

The grey-haired Okane stopped, tilting back like he took a punch. "Money boy...!?"

' _Anyway.'_ Ignoring him, Sendai centered her gaze on Dieter, who looked ready to run already. ' _This bastard…'_

Okane saw her gaze shift, and moved to get in the way. "Oh- no you _don't!"_

"Kindly fuck off." She didn't want anything more to do with him. "I have business here. Questions for the chief, and your _underling_ there. It would be _unlawful of you_ to disallow me my basic rights."

...He began to grin. "Unlawful of me? I _am_ the law! And- if you ask _me-_ I think _you_ should go to jail! Maybe you'll learn what _gang rape_ means _then!"_

His audacity managed to earn a glare from her. "Wh- what…"

He held up his arms, lumbering forward. "And I'll fucking _bring you there myself_ if I have to! I'm gonna fuck your world up!"

-+- _Vs. Village Farmer Baron, Okane Dokusen -+-_

Sendai cracked her neck, then her knuckles, as the aged man powered towards her, his gait assertive and fists clenched. ' _Hoo~... holy shit, he's hyper.'_

After a moment, seeing Sendai take her own posture, he brought his fists up boxer-style. "Ho- ooh…!? You wanna- _fight?_ Is _that it!?_ You can't _fight me-_ I'm on the _council!"_

To their side, Sendai eyed the desk part of the council's platform. Past it was a one-story drop straight to the audience floor.

' _Oh, fuck. I've got a bad idea…'_

"Hrrh…!" Clenching his teeth, Okane brought his left arm way down, ready to unleash an incredibly telegraphed, powerful uppercut.

 _WOOSH!_ He lunged his bulky body ahead, unleashing it. " _Mega~ Punch!"_

 _Fwish!_ Jerking herself, Sendai slid aside him on her sandals, avoiding it. ' _Good punch.'_

"Aa-..." He'd put so much power into the uppercut, that he was staggered by missing, stumbling to the right. "Damned-"

 _Wham._ Sendai hooked him in the back of the head.

 _WOO- WOOSH!_ _"Fhuck! Fhack! Fu~ck!"_ The blow immediately made him spaz out, and he fell, clawing an arm at Sendai as he freaked out about being hit at all.

 _Fwish._ Sendai just slid away as he flailed-

 _Thud!_ He landed on his chest. Flapping his arms around, he clung to a chair-

 _Thud._ The chair just fell on him instead, sending him back down. " _Aagh! Damn i~t!"_

' _...Yeah, I never took money boy here for a fighter.'_ Awkwardly, she watched him flap his arms about, crawling out from under the chair…

It took some good, long seconds, but Okane managed to use the desk top to climb back onto his legs. "Hufh-... huuh…" He seemed to have trouble actually getting back up.

Sweating hard, his forehead so strained and red that Sendai feared for his blood pressure, he pointed ahead at her. "You-... you _fight hard,_ for a _bitch."_

"I hit you once." Sendai returned in monotone.

"You _did!"_ He yelled. "...But you're _clever_ , too! I _like that!"_

"I side-stepped one punch." She returned in monotone, again.

" _I lift weights!"_ He yelled, in return. "I can lift _two hundred pounds!"_

'... _It's really something, too.'_

Sendai's stare was still plain, if a little incredulous. ' _All this power, and it bites him in the ass so hard, because he's probably never done anything but ram himself into people before.'_

 _Clack._ Grabbing the chair that fell on him earlier off of the floor, Okane began to beam. "Ooh- _hahaha!_ You're real _scared now,_ huh!?"

...When Sendai remembered the chief was watching, she almost laughed. ' _Thi- this is so fucking stupid looking.'_

 _WOOSH._ He thrust the whole chair to his right side, and really pumped up his posture. " _Heh- he~h! Bullet Sweep!"_

 _WOOSH!_ He swept the chair up towards Sendai so hard, that when she slid back and away from the attack, it slipped from his grasp, flying into the aether that was the audience seating below.

"Pft- ehehe…" Sendai couldn't repress a giggle. "Dude, calm down…"

" _Rrgh!"_ His eyes widened with adrenaline and intent. " _Hya~h!"_

He outright leapt at Sendai, sprawling all his limbs out, intending on crushing her with his weight.

 _PAHP._ She caught him with her hands, crouched as she pushed back against his weight. "Nn- _nngh-..."_

That's when Dieter interjected.

Sendai's breasts were cupped from behind as she tried to push against Okane. "Aa- _aa-..."_

She felt one of her legs buckle- and she _pushed._ _"Nnh-"_

 _THUD!_ Her force was so great, she brushed Okane to her left, allowing him to fall awkwardly onto his side.

" _Fuu~ck!"_ He practically exploded, flailing his arms at Dieter's legs. _"Dieter! Fucking- do something damn it!"_

"Gh- ff- fine!" Dieter barked back. Both of his hands were deep in Sendai's chest, but he removed one.

' _The rag.'_ He was planning on taking her out in one quick motion.

Sendai dropped onto her ass.

 _Woosh._ Dieter failed to connect his chloroform rag with her face, since she'd slipped from his arms.

"Hngh- _rrgh…_ " Okane slowly lumbered back up… "Damn-..."

Sendai spun as she stood, to face Dieter-

 _Thunk!_ Dieter kicked Sendai in the chest as she stood, sending her back onto her ass. _"Unh- nn!"_

' _This asshole…!'_

" _Fhuck you!"_ Okane blared, as he stomped back up. "I'll send you ta _hell!"_

Sendai scrambled onto her legs, eyes wide as she was barely prepared this time to handle the larger man.

 _THUMP- THUMP- THUMP!_ He stomped back up, ready to toss himself at Sendai again.

...But, he waited. Stepping back and forth, he seemed to wind himself up, as if it'd give him more force.

Sendai was readier now. _'Fucking idiot-'_

 _Slap!_ While she focused, Dieter slipped up, and slapped her on the ass. ' _Oh…!_ _Wh- fuck!'_

 _Fwish!_ She jerked her body to slide left early, looking back for a moment, before locking her gaze on Okane again-

" _Hrah!"_ He threw himself at Sendai again.

" _Uhf-"_ She was tackled by the larger man-

 _THUD!_ She met the floor hard, squished between the ground and him. _"Agh…!"_

"Heh- hahahah!"Beaming victoriously, the bigger man pushed off of her. "...Gods."

He buried both hands deep in her chest. "Dieter was _right._ You aren't fit for the street. You're better when put to work."

"Get- off…!" She began to crawl back, but he tensed his thighs, using them to hold onto her waist.

"Stop _squirming!"_ He reeled an arm back, to punch her into submission-

' _My pocket shit-'_ Sendai let one of her hands reach for her own pockets, to draw something to help herself. _'I still have my items…'_

Dieter knelt down, and took Sendai's right arm, so that she couldn't defend herself with it. She only had her left arm to search her pockets.

 _WHAM!_ Okane slammed his fist into Sendai's face. _"Nghk-"_

 _WHAM!_ As Sendai searched, she realized she had nothing easy and blade-like. _'Fuck-'_

 _WHAM!_ The back of her head bounced against the floor, the fist connecting with her cheek. "Nnh- _gh…"_

Okane had a vicious look as he reeled his fist back again. "How's it feel, bitch!? I'm _fuckin' farmer baron!_ I own this shitty village- and I own _you!"_

She conjured and drew a rebound stone with her left arm. As Dieter reached for that arm to bind it- she tossed it for the wood desk interior to the right.

The Hakurei rebound stone was a simple item which defied gravity, and bounced with barrier-like certainty when striking flat surfaces.

 _Click!_ It bounced off the inside of the desk, disobeying gravity, drawing a holy line through the air.

 _Shink!_ It slid straight into Okane's gut like a small knife, cutting him. _"Wh- gh…"_

The magic stone had cut right through his suit and through his side. "You- _fucking whore-"_

Additionally, Sendai had a yin-yang orb in that left hand. When Dieter began to tug on her arm, she let it drop, expanding it.

 _Bam!_ It became huge between them, bigger than a chair. It struck Okane in the face.

"Rrgh- _whoah-"_ Okane threw himself back, and Sendai was gently squished into the floor.

Springing back, into standing, Okane clenched his fists, stumbling around.

Dieter had let go of Tsukiko. He didn't want to be close to anything even remotely dangerous, and he had a sixth sense for when things would go wrong.

 _Fwish!_ Blue light bloomed from within Sendai's form as she sprang off the ground, cheek bruised. The yin-yang orb minimized to allow her back up.

' _This fucker- was this close to-...'_ She seethed, anger building.

' _I don't even know how Reimu's doing yet. I'm so damn weak, these dumbasses almost-...'_

' _If I was anyone else- I could have been raped right there.'_

' _I-... don't even know what I'd do, if that actually-... fuck it. I'll think about it later.'_

Beaming, Okane rushed straight at Sendai again. _"Got ya- bitch-"_

Dieter came up, and grabbed Sendai's waist from behind-

 _BAM._ Unintimidated, Sendai hooked Okane right across the face as he came at her.

" _Rrh-"_ He was more bark than his hefty size would have implied. The blow sent his whole body twisting away from Sendai.

She furrowed her brows, and elbowed Dieter before he could do anything clever-

 _Whap._ She intentionally didn't try too hard. Her elbow barely grazed him before he leapt back, alarmed and on the defense.

Coming up, Sendai got in Okane's face and pushed him back while he staggered. "You- _can't just-"_ He tried to yell, but-

 _BAM._ Sendai threw herself at him and kneed him in the gut.

 _crack._ The indent of his spine met the edge of the desk's edge behind him. His vertebrae clicked. _"Uwo-"_ He opened his mouth to yell-

 _WHAM!_ With a big, messy motion, Sendai uppercut him, forcing him to bite his own tongue.

Okane's head bobbled almost cartoonishly, a spritz of blood shooting out from his mouth. "Gh- _ah…"_ Feeling at his jaw, he began to tear up.

Sendai stepped back-

 _Whunk._ Before he could do anything else, Sendai kicked him in the stomach, sending him back into the desk.

 _Bam!_ His same spine segment met the same dent in the wood desk. " _Ngh-…"_ He looked like he wanted to get angry, but his hands snapped to nurse himself instead.

Running towards him before he could collect himself, Sendai thrust one hand onto his collar, gripping it tightly.

 _Bam!_ She immediately pushed him back, halfway onto the desk. The dent in the wood and his spine acted like a hinge together.

" _Sth-"_ Okane whined. "Sthop- stop-"

She lifted him by the ass, sliding him onto the desk entirely-

 _WOOSH!_ He kicked both legs up to retaliate as she helped him up, which gave him a dangerous amount of momentum.

It was enough force to make him flip backward, and into the empty space in the midst of the C-shaped upper level.

"Wh- _woah, rgh- aaa~h!"_ He fell fifteen meters down, flailing his arms on the way

' _Oo- oh, holy shit!'_ She hadn't actually expected him to do something like that, but… ' _Ho~ly shit! See ya! Oh, man!'_

...Leaning a little, over the desk's edge, she saw the broken chair down there that Okane had tossed.

 _BAM!_ She saw Okane hit the ground. ' _Oh shit. Woah.'_

When she leaned back up, standing there with her hands on the large desk top, she blinked a few times.

' _...Serves him right.'_

Taking pause, she idly eyed Dieter.

Dieter was strutting up to her. He had his sunglasses tilted down, beholding the blue aura of dark magic emanating from Sendai's body…

"Damn." He smiled. "You're strong fer such a sexbomb."

"Fight me." Sendai demanded.

He shook his head. "Right now? Heh. Fuck that noise."

" _Coward."_ She began to stomp towards him. "What's your fucking problem? Where do you get off with this shit?"

"All I could do right now is slap your boobs around." He shrugged. "Ain't satisfying unless I can really _get into it,_ y'know? And as sexy as you are when yer mad… wouldn't be _conductive_ t'my health. I get the feelin' this won't be the last we see a' each other anyhow."

Sendai glared hard. _'You'll rue the day, and that's the truth.'_

 _Obtained High-Quality Bottled Water._

...Okane was now back on the second level, a bandage wrapped around his head, and cotton stuffed into his nose.

Sendai was smiling. ' _I look like a complete psychopath right now, and I really don't care.'_

"Da~mn…" Dieter sneered at his boss. "She kicked your ass, _sir._ "

"Shuht uhp." Okane glowered back at him. "I'hll dhedu'h yu' pa'..."

"Of all the days, for me to not have guards here…" The village chief stared down at his desk in abject despair.

' _Right?'_ Sendai thought it was off, too. ' _I'm glad, because that'd probably be more of a pain in the ass, but at the same time, that's stupid.'_

"So." Her gaze centered on Dieter next. She drew the aphrodisiac bottle from her pocket. "What's this?"

"Looks like your medicine, babe." He grinned. "Take some and find out."

' _Sounds like he needs an ass kicking, too.'_ He'd very quickly put himself on her bad side. ' _Slippery motherfucker.'_

Her gaze turned to the village chief. "Chief. This was on young men, under… _Dieter's_ supervision." His name was weird for her to say. "They were attacking women. He ran when confronted. Do you have anything to say about that?"

She placed the bottle down on the desk next to him, moving past the other guys to do so.

...After rotating the bottle around, he gave her a tired look. "Well, what is it…?"

' _Can you read!?'_ Sendai's mouth went agape for a moment.

"...It's- it's aphrodisiac. His workers were drugged. Beyond that, they were… spacey and distant." She informed him. "He was using them to try and _rape women._ Some came at _me."_

' _I've got a bad feeling about this guy. They must've killed the last guy, because by comparison, this old bastard's… he's a joke.'_

"Oh." His response lacked any kind of energy. "Well, you know… kids will be kids, these days. Not like we can control… y'know…" He sat the bottle back down. "And- you know, kids are always spacey. There's not much I can do-... other than, you know, talk to the _guard,_ but they already understand-... the problem."

'... _Unbelievable!'_

Reclaiming the bottle, she slid it away.

"See?" Dieter had a big smile on his face. "Captain Courageous. See what you get?"

' _...Really.'_ She was put-off by his pettiness.

"I can toss you off the edge, too." She threatened him.

He held his arms in the air lacklusterly. "I'm shiverin' in my shorts. An' I'm not even wearin' shorts." He gestured down to his jeans.

' _That's it.'_ She began to stomp up to him.

He took a step back for every step she took. "...I mean, _look._ You're fucking hot."

"Flattery won't save you, where you're going." Sendai was ready to hurt people.

"I mean, _time out."_ He held up a hand. "Seriously, if you can kick Okane's ass like that, you're pretty legit."

"I'm about to kick your ass like that." She continued towards him.

"No, for real!" He began to grin. "You shape them skills up a little more, and you'd get your first pick a' men. Or boys. How's that sound? Or, you know." He gestured to his waist. " _Me?"_

...She had a terrible idea. ' _You know what…'_

"Hmm." She'd play along, for a few seconds. "You _are_ pretty muscular." She began to smile, as if looking mixed about this.

...He seemed to pause, as if not expecting that. "Oo- oh, yeah? Heh…" He held up an arm. "Yeah, girl."

"You know what? We have a deal." She stalked up towards him, and he stopped retreating. "Dieter, was it?" She hovered his face closer to his, getting into his space.

"Dieter's ma' name." He moved to lift his sunglasses. "...'Fore we do anything else, whaddaya say, uh-... would you mind givin' me a ride?"

She moved to wrap an arm around him. Her other arm drifted to his crotch.

 _Pap._ She grabbed onto it, tight, and _clenched hard._

The reaction occurred one frame later. " _Hy- aa- aaaurgh!"_

 _Click!_ He accidentally flicked his sunglasses off, reaching for his groin as Sendai let go, sliding back from him.

"You're a huge fucking asshole." She smiled down at him. "You're also fucking stupid."

" _Hh- hh…"_ As he kneeled down, he glared up at her. " _Nn-... nhot- chool…"_

"Because raping girls is that much cooler." She reached down.

 _pap._ Picking him up by the collar, she raised a fist. ' _Time to punch your teeth out.'_

 _Bam!_ He brought his arms up, as she connected a fist with his face.

 _Bam!_ Even though he tried to stop the next punch, she changed the angle a little, to let it connect.

Reeling herself back, she thrust her head forward while he anticipated another left armed punch.

 _Whabam!_ Her forehead met his nose. " _Ghk-_ ugh…"

 _Thud._ Falling onto his ass, he grimaced. "Uu-... _fuck…"_

...Okane stared down at Dieter with a deepening frown, nodding at the results.

' _Hopefully this piece of shit's learned his lesson. He does this shit again, and I'll be back for him. Actually, yeah.'_

She clenched her fists, still glaring down at him. "Every time I hear a girl got raped- or was going to- or was _inconvenienced_ by your horseshit... I'm going to rip a fucking tooth out of your mouth."

 _Click._ Someone new shut the rightmost door out of the upper level. ' _Oh?'_

A red-haired man with a straw hat on his head stepped inside. He'd closed the door with one arm.

' _Oh, hey. It's Shurui.'_ Sendai recognized this man. Shurui Sutoro was a youkai hunter who was on the board when she was still alive. ' _Young guy, but pretty suited for the job. He's a lot older looking, now.'_

Her eyes traced down to the black, cloth coat he was wearing. ' _His other arm looks really… stiff, for some-...'_

When he'd stopped to survey the scene, she'd realized he was missing that arm. ' _...Oh. Fuck…'_

His gaze traveled over the injured, pouting Okane, and Dieter, who was in a state of varied anger and pain...

Sendai blinked at him, since he'd seemed oddly inexpressive about all of this.

"Pft- hehaha~!" Then, he had a chuckle at what he saw. "Jus' wha' the hell's goin' on hea'...!?"

" _Qhuie'."_ Okane made a blunt noise…

Stepping past the guys, he made his way to Sendai… "You do this to the ol' boys?" He gestured back to Okane and Dieter.

"Maybe." Patting the dust on her pants innocuously, she held her gaze. "You can't say he didn't deserve it."

"Damn straight!" Grinning back at Okane, he looked Sendai over again… "Y'know-... s'funny, but you remind me a bit 'a someone. Then again, I've been seein' a lotta' the black-haired beauty types these days."

"Is that so…" Sendai half-grinned back at him.

"Anyways." He pointed back at Okane, with his only arm. "You had a problem wit' tha' ol' geezer, or'd ya just deck 'em fa' sport?"

Sendai nodded. "Yeah, I had a problem. I found aphrodisiac on one of his lackey's… lackeys, and they were trying to rape girls, too. Actively."

...Shurui let his eyes flick up. "Ah, piss. Okane- you fuckin' around with the sex trade again…?"

" _Nho!"_ Okane yelped back a vague noise in response.

"Ha~h…" Exhaling and shaking his head, Shurui focused on Sendai again. "I'll tell ya, y'can probably barter money from the ol' geezer an' get a little protective guard service on the side, if ya haven' pissed 'em off yet."

' _Sex trade…!?'_ Sendai's brows were raised. ' _In this tiny fucking village!? Oh, hell no.'_

"How do I stop… the sex trade." Sendai proposed outright.

Shurui brings his hand up to rub his face. "...Y'know- I _wish_ it were that easy."

"Do I have to beat him up again?" Sendai shot a casual look over at Okane, who tensed up under her gaze… "Or, him?" She gazed down at Dieter, who was feeling at his crotch experimentally. "Uh…"

"Ya'd pro'lly kill the poor bastards." Shurui grinned at them… "It runs a little deeper than these boys, y'know! I'm sayin' this so you can get the hell out while ya still can. Ya screw wit' the wrong assholes, an' they won't stop 'till they turn ya into a prostitute 'er somethin'."

' _The fuck happened while I was out. Holy shit.'_

"Are you saying I should give up?" Sendai tilted her head forward, meeting him with an assertive stare.

...He casually nodded. "Well- yes, tha's actually _exactly_ what I'm sayin'."

"I'm not giving up." Sendai shook her head simply. "...I'll uproot this dumb sex trade shit myself."

Leaning back, Shurui ran his hand through his scalp until he reached his hat. "Oo~h, shi~t, girl…"

 _Crea~k!_ The door past them swung open again. Okane was hustling out, and Dieter crouch-walked after him, not eager to stand up fully straight yet. ' _He- hehe…'_

"Oho~h, you are _fucked…"_ Shurui grinned incredulously… "Y'better move outta _bloody_ town."

' _Too late.'_ Sendai smiled at the notion.

"I don't really care. They've got nothing on me."

Stepping past him, she began to leave, but before that, she paused…

' _Ah, yeah, Keine's stuff.'_ She searched her mind… ' _The new chief's seemed fucking useless so far, so I'm just gonna go yell at people myself. She's having a problem with crime and guards, so all I've gotta do is go ram my head against the town guard, now.'_

"By the way. Do you know where I can find the guard captain?" She turned back to him.

Shurui faced her, pausing for a moment. "...Oh, he ain't gonna help ya now. Hell, he'll pro'lly attack ya! Word travels like lightning when ya got magic!"

"I don't care." Sendai waved off the concern. "Where is he?"

He snorted. "Ol' man hangs out by the ol' abandoned church, or 'e might be at the taoist outpost. _Maybe_ guard HQ, bu' don't count on it. I'd check tha' church first, guy's kinda fuckin' _loose_ li' that..."

"Thank you." Giving him a smile and a nod, Sendai went on her way.

' _I knew the village was surly and unruly… but this is unprecedented. What part does Reimu play in this? Does she know?'_

' _Regardless… I'll have to uproot this corruption myself. This should get me back into things…'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

The sun hung in the latter half of the sky, as Sendai stepped out of the council center. The village chief never even offered another passive word to her about the matter, as she left with the aphrodisiac bottle.

' _...Guard captain Doppo Iwayama...'_ Sendai clutched the card with his name tightly. ' _You'd better have a good reason for stressing out Keine. She's wanted that school since she was a fucking kid, and I'm not letting some assholes take it away from her.'_

Stepping through the paved, regal road once again, she scanned the lit houses around herself. '... _It's a little early to be lighting candles, but sure.'_

...Reaching into her pocket, she drew the high quality water she stole while no one was looking. ' _It's not opened, yet. What's this plastic shit…'_

Despite the plastic bottle making it look like medicine, the labels all indicated it was pure, fresh spring water, from some unknown locale. ' _What the fuck is a Fuji.'_

...She slid it back into her pocket. ' _I might leave it in the snow to cool, first. If I'm right in thinking it, that plastic actually makes it super clean. First it's gotta snow...'_

Nearby, there was a girl out on her lawn. Her house was pretty, the woodwork painted white, and the sides painted a light blue. She had long, red hair, and a deep purple kimono with a floral design on it…

"Take it easy~!"

On her lawn, there were blob-like creatures, wiggling in places. They had cute little hairstyles, and consistent, excited expressions.

' _What the fuck…'_ Sendai never saw them before, so this was alarming. ' _Wh-... what_ are _they!?'_

"Alright!" The girl clapped her hands. "Toda~y, you're gonna~... take down _the fort."_

She pointed across the road, at a cardboard box with kanji on it.

" _Easy~!"_ The blobs- one of which vaguely resembled _Sendai's daughter-_ began to hobble across the road before her…

' _Did I take a wrong turn…? Wh- what the hell…!'_ She retraced her trail in vague bafflement…

...The long-haired woman stepped up to her, arms on her hips as she stood proud. "You look like you've never seen a yukkuri before!"

Sendai was vaguely concerned. "Wha~t the fuck's a _yukkuri…?"_

...The red-haired woman leaned to the side. "Oh, wow. You're not jokin', huh. You must get out less than I do!"

' _Ow. She's got a point, I guess.'_ Sendai expected to hear jeers like that a lot… ' _Still, what in hell…'_

Reaching into her kimono, the woman took out a box… "Y'know, that looney clinic's got this stuff down to a _science._ Lookit…!"

The box looked like it was fit for holding cereal. ' _...Yukkuri mix?'_

Standing before her, the girl tipped the box over.

 _Fwi~f._ On the road before them, some beige powder began to pile up…

"Now for the _life catalyst…"_ Beaming, she gingerly took a white and red stone from her kimono, and neatly stuffed it atop the powder.

"And then you just add water!" Reaching into her kimono, she took out an entire pitcher of water, and began pouring it onto the the mix.

 _Pap- pat- pit- tat…_ The liquid messily spattered onto the neat pile, spreading some of it out, distilling the mixture and turning it into a pasty, watery goo, with the 'life catalyst' submerged inside…

' _How the-... okay.'_ Sendai stared at her as she stuffed the pitcher inside her kimono, and it simply disappeared. ' _Hammerspace, I guess. That kinda stuff's not cheap...'_

Before her eyes, the stone began to pulse and glow. ' _Oh…!'_

The pasty, white and beige mixture began to pulse towards the stone.

As it began to glow, the liquid over took the stone, oddly discolored membranes forming inside, before being obscured by more goo…

Eventually, the pasty, watery substance congealed into something with more constitution, an outer membrane forming to the pudge.

Before Sendai sat a living, round ball of dough. It jiggled with life.

' _Oh, god.'_ Sendai's mouth was agape. ' _What has science done.'_

The woman now held out a little packet… "The box comes with some DNA sprinklers for common strains… bu~t, you can use your own DNA too! Isn't that neat?" She smiled at Sendai.

' _My- what? No…!'_ Sendai was unfamiliar with the term, but she was sure it wasn't anything good. ' _Why?'_

...As she stared down at the breathing dough-

"Ow." Sendai somehow didn't notice the woman approach her. She'd plucked a single hair strand. "Hey…!'"

Sliding away from Sendai and leaning over the pudge, she beamed greedily as she dropped the hair onto it.

It was enveloped into the dough instantly, almost seamlessly. After a moment, two holes started to open on the front, and the mouth began to expand. " _Mmh…"_

Sendai stepped back with raised brows, as it grew a long, black 'head' of hair. The yukkuri had little, red eyes, and a chipper expression akin to all the others.

' _...It looks like me!'_ She slowly shook her head… ' _Except, my eyes aren't red. Still- what...'_

Smiling aggressively, the woman pointed at her. "Now, let's see which one's the real deal! Attack, my warrior!"

-+- _Vs. Sendai Hakurei no Yukkuri -+-_

" _Take it easy~!"_ The yukkuri Sendai wriggled in place aggressively.

' _And now I have to kill it…'_ Sendai had mixed feelings, as she raised her fists. ' _Maybe this is for the best. The world's better off without this thing…!'_

The yukkuri attacked.

 _Fwoo~m…!_ Black magic ran up the paste of the being, the entirety of it turning an inky dark color as it flung forward like a cannonball.

 _Fwish!_ Sendai jerked her body, impulsively ducking out of the way of the large black thing that soared at her face. ' _Holy shit! It's fast!'_

 _Splap!_ It landed behind her, the dark aura dropping as it slowly rotated around…

' _...Should I attack it?'_ She felt like she'd instantly destroy it in one hit…

Once it turned around, it took a deep breath. Then, it exhaled.

" _fwooo"_

Black, shifting matter traveled forward towards Sendai in the form of unnatural shadows. She compacted, hiding her face behind dark-accented arms… ' _Is this some kind of dark spell? I didn't feel anything...'_

Despite her caution at the meek attack, she'd had enough. ' _Alright. Let's put it out of its misery...'_

She ran up to the pudgy being as it looked up at her, and reeled a leg back. Then, she kicked it ahead, intent on cleaving straight through.

 _PLAP!_ ...Her sandal met the yukkuri's shade-accented face.

 _Cla- cla- clack!_ Her sandals clattered against the stone path as she stumbled back, pulling her leg from the dark mush. ' _Oh, crap. I think I didn't manage to kill it. Now it's probably in pain…'_

" _Nnh~!"_ It grunted in dissatisfaction, its entire face caved in, still accented with darkness in response to the pain blooming over its form. " _Ehhshe~y!"_

 _Fwoa~m._ Inky black spread out from the yukkuri's interior, enveloping the pudge's entire form.

What stared back at Sendai had two, luminescent orbs for eyes, and no mouth. ' _...Oh.'_

The youkai pudge attacked.

 _Fwish!_ It came at Sendai through a streak of light, pouncing through the air.

 _SPLAP!_ She caught it with her arms as it flew at her. Rapidly, its pastry-like flesh began to shift over her arms, the being trying to travel through them.

 _CLACK!_ Sendai leapt, her sandals clicking against the soil after she curled up, and sprung upward, dark enchantments of her own running through her legs. ' _The landing's going to suck, bu~t…!'_

She curled into a ball in mid-air, her arms held out as she kept the dough back with her hands and some flailing…

Like this, she was able to shift her arms beneath her, placing her sandals atop the being between them. Like this, the yukkuri began to try expanding up her legs and bottom, now unable to be stopped.

 _KAK- SPLAP!_ Except, by gravity. Sendai landed atop the yukkuri, crushing it into black paste.

She tore her hands from the shattering goo to avoid clipping them on the pavement beneath, and ended up sending some of the goo flying. ' _Ah…'_

 _Obtained Dark Stone._

 _Obtained Yukkuri Production Kit._

 _Obtained 500 Yen._

...The red-haired girl was clapping her hands. "Wow!"

 _Snip- snip!_ She also had a hair of scissors out, all of a sudden. "Can I have a lock of your hair!?"

" _Nnn~no."_ Sendai shook her head vigorously. "The world does _not need those._ What's your name, anyway…? _"_

"They call me Kotohime. Short for… Kotohime." She grinned at Sendai. "And the world _totally_ needs those. They're the awesomest little guys!"

"They're a safety hazard is what they are." Stepping out of the black muck, Sendai stared at how it stained her legs. "I look like I just fought a nightmare."

Kotohime stalked up to her… "They're not a _health an' safety haza~rd._ Especially not under my control."

Sendai blinked at her. "...Are you-... a yukkuri master, or something?"

Kotohime almost guffawed, but held it in. "We- well, you could say that! I'm a police officer, you know. Responsibility, is _queen._ Next to fun, which is queen first, but responsibility is queen second. Next to convenience- y'know, actually-"

"Yeah, okay…" Sendai shook her head again. "No."

Kotohime held up a few hair strands. "Tha~nk you!"

...Sendai blinked. "Wait- how. What the _fuck."_

"Hehehe~!" Stowing the hairs away in her kimono, Kotohime took out another box… "Al~right. As compensation for being a _good sport_ , you get this free toy with your dental checkup…"

The box's contents shook inside, as Sendai caught it from a toss. "...Uh."

"You might wanna check the yukkuri's sad, dead remains. Sometimes they leave behind sad, dead reagents and sad, dead awesome loot." Kotohime nodded sagely… "You can keep the life catalyst too, to help you get started!"

...Sendai looked down, only to see the paste that stained her had dissolved. ' _Oh…?'_

Where the yukkuri was, there was a dark stone, and the life catalyst, now sitting clean and devoid of any visible effect, as it was before.

' _...What.'_ Sendai took the alchemical items. ' _But- where'd the dark stone come from…?'_

From behind her, Kotohime put away her things into her kimono. "If you're confused about the dark stone, don't be! If ya really wanted, you can just use up all your mix making yukkuris an' grinding the everloving crap out of them. But, y'know, there's more creative ways of play! Like, baking them…"

...While she stared at the yukkuris across the street longingly, Sendai let her brows raise again. ' _I don't wanna know what they taste like.'_

"Oh, yeah! Before you go!" Kotohime bounded up to Sendai, and she stepped back.

 _Cli- cling!_ Kotohime tossed yen coins into her face. "Here's the reward for your random encounter!"

' _What- okay…?'_ Sendai looked down at the coins, some ending up in her bust, and others on the ground.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

' _That… that was something.'_ Sendai patted her pocket which now held the yukkuri mix. ' _I'm collecting a lot of crap really fast…'_

She was off the regal road now, on the proper south main street just outside it, and also just outside the Kirisame Magic Shop once again.

' _I'll just hit the place again in the evening.'_ Sendai gave Marcus's abode a brief look, before continuing onto the road.

' _First, let's see about that guard captain. Shurui said I'd find him at that weird abandoned church, and I think I know where he's talking about. But-... he also spoke of a taoist outpost? Since when'd taoism reach this place? We don't even have contact with the outside. Did missionaries come through the border, or something?'_

She hardly remembered this church he mentioned either, but looked to the village's south-west sector; which she was just adjacent to.

' _I think it was down this way. It was tucked away pretty good, because… really, we didn't have a need for a church here. The shrines around the village already serve a faith-based purpose, and churches just aren't the style of Shinto. So, what the hell…'_

Moving down the same alley she'd confronted the boys down before, she moved into the nitty gritty village routes. ' _Houses are so tall, now…'_

... _Pap- pap, pap, pap!_ She began to jog down the alleys, not willing to leisurely strut about any longer. ' _Let's get going!'_

Every now and again, the village's dirt roads between the buildings would lend themselves to concealed, unknown sights. Water well complexes, clearings with statues, small patches of greenery and trees or curious expanses leading up to greater properties.

All of this was visually locked into place by the forest of houses around the private sector that was the south west village. ' _Pretty restless place, this is…'_

' _Somehow, greenery looks more lush, when it's isolated.'_ Sendai reflected on this scenery she passed. ' _Hopefully the water's fine. Most villagers store some of it in their house, and keep it covered so it may be used later. I bet a lot more of them can afford pots and cups enchanted to purify and cool water, now.'_

 _Pap, pap, pap…_ Sendai slowed her mid-day jog as she neared a tired, worn stone structure.

' _Right, this was the place. What the hell was this church even for…'_ Sendai looked up the nondescript stone structure. Nothing of note was atop it, and the windows were destroyed decades before she was born herself.

' _Why would the guard captain be here, of all places? This is where dumb cults go to hang out.'_

The structure itself used to be tall to her, but as it was only two or three stories in height, it seemed dwarfed by the houses around it. It was also on the very south west edge of the village.

She stepped up to the wooden double door at the front.

 _Cla- clack._ Upon trying to tug it open, it resisted her. ' _Cool.'_

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish…_ Holding out her arms, Sendai channeled ofuda from her sleeves. It flew up past her hands, shifting, glowing and folding as a shaft was made between her gripping palms.

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ It took awhile to generate, but Sendai smiled at the holy paper origami. ' _Dark energy makes incredibly good super glue.'_

The axe of paper was surprisingly sharp. An unknown amount of ofuda tightened, compacting together to tighten the new object. Its edge-like paper creases were made only ever sharper by the conflicting holy-dark relationship forged between the glowing, dying holy energy's catalyzation.

"Hnn~..." Holding it tight with both arms, Sendai heaved it over her head…

 _WHA- CRACK!_ She cleaved it into the door. It stuck there, only breaking into the wooden obstacle partially.

" _Hup!"_ Leaping up, she brought up one sandal to stomp down on the shaft of the great, crude paper war blade.

 _CRA- SNAP!_ _Thump- fwi- fwish- crackle._ It cleaved through the door's wood bar lock, casting it open unceremoniously. Sendai's stomp also passed right through the holy axe itself, turning it back into a storm of depleted ofuda.

 _Thud._ This left her to land on her side awkwardly. "Ah- ow…" While potentially powerful, her holy axes weren't known for their durability…

 _Crea~k._ Springing back onto her legs in a moment, she pushed the door open proper.

Inside, the ruined church was fully in her vision. Higher, broken floors sat upon tall, late day haze-obscured rafters, and the heavy scent of water and wood filled the air.

Ahead of her, there were a myriad of armored men stationing crates of unknown content. Church rubble and debris were placed in a semi-organized fashion around the area, too.

' _...Ah. Hmm. We shouldn't have any problems, from the looks of this place. The guys here seem to be doing some chores, or something. Maybe they're finally tearing this shithole down.''_

"Hey." Some of the blue-armored men approached her instantly. Sendai wasn't sure how many there were, at a glance. One of them came close to her. "Sorta funny, but I don't think you're allowed to _be_ here."

"It's a church." She argued. "...There should be some right to practicing the faith, or something."

...He came up into her personal space. "Which is why _youkai_ aren't allowed here."

' _I can see how they'd mistake me, but…'_

She glanced at her own outfit, before speaking. "I am no youkai. I am the miko who came before."

"...Y'came here before?" The brown-haired man nodded. "...I see. Well. Hands up, and kneel down."

"...Hm?" His request made Sendai take pause. "What?"

"Get on your knees." He demanded. "We're not just gonna let you _go_ , now. Surrender."

There was a murmur from the men behind him, some choosing to stop paying attention, resuming their activities. Other men came closer, however.

Still dismissive, Sendai took a step back from him. "I'm human, though. What gives?"

"Doesn't matter." The armored man let his head tilt back… "Y'said you were one of those _mikos,_ right? I got a real _axe_ to grind wit' you miko-types."

' _What the hell is going on with this town's impression of shrine maidens?'_

 _Cli- clink._ In the background, others went about their current tasks, moving armaments or shifting crates, or odd pieces that seemed to belong to this old church.

' _Not sure what the operation is here, but it seems I'm not welcomed.'_ Sendai confirmed the hostility to herself. ' _Must be the grand dust-off, or something. Maybe this is what it looks like when the entire guard accepts a crappy oddjob.'_

Ignoring his aggressiveness, she continued. "Is there any good time that I may talk to the guard captain?" Sendai didn't feel like getting into trouble, at this point. "That's all I'm trying to do."

The brown-haired man leaned back, sizing her up. "...Mmm? Well, if _that's_ so, you can just come with me." He began moving for a door, at the left side of the church. "C'mon."

Skeptical, Sendai followed him along…

They moved past some crates and benches, closing in on a doorway on the big, tall room's left side.

 _Creak!_ The door whined open as he swung it aside. This side room to the church was dark, filled with decrepit furnishings, and seemed relatively untouched. There was also no one else in here.

When she stepped into the room fully, he slipped back past her, to the door.

 _Clack._ He shut it, before turning back to her. "I'll- I'll tell you what."

...At her silence, he came up to her, and got very close. ' _Already very weird.'_

Sendai pushed him back. "Relax."

"What's your name?" He asked her. "I'm Takuro."

"...Hakurei." Sendai refused to give him her name. "Where's the captain?"

"You're part of the Artificial Hakurei Project, yeah?" He queried her, pointing too. "The chief's division?"

"...Yes?" She wasn't sure what the hell that was. "Yeah."

"Who're you of it, then?" He asked. "So I know who I'm talking to."

"...Tsuruko." She bastardized her own name on the spot.

"Oh… Aoyama?" He paused at that name. "You said you wouldn't see the chief without prior notice, or so I'd heard. Especially now."

"I guess I'm going back on that." She decided. "Sorry."

...At that, he nodded. It took him a few seconds to respond. "Well. You understand that comes at a price, yeah? Chief told ya, absolute consistency to the T, or else."

"If it gets me to see the captain." Sendai didn't particularly care.

All of a sudden, he began to undo his armor."Take off your top." He requested in turn. "...If you're not gonna be good for fighting, or taking orders, this'll be what you do from now on. Once we're done, we're gonna go up to the captain and show him how well you did."

 _Clack- clack._ He set the chest armor aside on a dusty, ornate table, revealing a pale blue undershirt.

"...Alright." Sendai exhaled. "Look. This has to have been the _fourth time today_ someone in _or relating_ to the village has been a perverted bastard to me. Why the hell're _all of you_ this fucking stupid? Is something going on?"

"I don't care." He came closer to her. "With how ya look, I'm not surprised. You've got the best body I've seen on a woman in awhile. If you were a regular villager, I'd be askin' ya out instead. Really don't care about the captain. But, since you work for us, I can get you benefits. You just gotta help me out, first. There's a lot of money in sex in this town, you know. New money."

' _He's only following his own motivations. There's nothing I can really get out of him.'_ Sendai was finding it harder to resist glaring him down. ' _The fact he's actually trying to convince me...'_

"No." She glared back at him. "I was _sent here_ by someone. The captain's gonna be pissed he didn't get your message."

...He sighed. "Just- give it to _me._ I'll deliver it for you, once we're done."

"I'm not gonna _fuck_ you." She stomped closer. "You fucking piece of shit. I have a _daughter_ , you know. Oh, why's mom not coming home today? Wait, that's right- she got _raped_ by the _town's guards!_ The people supposed to _protect them!"_

"Uu- mmh…" He seemed to shrink back at this idea… "I- I didn't know the- Hakurei Project thing accepted _moms-_ "

She got even closer. "And- how many _more_ people have you _ruined_ like this!?"

"I- I was just told-... they'd be _willing!"_ He barked back at her. "I- I didn't know it'd be _rape!_ I- I thought you signed up, and _knew-"_

" _Now_ you're scared!?" Sendai's head began to spin. "It took me _yelling and screaming_ at you, and I had to _tell you_ _shit you didn't think of-_ just- just to…" She let herself inhale, then exhale.

...Frowning, he reached along his waist.

 _Shi~ng._ Drawing a sword, he pointed it at her. "Lo- look. Calm down."

...She narrowed her eyes at him. "If I died, what would my _daughter_ think?"

...His frown deepened. "I don't know. But-... if it's not me, it'll be someone else. So-... if you could-... make it a _quickie_ or-"

Sendai lost it. She searched the room, looking for something to use.

' _My magic items…'_ She searched her sleeves, before realizing she wasn't wearing arm sleeves.

Reaching into her pants pockets, she drew big rocks of salt. ' _I've got a bad idea.'_

 _Cri- crack._ Crushing the salt between two hands, grinding it into smaller rocks, she held it underhand with her left arm, and tossed some of it it into the air, in his direction. It made a sparkling, white mist before him...

" _Nn-..."_ Soon, Takuro shut his eyes. "Wh- _what… o- ow."_

While he was blinded, Sendai ran up alongside him.

 _Cri- cra- crack._ Grinding her fingers over the salt rocks further, she brought her hand to his face-

 _fwoof!_ Her palm met his nose, a plume of glistening salt exploding onto his fluttering eyes. " _Euh- fuckh- uah-"_

 _Pap- cla- clack!_ She grabbed onto his collar, and quickly pulled with both arms, his sword clattering to the floor as she dragged him. " _Hrah!"_

 _Bam!_ She'd tugged him towards the door, forcing him to stumble into it, his back hitting the wood. "Aah- what the _fuck-_ " He reached for the blade at his waist, but it was no longer there; he'd dropped it earlier-

 _Wha- BAM!_ Sliding up into him, Sendai smashed a full-armed thrust into his face, ramming him back into- and through- the wimpy wood door.

-+- _Vs. Village Guardsmen -+-_

 _Creak!_ _Thud._ Takuro flopped onto the floor, the door pushed out of his way as he crumpled. " _Ngh-_ aahu…" Blood splashed from his nose onto the floor, as he rotated mid-fall, collapsing face-first. As he lied there, his face was wet with tears, blood and clumpy salt...

' _God fucking dammit.'_ Stomping out past him, brushing the last of the salt off on her pants, Sendai glared ahead at the guards occupying this strange church… ' _I just want to talk!'_

"Ah- holy _shit!"_ All around, men began to scramble into action.

"Sarge!"

"Takuro!"

"She- she fucked up Takuro!"

' _Fuck…'_ She saw just how many of them began to move.

Instantly, three men were before her, holding katanas ready. _"Hey!_ Surrender, _now!"_

Walking straight up to them, Sendai held up an arm to negotiate. "I don't want to fight. Just listen to me."

...The first guy began to skirt back at her aggressive approach. "Um- _men!_ Brace yourselves! _"_

"I just wanna fucking talk!" Sendai barked back. "Please- listen to-"

 _Woosh!_ To the leftmost of their formation, a black-haired man swung his katana down, trying to just connect it with her form.

 _fwish!_ Sliding alongside the blade at the last moment, she came up to him. ' _Fucking, goddammit…'_

 _Whack!_ Her arm thrust into his head, knuckles meeting his temple. " _Gh-_ ow- ngh..."

' _Why!?'_ As he retreated, she saw the next man coming, and tried to pull her body away.

 _Shunk._ But, he drove the blade through her, simply thrusting it in. "Ah- I got her!"

' _Wh- wait- what-'_

 _Shi~nk!_ He pulled his blade from her as awkwardly as possible, a fleck of red expelled from her stomach.

The pain was unreal. ' _ow ow ow ow ow'_ It blossomed from the new hole in her body, red spilling out instantly.

 _Shink- splap!_ The guy she hit earlier cleaved his blade ahead lethargically, while she writhed. The slice scraped her side open, crimson exposed under her skin.

"Hrgh!"The leader of the three came forward, driving his own blade ahead.

 _whish._ He just barely missed his thrust into her, and her heart pounded the hardest it had in a long time.

 _PAHP!_ Acting instantly, driven by the horrible, eye-tearing pain, her palm met his face. " _Rgh-_ nnh-"

 _WHAM!_ Falling forward, she took him down with him, driving him to the ground with her. As she landed on her knees, he hit the back of his head, scalp crushed against clumsy, aged wood. " _Kgh- aa- aa-..."_

' _Fu- fuck, fuck…'_ For some reason, she hadn't really thought about the consequences of being stabbed. ' _It- it hurts, so much… I just wanted to fucking talk to their captain- and, damn it…!'_

 _Whi- whish!_ She crawled ahead, as the men amateurishly swung their blades at her, only slapping her clothes or nicking her with their swipes.

' _This- this can't be fucking happening!'_

On standing, she readied her fists, looking spacey. Her breaths were hard, and her body was already working up a fierce sweat. "You- you assholes… thinking you can just- fuck with me, and- get away, with- with being so stupid..."

 _Cla- clack, clack!_ To her right, five more men came. "Shut _up,_ you _youkai_ bitch."

"Should've given up while she had the chance."

"Tomiji- go 'round right, I got the push."

"Komori, shock."

"My name's _Konda,_ retard."

Now, with seven men standing ready before her, Sendai already felt exhausted. ' _I wish someone fucking listened to me.'_

This really epitomized the interaction between Sendai and the village. Her desire for her concerns and judgment to be properly heard, and the more general of defenders simply doing what they do best: getting in the way.

' _Fuck…'_ It reminded her of the years before she met Keisuke, when she'd been in situations not dissimilar to this one. ' _God dammi~t!'_

She opened her mouth to speak-

 _Whish!_ One guy ran closer, and swung his blade down, as the five new men oriented themselves.

 _Thunk._ She held up her arm to stop it. It cleaved deep into her flesh, but did indeed stop, to her joy. ' _He- hah, fuckhead…'_

Reaching forward with her good arm in this painful moment, she grabbed his hilt, and tugged up.

 _Whack!_ She was able to force it into his face, and from that awkward posture, steal it away. "Rgh- _damn-...!"_ He threw his arms back forward, for it, but was stopped by her turning-

 _CLINK!_ Instantly, the other man, the first man to stab Sendai, cleaved his bloody blade down. He met Sendai's new katana and recoiled, as she held it horizontally, accidentally stopping his swing. ' _Goddamn!'_

 _Clack!_ Kicking ahead, Sendai sent him onto his back, her leg thrusting into his armor, wood sandal against mixed, blue metal plating. "Gh- ngh…"

The guard she stole from reached her. " _Give it!"_ Almost like a kid, he laid his armor-protected hands on the katana blade, trying to reclaim it. He and Sendai tugged against one another for a moment, almost shoulder to shoulder.

Slowly, they stopped being so near each other, as Sendai strafed away a little, still pulling and keeping the hilt close-

 _WHAM!_ Then, she thrust her own head into his nose, making him fall over and let go. " _Nghk- shiht…"_

' _There's- so many…'_ Sendai already had to respond to the five other men around herself. ' _Will they really-'_

 _Slash!_ Her right breast was clipped by a katana's huge swipe. " _Aa- ngh-"_

 _Shish!_ She felt a blade graze deep into her left thigh as she moved, piercing her brown cloth pants, and rending it as it got through the skin.

' _Why do we have to do this!?'_ She felt like she was losing herself, between the pain, adrenaline, and the blood loss. ' _This is fucking retarded! I- I just wanted to have a fucking conversation...'_

"Ha- aah…" Her pain was deep, from the bleeding holes all over her midsection, and along her limbs. Everything was a great, searing blur, pulsing into her core.

Her gaze glazed over almost, and she retreated back towards the door she came out of, leaving a trail of red as she went.

" _Kaugh- kauf!"_ Blood came from her mouth, as she coughed. She was being killed, by fellow humans of all things.

' _I- I'll bleed out, if this takes too long…'_ She wasn't in great shape, anymore. ' _I have to-...'_

An infusion of holy and dark energy bled into the katana she held, Sendai's will roaring into it.

' _I'll have to use some of this energy, before it's too late.'_ She wasn't sure what her limits were, but this wasn't the time to be conservative with resources anymore. ' _I'm not letting myself get fucked over by their stupidity!'_

The holy incantation shot to the forefront of Sendai's mind. " _Melio Secare!"_ Bringing up the katana she stole, she raised it above her head.

 _FWI- SHING!_ It grew great and ornate, the flat katana shining holy and bright as it extended. Yin-yang patterns randomly formed along the length of the band of light, and Sendai whipped it around with as much force as her throbbing, pained body could handle.

 _FWA- SHRAR!_ The band of light came wide, the flat of the yin-yang adorned blade meeting the squad. It became not a sword or blade, but an extension of force.

 _Thu- thu- thud!_ Three men landed on their backs and sides, cast over by the violent light. " _Ngh- aagh!"_ The others avoided it, ducking under the outlash.

 _Cra- cra- crack…_ Right after, the blade Sendai used shattered into pieces of light, coming undone. ' _Fu- fuck…'_ Not only was she physically and mentally drained by that attack, but she was still bleeding all over, her skin flush red.

' _I- I know the village… can only act so well, being what it is, and who the villagers are… but, in times like this, I can't forgive them.'_ She would do anything to survive this.

 _Cla- clack, clack!_ Ahead, six more men came, as the other number- Sendai lost count- of men scrambled as a result of her swing. "He- hey, fuckin'- help _us!"_

"What the _fuck's_ going on!?"

"What _was that!?"_

"You guys _suck…"_

Altogether, the many additional nonchalant men made her more tense. ' _This- this is bad…'_

Her expression frozen in a scowl, she took a look around the church. In this moment of vulnerability, she realized…

' _I can't take them hand-to-hand, with their blades. But-...'_ Her gaze turned to her environment. There were crates stacked around, as well as church relics and rubble arranged to be hauled out of the property.

She began to move for a big bell. ' _This-'_

" _Gotcha!"_

A knife was held to her throat. "Nnh- _ugh…"_ A hand met one of her already partially-serrated breasts, and began rotating, pulling at it. "O- ohn- ow…"

Guard Sergeant Takuro had come up behind her. "I fuckin' _told you-_ this _coulda gone quietly-_ you didn't fuckin' _listen-"_

' _I didn't listen!?'_ She latched onto his knife arm, as it was most important. ' _Fuck- fuck off!'_

He struggled at her arms, trying to drive the blade into her throat, squeezing hard on her breast to hurt her. ' _Stop- fucking stop- stop- ow ow-'_

Her arms filled with dark energy, eventually overpowering his. Then, she began overcompensating, bending him the wrong way by the elbow-

 _Crack._ She broke something of his. " _Agh- aaa~rh!"_ He quickly fell away, dropping the knife…

' _Quietly!?'_ She wanted to yell, but didn't have the strength. ' _You're not a force of fucking nature, asshole! Why do I have to cooperate- when all this bullshit's intentionally stacked against me!?'_ Her head hurt, an ache setting in.

 _Clo~ng!_ Coming up to the bell, almost by leaping onto it, her body shaking, dark energy fluttering, Senda slapped her arms onto it, and raised it over her head. " _Ngh- raa~h!"_

"What- the _fuck!"_ Men began to scramble back, some bringing up their blades-

 _WHA- BO~NG!_ Coming up to one man, she whipped it across him. He'd tried to meet the bell with his blade, but it didn't prove to be a weapon of choice. " _Ha- aagh!"_

 _Clong- thud!_ When another short-haired man came at her right, she scooped the big bell up along his side, tossing him over by ramming him off his legs with it. "Ugh- fu- fuck…!"

Finally, there was a man ahead, eyes wide as he came up to her. "Fu- fucking- _flank her-_ somebody! C'mon- fucking- _shit!"_

 _Di~ng!_ As she came up to him, he cleaved down, rebounding as blade met bell metal. Sendai brought the huge bell over her head, and slammed it down onto him.

 _WHAM!_ " _Nghk!"_ The bell caught his whole upper torso inside, and she reeled an arm back, before plowing it ahead.

 _BO~NG!_ It met, and the man was instantly sent onto his side with the bell, soundless from the great pain. Sendai almost fell over herself, on her fist's own impact.

' _I- I'm dying…'_ Her body was becoming cold, and her darkness wasn't coming to her limbs anymore. ' _Fu- fuck, before this goes too far-...'_

Her hand dug into her pockets, while men stood unsure of what she'd do next, blades held ready...

 _Pop!_ The top of a potion bottle came off, with a thrust of her thumb. "Mgh…" She chugged it, the actions leading up to opening it a blur.

The healing energy was an instant dull to her half-dead energy surge.

' _Why does everyone have to be this retarded and violent? I didn't even really want to fight, walking in here, but-... they really, really make it easy. I wonder-'_

 _Shunk!_ She didn't see another man come up to her, and he stabbed into her side. " _Mgh- nhk- shk!"_ Potion liquid spluttered from her lips, only some of it downed as she tried to endure the great, carnal pain of another blade being driven through her.

"How- how's _that_ , bitch?" He beamed at her. "Y'thought you'd gone an' broken our backs? _Hah!"_

Once she'd finally downed most of the potion-

 _CRACK!_ She turned, and whipped her potion bottle into his face, where it exploded on impact. " _Nghk-_ owh!" He ran back, then fell, feeling at the glass in his face.

' _I hate this! I fucking hate it all!'_ Sendai's cheeks have been wet for awhile, now. She didn't know when she'd began crying.

 _Cla- clack, clack, clack!_ From all areas of the church around herself, men either recovered enough to raise again, or came out of the woodworks. Some held blades, others had anti-youkai great shields, and others bow and arrow.

' _Oh my god…'_ Even as Sendai felt her body rejuvenate, she was overwhelmed by the sheer numbers. ' _Why…? Do- do any of them have self-preservation? If I was a real youkai-...'_

 _Shi~k._ Reaching down, she drew the previous challenger's katana from her own body. "Nh- nhn- uhunh…" The pain was otherworldly for one moment, before the potion's effects continued. "Kh- kaugh." She began to cough up some of her old blood.

As she stepped back, she accidentally nudged the fallen body of a man she'd downed, the back of his scalp bleeding out onto the wood floor. ' _Ngh…'_

Sendai remembered. This carnage was more easy to accept and ignore against youkai, and single crooks, because the relationship was primal: prey versus predator, and preservation versus loss. Here, it was different. This whole situation was the failings of man, and the absolute loss it entailed.

' _So-... fucking stupid.'_ Her mind briefly considered the ways things like this could have been prevented. ' _All because that motherfucker wanted to fuck me- fu~ck!'_

" _Halt!"_ A voice boomed across the church.

' _Is- that the captain!?'_ Sendai actually felt afraid, now. ' _Why- are there so many men here…!?'_

 _Clack. Clack._ The heavy, purple boots of a greater village knight echoed throughout the church. He was an imposing, six foot tall man, wielding a greatsword, an owl perched upon one shoulder.

"Sergeant Master!" One of the men around Sendai yelled. "We're getting fucked up, out here!"

' _What the hell do you mean, that's not the captain…!?'_ Sendai held her limbs closer, looking over her own blood and ripped clothes. ' _God dammit…'_

 _Cla- clack, clack, clack!_ The armored men all began to get closer. The archers weren't yet ready to fire, also getting closer with the swordsmen and shieldsmen, while Sendai just compacted in place…

She crouched down a little, looking vulnerable. ' _I-... I like to fight, but damn…'_ She wasn't sure if she could execute another magical technique again. ' _I'll have to run, if this goes south. If I can run…'_

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish._ While she stood, surrounded, her new injury rejuvenating and running her through the pain again, talismans rolled from her sleeves.

She arched back, tensing all her limbs. " _Haa~h…!"_ She called upon another favor with her spiritual energy.

 _Fwi- FWI- FWISH. FWI- FWI- FWISH!_ Talismans poured out from her like a river. She gravitated into the air, carried by her own holy magic.

' _I won't forgive this. I've never forgiven this.'_

In the end, she felt like she was above their generic, autonomous response to her presence. For the guards, this was their training, and this was what they had to do, and no matter of negotiating or reason could suffice as a replacement for the logic of orders.

' _This is when force has to meet force…'_ Sendai realized. ' _Shit like this-... is what it really means to be powerful!'_

The talismans became a ring around her, orbiting her, before segmenting dividing. Eight origami axes of dying gold flashed into existence, the talismans whipping into the repeated shape within a near instant.

" _Thousand Blades!"_ With a roar, Sendai's spiritual energy roared from her body, fueled by her distaste and sorrow for the overall failure this situation was. She was, in essence, the shield that protected the human village. To be attacked by the village itself was just depressing.

 _WOOSH- WOOSH- WOOSH- WOOSH!_ From her form, the eight glowing axes whirled out like a paper-shredder of death.

 _BAM- CLANK- BA- BAM- WHAM- BAM!_ As they spun out, the orbital axe array unleashed, men were launched to their sides, church rubble was scattered about, and talismans flew everywhere, illuminating the otherwise dim gloom of the bottom floor of this building.

" _Fuck-_ shoot- shoot! Shoot the- _auhuh!"_ Somewhere, a man was lost in the golden light.

An archer leapt onto a large bench, and tried very hard to aim his bow-

 _SHUNK!_ An axe roared into his form, sending him flying, piercing his light clothing. " _Ghk-..."_ Red flared into the air, like mist, before flecking the wood nearby.

 _Fwi- fwi- FWISH…_ Six axes roared into the great, purple armor of the Sergeant General. Each time they struck, they exploded into talismans, having finally come undone after the great damage done to the large squad.

 _Cla- clack._ Sendai landed on her legs, and her eyes fluttered. ' _I- I want to-... I want to go sleep…'_ She was beginning to find it hard to keep her eyes open.

Around the church, there was now desolation. Artifacts, crates and books laid scattered around, the golden light of talismans illuminating the whole floor.

" _Ngh-_ ah…" Men laid battered at minimum, and serrated at worst, dotting an irregular circle around where Sendai declared her item crash.

After everything, only the man in the purple armor was left. He hulked towards Sendai, wielding his great blade like it were a katana.

Then, he thrust an arm forward. " _Gho~!"_

 _fwoof, fwoof._ The fluffy owl on his shoulder flew up, and slowly came over to Sendai.

' _Wait- what…'_ She stared up at it. Then, she realized. ' _What? It's an attack owl…!'_

 _whunk._ As it passed her, it rammed its head against her, landing a grazing blow. "Unf." It didn't really hurt, but it displaced her for a second.

...As it circled back around, Sendai slipped her katana-wielding arm towards her right sleeve. She was going to toss a talisman barrage.

 _FWI- SLAP- SLAP!_ Two of three talismans she flung met it within a second.

 _Thud._ The owl fell to the floor.

" _No!"_ The big guard froze. Sendai shot him a look.

Then, he sprinted over to them. ' _Oh- no, fuck off fuck off-'_ Sendai began to bring her arms up defensively-

-but, he just passed her, and moved for the owl instead. Once he reached it, he kneeled down. ' _Um…'_

Looking up from the owl, the armored man panned his helmet towards her. "What have you done to her!?"

"They- they're Hakurei talismans." She promised him. "It'll be fine. Normal-... normal animals are safe. I- probably just knocked it over."

...At that, he was placated. Placing his sword down, he picked up his owl companion, and marched off.

That whole exchange was pretty jarring, to Sendai. ' _...If I was as retarded as his men, I wouldn't let him walk away. Why the hell'd he bring that owl here anyway. Maybe the guards here weren't supposed to fuckin' fight anything. Fuck.'_

...No other single man appeared to challenge Sendai. Only some men with shields remained, but some pretended to be dead, while others just kept a cautious distance.

"Nn- nnh…" One of the archers limped by, his stomach sliced open, bleeding red as he went. "So- someone-... ge- ghet me a potion-"

 _Whunk._ Sendai stomped on his back, crushing him into the floor. " _Hkh-..."_

' _Motherfucker.'_ She didn't feel like being kind. ' _I hate bowmen. I hate any cowardly douchebag who consistently uses fucking ranged bullshit. I'm glad these pricks didn't get a single arrow off.'_

She felt like she had to give a word of some sort, to them. "...Do-... do yourselves all a fucking favor next time, and ask-... some _goddamn_ questions."

 _Cla- clack._ Footsteps were heard next to her. ' _What…!?'_ Sendai turned to face the noise, arms raising in response.

 _WHA- CRACK!_ An ashtray was shattered against the side of her head. " _Ngh- aah!_ Fhuck…!"

 _Thu- thud!_ Pushed over, she felt a man grip her neck. It was Sergeant Takuro, with his last good arm. " _Die- die,_ just- _ngh!"_

Sendai was at his neck with her two good arms, with a clear advantage in this moment, despite her bleeding scalp and dodgy consciousness. ' _Fuck you fuck you fuck you-'_

" _Kgh-..."_ He shut his eyes.

She pulled, and cast him aside herself, onto his back, forcing him to let go. " _Kgh- khhk!"_

Getting up in a moment, Sendai glared down at him. Then, she yelled. "... _Why~!?"_

He didn't respond, simply trying to get back up himself…

She reached next to herself, and pulled up a crate, full of something heavy. "Nnn- nngh!"

He'd just barely got onto his feet, and raised his arm, ready to interfere. "Dh- _die, youkai-_ "

 _WHAM- THUD._ Sendai brought the crate down, into his head. Takuro flopped down onto his side uselessly, and it rolled off his head and shoulders, and onto the floor behind him.

' _...If he hit me, that could've gone the opposite way.'_ Sendai's heart was beating like it was aflame. She imagined herself getting clipped by a blow, and the crate falling onto herself. ' _I- I hate people.'_

...Coming up to a fallen man, knocked over some way or another from the earlier action, she kneeled down and took a katana near him, with a small red streak of her own blood on it.

...She wanted to sit down. She wanted to leave, to relax; she wanted out of this situation. Having her adrenaline pump like this took a tax on her body and mind; and all of this hate and fear made it even worse.

 _Pop!_ Bringing out another potion, she chugged it, before the bleeding could get worse. ' _...These idiots.'_

She thought of her family again. ' _...They'd take me away from Reimu, just because they're too fucking retarded to slow down and ask questions. I hate groups. I- hate-...'_ She had to stop thinking about it, before she drove herself insane. ' _Man…'_

She'd made a promise to Keine, so she centered her mind on that instead. ' _This- is no time to pussy out. Time to climb that ladder.'_ Ahead was the sole ladder to the upper rafters.

 _Equipped Chintzy Iron Katana._

 _Clack. Clack. Clack._ Sendai neared the top. While climbing, she'd observed that the ladder was held in place by nails. ' _Good thing, too. Last thing I need is for this thing to tip, and let me break half my bones.'_

At the very top, was a sunset-lit platform of floorboards. She climbed onto this surface, having reached it.

An old, robed man stared down at the mess she'd made, standing tall at the church's third floor. The many beams and odd one-two board platforms hinted that this place used to have more to it, but it was completely wrecked long ago.

Sendai contemplated sliding her new katana from her brown shirt, where she stored it for lack of a sheathe. ' _Maybe it'd be best to keep that concealed until he threatens me.'_

"We~ll, well, well…" The man immediately made an antagonistic impression, as he turned to face her. "What _vermin_ have we, here…?"

"If you're not the guard captain, I'm pushing you off the ledge." Sendai threatened his life.

"...I can certainly assure you I _am."_ The grey-haired, robed old man held up a european broadsword. "Do you see this?"

"I'm blind." Sendai wasn't in the mood for this. "Look- guy. I'm just trying to _find you_ , here. Your idiot parade didn't put me in a good mood, and all I wanna do is _talk to you_. You're the captain of the _fucking_ village guard, and it's time you _started acting like one!"_

...He'd leaned back at her volume. "...That's- awfully _rude_ of you-"

" _Rude!?"_ Sendai clenched at the air… "Your fucking- _sergeant_ down there tried to _fuckin' rape me_ , and you're calling me rude!? I don't give a _shi~t!"_

' _Fucking- Doppo Iwayama…'_ Sendai remembered his name from the business card. ' _Human trash.'_

"...Sergeant?" Doppo rolled the title around in his mouth, so to speak. "Oh, you mean Takuro? Might you be of the Artificial Hakurei Project, then? I had _indeed_ instructed him, that those of the project who hesitate from our orders, for this week, are to be assigned to guard relief duty."

...Sendai blinked at him. "Gu- guard-... _relief_ duty? And that would be?"

"Perhaps intimacy." He frowned. "Perhaps chores. It is a right that our holy bodies know their place amongst us, least they become akin to Reimu Hakurei. Were any of our _pets_ to step out of line, including _you,_ the village would be in a state of jeopardy. It is by my rule that this village holds itself steps from mayhem. What say you, to _that?"_

"I say that's complete shit." Sendai grimaced hard. "Who the _fuck_ do you think you are. The hell do you mean, 'akin to Reimu'?"

...It took him some seconds, to contemplate her question. "With freedom and unbound power, the very maidens we consider tools will quickly become our enemies, perhaps even youkai or friends thereof." He stated his thinking. "...Such is why we have the balance of sex and obediency present here in the first place. Some may consider it _fun,_ but that is how the doctrine rests in place. I, personally, am a decided advocator _against_ tasteless obscenity."

' _What-... the actual fuck.'_

"...And-... you're just telling me all this." Sendai blinked at him again, furrowing her brows.

"Well, yes." He nodded, frowning hard. "Being-... what you _are,_ you are obviously on the very cusp of what I feared to occur. Meeting you with force is no longer an option. Instead, I will offer you gifts, and tribute, so that this conflict needn't escalate. You get your pick of men, weapons, food and beverage, and I call the occasional favor of you. We are in need, of people like you, to make this village a better place. Will you heed my call?"

' _...So- he's-... he's encouraging- the rape and-... capturing girls in shrine maiden outfits, because they're part of some project of his-... and, when they get too powerful, he makes them sex toys, or makes them his personal agents? Wha~t…!'_

She met his gaze again. "Fuck no."

Doppo snorted. "...Oh. I had feared you might say that. ...Might I ask: why?"

"...I can't let a thing as-... inaccurate and _destructive,_ as this town's retarded guard regime just gain power like that."

She spoke despite only knowing part of the context, because everything about the situation told her this wasn't right. "You'll just destroy more lives that don't need destroying, and even with all that power, you'll fail to truly tackle the problems our-... the village's people face. It'll be a fucking disaster. That's why I can't let you do this."

' _...Hell. This just got a lot bigger than Keine's school.'_

...He exhaled. "Hmh. Truly a pity, then. I suppose it _will_ be the relief duty for you, then. I'll find you a clean man, at least."

-+- _Vs. Captain of the Guard, Doppo Iwayama -+-_

Sendai cracked her neck, then her knuckles.

He slowly rose the european broadsword into the air. It seemed too heavy for him. "And so..."

 _Fwish._ It lit up with an unholy, purple light. "The wicked shall be _plunged,_ into the fiery pit!"

 _Fwash!_ ...The sword flashed with unknown energy, but nothing happened.

Sendai slid out her katana, and held it with one hand. "You're fucking _over."_

"...Oh?" He glared at his sword, now. "That's-... that shouldn't be possible."

She stomped closer. "It's possible."

"This blade-..." He glared at Sendai. "What did you do to your _catalyzer!?"_

"I don't know." She wasn't sure what he was talking about. "All I know-... is that I'm 'bout ta punt you off this fucking platform."

 _Woosh!_ Eyes now wide, he gave one great swing that was very shy of her, rousing up to do another.

 _Shink!_ Sendai simply stabbed him. The blade met his side, but she made sure that the stab only cut superficially, maring some surface skin and drawing only a little blood.

" _Ugh…!?"_ This was a great surprise to him. "St- stop! You don't know what what you _do-_ without me, your family may be in peril!"

' _Don't think so.'_ Sendai couldn't care.

 _Woosh- Thunk!_ Doppo lifted the huge blade over his head, and let it fall in the direction of Sendai. She was able to walk normally out of the way of it.

 _Woosh!_ " _Hyeah!"_ Sendai slid her katana up like it was a stick rather than a sword, and Doppo flinched away from it surprisingly quickly.

"...Neither of us know how to use a sword." She admitted. "...And yet, you _somehow_ know less about swords than I do. Who hired you?"

Despite the bleeding hole in his side, he slowly stood up straight again. "You… I will-"

' _Wait…'_ Sendai held her blade with both hands. ' _I see it!'_ She was going to quickly finish this.

 _SLASH!_ She swung the blade up, at an angle, cutting through the robe and along his chest.

 _SLASH!_ Making it curve smoothly with her force, she carved straight down across his torso with an opposing stroke.

From here, she had the blade at her side, as if sheathed. Then, she jerked forward, to thrust past him.

 _SHINK!_ She skidded forward on her sandals, and slid the blade through his left side in the process.

" _Huu~..."_ Doppo dropped his blade, his arms in the air in complete shock, body torn with incisions. Blood splattered, clumps flecked to the air from that last blow, and his body fell, the captain felled.

 _Obtained European Broadsword._

 _Obtained 30900 Yen._

 _Sendai learned Weapon Essence._

 _Sendai learned Powerful III._

Sendai sipped tea, now seated on a crate on the first floor.

Doppo stood across from her, bandages wrapping his many incisions, blood visibly oozing into them. His grimace was hard and bitter, and he had nothing more to say.

"Why's this place need _power_ anyway." Sendai simply looked tired. "What's _power_ going to do for the people? A whole lot of nothing, when it's for the sake of it."

"Sir- turn left…" One of the guards was wrapping the captain's wounds. Doppo turned left as instructed.

' _You'd be surprised what you can live through.'_ Sendai considered. ' _I knew those swipes wouldn't kill him, but with the way he acted, I'm pretty sure even he didn't know that. Now, we both look like bloody messes...'_

"...You guys got any potions?" Curious at the wrapping method, Sendai thought there was a better way…

"If I wanted to be _poisoned,_ sure…" Doppo scowled into the air as he was wrapped. "Alchemy and magic are, as is known, youkai arts. They would be very apt to poison me, rather than heal me. I must be on guard at all times."

' _You're gonna die. Then again, you already look like you're seventy, so...'_

"On the topic of power, you must be very small-minded." He immediately insulted Sendai again. "You, yourself, have exemplified why we need people of your power. To stop people like _you_ from toiling at our walls, undoing everything."

"For starters, I'm _already_ on the task of peacekeeping." Sendai presumed herself as a miko automatically, especially after everything. "Second, there are many forces that act _other_ than the guard, and often, considering how shit-faced your men are, they end up just _getting in the way_ rather than actually stopping threats."

"Do you have any examples of this?" He frowned. "I'm not so simply inclined to believe your _word._ "

"Any time the guard attacks a neutral youkai out of fear." Sendai remarked. "It teaches the youkai to hunt fear, to hate humans, and removes a potential ally from our society as a whole. It makes us look stupid and weak."

' _Probably because the village is stupid and weak, but y'know…'_

"You say this as if they wouldn't backstab us when they had the chance." Doppo made another long face. "You simply do not know how youkai work. Could you cite your idea from the text you got it from? It is obviously not _yours._ "

' _Oh my fucking god.'_ She wanted to stab him again. ' _This guy needs to be fired. You could let my sandals be the town guard, and more would get done.'_

"Also- about guards _getting in the way…"_ Sendai wiggled her nose, because it itched briefly. "All this stuff about _rape_ is making people scared of them, and of the town council. Plus, I've asked around, and it sounds like the school is in trouble, which would be bad for like-... everyone who wants to _learn._ "

"Let them fear me." Doppo smiled. "Order is best fostered through compliance."

"Fuck you." Sendai let her anger slip. "...Y'know. I'd look out for _becoming_ a youkai, if I were you. They're made through fear, you know."

"My body is pure, and my mind is focused." He retorted. "I'm sure I'd notice the steps, of such a thing. And, if it's _me,_ I'm sure the people would not mind, nor would I, for I may be able to curve the atrocities from warping me. If we are quick to accept that sabotager Kamishirasawa amongst our ranks, and to be sympathetic for the pro-youkai religious focuses in our area, we would also be quick to accept _me."_

She let out a huff. "Except, you're a huge asshole who has girls raped just because power-something-something. That sort of thing makes you infinitely less likeable."

He leaned back, against a crate that was recently placed atop another crate behind himself. "As long as I am tolerated. If the villagers do not attack me for what or who I am, then my behavior is acceptable to them."

...At that, Sendai let her gaze flick up. "Mmm. People never seem to remember what we Hakurei do to humans who turned youkai, do they?"

...Doppo raised a brow. "Hmm? Ah. Well- now that you mention it-... that Hakurei child would be a problem, were it to get out. I'd simply keep it secret, then."

"You couldn't." Sendai smiled at him. "Because we can feel a youkai's presence, and our holy tools respond specifically to those with their kind of magic in their bodies."

"...Our? We?" He held a hand up, gesturing idly. "I understand you are zealous, but our experiments have not created anything anywhere _near_ the power of a true Hakurei. We may have some plans in place, but they are of limited scope and effect; not viable for combat or application."

...Standing up, Sendai held a tiny, marble-sized yin yang orb, which she took from within a cut of her villager garb.

It began to expand in her hand, growing larger, and larger… until soon, she had a crate-sized orb, held up over herself.

 _BAM._ She slammed it down into the floor beside herself, and held it there so it wouldn't rebound violently and cause mayhem and destruction.

"There…" She patted on it. "Hakurei yin yang orb. I remember you being surprised that your sword-... thing didn't work on me, either." She looked back at her seat, where she left the stolen sword.

"...Perhaps." He closed his eyes. "There can only be one Hakurei. I know not if you are a local imitation with massive talent, or otherwise, but-..."

' _Man, old people are annoying. Can't wait until I turn seventy...'_

"I'm just saying." Sendai smiled at him. "If you become a youkai, I'm going to kill you. It'd be even easier, because you couldn't even think of fighting back."

...He made another hard expression, not entirely keen on the idea, but he wouldn't say anything more about it.

Their discussion slowly faded out, the clattering of metal and artifacts echoing around the emptying church.

"So." Sendai centered her gaze on him. "You're going to start patrolling the school better."

He smirked. "Oh? Why is that?"

"Or I'll stab you in the gut again, and get you fired. Either from your job, or life. Not in that order."

...It was a hard bargain, he'd admit. Grimacing, he questioned the premise. "But, why the school? Are you on Kamishirasawa's dime?"

"You think I am with these clothes?" Sendai gestured to her raggedy village garb, caked with cuts and blood. "Please. I just think it's fucked up how the school's not getting the attention it needs. They teach kids well over there, and if there's one thing we _don't_ need right now, it's more fear and stupidity. That's what the youkai _want,_ and if you make it _easier to get,_ you're shooting yourself in the foot."

...Doppo gave her a hard look, for a few moments, considering this.

"...Hrmh." He practiced moving his facial muscles, for a moment. "And you say you'd come for me again otherwise?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "And, I'm only getting stronger, as you said. Next time, it'll be even easier. Hell, I won't even bother with the men, if I knew _you'd_ be my target. Smashing you's easy, too."

"Then, I suppose I have to comply." He smiled in turn. "If your conditions are _really_ so shallow, then I'll humor them. It will be no loss of mine to double, or even triple enforcement there. Does that sound good to you?"

"...Sure." Sendai nodded, at this. "If I've heard there's even one hair off a kid's head, you're next. I heard you were intentionally fucking with that school, too. What's that about?"

"Mmm? Nothing, really." He waved a hand dismissively. "I'd sought to wring Kamishirasawa from our ranks by undoing her passion, but as you've said, that may be _precisely_ her plan. She truly is cunning."

' _...Uhm, sure.'_ She wasn't sure what mental gymnastics he took to get there, but it'd be helpful for now.

With this, Doppo let a brow raise. "And, that is all? Just that?"

' _...The rapes suck and all, but-...'_

"Yeah." Sendai let it rest at just that.

' _I'll be back for his job some other time, if I have to. For now, Keine's gonna get her school cared for. He also seems way more invested in his rape shit than he is anything relating to the school… so, he's probably really glad I'm not talking him down about that, any further.'_

...Nodding himself, Doppo smiled wider. "Yes. I see where your priorities lie. Very well, the school shall get its defense. It will take around a week for the allocation to take full effect. Is that alright with you?"

"Sounds fine. Issue what you can _today,_ and if I don't see results tomorrow morning, I'm going to find you."

...He sighed. "Fine, fine. How troublesome."

...Since he seemed submissive now, she nodded. "...You realized it was actually a pretty good idea, didn't you?"

"I must admit, the ideas of fools are sometimes diamonds in the rough." Doppo hid his acceptance with an air of arrogance. "Your thinking was something I hadn't realized. The school will be fortified, but in the future we will look for ways to take it out of Kamishirasawa's hands. To support it immediately is only a minor setback, one which we _can_ afford."

' _What a pussy._ _Looks like Keine will get the support she needs in the short-term, until I get strong enough to boss these guys around without a problem.'_

"Well." She smiled, somewhat awkwardly. "Good luck with your, uh… _shrine maiden_ fetish thing."

"Are you of the project at all?" Doppo suddenly wondered. "...Because, if you're not, I recommend it. With your strength, you could get a pick of men. I know you are _into_ the idea, because you demanded nothing about the obscenities you now know of."

"Maybe I am." She answered vaguely. "But, I'm happy with how things are right now. I'll tell you what, though… if I see that the school's well-defended, and maybe the internal crime goes down, I'll consider your offer." She was lying, of course, but she really wanted to butter the deal up, for now.

He smirked. "Sure thing. _You_ have realized _our_ value, have you not?"

She gave him a cheesy smile. "Definitely. Well..."

She got up. "I'm gonna get outta here." When she looked around, scanning various guards, she took a quiet look at Takuro, the man she'd beat back three times since arriving here today.

His neck was now contained entirely in wrapping, bent awkwardly. He was crying, after everything.

' _Next time, they won't be so eager to fight me.'_ She smiled at him, as he gave her a pitiful look. ' _...When it comes to the crime done by the guard and its affiliates, I'll work on that in my own time. I'm sure it'll come to me-... and I've done enough fighting for today.'_

' _I'm reminded of why I didn't fuck with the village back when I was alive. They weren't a challenge, but dealing with their stupidity sucked, and it was just- such a huge mess.'_

As she stomped for the front door, men filed aside, worried about getting in her way.

' _The village was plenty fucked the way I left it, too. The rape stuff is horrible-... but, it doesn't sound like it affects every villager, and it's not getting in Keine's way at the moment. Man, why'd Keine even go through with her school idea? This place is a hellhole. She should've gone to live with Kourin. I'm surprised they're not shacked up, even.'_

She stepped out, into the evening air.

' _...Well. That went better than expected, actually.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

 _Di- di~ng…!_ ' _I'm ho~me.'_

The Kirisame Magic Shop's bleak lighting was turned off, the interior of the shop lit by warm candles and magi-lights…

Marcus looked over to her, as she held a short bloody blade, and a big clean one. "...What the _heck?"_

"It's me, Marc." Sendai wasn't sure if he'd notice her, with all the gear and blood… "I'm, uh, back…"

"...Aww~. What happened ta my hoe getup?" Marcus's first question was where his hooker outfit went. "Didja sell it…!?"

"I sold it." Sendai lied. "For one yen."

...He gave her a _smirk._ "No really- wha' happened to it…"

"Akyuu probably has it." Moving up to the counter, Sendai-

 _Clack- clink!_ -plopped the swords down onto it. "I stopped by her place and showed off... to verify my identity."

He grinned up at her. "Oh, s'that so? Had ta _strut yer stuff_ ta _own it?"_ Bobbing his head, he half-heartedly swayed back and forth in an attempt to dance…

Sendai smiled at him… "You're really playing up the old man thing, huh."

Grinning too, he chuckled. "Hehe! You can tell, ah? An' she gave ya somethin' sensible, I see..." He sized up Sendai's torn up, serrated and bloody not-a-stripper outfit. "Halfway sensible!"

"Yeah."

...Looking around the store, Sendai reached into her pockets. "I've also got a few things, here…"

 _Thu- thunk._ She sat down some crap: an aphrodisiac bottle, the pure water bottle, and the dark stone.

Marcus looked them over, raising his brow. "Wowie. Been busy, hu~h? Thought you were gonna meet with the village fools!" He laid a hand on the broadsword. "This looks like ya killed a wild bear, an' performed sacrilegious shit ta its corpse!"

"How'd you know." Sendai jested gingerly. "...Nah- actually, it was pretty hectic. Meeting with the captain straight up took beating up his men just to get to him. Guy's doing some fucked up shit in an abandoned monastery, or something."

Her words were a vast understatement, and her body felt it. But, this long after the action, and she was returning to peace. This was far from the first time in her life that something like this had happened, but it felt weirdly novel.

' _Keine's gonna get what she wanted-... and, that's that. I was victorious.'_ Grinning, she felt herself relax, her gears switching down from the hype she experienced running back to the store.

' _Right now, nothing else matters. I'll deal with the rest of more shit as it comes. Right now-... I just wanna chill out. Maybe take some time and really think over some things. Or, maybe I'll just-... loaf, until I fall asleep.'_

She looked over at the dark shelves inside the store, for a moment. "I also saw money boy, and beat him up. I beat him up for-... trying to get chicks raped. Y'know-... that's about what I expected of him, too."

' _Guy grew out of being a huge asshole-... into being a huge asshole. Yeah, checks out.'_

Then, something met her mind. ' _...Did I already take out of one the guard's enforcers, by roughing up money boy? Huh. Well, this is implying they stop. I guess I'll stay in the neighborhood for awhile, then, 'cause those guys are fun to hurt. Shouldn't take much more than a couple extra broken noses.'_

"...Wow." Marcus had his eyebrows raised. "Really fuckin' rockin' the boat, aren't ya…!?"

"Can you blame me?" Sendai grinned back at him again. "This place is _rotting._ I think the current captain just needs to be fired. Like, right now. Take him out on a youkai hunt, and he mysteriously winds up in a ditch."

"The hell's this…?" Marcus made an innocent face as he held up the aphrodisiac bottle. "These yer uppers…?"

She snorted. "I found them off a band of... _rapist_ teenage boys. We've apparently got… teen boy, sex toy lackeys, being drugged to not only have sex and be mindless, but also to attack people."

...Slowly, she let her brows curl up, thinking over what she just said.

Marcus's grin grew wider and wider. "Y'know, most villagers'd call that kinda shit crazy talk!"

"At this point, you might just be _wrong_." She noted. "Even though it _should be._ This is _mental._ "

' _Really, just… everything I knew about the village is dwarfed by comparison to this. It's bad.'_

'... _I won't do anything about this shit right this second, but I have a feeling I'm gonna be doing something about it in the coming days. Especially since Keine's-... she's actually a really good foothold into whatever the fuck kinda circus this place is. People were calling her a council member.'_

"While you were ou~t…" Leaving the counter, Marcus moved for the back room… "I got yer stuff washed! S'probably a good thing, 'cause you look like ya traveled the countryside, an' it's only been a day!"

"...I like how you didn't say anything about the blood." Sendai gestured to her now-healed cut wounds. "I got rushed by like _sixteen_ fucking assholes."

"You _really_ don't waste any time, huh…!?" Marcus was growing more incredulous by the statement… "Oh, _gods._ Tsukiko- I don't think the village is _ready_ fer an all-out guard rampage. Yer gonna undo civilization as we know it…!"

"Good!" She chuckled at him. "Le- let it, come undone!"

' _I won that…'_ She thought back to the long, grueling battle with the town's guardians. ' _I fucking won that. It's no big accomplishment to who I used to be-... but, just being alive after that, feels so good…'_

"Hey, Marc, gimme a water…" She requested something to drink. "I've had a hell of a run."

...Staring down at her old clothing, as it lied on the counter nearby, she sighed. "Getting spares produced on a weekly system again's gonna _suck…"_ She dreaded dealing with the drycleaners again. "It took them forever to remember the first time I had to get it set up, and that other time I had to set it up again…"

"...Hmhm. May~be." Marcus looked curiously on the fence about that statement. "But, that'll come."

 _Click._ The water Sendai requested was placed near her, coming from somewhere out of her vision. She automatically went to grab it.

' _...That'll come?'_ She blinked, at him. ' _Know something I don't, Marc?'_

"...Mmh." She chugged from her water, stopping midway behind Marcus's desk.

' _I'll stop by Keine's tomorrow. I'm gonna need a status report… and, some information.'_ She remembered the girl she saw earlier today, and her resignation. ' _I kinda feel like setting things right. The village may've been fucked-... but, I've never heard of it having truly, massively organized crime before.'_

"I wanna sleep for a week." Taking the rest of the water glass, she moved for the back rooms… "Actually, how the hell're _you_ still up?"

"Just enjoyin' the midnight lights, is all!" He gestured to the light outside the shop from its sign. It was actually brighter than the interior, at the moment. "You have fun today?"

"...A little." Sendai admitted.

' _I'm also pretty damn hungry, now. It can wait until tomorrow. I nicked a small fortune off those dumb guardsmen, so I should be able to get a big breakfast this time…'_

"Well, that's what it's all about." Giving her a smile, he waved her off as she moved for the back rooms. "G'ni~ght, Tsukiko~!"

' _Wait- hold on, I'm not heading off just yet…!'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

 _x / Sendai Hakurei No Miko_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

INVENTORY:

X _Sub-weapons:_

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her mastery, Sendai takes on the form of the magic she channels most at the moment. Empowers all style attributes, but moves begin costing additional item crash uses, making this expensive to use. Before she died, it only brought out her pain-brought darkness, but...

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

X _Pocket items:_

Potion - A potion used to restore health. Basic, but the best choice for human users. Provides heavy health regeneration for some seconds.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Evolution - Heals the entire party, as if they were all given a potion. Equal to a Mega Potion, but consumes an item crash use to produce these effects.

Tauriner - Experimental medicinal restoration item. Restores 'spirit energy'. In Sendai's case, it restores a single item crash use upon consumption.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Pocket Tissues - You can never have too many.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Experimental Aphrodisiac - Obtained from suspicious villager teenagers. The bottle's higher quality than Sendai recalls most medicine being stored in.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

High-Quality Bottled Water - Refreshing and pure.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Yukkuri Production Kit - A kit used for creating yukkuri, which obey the user. Consumable with ten uses. Comes with DNA kits for Reimu, Marisa, and Alice types. Life catalyst is bundled with this item.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Dark Stone - A stone filled with brewing, ruesome energy. Common dark reagent with little power.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Pulse - Basic dark magic. Creates an orb of darkness in a foe's form, and pressures their existence.

39,040 Yen - Money used to purchase goods. Takes up no inventory space.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards…

(one slot remaining)

X _Armor:_

x _Body:_ Human Villager Dress - Common, cheap design most purchased by the common female human villager. Offers little defense, but comes with more pockets than most woman-centric dresses. Gives four extra inventory slots.

x _Misc:_

Nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing.

x _Weapon:_ Chintzy Iron Katana - Five uses remaining until it breaks - Cheap iron sword made for precision slicing. Mass-produced, hard to maintain efficiently, and easy to break; especially in Sendai's hands.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Melio Secare - Sendai summons a large magic blade to cleave down on a foe directly before her. Instantly breaks the sword.

European Broadsword - Twelve uses remaining until it breaks - Totally out of place broad blade, which works best on big foes and armored foes. Held in her offhand so she could deposit it at Marcus's. Odd energy emanates from the blade's core.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

==x==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

 _X Body_

Endured II - Sendai has forged her body through a long cycle of training and combat. She's not as strong as she used to be, but she remembers what it's like...

Powerful III - With constant, repeated motions and strength training, Sendai has built up her body to strike fear into the land's youkai. Hits are becoming closer to her former strength...

Dark Affinity - Inherently, Sendai has channeled inner, dark feelings for most of her life. Grants 50% dark resistance.

 _X Soul_

Heated Spirit II - A fragment of the resolve she used to wield. Allows Sendai to use two item crashes. At the end of every fight, she regains one use. Recharged by sleeping, or gaining new resolve.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Magic is ingrained into her body to allow her to replicate certain objects as long as she has enough mana. Becomes unusable when all item crashes are used up.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

Rebellious Soul - Able to channel her magic to her limbs, which takes on the form of dark enchantments. Reduces damage where she applies it, by strengthening the body itself.

Terrain Essence - Sendai can use the environment to deal devastating damage to her enemies. Executable off of walls, the ground, big objects; by lifting tables or chairs, etcetera. Boosts in power the less item crashes Sendai has used.

Weapon Essence - Melee weapons gain decisive maneuvers which deal immense damage. Allows Sendai to use swords semi-properly.

Essence of Finishing - Downed enemies are very vulnerable to extreme attacks, as Sendai's discovered. Follow-ups on downed enemies can now be critical hits, as long as Sendai's spirit remains full. Works with weapons, too.

Essence of Assimilation - When in Fantasy Nature style, Sendai attempts to consume the body of dark-elemental beings. Kills the target. Refills health, item crashes, and Fantasy Nature duration. Sendai inherits target's life force as a result. Bonus power deteriorates over time unless kept fed.

 _X Technique_

 _x Normal Style:_

Dark Power - Sendai accents her body with dark magic, reducing incoming damage and heightening outgoing damage when she wills it.

Quick Step - Sendai slides on her sandals to avoid an attack, jolting her muscles to evade. Pretty much muscle memory to her, at this point.

Charged Kick - Sendai accents her stock kick attack with extra preparation, making it super predictable but more powerful. Takes a second for basic extra power, but takes about two or three to become very powerful.

Youkai Buster Combo - A series of punches aided by quick kicks, which gives most foes little time to recover.

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Faze Step - Lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward some distance. Makes her highly knockback resistant while it executes.

==x==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

hoh

after consistent revisions, this chapter actually has a relatively okay if a bit slow pace in places because of the way she visits locations

it's a very scene-setting kind of chapter, where problems are established, although at the same time sendai kinda starts and ends a brief conflict during this

it's kind of hard to place its purpose, especially in the old draft, but now it's a lot easier to see her determination to help her friend out; she restates her objectives more often, and is in the right of way to take a lot less shit this time around, overall making this chapter feel a lot more victorious and progressive rather than _just_ scene-setting

more things make sense now, too

this chapter in particular may need another once-over again in the distant future but for now it's a lot more solid than it used to be; if it gets another reworking, it might need new ideas entirely! because while i really want a long guard battle, it does some weird things to the pacing, and there's already a moderate amount of fighting before it

this chapter also is kinda unreasonably long in places, almost making it the length of like two chapters, which maybe it should have been, hmm HMM

I THINK IT'S FINE

as always, see you all next time!


	5. Symptomatic

The morning was rainy.

Drops of water coated the window Sendai stared out of. The diner she picked to relax in was quiet and slow.

Low, green-grey light was cast inside, from the dim day outside. It emanated wetness, making everything feel raw, but cozy.

' _...Before I died, I'd planned for my next rain day to be sitting under that one waterfall I found last rainstorm.'_ She had her head propped up on an arm. ' _So much for that.'_

She was now clad in her miko outfit. ' _Nice and clean. Bet that's gonna change real fast. I gotta go buy clothes at some point…'_ Her leotard, arm sleeves and cloth apron felt particularly comforting, right now.

Looking over herself, she smiled. ' _Putting it back on again feels… significant, for some reason.'_

"Sounds like ya got some real work done..." Marcus was eating toast, seated across from her at the same booth. "Like ya said, ya tackle goons like money boy a whole bunch, an' the whole operation falls apart. They think fear-inducin's a one-way street, but from the sounds 'a it, yer doin' a much better job than they are."

They were discussing the village's crime situation. Sendai shifted to look at him again. "I'm more concerned about Keine's school. Once that's stable, we can start pissing around with the guard's dumbasses. I'll tear down the house of each one if I have to."

"Heheh…" Grinning, Marcus stroked his beard… "Don't blame ya."

' _I'm in the mood to act and work.'_ She was energized, alert and motivated. ' _Yesterday, I kicked some serious ass. Today, I'm gonna make sure Keine's all good-... and, maybe kill some time with her. Wait-... school. Well, when her job's done, I'll kill some time with her, if I can.'_

' _...Getting everyone together again's gonna be a pain. It feels like they've drifted apart, if only somewhat.'_

...She stared down at her food. ' _And-... lastly, what the fuck's this.'_ She stared at two buns, with a meat pattie, lettuce, cheese slice and tomato ring between.

...Holding it up reluctantly, she gave it a sniff, before stuffing it into her face. "Mmh…" The meat and vegetable combination went together stronger than she'd thought.

' _Not bad.'_ She considered the food… ' _Kind of a mess in terms of a sandwich, but it goes together fairly efficiently.'_

She swallowed the bite she took. "What _is_ this?"

"Issa _hamburger!"_ Marcus beamed at her. "...Or, in the case 'a this diner, it'sa _Earthburger!"_

"...Is there a difference?" Sendai wondered, more out of impulse than of actually caring.

"Nope!" He grinned. "S'not uncommon fer places ta just name it what they wanna, ta be _cool._ Still, a burger's a burger! Anotha' food type we nicked from the outside…"

' _Oh. Huh.'_ She stared down at it plainly… ' _Makes sense. Seems weirdly efficient. I can get behind a sandwich like this.'_

"Om…" She kept eating it.

As he carefully picked at his buttered toast, Marcus glanced out the somewhat foggy window. "There's a lotta money goin' around in outsider-centric stuff. It's the newest fad."

"That so…" Sendai considered that. "How'd all this outsider-like stuff start flooding in, anyway? The village wasn't quite like this, when I was around…"

"Some 'a the new blood 'n' residents in Gensokyo dragged it in wit' 'em." He answered, meeting her plain gaze. "Mostly fer the better, too. Stuff like _lightbulbs_ an' _ovens!_ Y'know, I bet Kourin's gettin' a real kick outta the way things've turned out."

She snorted. "I bet so."

"And, y'know…" He continued. "Trend's pro'lly accelerated by the peace. Back when you were alive, people weren't concerned wit' _how_ the food tasted. More that it existed in the first place…! Imagine my surprise when the bigger joints here in the village started wobblin', 'cause people began diversifyin'' their tastes. Ideas like 'we sell the most food the quickest and fastest' kinda stopped cuttin' the mustard."

"...Huh." Sendai was always somewhat curious, towards the idea of a villager's diet. "Yeah. As you knew well, I used to hunt and just cook meat, and occasionally stopped here for bread stuff, or seasoning. So-... I never really knew how shit the village had it."

...He'd finished most of his toast, at this point. "Ooh, trust me, it was pretty shit."

For some short moments, the two finished the last of their foods, taking in the serene, grey atmosphere of the day outside.

She sat her water down, and felt good about herself. ' _Food is good…'_

Looking up at Marcus, she began to scoot towards the end of the booth seat. "Anyway… I think I'm gonna get going. Thanks for everything, Marcus."

"Any~time." He gave her a big smile. "Remember: keys to the shop're sealed in the wall just the way I showed ya. If ya need any 'a yer crap, it'll always be in that box!"

' _Ah, right. Marcus left me in charge of an item box at the store.'_ Sendai remembered. ' _I put some of my things in it this morning. This outfit has far less room than the villager one...'_

"...I'd recommend buyin' a purse, myself!" Marcus grinned at her. "'Cause you got a lotta stuff now!"

"I'm not a kid, Marc…" Sendai snorted. "Since when were you so doting?"

' _I could use a little backpack or something. A purse would just get destroyed, or get in the way. I had to leave some interesting things behind… so I might just get a backpack first.'_

He beamed up at her, standing up preliminarily. "Since one 'a my best pals came back from the literal freakin' aether! Doesn't happen every day, I tell ya what!"

She stood, grinning. "Best pal…? Don't let your past self hear that. He'd probably fire your ass."

"That he would!" Energetically, he gave her a big thumbs-up. "No~w…"

After she'd left the booth, Marcus did too. He moved towards the front to pay the tab, and she followed.

"...And, yer still a kid ta _me!"_ He beamed at her. "I'm like _fitty_ now! Yer still you~ng...!"

"It's a twelve year difference, Marc." She returned a vain stare at him. "... Actually… I guess that _is_ kind of long."

He snorted. "Not fer me, it ain't." He returned her statement quickly, and quietly.

He'd arrived at the counter, and placed down the bill, with the yen owed. "He~re ya are, missy…"

"Thank yo~u! Stay safe!" Claiming the money, the waitress clerk gave him a wave as he turned to leave.

...While they moved for the door, Marcus smiled back at Sendai. "Y'hear that? Stay safe, Tsukiko…!"

Sendai snorted. "Oh, sure."

"Wai~t. Also…" Marcus paused, holding out two potion bottles to her in the doorway. "Noticed ya were _two_ shorter, last night!"

...Her surprise fading, she smiled at him. "Thanks, Marc."

' _That's-... more generous than he'd have ever been. Hell... before, he wouldn't have even thought of buying me breakfast.'_

 _Sendai equipped Hakurei Maiden Combat Outfit: DP._

 _Sendai equipped Reinforced Apron._

 _Sendai was forced to equip Cheap Umbrella (five uses remaining)_

 _Sendai stored Chintzy Iron Katana in the item box._

 _Sendai stored European Broadsword in the item box._

 _Sendai stored Experimental Aphrodisiac in the item box._

 _Sendai stored High-Quality Bottled Water in the item box._

 _Sendai stored Dark Stone in the item box._

 _Sendai stored Human Villager Dress in the item box._

 _Sendai obtained (2x) Potion._

Outside the diner, Marcus had a pink and white polka-dotted umbrella out. "What'cha gonna do now, anyway…?"

The idea was certain in her mind, as she walked along with him. "...I'll go check on Keine. Didn't I say as much?" She held a cheap, blue umbrella, the kind that Marcus simply almost gave away at his store, on the occasion someone didn't have one and it rained when they visited.

He shrugged, smiling again. "Well, yeah, but I didn't know if ya were gonna go do it _right away._ "

...His statement made Sendai pause in ginger inquisitivity. "What would I be doing, then?"

"Y'should spend a little more time relaxin'!" He suggested. "'Specially on a rainstorm like today…!" His voice raised to flush out the rain.

The grey-green atmosphere filled Sendai with a kind of cozy feeling. ' _It's not a bad idea… but, I can't just stop. For now.'_

"I'll think about it." She dismissed the notion. "What're _you_ gonna do?"

He snorted back, as he readied to trail off. "Oo~h. Man the _shop._ Sleep. Jack off…!"

"Yeah- _thanks."_ Sendai needed to know this. "Anyway. I'll stop by if I need anything."

"Hehehe~!" He grinned at her reaction, and began to slow. "Alri~ght! See ya! Y'know where ta find me if ya need me!"

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

' _I already miss hanging out with Marcus. Even if we spent months apart at a time as it was… things will never be quite the same.'_

Sendai stood amidst the stalls in the village's midst. ' _Let's get that purse- I mean, backpack out of the way, so I can move onto other things.'_

...She also still had that little blue umbrella. ' _Marcus sells these on rainy days, huh. Go figure.'_

The square was relatively empty. As usual, the villagers mostly kept to work or homes during the occasional rainy day. Only once it became consistently rainy would people begin to do things. ' _Especially now that most houses are two story. More room for people to store and preserve goods, just for days like these.'_

"Good morning." The vendor operating the stall she approached greeted her.

"Morning…" She looked the bags on the counter up and down… "You have any backpacks here?"

He was a plain, aged and tanned man. "Backpacks…? Aah. We have _packs…"_

"If you can make one into a _backpack_ , you'll get my money." She asserted herself.

His eyes traced her miko clothing, then her breasts. "...Aah. Well- the materials, we don't have 'em _here…"_

"That's too bad." Dismissive, she began to walk away…

' _Maybe I should visit the school for one. There should be some traveler bags just out here in the square, but… it doesn't look like it today. That's sad.'_

Choosing to ignore the stalls for now, she continued down the village's west road. ' _Let's just go get one from the school, then. I've gotta stop there anyway, to see if Keine's doing alright, and to see if the guard is actually doing as I demanded. I don't think they wanna get beaten up again.'_

Now sure of where the school was, she made a straight line towards it. The gate was still open, the morning early, and not all kids had arrived yet. This was evident in that students were milling about in the school's front courtyard, socializing behind the safe walls.

' _Sort of ironic, that… they need walls, in an already walled in village.'_

Stepping into the front courtyard, Sendai looked around…

' _Of course the rain slows, now.'_ It seemed like it became nothing more than a drizzle. Around her, kids began to play with their umbrellas they had instead of using them properly. ' _Lot of good this umbrella's doing.'_

In the faded, emerald glow of the rainy day's sky, Sendai ran her eyes across the water-stained bricks of the large, ugly building. ' _...Can't this place look nicer, though?'_

She saw someone in blue move from the heavy, metal front doors. ' _Oh. Here comes Keine.'_

She browsed up casually, looking somewhat displaced for a moment. "Hi, Tsukiko." Keine waved, smiling somewhat slantedly. "Um…"

' _She's already sort of awkward. And- fuck, why's everyone keep calling me Tsukiko. I'm just 'the miko'. 'The miko'!'_

"Hey." Sendai smiled at her. "Notice anything different? About the guards?"

"Ye- yeah." She let out a breath… "We got five men, for today. That's more than _none,_ which was yesterday- and they'd even sent members of the honor guard. Tsukiko, what did you _do?"_

"I snapped someone's neck." Smiling, Sendai nodded at her own news warmly.

...Seeing Keine's brows curl in worry, Sendai held up a hand to keep her from fretting. "No- not literally. I think." What she did to guard sergeant Takuro came to mind. Also, Okane. "Eeh. Ma- maybe a few, actually. But, they deserved it, I assure ya. No one died, either." That she was aware of, at least.

"Re- really, now…" Keine didn't seem like she immediately approved, but... "Well, who did you talk with?"

"...Hmm." Sendai considered this… "The guard captain. He wasn't at the village center, so I had to go looking for him."

"Ah." At that, Keine nodded… "I assume you had some difficulty finding him."

"You could say that." Sendai began to smile again. "You wouldn't believe the shit I had to go through. Yesterday, _four_ different people've tried to have sex with me. The village's _such_ a dump now."

"...Ah, yeah." Keine looked a little worn, at that. "That sort of thing _does_ happen now, doesn't it."

"Anyway." Putting that aside, Sendai kept talking. "The guard wants you out, but... I played some mind games, and now they'll fortify the school. Despite this, the captain still wants you out most of anyone."

...Keine raised a brow. "Mind games?"

"I explained that-... youkai like fear, and education fights fear." Sendai offered. "So, yeah."

...Thinking over the situation, Keine sighed. "That- might be a headache later-... but, it's better than having no one to protect my students during the school day. Thank you, Tsukiko."

...Sendai gave her a slanted smile back. "Sure thing, Keine. ...I just, you know-... don't wanna see any dumbasses piss on this thing you've worked for. All the time I knew you, you wouldn't stop talking about it."

"Mmm…" Smiling again, Keine gave the ground a lonely smile. "I'm surprised you still remember."

Sendai clarified her thinking. "...To me, it's like no time's passed since now and the day I died. We went out drinking three weeks ago."

"Ah…" Keine blinked, at that. "That's right. You said-... something about that, when you first saw me here. About, um-... me and Kourin."

"You had the fucking hots for me." Sendai began to grin. "God forbid I ever let myself take a nap around you two. Y'ever noticed how I always slept around you with radial wards and caltraps?"

"I- I had _figured,_ when I thought back on it…" Withering in embarrassment a little, Keine looked around. "Could- you keep your voice _down,_ by the way…?"

"Speaking o~f…" Propping her arms on her own hips, Sendai confronted her. "Did you ever find someone? Or, did you turn out like Kourin, and had all of your emotions do a complete one-eighty?"

...Keine stared away. "I- I mean, I no longer drink nearly as much, nor do I prank villagers by defecating on their windows. I'd like to believe I have at least some of my-... _smart aleck_ attributes, left over."

Still, Sendai remained expectant. "You didn't really answer my question. It really is strange how, in a few years, _everything_ about Kourin changed. At least Marcus is still really goofy, he's just not an asshole anymore."

Bringing an arm around her own back, Keine looked casual. "I've not had many moments to _unwind._ I wouldn't say my emotions did a _one-eighty,_ but-... I'm more guarded. Especially these recent years-... where I have to deal with um, losing students more often, or seeing them graduate, then just-... disappear from society."

' _Still didn't answer my first question, but…'_

"...Is that common?" Sendai worried, a little… "Students vanishing?"

Keine was deciduous with her wording. "Mo- more than it should be, but not in a way that'd be alarming to _you._ Aa- as in, most times, only up to five or ten are… _missing,_ per year, and they usually stay so. In the past _week_ -... _"_

"Yeah?" Since she wouldn't continue, Sendai ushered her on.

"Mmh." She shook her head. "It's- nothing."

' _Weird…'_ Sendai chose to keep that in the back of her mind. ' _Something's been going down this week.'_

"Is it such a big deal?" Sendai wondered. "The lives of students at your school."

...Keine nodded hard, resolute. " _Yes._ I watch them learn, and grow, and become their own people. And-... when I see them get torn from their dreams and comfort to become sacrificial pawns for others, it's-..."

She looked softer, searching Sendai's eyes. "Let me frame my problem like this. What if-... what if one day, when you got back to your shrine-... Reimu was just gone? And- you found her days later, trapped in some man's cellar-... o- or-..." She stopped herself.

Sendai's mind skipped a beat at the mental image. She shut her eyes for a moment, and clenched her fists. It was a very real fear for her, after way in which she lost Keisuke.

"So- sorry." Keine looked to the side. "Even I'm not as attached to them, as you are Reimu. But-... I think of the parents, and the pain they go through, too. A small sample of my students are routinely met with terrible things, and it makes me-... it makes me depressed."

"They wouldn't be walking away with only scars." Sendai stated simply. "I've got nothing against murdering people, if the world would be better off without 'em. Hell-... someone like that wouldn't deserve death. I'd make them regret being born. You know that thing youkai used to do? Take off all your limbs, and keep you as a torso? Yeah, I'd do that."

"Aa- ah." Keine smiled uncomfortably. "Well-... for me, such aggression would cost my job… for, you know, good reason..."

...Sendai exhaled, her body warming in anger. "Then the town guard could wait their damn turn. I'd fucking kill them, too. The world would pay, for taking Reimu away from me. I wouldn't care what anyone thought of me, anymore. It- it'd be time for the village to _burn._ "

' _Thinking about it at all-...'_ Sendai wanted to fight, now. ' _God, damn it. I'm gonna get a headache. I wanna see Reimu-'_

"Say." Practically watching Sendai's adrenaline accelerate, Keine hurriedly switched topics to something more comfortable again. "Would you like to stay, and have tea? So we may-... speak of your experiences in detail, and, perhaps talk about something that _isn't_ the village."

...Her words made Sendai calm down. Keine spoke further. "Making you do things for me isn't the way I should greet you back here, Tsukiko-"

"It's alright." Sendai replied quick. "It's what I signed up for. I wouldn't feel good lounging around, if I knew all this crazy horseshit was going down. I mean-..."

' _I never gave a shit about the village before. When I was a kid, people got fucked up here all the time, whether it was them killing and raping each other, or getting fucked up by the youkai. Hell-... a lot of my empathy came after I met Keisuke, and had Reimu. A lot of it came after I saw the world, and just-... observed it._

' _Even after all of that, the village holds a sour spot in me. When I hear about villagers getting abused, I've always thought they reaped what they sowed. I've never had a reason to care about their problems.'_

"I know." Keine nodded at her, smiling. "You have no respect for, or attachment to, the people of the village. None of us did. When I was young, living according to your guidance-... I'd agree with you. I wanted nothing to do with the village at the time. I felt similar to the way you do now."

"...Really?" Sendai leaned to the side, a little. "Kourin gave no shits. I didn't think you did either. Didn't know how you'd do the _school thing_ with no students, but..."

"They're people like you and me, Tsukiko." She smiled sadly. "And, they're hurting. Not all of them, and some of them deserve to hurt, yes, but-... that example with Reimu? Some parents are experiencing that nightmare. And, I can't do a damn thing to stop it, unless I throw away the future of so many other kids, too."

She stopped, and looked tired. "...It's-... too early for me to be worrying. I'm already well past the point of crying about this."

"It really is too early." Sendai agreed. "Let's go think about that tea, Keine."

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

5

Symptomatic

The school's staff break room was somewhat plain and barren, but had a surprisingly wide selection of supplies, ranging from beverages to materials and packs.

While taking in the dark and somewhat cool atmosphere of the room, Sendai remembered her secondary reason for coming here in the first place. "Ah. I also came to see about a backpack."

Taking pause for a moment, Keine dwelled on this. "...Hmm. Your outfit, it doesn't have much for pockets, does it."

"Nah." Sendai smiled at this more casual discussion. "It can just be something small. Unobtrusive."

...Looking back, Keine smirked a little. "Have you thought about a purse?"

Sendai let her brows furrow, but only a little. "Nn- no~… _"_

Coming back to the table with one of the nearby, red backpacks, Keine sat it down on the glazed, auburn wood table.

"He~re you go…" She nodded at it. "This should be able to hold things for travel."

"Thanks." Taken by the plain, red cloth backpack, Sendai accepted it… "Looks like it'll come in handy."

 _Spli~sh._ Keine filled Sendai's plastic teacup, and the sound of pouring liquid made her relax. ' _Ooh. That looks good.'_

' _...Even though I just drank at the diner, this is still great.'_ Sendai supposed tea was always really good. ' _Unless you just got done drinking too much tea, then it might be worse off.'_

Bringing up her own cup, Keine smirked. "Cheers."

 _click._ They clicked together their cheap, see-through plastic cups. "Ye- yeah." Sendai looked vaguely amused by this…

' _What're these cups made of?'_ Sendai did not know of the wonderful world of plastics. ' _...Some kinda rock, or quartz? This looks expensive… but somehow feels low quality. Not even sure why.'_

They both took a swig, and looked peaceful.

"So…" Keine leaned back in her chair. "Old captain Iwayama… wants to take a political shot at me instead now, huh."

"Mmm." Sendai confirmed. "Guy's such a crackpot."

"Depriving me of protection was working far better for him." Keine felt satisfied by criticizing his new strategy. "Especially when-... he probably ran active operations _against_ the school. I'll still need to keep my eyes open, but…" She sighed. "At least I don't need to worry about being totally powerless, were something exceptionally stupid to happen."

"...Yeah." Sendai just kind of idly agreed, unable to add much more, even though she wanted to. She found her words soon, however. "Why d'you put up with this shit, again?"

"If I go up and punch a guy, I'll lose my job." Keine stated plainly. "If I tell Reimu, and she muddies the situation by swinging wildly, it'll be the same as me lying to get a guy punched, and I'll probably lose my job, political clout be damned. So, I have to _diplomate._ "

...Sendai found a stupid grin. "I didn't know you could duplicate."

...Keine gave her a flat stare, fighting against a grin. "Don't make me diplomate _you,_ Tsukiko."

Sendai smiled, shaking her head… ' _I take it, that since I pretty much don't exist as a big name anymore, if I go and punch a guy, it's like a random raggedy-ann villager going and punching a guy, except I don't even live here, and the guard can't do shit about me.'_

"So, you had to play their game, then." Sendai acknowledged the situation. "But, with me here, you don't."

"...I guess not." Keine admitted. "Still. I'm afraid of what would have happened, if the _absolute miracle_ of you appearing now hadn't occurred. I-... can't even imagine." She moved to hold herself, for a moment.

"You would've found a way." Sendai smiled at her. "...And, you know, the world does seem to have a way to put the right person at the right time, regardless of the consequences."

"Funny that you say that…" Keine looks absolutely dry about that idea. "Not only are you saying this to someone who's repeatedly failed to rescue her students-... but, you're saying this to someone who just can't seem to _find a way_ to save them."

"...Hmmh." Sendai frowned a little. "I feel like there'd be a smart way of doing it, even if not entirely like, _moral._ You do what you gotta do."

"I'm at my wit's end _keeping my cool_ here." Keine closed her eyes. "...Gods forbid I _think over_ what is happening. I know you don't feel the pain I feel over this, Tsukiko. The-... the pain of _knowing-_ that-... _say-_ that one child you've seen progress, over multiple years, just had their entire sense of self and safety thrown away. Because- _those with more power_ took them, and just- _undid_ as much as they could, be- because they're so _fucking_ -"

"You also could've never been a teacher in the first place, Keine." Tsukiko spoke simply. "If you weren't, these children would've been much worse off as a whole."

...At that, Keine opened her eyes again, revealing them to be red and only a little teary.

"Is there anyone else you know who could do what you do, and _willingly_ too?" Sendai smiled at her. "...And, you'd be surprised how people bounce back. You might think, even after drugs, magic tricks, failure and sex, that those fucks took your beloved students and erased them. But unless they've actually killed them, you'd be wrong. Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and humans, even amongst all the youkai here in Gensokyo-... they bite back _hard."_

...Keine let out a sort of hollow exhale. "You're-... you're right. And- you speak somewhat from experience yourself, don't you…?"

Sendai snorted. She'd witnessed these things happen to village folk before. "...Yeah. You've got every right to feel horrible, disgusted, and repulsed by this shit. But-... you're doing more good than you think. It's not your fault that this place is too shit to appreciate you."

...Keine smiled, at that. "You speak so objectively… and yet, if this matter affected you, you would be a hurricane of anger."

"Guilty as charged." Sendai didn't care too much, about that. "Those parents aren't me, and you aren't me. I don't have the same experiences, and I'm not gonna just cry over the tragedies of strangers. Sorry. That's why you brought up the thing with Reimu at all, didn't you? You wanted to see if I empathized. I'm gonna tell you right now, that I _do,_ I just don't care as much about it. I'm not the ground zero here, and I'm sure nobody in this village would want that."

' _Whatever's happened has happened. All that's left is for me to do something about it, and then it'll stop. People will recover. I probably won't stick around to see if they do, or not. I'm not sparing much time or thought for these people.'_

...She stared down at her tea. ' _This stuff is goo~d. Keine used to brew it like dirt, but now, she really has improved a hell of a lot. She's probably better at brewing than me, now.'_

"...Aside from that stuff, things haven't been so bad." Keine let her eyes drift shut, as she leaned back in her chair.

"That so…" Sendai began to feel comfy. "You workin' today?"

"Yeah." Keine nodded. "School's on, in an hour or so. A day like today just makes me want to sleep… but, you know, that's what it does to everybody."

' _...Yeah.'_

 _Cla- clack._ A door nearby opened, someone in armor clattering in…

Sendai turned to face him. He was a man with short grey hair, and a worn-looking moustache. "Ah- hrmh…" Stopping in the door, he looked back, trying to fit a big lance inside. "Blasted-... confounded-"

 _Clack!_ Eventually, he managed to slip it in. "Ah, there." Smiling, he brushed the tip of it, where it had poked the top of the doorframe. "Still good…"

Sendai traced his well-built, grey and blue oriental armor. ' _Who's this? One of the guys Keine got assigned?'_

"Ah." Keine spoke up, and stood. "...You're the assigned honor guard help, right?"

Snapping his gaze towards her, he smiled and nodded. "That I am! You been well, Kamishirasawa?"

"Well enough." She smiled back.

 _Clack, clack, clack._ Sauntering over to a nearby counter, he held up his couch-proportioned lance, and sat it down.

 _CLACK._ "Nnh- there." He seemed relieved, once it was down. "Not even gonna be needin' that today."

"So…" Keine walked up next to him, and looked the lance over. "What's the story?"

The greying man snorted. "Ah, you know. Captain said the usual _bullshit_ , made up some excuse about the importance of education. S'particularly weird, because, you know-... he insulted the idea of a school in general just the other night. Guy's gettin' about as old as I am, and when yer my age, you're not _really_ fit ta command people, lemme tell ya what…"

Keine nodded, at that. "Changes his mind really easily, doesn't he?"

Stepping up to the table, he saw the kettle of tea. "...Uh- you mind if I…?" He pointed at it casually.

Keine shrugged. "I don't see why not."

 _Spli~sh._ He poured himself a cup, moving somewhat slow due to the gauntlets he wore making actually using the tea set difficult.

' _Seems like a regular guy.'_ Sendai didn't feel anything off about him. ' _He looks more experienced, than the average guardsman. Kinda western-looking, too.'_

"Y'know-..." He faced her, looking peaceful. "I would've done this sorta thing sooner- not enthused in the idea 'a youkai huntin' anymore, and all- but you know how the captain is."

"It's no problem." Keine smiled at him. "I know that the politics really get in the way. We don't really have the money to privatize our security, either."

...He sipped from his tea, and looked Sendai over. "They send a Hakurei imposter ta help us, today? Ptfuh."

"Uu- um…" Keine wasn't sure how to mediate this.

"Something like that." Sendai didn't feel like explaining herself, to him. "...You hear about what went down at the church last night?"

...He raised a grey brow at her. "Oh, yeah? I've heard a buncha stories since this morning. My favorite one's the one where the bells all broke and fell on everybody. 'Cause, y'know, that woulda _really_ gave everyone reason to keep on their toes…!"

"What about the one where a random villager girl kicked everyone's ass?" Sendai not-so-subtly implied the obvious.

...He smirked at her. "Y'mean to tell me that was _you?_ Not so much 'random villager girl' as it was 'youkai', but... _"_

"The most youkai-like thing I did was eat potions to not die." She clarified. "...Well, I guess my holy abilities counted, too."

He shrugged. "I mean, s'no sweat off my back. You didn't even _kill_ anybody. Y'obviously didn't mean any harm."

She grinned widely at that. "Fucking thank you. About time someone didn't try to fight me over nothing."

"Ah, yeah." Looking down into his teacup, he began to face away… "Lotta boys in this town don't know crap 'bout bein' a warrior, or a guard. Going around, acting like _hooligans_ , rather than bloody…" He seemed bitter about his fellow, inexperienced guards, his eyes meeting Sendai's again. " _Those_ should be the kinda boys we send out on expeditions. This new captain's all backwards. Not that that sorta thing's anything _new._ "

Taking the cup with him, he moved for the other door out of the break room. "...Oh, yeah. Keine, anything specific, fer today…?"

She stared at him, for a moment. "...I'll gather all the people we get at the front of the school once the first classes begin. I've also put up volunteer offers on the board for the month, so if we get any optional help, I'll pair them with your guys."

"Alright." With that, he sauntered out the door. "I'll tell any other men I see that. Take care for now."

"You too." Her gaze slowly traced back to the big lance left on the counter…

' _She's taking volunteers for daily duty too, huh.'_ Sendai wondered, about that…

She wanted to know more. "You're takin' volunteers?"

"Ah-... yeah." Keine looked over at her again. "Why?"

...Sendai smiled. "No reason. Just stood out to me."

...Smirking back, Keine shook her head. "The last thing I want you to do with your-... _second chance_ at life, is work on my problems."

"I know."

' _Let's volunteer.'_ Sendai immediately considered doing the exact opposite of what Keine wanted from her. _'Hell, maybe I could provoke Marcus into coming along, so I don't get bored after three hours of punching bricks and doing push-ups. O~h, shit, I'm_ onto _something...'_

' _But, I do really wanna see how the school runs. I've never actually like-... seen a school operate, so this should at least be interesting to spend a day observing. Also, I kinda wanna make sure none of these guys start any shit with Keine, even if they're the veteran-types.'_

"...Since you'll be opening soon-... I think I'm gonna get out of here." Slowly coming to a stand, Sendai gave her friend a gentle smile, and stretched her back a little. The way she stretched pushed her chest out, a little. "Nn~h. Reminds me. When's the next weekend? Kinda lost track 'a the date, being dead and all."

...Looking up from her chest, Keine gave her a slanted smile. "Uu~h… hm. It's… _thursday,_ yes. Two days. I'm off on weekends... technically."

' _Technically? Oh, no.'_ Sendai gave her a compromising smile… ' _Guess she's got her hands full.'_

"Alright." Sendai decided not to give her anymore trouble, for now. "I'll be seeing you around, Keine."

"Yeah. You too…" Her reply was sort of vacant, as she saw Sendai off.

' _This village shit's got her all kinds of fucked up. But, I think I got through to her, if only a little. I know all the crime sucks, but-... you know, there's no use in being too sad over it. I don't know what I'll do next, to help her-... but, I will kill some time by volunteering here, for the day. Maybe I'll even learn something new.'_

Moving from the chair, Sendai strolled for the door into the hallway nearest the school's front.

 _Sendai obtained Elementary Backpack._

' _I'm definitely gonna go find that job posting, now.'_ Sendai began to hustle in the drizzling remnants of the rain. ' _Gonna shake things up. This awkward shit really needs to get diluted.'_

She reached the center of the village, where the job board stood. It was the primary government-sponsored method of messaging in this tiny village; mail and delivery were matters mostly handled by the citizens themselves.

' _I hear there were actual mail occupations in the outside world. They wouldn't make much sense in this tiny place.'_

The job board was wet and broad today. It was along the south-west of the town square, a small visor protecting the jobs from water damage, and doing a relatively poor job at it.

Still, nothing was blown off or broken. ' _Then again, there're so many jobs, I can't tell.'_

Three or four guards cautiously watched the board. It looked like their job was to keep it secure in this weather.

' _They're_ _more excited about fucking with this board than they are doing any actual job. You'd think there'd be magic for this shit. Put Marcus in front of the board, and he could keep everything in place while reading a book.'_

Moving for the board to look it over-

Someone gripped Sendai by the shoulder.

" _He~y,_ Doppel-chan!"

Her body relaxing, Sendai faced Marisa. ' _Damn. Snuck up on me again.'_

"Lookin' fer a _job_ , huh…!?" Marisa's face was alive with sardonic vigor. "What'cha gonna _buy,_ ze!?"

"...What's it matter." Sendai's gaze in return was plain.

Marisa got closer, wet with rain, her hat awkwardly tilted back so as to not blind herself. "No~thin'. I'm just curious! An' I see yer in yer _real_ outfit, this time. Lookin' _sharp…"_

"Thanks." Sendai supposed. "I've got things to be doing."

"Oo~h, _things!"_ Marisa got really close. "That's rea~l cute."

The hem of her hat brushed Sendai's nose. ' _Holy shit, this hat…!'_

"I'm…" Sendai tilted the enormous witch hat back even further, so she could see. "I'm not gonna fight you, if that's what you want."

"Wha~t?" Marisa got in her face, her hat tilting further up as it brushed against Sendai's forehead. "Reimu's not a pussy, _ze._ Yer not gonna survive in this world just pussyfootin' around."

"You think _I_ don't get that?" This claim frustrated Sendai; Marisa having tickled just the right button. "I just don't gotta deal with a little shit like you."

"Pfta~h?" Marisa's smooth, young face neared hers, vibrant and exaggerated. "The little shit that kicked your ass, yeah!?"

"Could you _fuck off?"_ Sendai let herself get angry.

"Hehahah!" Marisa slid back from the job board, aiming her octagonal implement up. "Hakurei chicks don't pussy out, y'know!? _Come on!"_

-+- _Vs. Famous Youkai Exterminator, Secondary Primary Incident Resolver, Ordinary Magician Marisa Kirisame -+-_

Villagers gathered around the center of the town square, umbrellas up amidst those who were able to afford them.

Sendai's umbrella was fitted into her new backpack, for now. ' _It's drizzling, so it doesn't matter anyway.'_

' _I'll just have to do my best to fuck her up, and fast.'_ Sendai cracked her knuckles, a fist wrapped in her other hand. Her body's energy began to pump faster...

"Come _get me!"_ Marisa bellowed at her, her broom in her offhand, and her octagon of doom raised. "Bitch!"

On impulse, Sendai ran at her, planning mid-sprint. ' _I've got an idea. I'm not gonna let her push me around like a fucking doll like last time!'_

As she neared, her form vanished.

...Marisa let her weapons lower, as she slowly pivoted around.

...Behind her, Sendai appeared. Marisa took an assertive stance once again. ' _She was ready!? If I move and punch, she won't be as ready!'_

 _Fwish!_ Sliding up to Marisa, Sendai clumsily threw an arm back, ready to meet her stomach with a fierce hook.

But, Marisa was ready.

 _Pow!_ She shot herself. A small, yellow blast of self-harming magic sent Marisa skidding half a meter to the side.

 _Whack!_ Her broom came onto Sendai's back with a hooking swing, now that she'd got next to Sendai.

' _What…?'_ The blow hurt a little, but it fortunately wasn't accented with ludicrous explosions. ' _She used magic, to get around using her muscles to dodge...!'_

Stepping back, Sendai brought her arms up.

"He- heheh…!" Marisa beamed, her elbow briefly brushing her gut where she shot herself on impulse. "How's that shit!?"

"...Cute." Sendai admitted. "Let's see you keep doing that."

Marisa glared and grinned.

 _Pap!_ Sendai kicked her leg into the ground, bolting into Marisa with the force she used to bring her down last time. ' _Surprise!'_

 _Pow!_ Shooting herself again, Marisa skidded to the side, a yellow aura left in her blazing trail.

Sendai kicked into the air wide. She'd not expected Marisa to move to the right again; but after trying really hard, her leg closed the distance and clipped Marisa anyway.

 _Pap!_ Her leg had met Marisa's right thigh.

 _Thud!_ "Wa- ugh…!" Marisa slowly faceplanted into the wet stone as a result, her hat softly drifting down to meet her head…

 _Thud._ Dropping down, Sendai rolled hard against the ground, due to her awkward movement. She made sure to land on her arms, so she could maneuver right back onto her legs, recovering from the fall. ' _Well, that hit her… at least.'_ Her clothes were now splotched and wet...

As she stood again, Marisa was already up, awaiting her. "Good hi~t. Let's see ya keep doing that!"

' _Cheeky.'_ Glaring back, Sendai began to strafe around. ' _...Now!'_

 _Splap!_ She slid towards Marisa, sandal skidding against the wet stone beneath herself. She threw a hook towards Marisa's stomach as she moved, trying to connect it.

 _Pow!_ Once again, Marisa hurt herself, this time to slide to the left. Sendai attempted to catch her with her other fist, but came short. ' _Fuck-'_

 _Whack._ Marisa brought her broom wide, whacking Sendai gently as she passed by again. ' _That fucking dodge strike she's doing…'_

' _That's enough of this.'_ Ignoring the pointless strike, Sendai reached ahead to grapple her.

 _Pow!_ Marisa slid left on her heels again, the mana blast she took to the side invigorating her. Water on the uneven stone below flicked out of the way, accenting her slips with a pretty, yet dull splash of diamond-like particles.

' _No- get your ass back here!'_

 _Whish!_ Sendai turned and thrust her arm forward again, trying to get her collar.

 _Pow!_ Nailing her own gut again with magic, Marisa continued to the left, circling Sendai. "He- hehe! Yer- fuckin' _slow!"_

 _Whoosh!_ Sendai flicked a leg up, her dark energy leaving an azure trail in the air as she attempted to send Marisa sprawling. ' _What the fuck-'_

Against her expectations, Marisa softly leapt into the air, over her leg. ' _Wh- what!?'_

Doing a slow, gentle flip, Marisa landed behind her.

Sendai turned, seeing Marisa's landing behind herself. ' _Rookie mistake.'_ She reached to grab onto the back of her collar-

 _Pow!_ Marisa's magic flared, as she shot herself in the center of her own gut. " _Uuh!"_

 _Thud._ Dropping to her butt and skidding back, Marisa went straight under and between Sendai's legs. ' _What the fuck-'_

The witch hat floated onto Sendai's head, giving her a hat. ' _Are- are you serious…!?'_

"He- haha~h!" Rolling off her butt, back, then onto her legs again, Marisa shot into standing, stumbling away behind her. "Y'get what I'm layin' down, no~w!?" Her golden hair was everywhere, wet and fluffy.

"...What the _fuck_ are you doing." Sendai reached up to adjust the huge, partially soggy witch hat…

"I'm _dodgin'_ and _counterin'!"_ Beaming back, Marisa held up her octagonal instrument. "You remember what that shit's like?"

Sendai blinked.

' _Dodging, and countering…'_ She considered Marisa's motions. ' _Damn. For some reason… I remember doing it, but I'm not confident about trying that again. That's why she's using dodge strikes on me- she wants me to counter with the same.'_

Marisa smiled at Sendai's seeming self-reflection. "I'm gonna fuck ya up now, ze! Yer gonna be _real sorry!"_

' _She's trying to egg me on, to… use dodging strikes.'_ Sendai realized the point of this fight. ' _She's trying to make me remember things. Holy shit.'_

"Cowe~r!" Channeling a charisma remembered from days long past, Marisa held her octagon to the sky. "And beho~ld! _Mana flamethrowe~r!"_

 _Fwifwifwi~sh!_ A powder of neon stars, dust and yellow-cyan magical fragments rolled from the blaster, glowing vibrantly in razor sharp contrast to the day's washed out colors.

Slowly, she brought the spray of magic and saccharine colors down from the sky, aimed towards Sendai.

' _I… I don't know how to counter quite like I used to.'_ She frowned. ' _But- I was faster than this! I can go faster!'_

 _Fwish!_ As the spread of wasted magic neared her, Sendai jerked her muscles to slide alongside it, closing the distance with Marisa in one moment.

 _Whunk!_ Her momentum stopped on a dime, and with this suddenness, she hooked a fist into Marisa's gut almost faster than can be seen. ' _Wh- woah. That was… shitty, but effective.'_

"Nghk…" Stepping back, Marisa reoriented the octagon, and readied to flush magic out again. "He- hehaha~! _Burn in mana~!"_

 _Fwifwifwi~sh!_ The magic washed out towards Sendai, the luminescent neon river flowing.

 _Fwish!_ Sendai thrust her body briefly through it, and came to Marisa's other side. ' _Woah- that stings...'_

She stopped on a dime once she was past the blooming magic. ' _Now!'_ She twisted her heel, using the abrupt nature of her dodge to thrust a hook forward again.

 _Whunk!_ Her muscles briefly pulsed with dark energy, as rammed a new hook into Marisa's gut.

" _Ouh…"_ Marisa let her broom go, the shaft drifting aside her as she held herself. "Ni- nice…"

Before she could re-orient, Sendai moved again.

 _Fwish!_ Jerking into a slide that got her behind Marisa, Sendai flicked her arm back.

 _Whunk!_ _"Uh- nnh…"_ She hooked it in, and it hit Marisa in the back, sending her stumbling forward.

 _WHACK!_ Then, Sendai kicked her in the small of her back. ' _Gotcha!'_

" _Augh!"_ Surprised and injured, Marisa was thrown forward, flopping onto the floor on her stomach. "Unh…"

 _Sendai learned Dodge Retaliation._

...Marisa stood tall before her, hatless and happy. "Never seen speed like that before, ze!"

"Quit babying me." Sendai was annoyed by this demeanor… "Where were the blasts from the last fight?"

Giving her a wink and a thumbs-up, Marisa beamed brightly. "Aw, that? Used up all my mana for today, of course!"

"But- that's not how it works…" Sendai felt that was completely bullshit. "You have a bunch of potions...!"

"Left 'em in a different hat." Lying bluntly, Marisa gingerly meandered towards her…

' _Why is she trying to help me remember things…? Does she really care like that?'_ Sendai watched her remove the witch hat from her own head… ' _She really is Marcus's daughter.'_

"Thanks fer keepin' it warm, Doppel-chan!" With that statement and a brief wave, Marisa turned to leave.

' _...Wait- where is she-... is she just gonna go, after that? Huh.'_

Sendai moved to follow her, but-

 _WOOSH!_ From out of nowhere, Marisa's broom shot out from the background like a missle, taking her up and off the ground, and in moments, out of sight.

' _...Guess I'm not doing that.'_ Marisa was gone, obscured by the emerald sky and the rain.

...Now that Marisa was gone, the ring of villagers around the square began to go about their daily things. ' _People here sure love to watch fights. What do they think this is, a blood sport…?'_

' _...Now that I think about it, dodging and striking is a good way to change up how enemies will attack.'_ Sendai considered what she and Marisa did, in that battle. ' _If you don't like their current momentum, if you poke them like that-... it might not hurt a lot, but it can make them re-decide how to act, or act more predictably. Doing it in and of itself might even create an opening.'_

The sky's drizzle hadn't relented, so Sendai was starting to get wet, too. ' _Let's take that umbrella back out. The rain's gonna pick up again, soon.'_

' _What was I-... oh, right. Jobs.'_

Putting the skirmish with Marisa behind her, Sendai moved for the job board.

 _Fwi- flick, fwish!_ Guards were crowded around it, trying to keep jobs on it through the wind. "Oh- _shit!_ Fucking- _wind!"_

"Eitoku! Fuckin'- _the left ones! Hold- hold!"_

"I'm holdin' dammit- there's too many!" Eitoku's grey eyes were wide, the wind and water making a mess of him. "So- _someone!_ We need _backup!"_

' _What a fucking disaster. What are these dumb assholes doing.'_

"You guys are fucking pathetic." Sendai heckled the armored men.

"Pft- hahaha~!" One of them broke out laughing.

"Yeah- we _know…"_

Eitoku called back to her. "Look-... can ya help us out, here!? This sucks. It _su~cks!"_

"You suck." She decided to get aggressive.

"...Gee, thanks." He became disheartened…

"You guys got any jobs about the school?" Relaxing for the following conversation, Sendai let her gaze glaze over preemptively…

"Dude…!" Eitoku looked back at her in vain and fear. "We're getting our _asses kicked_ here! We can't find ya a damn job right-"

" _Thousand Talismans!"_ Reeling her arms back, and feeling her magic bubble up inside herself, Sendai let her umbrella fall away as she drew talismans.

All the men faced her, eyes widening.

 _Fwafwafwafwafwafwap!_ Instantly, as she unleashed her rolling, whipping tosses, the talismans crashed into the job board, shaking it with every impact.

Each talisman met a job, a few doubling, tripling or quadrupling up, and some flying wild. The stream of glowing paper stuck to the corkboard, matting jobs on and lighting up the rainy day with warm, holy light.

" _Ho~h!"_ Drawing the final talisman, Sendai cast it into the sky.

... _fwam!_ It flashed high in the air, illuminating the square for a moment. Villagers stared up at the spectacle, dazzled.

At the end of the salvo, only one guard had to keep watch, the rest amazed. "...Thi- this is…"

"Hakurei talismans." Eitoku blinked up at them. "What-..."

They focused on Sendai, sizing up her red-white clothes, bored face and generous bust.

' _Ugh. Now I really wanna go to sleep. Especially with all this rain…'_

"About-... about that _school job."_ Her speech a little awkward, Sendai stepped closer.

"Oh- yeah- right away, how many you need…?" Instantly, Eitoku took to the board, looking it over. "We got like- a hundred of 'em, for the month…"

"...Maybe uh, five." Despite not thinking it over too much, she thought that'd be about right.

' _...Wait- I should go save the umbrella, before it gets blown away!'_ She looked down the road, to see that it was already almost gone. ' _No!'_

 _Sendai obtained School Job Fliers._

 _Di- di~ng!_

' _That bell's cute.'_ Sendai continued into the Kirisame Magic Shop. ' _It's just soft enough.'_

 _Di- di~ng!_ She shut the door and opened it again to hear it a second time.

"What the heck're ya doin'..." Marcus left the shelves, to see who was causing a ruckus. "Aw. Back so soon, huh."

"Yeah." Sendai immediately propositioned him. "Hey- I'm thinking of us doing this." She shoved a flier into Marcus's face.

"Doin' _what now…"_ Stroking his beard, he leaned back and accepted it… "O~h! School duty!" ...He gave her a wry look. "I thought'cha actually managed ta get 'er some guards!"

"Yeah, I did." Sendai answered plainly. "I thought it'd be funny to surprise her, regardless. That, and I wanna make sure nothing funny happens on the first day too. This is Keine's dream, after all, and I refuse to think it'll be as easy to protect as railing that old captain guy over and over."

' _...I mean, I could throw on a different outfit each time I go to rough him up, if I wanted to, until he wised up. Actually killing him would probably be a bad political move unless it could be really easily explained...'_

"Honestly, this's pro'lly a _good_ idea." Letting a brow raise, he gave her a genuine expression. "'Cause y'know… I dunno if the guard would be _terribly elated_ over ya kickin' their big boy in the teeth. I dunno if he'd find _some way_ ta blame it on Keine 'er not, but..."

"We'll see." Sendai supposed.

' _I'm more afraid she's gonna get a few bad apples among the guard. They all seem really divided in terms of experience, personality and impressionability.'_

"Guess I'll tag in, too!" Marcus gave her a big smile. "One la~st shitstorm. Shouldn't be much, just bein' a _school_ an' all."

"Yeah."

Looking around the store, Sendai checked over Marcus's stock again, somewhat absentmindedly.

' _Once we're done with this-... well, I'll think about what to do after this later. Not sure if I wanna have round two with captain fuckass, or spend more time chilling out around Keine's school. I do wanna get to know her again too. She's pretty doting for a villager. I mean, I know the types I don't often talk with can be polite and kind too, but you know, no reason to speak with them.'_

...While she searched her thoughts, it seemed like Marcus had got some things of his from inside the counter nearby, as he patted his robe pockets. "Aw. Now I can sell _stickers an' wristwatches_ …!"

"No scamming the kids." Sendai warned him. "Or I'll have Keine diplomate ya."

He grinned back at her. "Hey- at least these're the _workin'_ watches! Remember when I tried sellin' _lightbulbs?"_

"And I _still_ don't know what the fuck the point of a _lightbulb_ is." She shook her head back at him, smiling too. "If you can charge it with electric magic, why not just-... make an electric orb, or a holy light, or something? It's literally pointless."

Sauntering back out into the main area of the store, he began to look around the place. "Pointless it may be, impressive ta people who dunno how basic electricity works it may also be!"

' _...I wonder if Marc'll be able to tether us all together, really easily.'_ Sendai considered… ' _His personality's a lot kinder now, but still very him.'_

She stared out the large front window, into the semi-rainy day outside. ' _I don't know how much time we have to get there, so…'_

"Let's get going." Readying her umbrella, she moved for the door out. "I'm not sure if we have a lot of time to just futz about."

"Ho~ld on…" He turned back into the shop. "I gotta lock up, first! And, you might wanna tinker wit' the _item box_ in 'ere…"

' _Oh, right…'_ She looked past him, at the metal box along the other wall. ' _I should grab stuff. I do have a backpack, now.'_

While she moved for the item box, he moved for some of the walls across the storefront.

"Will business be alright?" The thought just now occurred to her. "Won't you lose customers, if you're out for awhile…?"

"Y'assume I get recurrin' customers often!" Marcus called back, as he held his arms up towards the farthest side wall. "...'Sides, I sell the cheapest potions, and am one 'a the few people who _sells_ potions!"

' _Huh.'_ Sendai felt that was curious. ' _You'd think more people would have picked that up.'_

"That, and I'm freakin' _loaded_ regardless…" His voice trailed off, as he moved into his own backrooms. Even though he left hearing distance, he kept talking.

' _Wh- hey, hold on Marc, I can't hear you over there.'_ She strolled back towards the shop's back, and towards the big grey item box which sat against the back wall.

 _Sendai took out High-Quality Bottled Water._

 _Sendai took out Chintzy Iron Katana._

 _Sendai took out Experimental Aphrodisiac._

They now stood outside the Kirisame Magic Shop, getting ready to go.

' _Already filled up the backpack with useless shit.'_ Sendai wasn't sure how she'd fit the katana, but it was apparently possible with some string. ' _I feel less naked holding onto these potions, at least.'_

Their umbrellas were raised, the day's rain currently scant, although the sky remained murky. "Aw~right…" Looking smug, Marcus gave the storefront one last once-over. "Let's see how many flies this shit'll catch!"

"The deadline's in thirty minutes." Sendai reminded him, looking the volunteering flier over. "We've gotta get moving."

"Aa~h, we'll be there in _ten…"_ He waved off her concern. "Rela~x."

' _...True, but still.'_ She really wanted to make it to each event in time, so this'd go over the most smoothly.

"Alright!" Marching from the shop in his bluish robes, Marcus began to grin. "Let's get some 'a this shit on the road! I could use a li'l… _exercise_ 'n' socializin'. 'Specially wit' you!"

"It sounds weird, when you put it like that." With him by her side, Sendai began to advance with the school in mind again.

As the day evolved, slowly, the emerald tint of the day began to fade, as did the kind of ordered wet feeling it emanated. ' _What a raw kind of day. Maybe it'll get brighter.'_ Now, the feeling was simply dirty and wet...

"That freakin' _tiny backpack…"_ A grin crept up Marcus's features… "Wit' just, a _katana_ tied to it. Some kinky shit!"

...Smiling back at him, she shook her head. "He~y. I was sorta hard-pressed for options. I mean, we're going to school, so I supposed it'd only be appropriate."

Eying the katana once more, Marcus japed. "While they studied spelling, you studied the blade, I see...!"

' _This little thing is kind of ridiculous, isn't it…? Ah, well. At least I don't look like a hoe.'_

"...Oh- yeah." Marcus perked up. "We gotta stop by the job board 'fore we actually get there." Looking over his own job flier, he pointed this out. "S'what the poster says. S'not even a paid ordeal, but the guard _does_ screen volunteers."

' _Do they, now? That feels like it could be a point of failure for the volunteer system.'_

"Weird." Sendai didn't think too hard on it, though. "They do always have to have their hands in everything."

They approached the center of the village, umbrellas raised. That's when it started to become darker outside, all of a sudden.

Marcus began to hide his flier in his robes. "Ah- the _wind…_ " It was becoming too hard to look at it amidst the weather.

 _fwi~sh._ With the wind, came the rain. It was starting to come down harder again.

' _Geez.'_ She stared out at the pattering drops. ' _It's suddenly getting dark, too… and it's not even afternoon yet. I think. Where'd all of this come from. Did it just blow in?'_

 _KRA- KROOM!_ The village shook, lightning striking nearby. ' _Ooh-... shit. That was a good one!'_

"Man." She spoke louder, over the drops which slammed onto the earth. "This weather."

"S'been really unpredictable, today!" Marcus agreed with her…

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Suddenly, a gust met Sendai, and the flier in her hand assaulted her. ' _Come hell or high water, huh.'_

In the center of the village, she and Marcus turned left, to see the job board.

 _fwi~sh!_ As rain powered down onto everyone in the background, and the wind slowly began to kick up harder than before, the guards at the board watched it anxiously, despite the glowing talismans keeping most fliers matted in place.

"Ah- shit… _ah!_ Ah-... shit…" One guard held his arms up and down repeatedly, anxious to jump on any job that'd dare fly off.

A few men who looked to be gathered for the school volunteer job were standing under a depressingly tiny metal roof near the board.

' _This awning is typically for small youkai hunting parties to hide from the rain while waiting for guard things to happen. I have no idea what the youkai-based job market is like, anymore.'_

She recognized one of the men who stood under this awning. ' _Wait…'_

The first volunteer she saw was Dieter. Despite the cold, rainy day, his leather coat was slung over his shoulder, his sunglasses speckled with water, and his hair devoid of moisture despite his white t-shirt being absolutely soaked.

A man with medium-length, blond hair stood next to him, clad in some kind of hooded, cloth jacket, looking eternally indignant.

Beside him was an older man with glasses and nearly disintegrated hair, dressed in a suit, looking ready to lash out at-... something. ' _How do people who look like this live. What do they do in their spare time? Is it what leaves them looking like their nostrils will assault me?'_

"He~y…" Dieter gave Sendai a sneer, as she neared. He tried to retain his grittiness he had last time she spoke with him, but the rain drowned him out a little. "You here for the _school_ too? Bless Kamishishkebob's soul, amirite? _"_

' _I've got a great feeling about this.'_ Not bothering to respond, Sendai stared them over dryly. ' _Why is this assclown here.'_

"Hello~, hello~, fellow kids!" Marcus grinned at them. "What is _hip_ , and _fly_ , these days?"

"Hey." Dieter instantly shot him a sneer as well. "This ain't a place for a fuckin' old man. Get lost."

' _Wa- wow!'_ Sendai let her brows raise at him. ' _It's been awhile since I've heard anyone talk to Marc like that! You know, besides me.'_

...Mirthfully bewildered, Marcus pointed a finger at the balding guy. "So who the fuck's he, dude…?" He'd gestured to the man with disintegrated hair and very angry nostrils.

Taking a slow moment to give him a once-over, Dieter frowned at the guy. "Don't ask _me._ Hyobe, what the hell're you here for?"

...Hyobe adjusted his tiny, square glasses. "Just thought I'd help out. Don't mind me." He was rotund and aged, with a strange demeanor to him. His voice was very awkwardly muted too, as if he was somehow muffled.

' _Wh- what the fuck.'_ His existence perplexed Sendai. ' _This day is already fucking weird.'_

Lazily walking up to Sendai, Dieter leaned his head back, weaving under her umbrella. "Yer-... the babe from the other day. Had a feeling I'd find you tryin'a get inta Keine's good graces."

Bringing her arm back, she removed the umbrella from above him, and tilted it so that the water would pour onto him. He flinched a little from the clumpy drops, but endured it...

"What's with the sunglasses." She retorted plainly. "It's fucking raining." None of the other men had umbrellas, she noticed. As Dieter stood before her, he got progressively wetter...

' _It's almost winter, too. Not a great time to just splash around… I say, after splashing around with Marisa earlier.'_

Dieter reinforced his sneer, and snorted. "Hea~h. It's just how Dieter does, babe. Unless you wanna see my eyes. I get told the ladies love 'em..."

"I'd like to poke them out." Slowly, Sendai began to get more agitated with him… "I'll make fucking good on it, too."

"Alright…"

A guard stepped up behind the awning, his helmet over his face. ' _Woah. They got a helmet for this guy.'_ She'd never seen them give out helmets before, so this was a new development.

"Today, the five of you will be in charge of patrolling the school." He gave them all a solid nod… "I will escort you there, and meet you back one hour after the day is technically done. This job doesn't involve pay, but will be documented as community service if you so choose. Is this all understood?"

"Mmm- yeah- yes…" A chorus of vaguely enthusiastic answers met him.

"Yea~h." Sendai's voice droned out casually. She looked out of place, amongst the already out of place men.

 _Spla- spla- splish…_ "Ah- aah... ha~h!" Someone panted and huffed over the rain, splashes growing louder as they sprinted up to the job board and the awning.

A shorter young man with spiky brown hair ran up. "Hey- hey…! Am- am I too late…!?"

"Just in time." The leading guard droned back. "This way."

' _...At least this boy looks honest.'_ She couldn't object to the shorter man's presence. ' _Everyone else looks like they're up to no good.'_

Moving ahead, the armored guard began to graze towards the school. He moved slowly, taking his time as he took in the rainy day around him...

Only Sendai and Marcus had brought umbrellas, so the relaxed pace the guard chose was going to be interesting for everyone else. ' _Aw, yeah. I'm glad I held onto this fucking thing now!'_

 _Fwi~sh._ A breeze swept the land, and the rain came down harder, for a moment. The scruffy, almost bald Hyobe, the blond man, and Dieter all flinched and began to wither under the rain ahead, getting chilled by it…

That younger man's eternally spiky hair began to droop, flattening and becoming normal. "Nn- no, my hair-… man..."

"Hoo~ boy…" Amidst the white noise of the storm, and the refreshing smell of water, Marcus nodded warmly… "Tsukiko~."

"Fucking- _don't."_ Sendai didn't want to be called that in front of others. " _Why."_

He held his arms out, umbrella floating in the air before himself telekinetically. "Whaddaya mean 'why'!?"

"People don't _call me_ that." Sendai remarked. "I don't even know if I need a name, now."

"We- well…" The young, brown-haired man spoke up. "Tsu- Tsukiko's… a nice name."

' _Fu~ck.'_ Sendai glared at him.

"I- I'm sorry!" He flinched back vehemently, from just a stare… "My- my name's Akihito, if- if that makes a difference…!" He was two heads shorter than Sendai.

' _Why the hell is this boy carrying around a broadsword as long as he is. It's weighing him down just resting on his back...'_ Once she noticed the weapon, she was awed at how poorly it fit him.

...Marcus was grinning at her when she faced him again. "I'm gonna wring ya, Marc."

"I've seen a few 'a these jerks before…" Speaking quieter, he pointed ahead at Dieter and the other men. " _None_ 'a them're up to any good."

"Yeah." Sendai had figured as much. "We'll have to keep an eye on all of them."

"Wha- what do you mean…?" For some reason, Akihito stuck close to them instead of the guys ahead. Particularly, closely to Sendai. "Why wouldn't they be?"

"Kid- where the _heck_ …" Marcus just gave him a dry grin. "Yer in over yer freakin' head, an' ya haven't even left the village yet! Today's gonna be a weird one, lemme tell ya!"

"I'm starting to ignore advice like that…" Akihito suddenly became jaded. "I think people are just trying to put me down."

"No- _seriously."_ Sendai looked down at the young man. "You might be a little screwed, if you stick with us."

"Look- I'm doing this for my _girlfriend_ , okay!?" Akihito lashed out. "We need money to- like, not _die!_ But- I haven't worked a lot before-... so I'm gonna do this for Keine. She's a great teacher, and I know she'd refer me if I showed I can work. _"_

"...Hmm." Sendai was only mildly impressed by his drive. "Well, if you keep your head down, you'll probably be fine today. Us and those shifty men might have some business-... but, there will be other, actually responsible guards around, I assume."

' _Guess his reason's as good a reason as any. Still probably doesn't know what he's walking into.'_

They arrived at the school gates.

 _Cla- cla- cla- cla- clank._ The guard opened them, for them. "Kamishirasawa expects you all in the recess yard. From now on, this job will commence at six in the morning, rather than late morning."

With this, the now six were left to leisurely stroll inside, the fully armored guard leaving them be. ' _Yeah, yeah. I don't plan on making this sort of thing a habit.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

"Wh- ah…"

While they all stood at the school's front lobby, Keine looked down from the counter she sat on, staring Marcus and Sendai down. " _Why."_

"I just came back from the dead, and have literally _nothing_ to do." Grinning back, Sendai explained everything. "Until this place stops freaking me the fuck out." She was honest with her priorities.

"I was bored!" Marcus had a better excuse.

...The rain outside was starting to make Sendai loafish, too. ' _Man. If tomorrow's rainy too, I might wanna just crash. Where could I even crash, though? The shrine-... is a non-option. Fuck it, I'll think about it later.'_

The front lobby of the school was large, with some lockers lining the back wall, as well as a glass doorway to a courtyard past the initial lobby room. Halls rested on the left and right, and there was also a large admissions desk here, with just Keine there, sitting on the counter.

Five well-armored men stood around, some with katanas or greatswords. The old man with the giant youkai busting lance stood there too, holding it diagonally so that it didn't poke the ceiling.

Opposed to them, there were the shifty villagerly men who volunteered to be here, Akihito, and then Sendai and Marcus. ' _What a crowd.'_

"When we _startin'?"_ Dieter marched up to Keine, where the other dubious men faltered. "We'll do anything, babe."

...Keine gave the other shifty men group another once over, looking suspicious. " _Right now,_ I guess. The guard-sanctioned men have free reign to explore the halls. Normally, I'd request outside patrolling too, but given the weather... _"_

"Ah?" The greying man tilted his head, and adjusted his lance. "If you want, we could handle the outside anyway. A little rain never hurt anybody, yeah? 'Cause trust me…" He grinned over at the other well-armored guards. "We've faced some scarier stuff than rain!"

...Sendai looked over the small company of veteran-tier guards again. ' _These guys look like they've been through some shit.'_ Their armor wasn't all the totally uniform blue-and-grey design that most guards adhered to, some using different secondary colors.

An older man with tanned skin, no hair and a blue bandana stared at Sendai, expression at rest. Then, he spoke. "Yeah, I can go outside. Rain's no problem fer me."

"You and the others will travel in a group." Keine informed Dieter, now. "Both for accountability, and to make your presence stronger altogether."

"Fuck tha~t." Getting closer to her, Dieter grinned into her distrusting face, his black sunglasses staring into her plain brown eyes. "How about like… pairs?" Looking away from her, he smiled at Sendai. "I'd love ta roll with _that_ lady."

"...No." Keine dismissed him summarily. "I will also not tolerate any indecency, today."

...He turned to the older guardsmen, who frowned at him, but said nothing. "...Mega lame." He let his smile taper off, before pivoting away. "Ha~h. I trie~d. You _cowards_ can _fuck_ with 'er if you want…" He gazed at the blond man, and the balding Hyobe.

They did not look enthused in return, furrowing their brows at him.

' _No one is happy with this.'_ Sendai wanted to strangle the men there, but knew better, for now. ' _Seems like today's gonna be babysitting. At least, this'll be over after me and Marcus shoot the shit for awhile.'_

"You-... you could afford to be nicer to miss Kei- Kamishirasawa…" Akihito frowned at Dieter.

...He frowned back at Akihito, before grinning. "Alright, private Pipsqueak. We get it, you got a thing fer teacher ladies."

Akihito stepped back as he stepped closer… "N- no! I got a girlfriend already!"

"Before you six do _anything…"_ Keine held up a hand towards the non-guardsmen, and started opening fingers for each point she'd made. "No _running,_ no _fighting_ , and proper behavior is expected around the students."

The six were collectively silent.

"Does proper behavior include sugar ca~ne…?" Marcus had taken out some sugar cane from his pocket. "Om…" He bit into the confectionary…

"Sure." Keine's eyes skirted Marcus briefly. "And-... _miko._ No fighting kids. If you need to separate them or defend yourself, do so to a _reasonable capacity_. I _will_ know if you crushed someone's nose against a wall."

...Leaning to the side upon the counter she sat on, she noticed the katana Sendai had on her. "I'm... not even gonna say anything about the katana. Do your best to _not_ take that out."

"I'm not _demented,_ Keine." Sendai grinned back at her. "Yell at the smelly dudes." She pointed at Dieter and his goons. "...And…" She also forgot Akihito's name already. "This boy, with his _broadsword._ "

"...Akihito was actually a student of mine." Keine waved off that concern. "Well-behaved, too. How are you, Akihito?"

"I'm fine…" He nodded casually. "You seem stressed out."

"Oh. I _am."_ She nodded back warmly.

' _No, really…'_ Sendai scratched her cheek. ' _Why does he have a broadsword. You use that on giant youkai and beings of metal. What's he think will leap out at him in the school...'_

"...I shouldn't need to give you six anymore directions." With this, Keine was placated. "During classes, you will round the hall circuit, and circle the building- _within_ the grounds. When classes are through, you will man the halls, _slowly_. At recess, you will stand at the playground perimeter- if it stops raining, that is- and sentry one point… at which you may eat if you'd like, among other things."

"Walk around and look busy." Sendai summarized.

"Wha~t?" Dieter walked back up to her, again. "Look-... Dieter's as good as _ten_ ol' guards, babe. Why ya gotta shackle us all together? I oughta patrol _too._ "

"...No." Keine returned simply again. "You may do some… _commission work_ for the guard, sometimes, but you have to follow the procedures today. Sorry~."

"Procedures, proshmedures." He frowned. "What're you, _scared?_ I'm a certified guard, babe, I only got outta the game 'cause there wasn't no money there! I'm tellin' ya, I can cut ya _good deals_ if ya heard me!"

"If all you're going to do today is disrupt the school and insult me, I can have you escorted out instead." Keine threatened him. "Just to be clear, the school is _not_ for sale, and neither are my _students._ "

...Seeing everyone around him stare him down, Dieter sneered. "Mmh. Buncha' fuckin' wannabes…" He also relented, coming closer to Sendai's group, and arguing no further.

"...Alright." With that, Keine smiled, and nodded. "Keep your eyes open, everybody. Students are in homeroom, right now, and classes begin operation in fifteen minutes. When students pass, you will slow to allow them to move by you, and stay near the sides of the hallways. Unless, of course, something more important demands your attention. If they should get into a conflict with each other, you will resolve it with minimal force to disperse it. Is everyone ready?"

Everyone was silent, looking relatively ready. Keine took this as a yes. "Good. Alright…" She began to move. "If anyone needs me, I'll be available during recess, and times listed on the corkboard outside my office, and also in here."

With that, she left, moving into the rightmost hallway.

...While she left, Sendai looked over the unassuming, shifty men. ' _Babysitting in both senses of the word. Good.'_

"Well, you heard 'er, men." The greying, tall man awkwardly adjusted his lance. "Let's get aimlessly wanderin', yeah? I gotta go- put down this _ridiculous_ lance..."

The bald guard with the blue headband snorted, at him. "Yer not gonna need that, fer the kids? I heard bullyin's vicious these days, man."

...Grinning, the big old man nodded back at him. "Y'know, this lance ain't gonna be enough, I think. Guess we'll hafta lug the _hihi'irokane_ outta storage, huh."

The bald, shorter guy snorted. "Haha- aw, yeah. What I'd give ta get my hands on that aeon repeater again. Why don't we make _more_ shit like that…"

...The three other older gentlemen idly adjusted their weapons. One had a plain katana around his waist, while another had two tiny daggers, and another had an ornate, mystical looking shield held on his back, and no visible other weapons.

Sendai shifted her gaze to the less well-orchestrated people. ' _This is gonna be such a clusterfuck.'_

The blond man felt at his own pockets, pursing his lips and looking around, obviously hiding something. Hyobe stood simply, not moving at all, looking loafish, and Dieter sneered at her when she met his gaze.

 _Fwish._ He drew a bundle of yen bills, stepping up to Sendai. "Ten grand says you and me go off on our own."

"Ten grand says I break your arms." Sendai threatened him.

Floating a meter off the ground, Marcus crossed his legs. Between his arms, which he brought to his center, an orb of non-elemental light began to pulse. "Ho ho…! Maybe they'll let us do macaroni art…!"

"Woah…!" Akihito jerked his head back. "You- know magic…!?"

...Marcus gave him a focused grin. "I'm ol' man Kirisame, son- of _course I know magic…!"_

"Alright, so…" Dieter faced everyone. "We're gonna go outside."

"Nah." Sendai denied him.

"Fuck, you." The blond man left his hands in his pockets. "Dieter, man, make this easy for us, man. Like, take us all to a bathroom, or something."

"Now we're goin' anywhere _but_ a bathroom. Nice going, genius." Dieter sneered back at him. "New orders, everyone. Bathrooms are off-limits."

"New orders." Sendai issued an order. "I'm gonna break your arms."

"Tha- that's not an order, honey." Dieter looked oddly offset, for a moment.

' _...I guess I should get walking.'_ Sendai considered. ' _These chucklefucks aren't gonna get anything done on their own.'_

As she strolled towards the left hall, the old man with the blue headband stood vaguely in her way. "...Hmm?"

"You-..." He pointed at her. She briefly registered the large, wooden repeater on his back. "I've seen you before."

Sendai raised a brow at him. "That so?"

"Who're you?" He casually asked. "I _swore_ I've seen ya before, and a _long time ago_ , too."

"...No one." Sendai shook her head. "You're probably mistaken."

"Y'know…" Marcus drifted towards them, looking relaxed. "Ho~ld on. You were a guard twenty-thirty years ago, yeah?"

"This is some shit…" The old man shook his head. "I saw the both of ya 'round the _same time,_ too. Back when ya were a chickenshit too, Kirisame. Wait-..." He paused.

He pointed at Sendai. "...You-... _died,_ yeah? At least, that's what I heard."

...Sendai focused on him fully, now. "And who're _you,_ then?"

...He grinned. "Name's Cobe. I bet that don't ring any bells, so uh, I was that little shit with the bow an' arrow, on that one trip ta the magic forest. Man…" He seems to reminisce. "That _really_ brings me back."

Sendai smiled, a little. "Oh. That so?" She thought back to that trip. It was one of the first things she'd ever done with Marcus, so it was quite a while ago. "...That must've been, what-..."

Marcus let his brows raise. "Thirty _two_ years ta the day, about. Hoo, boy."

' _Holy shit. Probably not exactly to the day- but still.'_ Sendai felt extremely displaced. ' _Goddamn. How old's this guy? He must be like, fifty two, if he was twenty when we were on that job. Actually-... if I never died, I'd be fifty two, too. I was twenty when I met Marcus, then. Five years after my mother died, and that was about when I met Keisuke, too. Man.'_

Dieter came up to their conversation. "You fuckers are _old._ "

Sendai had heard enough already. "Don't make me fucking smash your nuts again. You personally make me sick, and I want to kick you."

...Dieter had his brows furrowed, looking only vaguely offended.

...Cobe nodded at Dieter. "Mmh." He didn't say much other than a grunt.

Marcus smiled at them both. "...Someday, you'll be an old fucker too!"

"I mean…" Dieter centered his gaze on Sendai, again. "Only one who don't look old here's _her._ I'd fuckin' tap that."

"I'll tap your ass." Sendai gradually became more and more aggressive-sounding… "With my _foot."_

"Y- y'know…" Cobe moved towards Sendai, and came around her side, before talking quieter. "That little shit's got a lotta clout, here. Y'might wanna put up wit' 'em, or he'll get nasty…"

"I don't care." She spoke openly. "I'll kick his ass. He's an idiot, if he thinks he can just start shit in this school. I can take any fall."

...At that, Dieter sneered again. "Any fall, huh? Who's yer family, then? Ya think they'll be fine when Dieter finds out who they are?"

"My daughter is Reimu." Sendai stated simply. "My parents are dead. My husband's dead, too."

...Furrowing his brows at that, he shook his head. "Nah, nah. Who're you really, girl? I wanna know."

"No one." Sendai stated simply.

"Really." He refused to take that for an answer.

"Noh Won." She gave herself a small smile, at her own joke… "Of the Won family."

"...Are you _fuckin'_ stupid." He let his face fall.

"We're adults, folks!" Marcus clapped his hands together. "Ya heard it here first!"

' _Marcus is right._ ' Sendai began to move, weaving past Dieter as he stood there. ' _Let's get a move on, patrolling or whatever.'_

"Let's go." Sendai gestured for everyone else. The only well-armored man in the lobby now was Cobe, and he began to disperse when he noticed Sendai was getting a move on.

"Who died and made _you_ leader?" Dieter stomped up to her. "...I mean, ya got a body fer my _sidekick,_ but still."

"You died." She faced him. He stopped, keeping a cautious distance from her…

"Guys-..." Akihito came closer to them, pouting. "You guys really gotta get along. You can't be fighting in school."

Dieter gave him a big, deep frown. "Piss off, y'little ant. Who the hell're _you_ , even…? I oughta- mrh..." He stopped himself, settling on a furrowed-brow glare instead.

...Akihito just blinked back idly. "That's not very nice."

' _This is gonna be eventful, at least.'_

"Alright, kids!" Marcus pivoted in the air, and beckoned for Hyobe and the blond man. "We're gonna go wander aimlessly! No stoppin' to jerk ourselves off, either! Let's go!"

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

"In outsider tomes, I heard 'a these things called _water fountains…"_ Marcus instantly began talking about something.

"Mm- yeah. Outsiders definitely invented fountains." Sendai rebuked casually, before looking down the halls… "Fountains would actually be a cool idea. Not sure how you'd keep them clean…"

"Well- they had these cool little buttons and only activated when ya pushed 'em!" Marcus held up his hands to push a button, or Sendai thought…

Actually, she had no idea what the gesture meant. "You look like you're groping a pillow."

Behind them, the goons began to walk off, while Dieter stared at the ceiling.

Sendai turned to them. "Hey. Where're _you two_ going?"

"Wh- nowhere…" The big Hyobe instantly was discouraged, almost stumbling back towards them all.

"Takin' a _piss."_ The blond-haired man faced her dryly. "Got a problem?"

"...The bathroom's over _there."_ Sendai pointed to the wall to his left, seeing the signs. "You're walking away from it."

"Maybe I don't _like_ that bathroom." He pursed his lips, at her.

"Hold it in, then." She concluded the discussion. "...It's your duty, as a worker."

"Fuck _off."_ Turning away and turning back again anxiously, he slid his hands from his pockets. "Since when did workers have to put up with that kinda shit?"

Sendai bullshitted him further. "It's your duty as a man."

"Thfu- the fuck's _your_ duty, then!?" The youth was quickly aggravated. "...Shut _up!"_

"...Sorry. It's your duty as _half_ a man." Sendai corrected herself.

"Rgh- rrh…" Wisely, the young man decided to keep quiet for his own mental well-being.

' _What a douchebag.'_ Sendai only let herself grin after she'd turned away…

"This is a great start!" Looking oddly giddy, Marcus brought his hands together… "We're keepin' this school _well-defended!"_

"Hey." Snapping back into attention, Dieter came up to Akihito. "Y'see big momma over there?"

"...Um?" He faced him plainly. "You- you mean-... Tsukiko?"

"Who?" Dieter didn't know her name. "...Cute name. Anyway- you thinkin' 'bout railin' her?"

Akihito was blissfully ignorant. "Why would I hit her with a rail?"

...Dieter wasn't even mad, as he let his expression droop. "...Wow. Ya need ta _live more,_ kid. Christ."

"...I don't like railing people." Akihito supposed.

"I mean-..." He pointed ahead at Sendai again. "Do-... do you wanna _have sex, with her?_ 'Cause I can make it happen! _"_

"Wh- what? Nn- no?" Akihito jerked his head back, at him. "...I- I'm saving it for _marriage._ And, I already have a girlfriend, so…"

Dieter held his own head. "Ho~ly _shit._ Your cock is _broken._ I feel for ya, kid..."

Snorting, Akihito began to smile. "I- I don't even own any chickens. How would you _break_ a chicken."

" _Oou~gh."_ Dieter ran his fingers through his own hair. After a moment, he pulled them out, realizing he got grease all over his leather gloves. "Fuck…"

Sendai briefly faced them, pretending she didn't hear any of that. "Hey, motherfuckers. Stop being motherfuckers."

' _Ah, hey, the cafeteria.'_ Sendai noticed it ahead, through a window. ' _Let's stop there, actually. I could use more tea… or, water.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Nearing the center of the cafeteria, Marcus spoke bluntly..."Ya~... do not so simply… _escape_ the _great indoors."_

"Story of your life, huh." Sendai nodded at his notion… "And Kourin's. And Keine's…"

' _That's actually a bleak outlook. I'm the only one that gets any sunshine…'_

Nearing the back counters of the cafeteria, she looked to see where she could steal some water. ' _...I did bring that water bottle, but I wanna save it for a good moment. No sense in using it, when some is right here.'_

...Looking back at the goons, she saw Dieter and the dubious, quiet men strolling around a certain radius of him. ' _No one's acting more suspicious than normal, at least…'_

"U- um…" Akihito was nervous; something that wasn't a new development. "We- we weren't told to go in here…"

' _You weren't told to bring a broadsword into a school.'_

"Ahah." She quickly found something on the wall behind the counters, labeled 'water keg'. "...Doesn't _look_ like a keg." It was a big metal box, mounted into the wall…

"Must be one 'a them new _cyber kegs…"_ Nodding in satisfaction, Marcus slid on a pair of 3D glasses. " _Three-D,_ brotha'...!"

' _He is really, really bored…'_

 _Spli~sh._ She quickly filled up a little clay cup nearby with water. ' _What is this crapped out silverware. This must be like, ten yen per or something. Knowing kids, that's probably wise…'_

...With her tiny but full water cup, she moved out from the serving counters. ' _Cooks don't look to be here yet, either.'_

 _Cla- clack._ Then, she heard the serving doors flap about, someone walking out of them. ' _Ah?'_ She turned, facing it…

A positively radiant woman stepped out. Her eyes were heterochromatic, one cyan and the other neon pink, and her hair was a deep blue. Her bangs were cut flat, forming a cute hime-style cut.

She wore no shoes, her stockings black with pink stripes. ' _Who the hell's-... this?'_ She seemed to emit light, and left splotches of cyan energy where she walked. ' _This doesn't seem normal.'_

She met Sendai's gaze, with a small cheerful smile. "...Oh? Ah. You're not Tsuruko..."

"Uh." Sendai had her brows furrowed… "Who the hell're you, and what're you doing here."

"Nothing." She winked. "...Oo~h. You brought Diet-kun!"

She shuffled past Sendai, leaving a noxious, perfumey scent behind herself as she went.

"Kh- kaugh…" Sendai choked on it. It was sweet, and fruity, and reminded her of the rain. It also left her worried.

Marcus had plugged his nose. "Whah tha' fhak…"

...Akihito had his mouth open. "Aa- ah…"

Dieter stood still, looking somewhat surprised. "Aa- ah, s'you. Hey, babe."

"What're _you_ doin' here…?" She leaned forward to accent her breasts, as she stood in front of him, enrapturing the goons. "Did you forget, silly? I had the school all covered."

"Wh- hah?" Dieter furrowed his brows. "I didn' hear none 'a that, babe. What were ya even' _doin'_ here?"

She lunged forward, and kissed him. "Mmm…"

...For a moment, he stood shocked, before he moved to embrace her-

She was already meters away from him, a line of cyan energy on the floor where she slid back. "...Ehehehe." She held a finger to her lips. "I wonder, I wonder. I'll let _you_ deal with it. To tell the truth, I knew you'd be here, today. You'll make use of it, I'm sure."

Sendai stepped up to her, and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Start speaking, now."

The saccharine, pale girl faced Sendai.

Then, she lunged in for a kiss. "Mmm~."

Her lips met Sendai's. ' _Wh- what…!'_ Sendai moved to push her-

 _fwish._ She averted Sendai's arms, and kissed her on the cheek. "Mwu."

 _fwish._ Avoiding the next rush of one of Sendai's arms, she was at her other cheek. "Chu."

...Feeling at her cheeks, Sendai noticed the cyan lipstick on them. ' _Ugh, what the fuck-...'_ Then, the kisses began to itch. ' _Oh, fuck. What the hell is someone like this doing here!?'_

"Bye~." Already halfway across the room, the girl waved at everyone playfully. "I've gotta _go."_

 _Krik- KRI~NG!_ Marcus summoned an ice blade from the floor, near the door she went towards. It had grown off of the floor instead of punching through it, so that the school wouldn't be damaged. It was huge, standing in her way and blocking the door.

...She stood before it for a moment, before whipping her arm out.

 _SHI- SHING._ She used a katana of cyan energy, stroking it in an X-shape across the ice blade.

 _KRA- KROOM._ The icy blockade shattered into chunks, and she continued out without adding anything.

"...Ho~h." Marcus shook his head. "Ma~n. Y'don't usually get random encounters like _that_ in the village."

...Sendai faced him, a blush building across her face as she itched at the cyan kiss marks. "Fu- fuck. Hey- Marc, wash these off."

' _...There's something in that lipstick. My body's getting hotter.'_ She frowned.

Standing in the doorframe, the radiant girl had her back to them as she spoke. "Mmm~. I think I'll have a lot of fun, with you."

 _FWISH._ Sendai lobbed a talisman towards the door, while the girl was speaking.

 _FWAP._ It met the back of her maid-like outfit.

 _Kri- kra- krack._ Her body smouldered with white, cyan energy for a moment. The gold of the talisman flickered, its colors changing to cyan for a moment, before-

 _KRI- KRACK!_ A jolt of white ran over the girl's whole body. " _Ah- ohw…!"_ The talisman finally took effect. "Ow- _fh-_..." Dropping onto her legs, she crawled away, out of sight.

"He- heh…" Sendai grinned at the door. "Bitch."

...She moved for a seat, and sat down. ' _This- isn't good. My body-...'_ She stared down at her hakama. ' _Hold it in, you fuck.'_ She was beginning to get aroused, unable to control herself...

...Looking up, she saw a bubble float over from Marcus. It was tiny, but shimmered, full of water. ' _Um.'_

He held his hand up, and rubbed it across one of her cheeks from across the room. Each pass of the clean bubble stripped the itchy lipstick from her skin. Once one mark was gone, he did the same with her other cheek.

"Wh- _blublublu-..."_ She spoke into the bubble, as it met her lips, taking the lipstick off of that, too.

 _Splish._ It shattered against the floor, dispensing the lipstick.

...She felt at her own cheeks, relieved. ' _Good. The arousal's even fading, so it was just a surface-level agent. Would've been annoying if I had to go masturbate 'cause of that.'_

Turning back to everyone else, she frowned. "What were _you_ fuckheads doing?"

Dieter had his arms folded, looking satisfied. "Nothi~ng."

Hyobe and the blond man had gone back to looking like they didn't want to be there, this time glaring at Dieter.

"She-... she was so pretty." Akihito was entranced still.

 _Click._ She placed her clay cup down, on one of the tables in the cafeteria's midst. ' _Well. One of the other guards should nab her, especially if she's crawling around with a seal on her back.'_

...Plainly, she looked around. ' _Pretty big and efficient room, here. Seems a little weird for it to be for kids. I know they can be little shits, bu~t… I don't think I'd be glad to send Reimu to this place. Sorry Keine.'_

"U- uhm…"

Hyobe approached her, his big hands interlocked with one another… "Hi."

"...Hi." She greeted him flatly. "What's up."

"I- I just wanted to say… you're really beautiful."

' _...God.'_ She rubbed her face with a hand. ' _I can't tell if showing up here was a blessing or a mistake.'_

Standing up, she moved for the back room where that radiant girl had came out from. ' _What's going on back here, anyway?'_

 _Cla- clack._ She pushed the serving doors aside, and stepped further in.

Immediately, something was wrong. To the left, on the back of one of the huge square water taps, she saw a huge device hooked up to it. "...A- ah." It was pink and gold, standing on four pink-painted metal sticks, running a neon-gold pipe into the back of one of the taps.

The side of the device read 'Golden Grin' in English letters, molded into the design. ' _What the fuck is this thing. It's-... super out of place.'_

"Nn- nrh…" She heard a noise from nearby. It sounded like someone was hurt.

Stalking around an island of counters and stoves, she saw him. ' _What the fuck happened here.'_ The large, greying guardsman she'd seen before was fighting to stand there, his armor broken, and cyan kiss marks dotting his cheeks.

He dropped back onto one knee, and glared up at Sendai. "It- it's you…"

"Holy shit, you okay?" She stood over him, before kneeling down.

"Do- do I look it…?" He grimaced up at her. "Wo- wouldn't _you_ know? Fu- fucking… fake _Hakurei_ bastards…"

"...The fuck." She had no idea what was going on. "Look, let's get you back to the others. Where're you hurt?"

"...O- only bruised up, yeah?" He grinned up at her. "Do- don't help me up. These kiss marks…" He felt at his own cheek with his gauntlet. "Tell the others. If- if we don't have any purify or cleanse spells- I'll just start attacking the others…"

...Sendai stood, and nodded. "Alright."

' _Whoever that chick is, she must've been youkai, or something else… also- the water-...'_ She exhaled. ' _Something considerably stupid's happened. This is bad.'_

 _Cla- clack._ The serving doors flopped about, as she came back into the main cafeteria.

The two large windows ahead casted dim, rainy day light into the otherwise dim cafeteria.

"Yo?" Marcus drifted up to her, looking peaceful…

She gestured behind herself. "The school's under attack. There's a guy in the room behind me, with those kiss marks, you need to clean him. Also, destroy that machine in there, if you can."

He perked up, taken by the blunt way she delivered it. "Hoh, shit! Alrightie…! Anythin' else?"

"...Nah." Sendai decided. "Bring the guy back into here. I've got to ask the chucklefucks some questions." She pointed back out into the main cafeteria...

 _Shatter!_ Suddenly, one of the clay cups exploded across the room. ' _What…?'_ Sendai whipped her gaze to the sound of the impact. No one was near it, and it was far from where anything else was.

"Alright, who fucking threw that." Her brows slowly furrowed as she looked around…

Her table now had the blond man at it, sitting next to her drink, hands still in his pockets. Hyobe hadn't moved an inch, from when he tried to flirt with her.

"We shouldn't be _throwing_ … things." Akihito reminded everyone.

"So. What's yer _name?"_ Picking the best opportunity to do this, the blond man stood up fast, and came closer, and smirked up at Sendai. "I'm Hayabe."

' _Hyobe and Hayabe. They can be a happy family, together.'_

"Not in the mood." She dismissed him. "Any of you motherfuckers know what happened to the _water_ _tap?_ Long story short, someone set up a machine, and I'm pretty sure all the water's spiked."

...Akihito looked up at her, suddenly very worried. He'd gotten a cup of his own, and was already halfway done with it. ' _Uh. Well, we'll see what happens. Thanks for testing it out for us.'_

"You should drink it…" Hyobe recommended, coming up closer to her. "You look thirsty."

"Yeah." Hayabe began to strafe around Sendai's side. "You wanted a drink earlier, right?"

' _But- I just said- ...hmm.'_ She felt her danger senses tingling. ' _Looks like the act's just about up.'_

Reaching back, Hayabe took Sendai's cup from the table, before coming back. "Here. C'mon."

The men loomed at her sides, preventing her from moving around the cafeteria counter, trapping her. "You're gonna drink this." He held it towards her.

" _Hup._ " So, she just leapt up onto the cafeteria counter itself, half-climbing onto it.

 _Clack._ She jumped off, onto the other side. The men slouched at the blunt maneuver…

She slid a mana molotov from her sleeve, as she came up to Akihito's cup. ' _Let's find out.'_

 _Pop!_ Gently removing the cork, she tilted it over the tiny cup, and poured a little in.

 _boom._ A tiny mushroom cloud came from the little water cup. ' _Ahah.'_

Now, she faced Akihito, who looked like he was brooding over something. "...Aa- nnh…" He fought to keep his shirt over his waist.

"Hey." She leaned down next to him, meeting his gaze, or trying to.

...Almost reluctantly, he raised his shirt, revealing his arousal to her. "Loo- look-... Tsukiko." He smiled up at her. "I- I don't-... know why, but thinking of you-"

"Mmh." He blinked, as she shoved the mana molotov into his mouth, and tilted his head back. "Mgh- mmh-... nn- nnh…"

...Once most of the azure bottle was empty, she removed it from his mouth. For a few moments, he sat there, blinking…

 _FWOOSH!_ Then, he opened his mouth, a pale blue jet of flames roaring out. " _Hwuaa~h!"_

Hayabe and Hyobe were stalking up to them, but the blond Hayabe had to leap back, eyes widening at the flare of holy fire. "Ho- _hwhat the fuck…!"_

"Hey." Dieter came up behind them. "C'mere guys."

"Dhu- bu- whah…!?" Hayabe gestured forward exaggeratedly, still amazed by the holy flare…

Sendai wanted to turn to face Dieter, who was behind her-

But, she couldn't. He slid his arms up under her shoulders, before she could pivot. "Wh- _what the fuck-...!_ Hey!"

" _Come on,_ guys!" Dieter yelled out to everyone else, his face red from the cyan lipstick on his lips. "Wear 'er down for me! I've got dibs when she _cracks!"_

-+- _Vs. Human Villagers, Dieter Family Gangsters -+-_

 _Fwish!_ His body lighting up with orange magic, Dieter stumbled back, dragging Sendai with him. ' _This- motherfuckin'-...'_

 _Clack, clack, clack!_ Hyobe bounded towards her, his every stomp against the floor shaking the room. "Al- _alhright!"_

When he came close, trying to grab Sendai too, she rolled her leg up, and kicked forward.

 _Thunk!_ Her sandal met his hand, then his girth. "O- _ow…!"_ He staggered back, feeling at his hand's nails. "Th- that hurt…"

 _Shing._ Hayabe came around his side, a switchblade flicking out from his hoodie pockets. "Hold up, bitch. Not another move." Smugly, he came closer-

 _Thunk!_ Sendai thrusted her other leg into his stomach, before he got too close. " _Hughk-..."_ He cringed back hard, not expecting the impact to hit with as much force as it did...

"Wh- what're you _doin'!?"_ Dieter barked at them. "Fuck 'er day up! Make it so she can't _stand!"_

' _This asshole…!'_ She felt his waist, against her butt. ' _...Wait.'_ She had an idea. ' _If he's not gonna change his hold on my arms…'_

Hyobe's nostrils flared, and he loomed closer. "Lo- look- _"_

 _Whack!_ Sendai managed to kick her leg really high, meeting his nose. " _Hrkh…!"_ He jiggled back, mouth agape. " _Owh!"_

 _Fwish!_ Dieter slid on his black boots, tugging Sendai with him. "Aa- aah…" She looked around, because everything shifted.

He'd slid with her still grappled, and rotated them around one-eighty, so he'd be pulling her towards his men now.

Hayabe leered from her left side. "My _god,_ your breasts are big." Quickly, he moved to grab for her left one.

As he came closer, Sendai realized something. ' _This- is perfect, actually. Not him, but-'_

She pulled her whole upper body forward, tugging against Dieter a little. " _Ngh-_ fucking _girl-_ "

" _Hyah!"_ She leapt from the floor, and used his grip on her arms as leverage to hang off of him. Hayabe's hand began to sink into her breast, but let the feeling fuel her adrenaline.

 _WHACK!_ She thrust both her legs to the right, meeting Hyobe's head with them. " _Kgh- hahk!"_ Her whole body was now way out to Dieter's right, and she was free from the hand which tried to play with her breast.

With the momentum from the way she swung her legs, she hugged her left elbow against Dieter's side. With his support, she draped her right arm across his face and shoulders, latching onto his other side.

His face ended up in her armpit, which made him hesitate from squirming. "Wh- _aah…"_

Like this, she was able to kick her legs all the way around his back, hooking her whole right arm around his neck as she soared behind him. ' _Ho- holy shit- what'm I doing…'_

 _WOOSH._ Like a pendulum, she swung her whole body into motion around his backside. " _Haa~...!"_

 _WHA- WHAM!_ Hayabe tried to swing his switchblade at her, but both sandals met him in the side, bowling him over. " _Hy- eagh!"_

 _WOOSH._ Dieter put in unreal effort to maintain his balance. Pushing hard, Sendai leveraged against his shoulders so much, that she brought her legs up into the air entirely, almost touching the ceiling with her sandals.

Like this, she was handstanding on his shoulders. ' _Ho- holy shit…'_ She was amazed how well this had all turned out. ' _He sure can keep his balance. I expected him to fall over, while I did this.'_

 _WOOSH._ Like this, she pushed him back, allowing herself to fall with him-

 _WHACRACK!_ She used her palm to smash his head against the floor, as he fell back, his skull meeting the tiled floor. " _Kh- kghu- uu…"_

 _Clack._ She landed on both sandals at the same time. As she brought her palm from his face, she shook her hand, broken sunglass fragments flecking off. "Aa- ah." They'd cut her hand, only a little. "Hmh."

...Hyobe was still on the floor, nursing his face as she sat up. When he saw Sendai begin to stand, he held his arms up, almost in a frustrated way. " _I- I ghive up!"_

Hayabe was back up again, but his switchblade was gone, having slid somewhere unknown. "...Da- damn it." He looked around for it. "Fu~ck. _Fuck!"_

 _WHAM._ Sendai chucked a baseball-sized yin yang orb at him, which met him in the side of the head. " _Nghu-..."_

 _Sendai obtained 20340 Yen._

 _Sendai discarded Pocket Knife._

 _Sendai learned Secret of Swing * Pendulum Push!_

' _...I'm definitely not repeating something like that for awhile, holy shit.'_

"Co- come on…" Shivering, Hayabe sat on the ground next to one of the cafeteria tables. "I- I'm _fucked_ without that money, bitch- give it the fuck back…"

"My money." Sendai refused to be negotiated with. "You lost it the moment you all tried to rape me.

' _And, it's a lot, too. For a delinquent, he was loaded.'_

"... _Fuck_ my _luck!"_ He held his head with his hands. " _Fu~ck!"_

Hyobe remained seated at one of the tables, looking pale and doomed as he literally sat on his hands.

Dieter seethed, as he began to crawl up off the floor. " _Hgh-..._ fu- _fuckin'-... whore…"_

' _That coulda went bad.'_ Sendai looked down at her own chest, where she was only grazed. ' _Especially if they all actually got a hold of me, or if that kid managed to stab me. I mean, Marcus would probably bail me out anyway, but that would've really sucked. Getting all felt up, by these assholes.'_

...She looked down at her arms. ' _I was kinda just- trying to get out of his grasp, but I ended up ramming my legs into everyone instead. Good...'_

Marcus strolled out from the kitchen room on his legs now, and the tall, older guardsman followed him out. "...Awh. Looks like it's nap time, now…"

Letting out a breath, she faced him. "...Yeah. Seems like it." Again, she panned her gaze over the depressed looking men…

"We-... we ain't _done_ yet…" Dieter began pushing himself off the floor, his balance uneven.

"...You look pretty done." Sendai summarized his state of affairs. "What was the big plan? Did you really think you could just-... what, did you want to _rape me?"_

...He didn't say anything, but he seethed up at her, his grey eyes glaring through his fractured sunglasses.

' _...Probably a yes.'_ She figured. ' _Really, what was the plan with all of this…? There's more straightforward methods of aggravated assault.'_

"If you wanted my body, you should have just said so. I would've said no, but it would've at least been _honest._ " She stated simply… "Or, you could have at least jumped me sooner, and wasted less time."

"Go- god _damn-..."_ He finally managed to stand. "Pretendin'-... son of a _bitch."_

She grinned. "Pretending…? That's funny, coming from a whiny bastard like you."

...His brows twitched, furrowed hard enough that he looked like he'd burst a blood vessel. ' _Wow, he's really mad.'_

Standing up, Akihito hastily wandered up next to her. "Aa-... Tsu- Tsukiko. Are you alright?"

...She gave him a plain look. "You're a little late, but yeah. Could've used the help earlier."

' _Now that these idiots are secured- and now pretty guilty of fucking around- I should probably get to reporting our findings to Keine. Also, I wanna see if the guards managed to catch that youkai-lookin' bitch.'_

 _Didididididi~ng!_ The bell rang. ' _Oh, good timing. Is it lunch, or are classes just switching?'_

Sendai turned to Marcus. He was behind the cafeteria counters, now…

 _Fwash._ He froze a cap around the tap of water that was contaminated. "Got it covered." He gave her a thumbs-up.

' _...Can't tell if that was a joke or not, since he literally covered the water tap. I've been infected by his crappy jokes.'_

"We- we gotta tell the students!" Akihito was suddenly energized. "Should we-"

"No." Sendai faced him. "Someone oughta tell the cooks, when they come in, but we ain't tellin' the kids. It's all good now, anyway."

...Marcus pursed his lips. "Who're we leavin' behind ta _tell 'em?"_

"I'll stay." From the serving doors, the greying, older guardsman stepped out. "All of you, take these men out of here, to Keine's office. She told me that, earlier today, anyone apprehended is to be reported directly to her."

' _Sounds good.'_ Sendai didn't see any problem there. ' _Let's start moving them.'_

...She looked back for Dieter, but he was gone. ' _Wh- ah, fuckin'-'_

"He- heheh!" When she snapped her gaze around, she saw him moving towards one of the backmost doors of the cafeteria. "Dieters' flyin' ta _fight_ anotha' day! Y'ain't _catchin' me-_ shrine _bitch!"_

 _Creak!_ Sprinting into the door, moving with marathon runner velocity, he roared it open with his arms.

 _thud._ "Haa~nh." From outside, the barefoot maid-like girl with multi-colored hair was deposited in. She fell into Dieter, and the both of them awkwardly flopped back, her on her stomach, and him on his butt.

Cobe, the guardsman with the blue headband, stood in the doorway, his huge wood repeater held up with one arm, pointed at the sky. "...Well. That's-... one problem solved. Thanks fer openin' the door, sport." He stared down at the two awkwardly, before looking inside, seeing the others. "Oh."

Sendai strolled up to them, cracking her neck a little. "Al~right. Hey, Cobe, was it? Help us lug these two to Keine's. They've got some explaining to do."

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Keine's office was relatively full, at this juncture in the day.

In the midst of the room, Dieter sat with his arms folded, the long-haired girl with dual-colored eyes sulking next to him, her arms also folded.

Hayabe and Hyobe both frowned hard, their expressions cast to the floor as they stood as honorably as they could in the face of what they'd just attempted.

A clock ticked silently in the background.

The office wasn't relatively large, and it was definitely cluttered. Shelves of files and drawers sat all around each wall, corkboards and hung papers strewn about the higher parts of the room. Some of her papers were event reminders; some old. In fact, most were extremely outdated.

If Keine's glare could kill, it surely would. ' _You'd think she'd grow horns. Gods. I didn't know Keine could look so pissed off.'_

...Finding her voice, after everything, Sendai recounted the events. "So. You-... seem like you already know what happened. Who told you about it?" Keine hadn't asked a single thing of anyone, as they moved the people into her room, but she did stand and meet them with that positively furious glare.

"I _saw._ " Keine's voice had a new level of power, one which was a far cry from her encumbered, fed-up demeanor of this morning. "How _audacious._ How _bold._ The only thing that was planned, of any of that, was having someone hold me up in the _brief moments_ that Rio here did her work."

"My- my name's not _Rio._ " The navy-haired girl spoke flatly, frowning deeply. "It's _Metal Ann."_

...Keine furrowed her brows at her.

When no one continued, she did, searching the men and Rio with her glare. "...I am here _five days a week,_ and I think of my students _seven days a week._ And yet, here you two are."

Leaning forward, she almost seethed out her next question. "If you _resent_ my work this much, I'd like to at least know _why._ Is there _any_ good reason, for ruining the lives-... of our _children?_ Of the childs- of caring parents? Is there _any_ good reason for _spitting in their faces?_ Any?"

...Dieter leaned forward in his seat. Reaching up to his cut-up face, and irritated eyes, he took off his broken glasses, and let out a breath.

"Kowai Dieter." Keine's glare met his forming one. "You and her have conspired to destroy the futures of children. You planned to-... rape my _friend._ The two of you, _among others, I'm sure,_ want to see our own people-... fucking _burn._ You've made a terrible mistake in acting so garish, and so petty, here."

...When pressured like this, Dieter sneered. "Look. Kamishirasawa. I think you're a good person, and all. I'll even give you a standing ovation." Grinning, her brought his hands together. "Clap, clap."

Keine's eyes had widened under her own glare, set back by his sheer audacity.

"But, you know what I ain't doin'? Charity work." Resting his arms on his own knees, he nodded. "You know what this school is? Charity work."

"Wh-..." She didn't follow his explanation. "What the _hell_ -... what do you _mean?"_

"I'm just sayin'." He held his arms up. "I'm not riskin' myself fer a buncha chumps. I didn't survive the youkai fer shit like this. At the end 'a all this, all I'm lookin' fer is a good time, y'know what I'm sayin'? An' I _know_ I've found the golden ticket."

...She blinked at him, letting her mouth open a little.

 _Clap!_ He clapped his hands together. "An' y'know what? I'm feelin' generous!"

Standing up, he turned around, facing Marcus, Akihito and Sendai. "Anyone 'a y'all who wants ta help me outta this jam- I got _five hundred grand_ wit' yer name on it!"

"You-..." Keine's expression was vague. "You don't comprehend _anything_ , do you?"

He turned back to her. "...That offer goes fer you _too,_ Kamishirasawa. Considerin' the odds, I'd bet on takin' it. An' momma didn't raise no jerkass- I'll lessen the hammer when it drops, too. I'll find ya a way out, too. Y'wouldn't need any 'a this crap, no more."

"These people-…" Keine searched her desk, looking down.

 _clack._ Her hand gripped a photo frame hard. Holding it up, she gave it a mixed look, before facing it outward for everyone to see.

It was a photo of last year's student body, including some parents with their children, and most teachers. Keine was there, smiling as she stood behind all the faces she'd come to known, and some she never had the fortune of getting more familiar with.

Unlike what she'd heard of the outside, Keine made sure the school experience was a more tight-knit one, since the village had much more value placed in personal relationships.

Every student may not have been a saint, but a loss was felt regardless. The moment when it'd been weeks since a student came to class, their close friend- or friends- having slipped into relative solitude in their absence, and Keine had to watch the parents cry. It was almost like they were saying a final goodbye to their child, and every time it happened, Keine felt like her heart was closer and closer to snapping.

Most recently, she remembered how Tsukiko looked, when she posed that question about Reimu. The mental image was vivid: she planned to pose the question, 'Tsukiko, what if you found your daughter Reimu, left in a man's cellar, and you had to rebuild her comfort and your love for her from square one?'

Halfway through this idea, the reaction was instant, the staggering _whir_ of Tsukiko's mind nearly visible. Keine's heart had leapt in response. It was a stupidly worded question, she supposed, but even so.

Tsukiko may have said what she said about people bouncing back, but she was also somewhat a hypocrite. If Reimu was a victim, Tsukiko would recognize that nothing could ever turn out like it would have if nothing had happened. And, Tsukiko would make sure _everybody_ knew and felt the same way she did.

The Hakurei were kind of terrifying, Keine realized.

She was back in her office, almost lucidly staring down Dieter now. Those parents had to say goodbye to their love, because of people like him.

"These children. Do they not-... appear to you, as actual living things?" She showed him the photo, her eyes red. "To you- they're just _shapes_ that happen to be able to _hurt you."_ She glared Dieter down, her heart pumping. "You don't understand anything unless pain is involved. You'd have me turn my back on my students- who I've seen grow and mature throughout _years-_ for your worthless little _money game?_ "

Her wear over this whole idea was coming back. She looked exhausted.

Dieter let out another breath. "Now-... why should I give a _damn_ 'bout bein' a goodie little two-shoes fer these snot-nosed wastes of _space?_ An'-..."

 _Clack!_ He stomped his boot onto his chair. "Don't _gimme_ no crap 'bout _these children,_ or, 'aw boohoo, what about these people'- don't go _pretendin'_ now!"

...After a moment of them glaring one another down, he continued. "Yer just as _fuckin' fake_ as everyone else. An' I'm sure you see-... yer own damn _golden ticket._ An' I see it doesn't involve _me_ gettin' _mine-_ "

 _BAM!_ Keine lunged forward, her legs skidding onto her own large desk, shifting aside paperwork, cups of writing utensils, and books.

Dieter's eyes widened, and he brought up his arms.

She had her hands on his neck within a moment, and his eyes flared. Orange energy lit up along his arms as he pushed, but he fell back, between the two chairs.

 _WHACK- CRU- CRUNCH!_ As she choked him, her head met his, at the same time as his head met the back of the carpeted floor.

...As his jaw hung slack, she stood, a small splay of blood from his forehead now dotting her own, and her face.

' _Woah.'_ Sendai was impressed. ' _...I see her head's only gotten harder with time.'_

" _Ghk-..._ " From the floor, he let out a breath, jaw twitching. " _Ha- aah…"_

...Hyobe and Hayabe pushed against opposite walls of the room, looking unsure, as Keine stood up tall again.

"...Ha~h." She heaved a sigh. "...Poor, _predictable_ Kowai. So-... _blind,_ yet so misunderstood."

 _CRU- CRUNCH._ She bored her shoe into his shoulder, and he grit his teeth, suppressing a yell. "If this is how you want this to be." Her gaze down at him was abject. "I will make pain an everyday part of your life from now on, so long as you threaten my students, and my friends."

...On the floor, he coughed. "Hk-... _kh- kaugh…!"_

She let her shoe off of him, and frowned down.

...Lying on his back, he grinned up at her, blood on his teeth. "He-... heheh. Wh- wouldn't-... have ih ahny-... other whay. Me-... a- aghainst _you-..._ a- and _you-_ and _you-_ and _yh- you-..._ "

' _...He can't see value in anyone else.'_ Sendai realized. ' _And, even if we tried to help him, he'd just be backstabbing us every step along the way, because he can't trust anyone.'_

...She stared down at the floor. ' _What a powerful lesson that is. In more than one way, even. It's important to remain open-minded-... and, there are some people who are just too far gone beyond saving. When it's this asshole shacked up against Keine's students, and the state of the village… I think who gets the favor is obvious. And-... in the end, the person who barred off his 'golden ticket' from himself the most, was himself.'_

...Keine centered her glare on Rio, the blood now running down her own forehead, near her eyes.

Rio wasn't as stoic about this, anymore. "Te- teacher-..."

"Don't you _teacher_ me." Tears welled up on the edges of Keine's eyes. "...What have they _done,_ to you?"

Rio frowned harder, leaning away from Keine, to not look at her. "...Th-... I'm-... learning how to- be strong-"

 _PAP._ Keine met her shoulder hard, clasping it with inhuman force. Rio squirmed, the grip uncomfortable.

"So…" Keine's left brow twitched, as she glared her down with raw, teary intensity. "Your _strength-..._ involves hurting your old friends, and their parents? Turning yourself into whatever _this is?_ " She frowned over Rio's perfectly sculpted appearance.

Rio looked the other way with her eyes, afraid to move her head. "...I-... yes."

Quickly, as Keine's body seemed to visibly change gears, whirring from her anger, Rio followed up. "I- I _have to!_ There's-... there's a- _good ending,_ at the end of all a' this! If you'd just let me-"

 _Clunk._ They gently butted heads, Keine thrusting hers into Rio's. "A- ow…"

"Y'know _what…"_ Keine had her eyes shut. "I don't really want to hear it."

 _PA- PAP._ Her arms met Rio's sides.

 _WOOSH._ She flicked her body, using her legs to tilt back ninety degrees.

 _...THUD!_ The toss had thrown Rio over her desk entirely, in an almost elegant motion, before she was rammed against the floor by gravity. Keine's office chair swirled from the air's momentum, papers billowing all about the room from the impact.

"I don't suppose this would also have a _good ending_ for all the children you'd sacrifice…" Keine lumbered around the desk, as Rio crawled onto her legs-

 _BAM- fwish._ Dropping hard onto the ground, grabbing onto Rio's scalp, Keine slid up alongside her on the floor, her sideways face glaring into Rio's fearful one. "If they said y'had to eat a baby t'get stronger, _would you do it."_

Rio shut her eyes. "Pl- please-... stop-... hurting me."

Keine burst out a grin, at that. "Aa-... ah- ahah. If you had your way, you wouldn't be the only one who was begging."

"Nnh…" Rio began crying, as she glared back at Keine. "If-... if I had enough power- Keine- I could-... I could help you."

 _Bam._ Keine plunged Rio's face into the carpet. "I don't want it."

When she let Rio look up again, her face was more teary than before. "I- I- could do so many- amhazing thingsh-"

 _Bam._ Keine plunged her face into the carpet again. "If those amazing things aren't _getting my children raped,_ I'm all ears."

Rio's pitch perfect skin was now reddening with irritated blotches. She had tears streaming down her face. "I- chould even bringh-... I could bringh the dead back! I'd mahke everyone happy!"

 _Bam. Bam. BAM!_ Keine rammed her face against the floor repeatedly, until there was blood.

"Idiot." Keine shut her eyes. "...Idiot, idiot, idiot."

...Rio didn't bring her head up again, electing to lie in the small pool of her growing blood, as it leaked from her nose, into the carpet.

Keine pushed herself into standing, brushing herself off, starting with her skirt. "...Mm- mmh." She was crying, now. "God, _dammit…"_

 _BAM!_ She rammed her fist against the desk, the things atop it jolting, as if flinching to her strike. Dieter and Rio both flinched on the floor, anticipating something.

Keine held her own head with her hands. " _Gods-...!"_ Pivoting around, she faced a clean segment of wall.

 _KABAM!_ She rammed her head into it. _"Dammi~t!"_

 _KRI- KRA- KRACK._ The damage was severe enough to draw lines along the plaster, which ran behind corkboards, dust expelled from the interior paint as she recoiled from her own strike. "Ha- aah… ha~h…"

' _...Holy shit.'_ Sendai stared in vague awe, and also empathy. ' _Keine's become a fucking badass.'_

...She looked around. Hyobe and Hayabe were hanging their heads, looking like they anticipated the end.

Marcus had a slanted 'smile', which seemed more like an idle expression if anything, as he nodded subtly at the scene before himself. ' _...What a look.'_ Sendai had never seen him look this sobered, or sedate. It was even a different kind than when he read books; a kind of distant look. ' _My god. Times... have changed.'_

Akihito's mouth was simply agape, his brows raised. He seemed to look over at Sendai, as if seeking confirmation.

Sendai's own expression was fairly flat the entire time, barring the natural surprised and sentimental postures adopted whenever something interesting happened.

...Turning around, Keine gave a drained look to everyone else. Blood ran down her forehead openly now, as she'd cut it a little by ramming it full-force into the wall. "...Some-... someone, fetch the guard. Take Kowai and Rio away. Charge them with high counts of assault, as well as treason against the village council. Endangerment of women and children, too."

...Akihito gave her a deep bow. "Ye- yes, teacher."

' _What a fucking day.'_ Sendai found herself thinking this way more often, now...

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Keine had diagnosed herself to be unfit for teaching for the day anymore, and she sent herself home.

' _...I did a lot of good, fetching the school those guards.'_ Sendai felt, now. ' _I wasn't sure about it at first, but now-... that was a really good decision. Now Keine can use this time to recoup, if she chooses.'_

She, Marcus and Akihito had followed Keine to her home, both to make sure she arrived safely, but also to keep her company. ' _We're not just letting her wallow in her own anger anymore.'_

To Sendai's non-surprise, the home was just behind and to the left of the school, in a large dirt clearing, framed by houses and entries to other alleyways.

 _Kra- koo~m!_ The rain was really picking up, too. Lightning flashed in the mid-afternoon, lighting up the dark sky that had offset the day.

' _Everything's just fucking crazy right now…'_ Using force to hold onto Marcus's umbrella and her own, Sendai slowly marched towards the house…

Keine marched ahead of them, scrubbing a cloth handkerchief against her face, using the rain's water to dry the blood. The serration she'd inflicted on her own forehead was now gone, having already healed in the time it took to get out here.

' _Here we are.'_ Sendai stared up along Keine's two story home, which had notably outdated architecture compared to the buildings around it. It wasn't as retro as the crappy sheet wood used when she was alive, but it wasn't the same kind of ornate that the new houses were.

Getting under the awning over the front porch, Keine took out a key, and moved to open the front door…

 _Cli- click!_ The wind was less harsh once they were all partially under the awning, letting Marcus close his own umbrella, and Sendai close hers.

Lumbering into the dark house, Sendai slid off her sandals. ' _Here we are…'_

It was a rather plain home, and from the looks of it, it suited Keine rather nicely. ' _Pretty spacious on the inside, too…'_

"...So." Awkwardly smiling through the partial sogginess, Keine turned to them, now in her own socks. "...This is my house."

"Cool." Sendai replied casually, smiling back. "I like it."

"...Yeah." Keine didn't seem to know how to carry herself, after what just happened. "It's... a rather cozy place. It's got two stories…"

"I saw." Sendai didn't point out her awkwardness, just yet. "I'm glad you somehow found a way to sustain yourself."

...She faced her and Marcus. "I'm-... I'm sorry you both had to see me, like that-"

"It's cool." Sendai didn't let her ramble down that road of thought. "It's like you said. If it had been Reimu, I probably would've been worse. Like-... way worse."

...Keine nodded, at that. "That's-... well, that's true."

' _There's a difference between indifference and active interference.'_ Sendai considered Dieter's situation, again. ' _I might not react explosively to Keine's situation… and, if I knew nothing about her, I probably wouldn't have ever gotten involved. But, that wouldn't make something like what he was doing right. That was a rather extreme display of ignorance of other people…'_

...Perking up, Keine let out a breath. "All I wanna do tonight-... hmm." She thought about what she really wanted to do, tonight. "...Well, unwind, a little. But-..."

"Yer gonna spend tonight relaxin'." Marcus smiled at her, stepping between the two women. "I dropped a scry on that Dieter boy." From his pocket, he took out a teal orb. "We're gonna spend a little while watchin' it, I think."

...At that, Keine smiled at him. "You'd-... just do that, for me? Don't you charge upwards of twenty thousand for scry jobs?"

He shrugged. "Ah, s'a made up number anyway. S'not _hard,_ just no one does it, and I don't usually like doin' it! No one in the village, anyway."

...Keine gave him a nod. "Well-... thank you, Marcus. That will save me a lot of trouble, actually. I'm going to want to keep a sharp eye on him, definitely. That should… declutter my schedule, a little."

She faced him fully again. "What's he doing right now, by the way…?"

Marcus grinned. "Gettin' put into jail's what he's doin'!"

...She nodded. "A- ah, right. I had him arrested."

' _She forgot…?'_ Sendai grinned at her. ' _I'd probably forget too, after being as angry as that. Anger's overwhelming and infectious, but also blinding.'_

After a moment, she picked up her charisma again as she moved deeper into the house, towards a leftmost room. "Also~... what do you mean, I 'somehow' found my way...?" Turning back towards Sendai while in the door, she made another smile. "I was always the thinker."

' _She seems to be finding herself easily enough again, at least.'_

"...This is true." Sendai made for her couch. "...Man. I just wanna~..."

She touched the lumpy blanket on it. There was already someone sleeping in it. ' _Oh, shit…!'_ She recoiled back for a moment, gently spooked by the realization.

"Uh, Keine." Sendai turned to her. "Y'know this hobo?"

...Keine looked over at the blanket. "Oh, huh. Uhm. That's gonna take some _explaining…"_

Pulling off the blanket, Sendai saw a girl with long silver hair, wearing a white top, and red, talisman-clad sweatpants. The woman was snoozing away…

"Keine, she looks like a youkai." Sendai was instantly on her case. "Who the heck is she."

"Well- she's _technically not."_ Keine countered her assertion. "...About in the same vein as me, just… way different."

...Sendai paused, and felt like asking a silly question. "Keine- is she your _girlfriend?"_

Her gaze flicked up. "Freaking-... we're _friends._ I suppose I can see how you'd make that mistake, but no…!"

...Sendai saw one other couch, and moved to claim it. The living room was set with two couches, a chair and a main table fitted with a map, papers, weird little strategy pieces and one plate with a half-eaten waffle on it.

'... _Is she planning waffle domination, or something. Pft- fuckin'...'_ Sendai supposed she really was tired.

 _Creak._ The couch groaned as Sendai rolled onto it. " _Unf…"_

"I- I have a _guest bed,_ you know." Keine looked between the two couchbound girls. "Neither of you needed to hog the couches…"

"Too lazy…" Sendai was no longer in the mood to do anything. "Help. Food."

"...You're really too much like your daughter." Keine shook her head… "I'll have something for you right away."

' _Wh- I was joking…'_ Sendai began to get up, holding out an arm. ' _Hold on, Keine…!'_

' _...Wait.'_ Something suddenly met Sendai's thoughts. _'That reminds me. Should I be buffing up before I meet Reimu again? I'd rather convince her who I am first, but if that falls through, sparring is just as good. It's probably gonna have to be sparring, considering my luck. I mean-... that's what I'd demand of my mother, if she just came back for no reason. People don't just come back for no reason. ...Normally.'_

...Keine stood idly in the kitchen, thinking over what to make.

Then, Marcus was there with her, having shuffled into the room with her. "Ah-... Marcus?"

"While you studied studying, I studied the poptart!" He was swinging open the shelves, looking for ingredients. "Y'won't mind if I use a few things, right?"

"Yes- yes in fact, I will mind." She moved to shut him down… "You can make crappy outsider snacks on your own dime, Marc. What, is it not just… the most basic of confectionary crusts and some filling? How do you even _make_ something so simply convoluted, and yet simultaneously so wasteful?"

He smiled up from the counters at her. "Honestly- I just use alchemy an' magic to get around the bullshit bits."

"...Tsukiko needs an actual meal, not _desserts."_

"Hey- I get by on sugar an' calories alone, an' I'm like sixty!"

"That- that's not good…!"

Sendai's eyes began to flutter shut, while they made noise in the background. ' _I guess… I'll take that nap…'_

Rolling onto her side, she let herself snuggle up against the back pillows…

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Marcus's Perspective_ -+-

Marcus stood idly in the living room, after having been kicked out of the kitchen.

"No." Keine had her arms on her hips. "No poptarts."

"Aw." He shook his head… "Also!" He began to move towards the center of the living room. "Y'got any sapphire orbs, here? I wanna make a display thing fer this." He held up the teal scry crystal he held, while surveying the table…

"Ah." Keine nodded. "Check my record room, through the right door. There should be a box of magical artifacts for use in there."

"Aw, cool…" Casually, he moved past the museum of sleepy girls, and came to the rightmost door, behind the couch Mokou slept on.

 _Crea~k._ He pushed the door open, and a dim magi-light in the room faded into existence a moment later, held inside of a lantern on the ceiling.

The 'record room' was flooded with paper, shelves lining the walls, making Keine's office at the school look tame. ' _S'nice seein' someone who's as much of a slob as I am…!'_

Holding up a finger, he traced the walls by pointing at them. ' _Magic artifacts, ah. Hmhm. Ah, there's a fireproofin' enchantment on the walls an' shelves here. A~nd-... there's the evidence that one of the walls was ignited at some point, knew that had ta be there. Fireproofin' and post-fire residue go hand in hand! The fire area was all along the outer wall, though-... so, arson? Wonder how it got put out.'_

Dismissing that, he looked around more. ' _Water proofin' for obvious reasons, freakin' rain.'_ He faced the window that was in here. ' _Nice magi-lock. There's actually in-bound scry jammin' goin' on in here, too.'_

He faced the door to the record room again. ' _The door locks when Keine's not here, and a barrier's created on the inside. She's real protective 'a this room, apparently. It'd figure, considering she puts 'er grades in here!'_

Then, he found the box of magic orbs, near the door, tucked under a tall shelf that stretched to the ceiling. ' _Ahah! Time ta turn a generic sapphire inta a display orb!'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Tsukiko's Perspective_ -+-

"...Hey."

' _Morning… already?'_

"Hey, hey." Someone nudged her. "There's food."

' _Aah.'_ Sendai paid attention to the last word. ' _Fine…'_

"I said _get up."_ They pushed her further into the couch with force.

"Wh- he~y…" Gingerly, Sendai rolled over, to face the silver-haired girl from before. "Ah…"

"...That outfit." The girl who shoved Sendai stepped back. "Alright Keine, I'll bite. Who the hell is she?"

' _...It's only like, an hour later…'_ Sendai observed from a distant clock...

Setting down a plate of warm meat, Keine moved over to them. "...Well, I'm sort of waiting for her to introduce herself, but I doubt it'll be as cinematic as she wants, at this rate."

"...I'm a miko." Sendai fully elaborated.

The silver-haired girl snorted. "You look like Reimu's mom, or something."

...She looked between Keine and Sendai, who were giving her blunt expressions. "Wait-... I'm _right?"_

"Her name's Tsukiko. Tsukiko Hakurei." With a smile, Keine went to attend to the other plates. "Mokou, I've got a plate for you in the kitchen. You want me to grab it, or…?"

"Sure." Letting herself fall back- literally- Mokou took a seat on the couch she previously slept on. "Nnh."

' _What's the point in hiding your name if everyone's just gonna namedrop you…!?'_

"...So." Sendai stared at her blankly.

Mokou stared back equally idly.

Keine returned with Mokou's plate, and her own. Marcus already had his, passively observing the mutual awkwardness between the girls.

"You two~..." Smiling lowly, Keine took a seat across from Mokou, one table-side away from Sendai. "This girl here is Fujiwara no Mokou."

...Sendai nodded, as she sat up to demolish her plate. "Ah."

"Isn't Reimu's mom supposed to be, like, dead?" Mokou observed her somewhat curiously…

In confirmation, Sendai nodded again. "Yeah. Life had other plans, apparently. Like, breaking physics."

"...How'd it feel?" Mokou stared at her intently.

"...What?" Sendai wasn't sure what she meant.

"Coming back. Revival."

...This blunt idea made Sendai ponder it. "...Stiff. Refreshingly new… and, fleeting. It's like I've lost something. It's like I've lost something about myself. I still remember many things-... like my friends, my husband, and my daughter-... but, I still have some questions."

Mokou smiled. "I don't quite remember, when my deaths screwed with me that badly."

Sendai blinked at her questioningly.

"...I'm immortal." Beginning to smirk, Mokou imparted knowledge. "I think death quality was a curve, or something."

"It was logarithmic, if I remember." Keine looked up from her meal.

"Same thing." Mokou didn't care much for the details of it. "It used to feel like I was gaining or losing… but now, it just feels like nothing. Painful, but nothing."

"What do you mean, you're immortal…?" Sendai was still hung on that point.

"...Can I do a party trick?" Grinning at Keine, Mokou began to raise the cutlery knife she had…

"No." Keine shook her head vigorously. "In short… no matter how she dies, her body comes back together. Her situation's different, I'm pretty sure."

' _Is it…?'_

"...Ah." Sendai wasn't sure how to take this. "That leaves me with… questions."

"I'm sure…" Her smile becoming warm, Keine gestured down to the food. "Don't let it get cold, now…"

' _I have no idea how immortality's supposed to work. Wh- did this just happen...? What's the story behind this?'_

Once she was halfway done with her meat, Sendai looked up. "So is there… an _explanation_ for this, or…"

Mokou responded bluntly. "I drank an elixir."

Sendai nodded. "Oh. That's good."

This made Mokou furrow her brows a little. "It really wasn't."

"Oh. That's bad." Sendai amended her previous statement.

' _I feel like my expectations for mortality are shattered even more.'_

"Maybe I _should_ do that party trick." Mokou grinned up at Keine. "That'd be easier to explain…"

She waved the suggestion off. "Well, that still wouldn't answer _why._ But, essentially… she drank one of the _Hourai_ elixirs of fable. She's been on this planet for over a thousand years. _"_

' _...I'll be honest in saying I don't really keep up with more folklore than necessary to fight stuff. But-... one thousand years?'_

Sendai gave the young woman a once-over once again."...She seems pretty composed for a thousand year old."

Mokou smirked at that. "You would've been surprised, a few hundred years ago…"

Leaning back in her seat, Sendai looked down at her drink she'd been served.

' _Thousand year old things usually erupted into huge problems… but, they weren't casual, eternally young women, or hobos. I mean, they were technically hobos, living in crypts and everything, but… this girl's a lot more human so far than humans I've met today.'_

"Y'know- I always wondered…" Marcus stroked his beard, now finished with his meal… "What does an immortal feel after they die?"

...Mokou stared him over for a moment. "...Well. Once the pain is gone, you wake up. If you starved to death-... if _I_ starved to death, I'd just be in constant pain."

' _Ow.'_

...Mokou stared forward.

There was an image currently projected in the air, along the back wall. It was being generated by a sapphire orb, cradled by a small plate of cobalt, sat along the back of the room.

The image was of a prison cell. Sendai could make out Dieter's figure within it, after staring for long enough. ' _The fuck's this, by the way. I didn't pay attention until now, but there's some kinda display magic set up along the back wall…'_

"So." Mokou finally mentioned it. "Who's this we're spyin' on. And, why's he in _jail._ "

...Keine decided to explain, since no one else would. "Well. This man is Kowai Dieter."

"...Wasn't he one of the newer outsiders?" Mokou raised a brow. "I haven't been keepin' up with shit."

"He was." Keine nodded. "...He worked for Okane, as a farm subsidiary, and a leader. He's also working informally for the guard, it seems. He came to my school today, and conspired to kidnap a larger fraction of my students than ever before."

...Mokou nodded, too. "Ah. And so he's in jail, now."

"Yeah." Keine smiled at her. "...I've no idea for how long."

"Hopefully awhile." Mokou leaned back in her seat. She saw the band-aid on Dieter's head, in the darkness of his cell. "...Man. You must've been pissed."

Keine snorted. "...That's one word for it."

Sendai tilted her head. "Y'know-... what _was_ their plan, that you were so mad about? I never quite caught it, and it didn't feel obvious to me…"

...Now focusing on her, Keine took in a breath before beginning. "You know how they spiked the water? _Rio's_ idea was that half the kids would be drugged. While I was distracted by a student, Dieter would catch on and lead them away. I'd simultaneously take a huge blow to my students, morale, and be unable to answer for the danger my school poses. That in turn would probably lead to _more losses,_ and-..."

She rubbed one eye, a little. "I don't have to think about that anymore, now."

' _Gods.'_ Sendai felt sorry for asking. At the same time, she felt better knowing. ' _...Damn. Me being generally in the way's helped turn things around, it seems.'_

...The girls all casually stared at the screen, where Dieter sat with his head to his knees.

"...So." Sendai turned to the other women. "What now?"

"We wait." Keine decided. "...And, for now, relax. Especially you, Tsukiko. You've done enough for me-... for one _lifetime,_ let alone this one. I want you to enjoy your time back. And-..."

She leaned forward. "Have you met your daughter, yet? I-... I asked that before, I remember now. Still-... it wouldn't do you any good, to not reunite with her now."

...Sendai gave her an answer. "I'll reunite with her when I'm ready. Let's face it: it's going to come down to a fight, no matter what anyone does-... and I don't have the skills to back up who I am anymore. I'm going to need to learn a few things, before I think of fucking with her."

"...Ah." Keine wasn't sure what to say about that. "...If it helps, I'd try and make sure there wasn't a fight."

' _Good luck with that.'_

"So." Mokou swayed in her seat a little, before facing Keine. "...Y'want me to kick this Dieter guy's ass at some point?"

...Facing her, Keine shook her head. "No. You don't need to make a monster of yourself. This is my problem to begin with. And-... he _is_ in prison right now, and with the ample evidence I have, we should be able to put him away for a long time. The only thing we'd need to worry about is if he escapes… in which case, the council would be forced to side with us."

"...Well, if that ever happens, I wouldn't mind helpin' out." Mokou offered. "Especially 'cause it'd be anyone's game at that point. No law for an outlaw."

Sendai extended her abilities, too. "I swear, if that piece of shit somehow _broke out,_ I'd hunt him down myself. I've got enough excuses to."

At that, Mokou smirked at her. "...Now _that's_ what comes ta mind when I think 'peacekeeper'. That daughter of yours can't be bothered to roll out of the futon, some days."

' _Is that so…'_

"...Alright." Keine consented to this logic. "But, don't overextend yourselves… and, don't dedicate yourselves to my problems too hard, alright? You're both your own people."

"Yea~h." Mokou seemed to have heard this type of statement before. "It's not like I have many problems of my own. Other than, you know, the obvious ones, which will always be around."

"It's probably not like we'll be _doing it for you,_ anyway." Sendai considered. "We'll just help you out, Keine. 'Cause you're… our friend?" She gazed at Mokou questioningly for a moment.

...Mokou nodded at her. "Keine did talk about you, a couple times. She missed you."

"Aa- mmh…" Keine wanted to reply to that, but decided better of it at the last moment.

' _Hakurei shrine maiden and immortal, thousand years old hobo team up with local school teacher to resolve village crime.'_ She blinked at the table. ' _...Honestly, the only part that's really different is the thousand year old immortal being there.'_

...Soon, everyone became casual and idle. Marcus was reading from a book of some sort now, and everyone else seemed to be contemplating the conversation too...

' _Ooo.'_ For a moment, Sendai became immensely soft. ' _I should make sure I didn't drop anything in the couch.'_ Feeling at her pockets, she took advantage of the quiet to sift her hands into the couch cushions.

 _Sendai obtained Pocket Lint._

' _Now…'_

Keine stared at the magic display against the wall, lounging on the couch next to Mokou… meanwhile, everyone else was about as leisurely about the evening.

"Aw man, aw man…" Marcus flipped through a book he'd found, rapidly trying to delve deeper. "I oughta get back into my buff game!"

"You know- what _did_ happen to that…?" Sendai didn't actually know how capable Marcus was, but she didn't remember him being an elementalist. "You used to keep me from eating shit against giant things."

' _...Although, I'm not gonna complain. Summoning fuck huge ice blades from the floor's pretty alright, too. I always complained he did nothing offensive back in the day.'_

He grinned over at her. "Yeah, well… after _everythin',_ there wasn't much more point ta it. An' elemental stuff was interestin'."

"Was it…" She stared down at the book. "So what's this?"

"I dunno. It said 'magic protection guide' on the front, so I started flippin' it open!" He beamed at her. "I might be able ta hack out a _magic ward_ now… hrr~m…"

Mokou snuck up on them, leaning on the counter behind the chair… "You know what element's interesting?"

"Ice. Water." Marcus immediately contradicted her existence.

"Fire." She nodded warmly. "...And, fire."

"Y'shoulda said _thunder._ Ya woulda given us a real _jolt!"_ His grin became impossible.

"Die, in a fire." Mokou was immensely disappointed.

Sendai slouched, reveling in the mediocrity. "...Wow."

' _I should probably read through that new Chronicle of Gensokyo at some point.'_ Sendai was reminded, that she could now make infinite new books. ' _Instead of using magic with them, I should just make the tomes and throw them at people. Just- stand over a door as someone walks through, and drop a big book on their head. Actually- I might accidentally kill someone like that…'_

She stood up, from her seat on the couch. Moving around the room restlessly, she came to one of the windows.

The rain outside was mellowing out, the window a duller black than before. ' _That's good, at least.'_ She propped her arms on her own hips, looking assured of her observation.

...After staring at the gentle rain for long enough, she roused herself to explore. ' _As good as the weather being less crappy is…'_

"You looked very satisfied, for a moment…" Mokou noted the arms-on-her-hips posture Sendai made at the window.

"I was very satisfied." Sendai assured her.

' _Maybe I'll exercise to pass the time. But, I'm planning to exert myself right away anyway. Maybe some stretches, since I napped. I'd bathe- now that I actually got the opportunity- but that'd take too much time. I'm about to get soaked and sweaty again anyway.'_

So, she settled for some basic stretches. "Hnn~..."

...Despite leaning against the back counter and staring into space, Mokou was distracted immediately. "What the hell are you doing. I don't swing that way."

Exhaling suddenly, Sendai broke form, grinning. "...I- I'm _stretching._ What the hell are _you_ thinking? _"_

"Never seen someone stretch like that before." She retorted. "You just came up to me and started stretching…"

"I've _been here."_ Sendai began to grin more… "Does stretching next to you make you uncomfortable?"

"It _did_." Mokou blankly stared away. "...Now it shouldn't. I should've figured, since you look martial arts-y."

"I'm gonna keep stretching at you." Sendai held out an arm towards her, meeting it with her other arm. "Be disturbed."

...Looking back on impulse, Mokou slouched even more. "I'm disturbed."

' _Just gotta~... wait for Keine. Maybe I'll see if she's got any crackers or chips. I'm gonna go raid the pantry…'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

 _Crunch._ The rice crackers were tasty. ' _Aw, yeah…'_ Sendai savored their flavor. ' _Did Keine make these herself? It feels like there's butter and salt… or, maybe the store-buyable ones are more fancy now. I remember the bland ass ones that only went well with sauce.'_

' _...Provided, butter and salt doesn't make it super healthy, but…'_

While she ate her snack on the couch, Keine stood. "Alright. I think I've got an idea, of what to do next."

...Mokou and Sendai instantly looked up at her.

"Dieter's not going to sleep, it looks like." Keine noted, still staring at the magic display…

Sendai and Mokou looked at it. The moving image showed him to be walking around in his cell restlessly, sometimes rolling his head about, and other times staring at a specific section of wall.

He paused for a moment, looking back, as if watching out for anyone. He moved up to the bars, grabbed them, and tried to fit his head as close to them as possible, before snapping back from them.

"So…" She turned to the girls. "As a contingency plan, for his escape-... Tsukiko. You and Mokou will be the ones to follow and confront him, if he escapes and stays on the run."

Mokou stood up from her seat. "Aw, hell yeah…"

...After Keine gave Mokou a flat stare for a moment, she sat back down. ' _I'm gonna like her.'_ Sendai grinned.

"Marcus." Keine faced him next. "...You will stay here. Is there any way we can communicate with you, if we're not at the house here?"

...Looking up from his tome, he nodded. "Well, sure. There's more than a few ways a' projectin' noise ta different areas. Actually- I think ya had a few inactive sound stones in yer storage _yerself,_ that ya mighta forgotten about…" He seemed to think on this.

"I'll be working at the school tomorrow as usual, and will keep the guards there informed." Keine laid out her own plans in words. "Which is why it'd make the most sense for Mokou and Tsukiko to handle the most physical aspect of all this."

"Not a problem." Sendai gave her a smile, and a nod. "I'm looking for an excuse to run around anyway."

"Me too." Mokou gave a small smile over at her. "...Reimu's mother, huh."

"That's my name." Sendai tried to obscure her actual name again, if only in jest.

...Keine leaned back in her chair, again. "Thank you. Both of you."

Slowly, things returned to quiet again in the house. The ticking of the household clock was heard in the background.

 _crunch._ Sendai ate another chip. ' _...It seems like it's starting to get a little late.'_

 _tick. tick. Crunch- crunch, crunch._ Sendai ate three at once, breaking the silence, and the ticking of the clock. ' _These probably aren't very good for me, now that I think about it.'_

Marcus came back from Keine's record room, having stepped away earlier to look for the stones. "He~re we are. Three of 'em. Already linked their pointer things to one another, so now uh…"

Holding them all up, he talked into all of them at once. " _Yeah! Hello~!"_ His voice came out as loud as a yell, when she simply spoke into all three at once. " _Ohp- shit!"_

 _THINK- THUNK- THUNK._ One fell against the floor, and it was only half as loud as his voice was. When he lowered the other two stones, his voice was at normal volume. "Oopsie…!"

 _...cla- clack._ He sat them down one at a time on the table, and they didn't make any noticeable noise, although their impacts could be heard from three places at once.

Leaning down, Sendai took the one he dropped before he could reach it. "...So. This is the sound stone…?"

He smiled at her. "That's _a_ sound stone! But, that can be _yer_ sound stone. They all act the same basically, so it don't matter which ya get."

Then, noise came from the magic display behind them. " _Hey…"_

Everyone looked up at the screen.

Dieter held a nearly flat, rectangular object in his hands, which had a luminescent screen on one face of it. It just barely lit his face up in the dark cell. " _Yeah, that 'steal a buncha kids' operation that bitch talked about? Got me all kindsa fucked up. Y'better start explainin' stuff-... 'cause lemme tell ya- I ain't got all day, and this cell's mighty cramped."_ The quality of the scry's audio was a little uneven.

"... _What- ya mean that was my job, too? No one fucking told me about that. I just rolled down there to nab that busty chick who was goin' 'round startin' shit. I bet I coulda sold her ta tha' Gold as a plat-tier host girl, y'know what I'm sayin'? Nah- I swear, she was a serious fine looker! 'Parently she's a serious fine ass kicker, too. Yeah- I think she could be a problem."_

He leaned against the wall of the dark cell, looking around, and listening for footsteps with his other ear. "... _Nn- nah, no fool's comin'. Whah? Yeah- I seen how she fights. Me and some boys couldn't even pin 'er ass. ...Ooh? Yer comin' ta-... yer comin' ta bust me out tomorrow mornin'?"_

...After a pause, he sneered into the phone. " _...Ooh? Y'want me ta lay 'er down, so ya can get a cut 'a her jib yerself? What 'bout them school kids, they still worth anything? ...Ah- ye- yeah, I getcha, the bitch's more important, I guess. Ooh- ah- you'll pay quadruple fer her!? Hell yeah!"_

...He flinched at his own voice, and lowered his volume, still looking around his cell, trying to spot the lights of guardsmen, or hear footsteps. " _...Ca- can I at least get a turn wit' 'er first? Or uh."_

Crouching down, moving towards a corner of his cell, he kept talking. " _Y'know- it'll be better ta get out now, yeah? While no one's lookin'. People might get up early, in the morn'. Hell- if I went ta nail 'er right now, I might even get an easy shot! She oughta be sleepin' soon, if she ain't already outta it! Damn easy job, if ya ask me. Didn't think I'd hafta go so far fer host girl fodder like 'er, but Dieter does what he gotta, yeah?"_

" _...I- hey, I still get a run 'a her right? ...Fine, after you, then. She wouldn't be squirmin' no more after yer turn, anyway."_

Then, his device changed lights, before going dark. " _...Hoo~, baby. Can't hold Dieter down fer long, baby. These wings were born ta fly!"_

...Keine turned to Mokou and Sendai, looking alert.

' _Sounds like our plan's already laid out for us.'_

They both stood up. "Let's get movin'." Sendai moved for the door immediately, pocketing the sound stone.

"What a shithead." Shaking her head, Mokou moved too, cracking her knuckles. "I'm gonna _brand_ his ass."

"Since he's moving early…" Keine got up, moving for the door with them. "I'll be meeting with some of the council and the guard, to alert them. You two-"

Sendai gave her a smile back. "Already on it. Let's get to the jail before anyone else gets there first."

 _Sendai obtained Sound Stone!_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

==x==

 _x / Sendai Hakurei No Miko_ , the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

INVENTORY:

X _Sub-weapons:_

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her mastery, Sendai takes on the form of the magic she channels most at the moment. Empowers all style attributes, but moves begin costing additional item crash uses, making this expensive to use. Before she died, it only brought out her pain-brought darkness, but...

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

X _Pocket items:_

[Elementary Backpack] - Young student's backpack. Really tiny, and looks cute on Sendai. Uses no inventory space- being inventory _itself_ \- and provides four item slots.

(2x) Potion - A potion used to restore health. Basic, but the best choice for human users. Provides heavy health regeneration for some seconds.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Evolution - Heals the entire party, as if they were all given a potion. Equal to a Mega Potion, but consumes an item crash use to produce these effects.

Tauriner - Experimental medicinal restoration item. Restores 'spirit energy'. In Sendai's case, it restores a single item crash use upon consumption.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Yukkuri Production Kit - A kit used for creating yukkuri, which obey the user. Consumable with ten uses. Comes with DNA kits for Reimu, Marisa, and Alice types. Life catalyst is bundled with this item.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Chintzy Iron Katana - _One_ use remaining until it breaks! - Cheap iron sword made for precision slicing. Mass-produced, hard to maintain efficiently, and easy to break; especially in Sendai's hands.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Melio Secare - Sendai summons a large magic blade to cleave down on a foe directly before her. Instantly breaks the sword.

Experimental Aphrodisiac - Obtained from suspicious villager teenagers. The bottle's higher quality than Sendai recalls most medicine being stored in.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

High-Quality Bottled Water - Refreshing and pure.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Pocket Lint - Dust friends. Uses no inventory space. Can be combined with nine hundred ninety eight other Pocket Lints to create something cataclysmic...

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Ragnarok Theorem - Inflicts a random status effect on a random target. Cannot instantly kill or doom. Cannot cast Auto-Life.

59,380 Yen - Money used to purchase goods. Takes up no inventory space.

 _ITEM CRASH_ : Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards…

Sound Stone - A tele-magical rock which transmutes sound that passes through other sound stones. It's said you can hear the the sound of Gensokyo breathing if you hold one to your forehead. Uses no inventory space.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ World Heartbeat - Sendai can only hear static coming from the stone, for a short time. Does nothing? Costs no item crashes to use.

(two slots remaining)

X _Armor:_

x _Body:_ Hakurei Maiden Combat Outfit: DP - The shrine maiden outfit of the miko who came before. Made for a large bust, and bolsters both martial offense and blunt defense. Features a hakama bottom for easy leg movement, and a black leotard so the upper body can move easily.

x _Misc:_

Reinforced Apron - A royal red, reinforced cloth apron. Defends Sendai a little against incoming magic and blunt physical attacks.

Nothing.

Nothing.

x _Weapon:_ Unarmed.

==x==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

 _X Body_

Endured II - Sendai has forged her body through a long cycle of training and combat. She's not as strong as she used to be, but she remembers what it's like...

Powerful III - With constant, repeated motions and strength training, Sendai has built up her body to strike fear into the land's youkai. Hits are becoming closer to her former strength...

Dark Affinity - Inherently, Sendai has channeled inner, dark feelings for most of her life. Grants 50% dark resistance.

 _X Soul_

Heated Spirit II - A fragment of the resolve she used to wield. Allows Sendai to use two item crashes. At the end of every fight, she regains one use. Recharged by sleeping, or gaining new resolve.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Magic is ingrained into her body to allow her to replicate certain objects as long as she has enough mana. Becomes unusable when all item crashes are used up.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

Rebellious Soul - Able to channel her magic to her limbs, which takes on the form of dark enchantments. Reduces damage where she applies it, by strengthening the body itself.

Terrain Essence - Sendai can use the environment to deal devastating damage to her enemies. Executable off of walls, the ground, big objects; by lifting tables or chairs, etcetera. Boosts in power the less item crashes Sendai has used.

Weapon Essence - Melee weapons gain decisive maneuvers which deal immense damage. Allows Sendai to use swords semi-properly.

Essence of Finishing - Downed enemies are very vulnerable to extreme attacks, as Sendai's discovered. Follow-ups on downed enemies can now be critical hits, as long as Sendai's spirit remains full. Works with weapons, too.

Essence of Assimilation - When in Fantasy Nature style, Sendai attempts to consume the body of dark-elemental beings. Kills the target. Refills health, item crashes, and Fantasy Nature duration. Sendai inherits target's life force as a result. Bonus power deteriorates over time unless kept fed.

 _X Technique_

 _x Normal Style:_

Dark Power - Sendai accents her body with dark magic, reducing incoming damage and heightening outgoing damage when she wills it.

Quick Step - Sendai slides on her sandals to avoid an attack, jolting her muscles to evade. Pretty much muscle memory to her, at this point.

Charged Kick - Sendai accents her stock kick attack with extra preparation, making it super predictable but more powerful. Takes a second for basic extra power, but takes about two or three to become very powerful.

Dodge Retaliation - A technique remembered through battle against Marisa Kirisame. After quick stepping, Sendai can instantly retaliate with a thrusting punch.

Youkai Buster Combo - A series of punches aided by quick kicks, which gives most foes little time to recover.

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Faze Step - Lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward some distance. Makes her highly knockback resistant while it executes.

x _Fast Style:_

Fast Style - A general category for all of Sendai's non-normal, quick techniques. Moves are inherited by Normal Style.

Secret of Swing * Pendulum Push - When bound by an enemy by the arms, Sendai uses their grip to slink around their body, attacking nearby enemies with big, rushing thrusts of her legs. Works on up to three generally unaware enemies. Sendai kind of just accidentally pulled it off, the first time.

==x==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

man this rewrite really took this chapter into some different places

it wasn't entirely a rewrite… but it was basically almost an entire rewrite

notable changes this time include:

o keine's exchange with sendai at the beginning lasts a bit longer, actually tries to draw some empathy outta sendai more than "man sucks that that's happening" which is basically how it went the first time and in a different draft of it

it was a really hard conversation to write because it had to express a lot of serious emotions but it didn't have a direct way to show the impact of what keine said, so it had to contest with being edgy in places by virtue of not being able to really show you just how serious keine is about the whole "holy shit they are trying to steal my students" thing; you kinda just have her word to go on at this point in the chapter

o but she stays noticeably more worn about it this time which adds to it

o i also made sendai less cancer in trying to tell her about her previous chapter's adventures

o the village guard implied to be here from the previous chapter is here! it's also actually good at its job which is good

o some setup for later unreleased, currently unwritten chapters of sendai (past 19)

o entirely new keine conversation with that new girl and dieter, in which we see just how pissed off keine can be with free action over her tormentors

o keine's pissed offitude changes the tone for some of the rest of the chapter

o cafeteria fight and some things changed entirely to make it flow better and feel more satisfying

o new dieter setup at end of chapter to get the ball rolling, much better overall motivation for all characters involved

o sendai prematurely learns a fast style move because why not

o new village guards introduced here are also made notable in fun ways and were given some interesting interactions

o some better introduction / "foreshadowing" of the golden grin here

o generally, keine and sendai are overall more persuasive both in charisma and intent

so yeah this feels a lot better overall now - w -

i still feel like revising chapter 1 was a _huge_ catalyst for revising the rest of the first arc, because i always felt REALLY WEIRD about it, and i couldn't quite place what was so wrong about it

but then i realized, i couldn't give power and depth to the later bits (as well as definition) without it making it seem like sendai actually lost something at the start; which is what my first revision tried to convey, but looking back it was way too vague and just kinda pussyfooted around the issue

now the new chapter one really HAMMERS IT IN, which is GOOD, plus you get CONTEXT and- it just really sets up everything in a really powerful way compared to not having it, and that kind of definition infectiously spread to the rest of the arc, and lead to me making sure that momentum was maintained in the following chapters

and it's just, this arc in its previous state had a lot of places where chapters could just totally lose steam or momentum and therefore demand more effort to get through

now the proverbial ball will generally keep rolling, now that there're a lot more extreme moments and the most notable characters carry themselves with more overall purpose and place in the world

and even though it seems like such a subtle change in places, the overall fluidity of the work is like, SO different; especially with that intro, it makes it just feel totally different almost

man it's weird how this works…!

as always, see you all next time!


	6. Fear Experiment

The evening was alight with stars shining down, over the Human Village and all of Gensokyo.

Mokou and Sendai continued through the village, in the dark of the evening. They were hunting down a man named Kowai Dieter, who'd acted on someone else's behalf to sabotage Keine's school, and the lives of her students. And, of his own interests which were now shared by others, he sought to make Sendai his.

' _Time to kick all the ass.'_ Sendai panned her gaze to Mokou, who lead ahead of her, for some reason. ' _Hope miss fire-and-brimstone here can hold her own in a fight. With any luck, Dieter'll lure us into a place where his employers live, and we'll get to beat the everloving shit out of them for hiring him in the first place. If he successfully escapes, at any rate.'_

'... _The rain did lull.'_ Sendai resisted the urge to give the outside a satisfied look, while they drifted down the road, walking plainly… ' _Thankfully. Hopefully it'll stay stopped.'_

"We ought to get near the jail first, at least." Mokou spoke her own ideas first. "...Then, we can watch as the guy gets broken out, and maybe tail his ass. If it looks like he'll get away-... you can do talisman shit, right? Please tell me you can do talisman shit."

"Not a problem." Sendai brought an arm up, talismans between her fingers. "It might be nice to see who his employer is, yeah. He's got communications with somebody."

"And that _somebody_ doesn't like _you."_ Mokou reminded her. "From the sounds of it, they want you takin' it up the ass more than they wanna fuck with Keine."

...Gazing up at the now starry sky, Sendai agreed. "Seems so."

' _I've been alive for like-... what, two, three days now? I made enemies again awfully fast. It's natural in this village, but still.'_

"Honestly, I prefer it this way." Sendai went on to remark. "Makes it easier to confront them, if they think they've got business with me."

They left the alley next to the outer wall of Keine's school and progressed onto the west road of the human village. Keine herself had immediately went ahead of the two girls, so she could negotiate with the guard HQ in town.

Sendai felt a few sprinkles of the remaining rain, as she ran her gaze across the dim, warm glow of lit homes around herself. ' _Ah. Rain's not totally gone.'_

"Shouldn't we let him escape?" Sendai made sure they were on the same page. "It'd make sense."

Over the sound stone they were given, Marcus spoke. " _Couldn't we just interrogate the guy, once we catch 'em? Not that it even matters, 'cause I got a scry on 'em…! I mean, the boy seems to only care about money an' such, so he'd totally sell out his pals anyway."_

' _Basically, either way this goes, it's gonna go in our favor. But, if we run him down as he escapes and his friends get angry with us, we'll know who we're dealing with.'_

Mokou thought alike. "We should still run 'em down. If his friends are bustin' him out, this gives us a chance t'find out _who_ those friends are, and maybe nab 'em too."

Even as cold and wet as the evening was, her energy kept Sendai's body warm. The surge of activity that setting out with a clear purpose had given her was familiar, and motivating.

' _It feels like it's been such a long time, that I've set out on something like this.'_

"...So." Mokou began to speak. "Yer familiar with where the jails are, right? We got the super-temporary holding at the HQ, and-"

"Actual holding is behind the village council building." Sendai remembered. "Right?"

"Right." Mokou confirmed. "Just checkin'."

The sprinkling of cold against Sendai's skin in the evening air made her feel refreshed, as she moved down the relatively dim main road. ' _...I feel like I'm doing things. It's a very simple, satisfying feeling.'_

They came to the main road, where Mokou turned right, heading to the south road immediately.

There was the scant bustle of villagers in the slightly wet evening. "Umbrellas! S'not to late t'grab an umbrella he~re!"

"Late night burgers! Quick, easy, tasty! Y'heard it here first!"

"Hey… _asshole._ Yeah, _you._ "

"Can we go ho~me yet? It's too cold…"

"Wh- where did I leave it? Gods…"

"I'm gonna call you Fluff-chan. You're so snuggly…"

' _Surprising amount of people out, this late.'_ Sendai wasn't sure what they were all about. ' _Maybe 'cause the rain just ended.'_

Her hands in her pockets, Mokou kept her head down, moving quickly.

' _...I just realized.'_ Mokou's outfit was also red and white, like Sendai's, albeit a little more vibrantly so. ' _People might think we're a passing gang, at this rate.'_

Following behind her, Sendai continued to take in the shimmering night lights, aided by the wetness of the stone around herself, and the occasional glaring, ever-present neon light. A bunch were featured on Marcus's shop down the road, and-...

' _The-... Golden Grin?'_ She sighted a big, violet, yellow and blue neon sign, which sat on an imposing, five story tall building. The lights were so glaring, they practically rendered the moon miniscule by comparison.

The structure of the 'Golden Grin' was rectangular, made of brick, defying the design of the houses and storefronts all around it. ' _...The houses around it were tall enough to make me not notice it, but-...'_

However, since she had something to do, she couldn't really think on it right now. ' _It's too bright to ignore. I'll see what's up with it some other time. Didn't I see its name printed on that water contamination machine at the school?'_

She sped up, catching up with Mokou, as they neared Marcus's unmanned shop.

' _...Why'd he leave those neon lights going. He's not even there. Wait-...'_ When she stared harder, there was another neon light set up on the inside of the front window. It read 'CLOSED', in red, neon capital letters.

' _...Why?'_ She raised her brows, at it. ' _We'd know it was closed, if they were off…!'_

As she took in the lights, noise, and energy, she began to smile. ' _Man. I'd hate living near the center of town. Sure, easy access to food, but there's people everywhere, they're yelling even at night, and these big ass neon lights are everywhere._

' _Comparatively, It's so peaceful at the shrine, at night. So-... self-contained, and lonely, but in a good way. It's also a little scary, but I'm used to it…'_

' _Not that the village would be any better, at the rate things are going.'_

...She watched Mokou turn and move left, down the paved, wealthy road, moving towards the village's town hall.

Sendai followed plainly, observing the comforting lights of the village at night.

Mokou kept moving ahead, heading towards the next right turn. Her brown boots made puddles splash, as she powered ahead.

' _...These evening lights really make me wonder, and stuff.'_ Sendai was reminded of festivals with her own mother, ones she spent with Keisuke and her friends, and a few miscellaneous, lonely ones. ' _It makes me feel like things are happening, like there's activity around me, and it's invigorating, somehow. And-... also, comforting.'_

"So." Mokou spoke plainly, slowing as they strolled towards the village hall. "...How's the human village been treatin' ya so far?"

...Sendai gave her a half-smile. "Like shit." She'd been pulled from her thoughts, by the attempt at small-talk.

Mokou snorted. "Yeah. That'd figure."

 _Fwi~sh._ The nightly breeze rolled over some trees past the village, in the distance. It was heard on the horizon, over the low murmur that was the village square.

' _Looks like the village council is lit up, too.'_ Sendai noted, how pale light shined from the glass dome of the not-so distant building. ' _You'd think someone would be there. I don't know if they've changed their policies on this sort of thing.'_

 _splish, splish._ As they lumbered down the road, they passed a man with black hair, a modern sort of business suit, and an eyepatch. "...Ho~h?" He gave a semi-interested look at the two, red-white clad women who passed him some meters away.

Once they were far enough away, he kept moving, ignoring them.

' _We're not the only tall and shady-looking characters, it seems.'_

Sendai looked to the left, as they stepped up towards the council building.

 _Spla- splash, splash!_ A girl clad in a blindingly bright cyan-white outfit ran behind one of the houses there, upon Sendai sighting her. ' _What the hell kinda outfit was that. I didn't get a good look at it, but it looked really-... out of place.'_

Mokou began to walk to the left too, moving to get around the village hall. "What a big, ugly building."

"...It really is." Sendai admitted.

The side of the hall felt distinctly like it wasn't meant to be traveled around, but a worn dirt path implied otherwise anyway. This path was full of grimy water, and few if no lights accented the clumsy walk around the building.

A nearby house sat in strange proximity to the village hall from this angle, too. ' _Despite being in the wealthy part of the neighborhood, the architecture is-... cramped. Maybe the village hall didn't need to be fuck-huge on the outside.'_

 _Spla- splash._ Mokou's boots trekked through the mud, Sendai following in her trail with her sandals. Mud and water seeped into her socks, as she trudged the offroad path. ' _I really wish I had spares made. I'm gonna have to live with these shitty socks until I clean them myself, now.'_

Mokou lead the way around the building. Its curving and odd, ugly jagged geometry stood out. ' _What the fuck. Who made this shit. It's like a caltrop for dinosaurs.'_ She made herself grin by accident. ' _Goddamn it…'_

Around the building's back was a big, boxy section. At the foot of this, where it met the ground, there was a huge metal door.

A wide, metal overhang sat over the door, recently polished. It shined, under bleak lights cast down from the wood exterior of the hall, and the sheen produced by fresh raindrops.

The door had two men standing under the awning, with unaccented armor, and pikes held. They also had helmets, and small magi-lights which were built into their helmets, shining out from the tops like strange, inhuman eyes.

' _Looks like they're trying to be intimidating, for some reason.'_

However, Mokou refused to near the door. "Follow me, miko. We're not talkin' to a soul."

"...We're just gonna sit and wait, then." Sendai figured. "Until something happens."

"Yup." Mokou nodded. "There's two doors into here. Not sure if you remember that. They're a big point of failure, 'cause there's two places to guard instead of one. The walls are still thin too... making explosives an extremely viable method to escape the upper levels."

' _...Even then, the jail's only got two basement levels. The village had crime, but it was never so major that we needed a very big complex for it. Offenders were just really prolific and easy to spot, depending on the crime. And, really-... it takes a lot to get put into jail, since most of the village runs on good will and rapport among local businesses. People can and will kick you out if you're an asshole and have no power to back it up. But, it depends.'_

"I bet they're holding him on the upper level." Sendai decided, thinking of Dieter. "He hasn't been processed yet, I'm sure."

Fifty-sixty meters away from the backside of the village hall, there were cramped, two-story homes, only about five meters apart from one another.

Mokou lead herself and Sendai towards one such house. "Exactly. So, if they do a big bust and run, we'll know. Also..."

This far back, along the back porches of these finer-than-average houses, they could see the entirety of the ugly rectangular jail block along the village hall's backside.

' _This architecture is a mess. If you had to ask me what era it was from I'd say 'no era', because it shouldn't exist.'_

"We can see anyone who goes in or comes out." Coming up to a house's wooden porch rail, Mokou leaned against it.

' _...I see.'_

...Slowly, the rumble of rain picked up. ' _Ah. It's-... hmm.'_ She felt herself growing a little wetter, along the shoulders and arm sleeves. ' _Maybe I should've dressed up better. Ah, fuck it.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

They hid under a porch roof, which belonged to one of the houses. They were crouched down with almost the same posture, staring at the two entrances to the jail through the openings in the porch walls, and their wood bars.

Mokou wasn't great at small talk. "...So." She began another thought…

"So." Sendai mirrored her way of beginning topics, this time. "You're an immortal, huh."

...She latched onto this train of thought. "Mmh. Let me guess. You'd like a summary of my life's story?"

"...That's an idea." Sendai considered that, but... "How about your most recent events, instead?"

"Good, 'cause everything past the last hundred years are kind of a blur anyway." Mokou admitted. "...Hmm. I hid in the bamboo woods, and around the village for awhile. I forget how long, but it was 'cause-... I had business, here in Japan. Keine found me, and shit. She kept giving me food, which was nice. She's-... well, there's more nice about her than that, but, she helped me out a lot."

' _Business in Japan? That implies she wasn't even in Gensokyo for some time. Considering her age, that could make sense. Was there a policy on outsiders in our clan's-... stuff? If there was, I forgot it.'_

"...Eventually, your daughter found out about me." Mokou revealed. "Some bitch put a hit on my head. She and her pals took it. They fought well."

"...How'd that end?" Considering her daughter was still alive, Sendai was curious…

"People talk to me a little more." Mokou simply considered the outcomes… "I know a couple more people. She was actually pretty peeved with Kag-... that _bitch,_ 'cause you know… she took on a hit, to kill an actual immortal. That bitch's good at sending people on fool's errands."

' _Huh. What a bitch.'_ Sendai's thoughts were idle. ' _I'll take her word for it, then.'_

"What problem's 'that bitch' got with you, then?" Sendai couldn't help but wonder. "...'Cause, it sounds like I'm not the only one being hunted, here."

Mokou leveled her stare with Sendai's, and frowned. "...You're not gonna get involved. If you've really gotta know, it's 'cause _I'm_ hunting _her._ She killed my father, and left me the curse of immortality. So, I'm a little pissed off, even after all these years. When I've lost everything, sometimes, being _pissed the hell off_ was all I had left."

...There was a lot of information there, for Sendai to begin considering. ' _That-... well, it definitely doesn't sound like my problem, the way she puts it. But…'_

"Don't worry." Sendai nodded, staring back at the jail doors ahead. "That doesn't sound like any of my business. Sucks about your dad, though."

Mokou snorted. "...Yeah."

' _...Still. A thousand years, and-...'_ Sendai quickly found a new question.

"When'd he die?" She wondered. "This a recent thing, somehow, or…?"

"Nearly a thousand years ago, if not that." Mokou stared down at the ground. "When he met that _bitch._ "

' _...And, she's still angry about it.'_ Sendai couldn't begin to grasp that level of anger, or dedication. ' _You'd think-... you'd think time would numb your mind to the point of forgetting even that, at this point. I'm-...'_ The scale amazed her. ' _I'm only forty, and yet, my life feels so full of things. I couldn't imagine spending forty more whole years just-... angry. Bitter at worst.'_

She thought back to her husband. ' _...It's only been a couple years since Keisuke died, and I still feel raw about it, but-... damn, if I could live forever, I feel like I'd get over even that eventually. Even thinking about living that long is just-... how?'_

"...How do you stay angry about it?" Sendai asked plainly. "Especially-... for a _thousand_ years?"

...Mokou faced her again, nodding. "Fer awhile, it wasn't hard, with that bitch still around. That month, we became enemies forever. But, like the cowardly bitch she is, she went back up to her shitty home on the-..." She stopped herself. "She got away from me. I was fucking livid. People compared me to a volcano. I remember there was a time, where I became numb to everything, but no matter what, I remembered that this was all _her_ fault. _She_ did this to me. I'll never rest."

...Standing up, but keeping low, Mokou rested her arms on the porch rail aggressively.

"...Anger is like fire. If you keep it fed, it keeps you warm. And, with my endless life-... even if I flicker out, and everything about me becomes ash, my anger won't. A dead man hasn't lost what he fought for-... it's the man who broke down and gave up while he was still alive. He's the one who loses."

...She let out a sigh. "Yeah. But-... in plainer words, it lets me keep my head. Sometimes even feels good, compared to the situation. If I wasn't so pissed at her, I just wouldn't be myself.

"I hate everything she stands for. I hate how she keeps retaliating, how she makes actions against mine, as if she's been paying any attention, and-... most of all, I hate the idea that she'd screw over another person, and put them in my hell. Indignant piece of shit acts like she hardly knows what she did wrong, or like I _deserved this-..._ rrgh." Her anger seemed to build just thinking about it.

...She looked down at Sendai, who was still crouched. "That answer any questions?"

"...Kinda." Sendai didn't have too much to add, at first. "If you ask me, it sounds like you're obsessed. But, I wouldn't know anything about being a thousand."

"Yeah." Mokou smiled at her. "You don't. You don't want to, either."

"Nope." Sendai smiled back.

' _...What a strange girl.'_ Sendai wasn't sure what just happened, but it left her feeling good. ' _I can see why Keine likes her company. Especially with her ability to read the past-... I'm sure she's seen shit Mokou herself has forgotten. I wonder how far Keine's powers have come, actually...'_

" _Yo!"_ Marcus's voice came over the sound stone in Sendai's pocket, almost drowned out by the growing rain ahead of them. " _Dieter's lookin' at his gadget, an' lookin' real expectant at a wall, now! You girls in position?"_

Some shuffling was heard, and Keine began to speak over the airwaves next. " _I'm at the town hall right now, with some of the town guard. We're speaking with the chief- we'll be there soon! And-... Mokou, when this is all over, I'll prepare you your favorite meal."_

...Slowly, Mokou's eyes widened as she stared at Sendai. "Aa- a-... shit. I forgot- that thing's always on…"

' _Oh, yeah. Marcus and Keine probably heard all of that. Not the end of the world.'_

" _Don't worry, Mokou."_ Keine's voice came through the stone… " _It's nothing I haven't heard before."_

 _Spla- splash, splash._ People began marching out from around the house Mokou and Sendai were standing on the porch of. Both ducked down, and Sendai held the stone. ' _You guys better shut the fuck up now…'_

The cyan-white clad girl was there again, along with some girls in that modern, outside-styled business suit, who had bunny ears.

"We're being watched." One of the bunnies immediately remarked. "Agent?"

...The girl in the cyan-white miko outfit turned to the porch Sendai and Mokou were crouched at. "...It'll be fine." She spoke quietly, almost too quiet to be heard, but the bunnies heard her. "The stars're out tonight."

' _...That's-... a cyan and white miko outfit.'_ Sendai was interested in the weird colors of it. ' _It's also really weirdly designed. She's got Reimu's hair bow-... what the hell're those sleeves? Are those outsider pants, she's wearing?'_

...Sendai stared up at the sky, and the stars were in fact still out, despite the intensifying rain. ' _What weird weather.'_

"This wall." A short-haired, business-suited bunny girl aimed a flashlight at the wall, circling the region with it. "Comms-chan, tell him to get his ass back, and look out for guards. We're gonna be blowing the wall."

 _Woosh._ From her pants pockets, the cyan-white miko tossed something hexagonal at the wooden wall.

 _Cla- CLICK._ Upon landing there, spikes jutted out from the hexagon's sides, clamping there.

She ran back, her entire outfit seemingly dusted with dirt, yet sparkling vibrantly in weird places.

When she and the bunny women were a distance from the wall, she crouched down near another nearby house's porch, and dug through her pocket.

"Dieter." The business bunny with a handheld rectangle spoke. "Get back from the wall, _now._ Tell me if there's any guards in there. ...Ah, none? You gotten back yet? Alright." She faced the cyan-clad miko, and nodded.

The stout, cyan-clad girl nodded, and brought up the remote she found.

Sendai blinked. For a moment, it seemed like the cyan-clad girl's body was reflected, projected from a puddle next to the jail, holding the remote towards where she and the bunnies sat. ' _Wait- what…?'_ They were pointing their remotes at one another.

They both pressed their buttons at once-

 _KABOOM!_ The remote mine she planted on the wall exploded, explosive amber lighting up the village in the rainy evening.

The mirrored cyan-white miko was gone, lost in the blast. ' _...What a weird fuckin' evening!'_

" _Yee~haw!"_ Dieter squealed, as he ran out during the last of the blast, shielding his head with his arms. " _Dieter_ flies again! It's _payday, girls!"_

"Shut _up!"_ One of the long-haired bunny women stood up, and gestured for him. "Follow us, and keep quiet. Guard activity will be _swarming_."

Their flashlights went out, and the splashing of their footsteps moved along the house Sendai and Mokou hid at.

Mokou spoke under her breath, watching them through the bars of the porch railing. "Fucking… _moon rabbits._ I bet that _bitch_ is behind all this shit."

"...Are- are you sure." Sendai wasn't confident in that deduction, yet. "They look like some kinda new breed of youkai. Better rabbits..."

Mokou huffed at her. "That- princess _brought_ those fuckheads to Gensokyo. Even if she didn't order this, it's still her _fucking fault._ "

...Sendai grinned at her, since it'd seemed like Mokou snapped at her. "Alright, cool it. We've gotta run after them. When we find 'em, _then_ you can uh…"

"Yeah, yeah." Mokou slid her hands into her pockets, and moved for the porch's rail.

 _CLACK!_ She leapt onto it smoothly, and gazed back down at Sendai, standing tall atop it. "Keep up."

 _WOOSH._ Then, she leapt off, red energy trailing her as she moved for a huge puddle.

 _SPLASH- FWISH!_ Her impact with it was hard, and a moment after the water exploded into the air, and onto her, it became mist and steam, billowing up into the sky.

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

6

Fear Experiment

 _Splash- splash- splash!_ Sendai trusted Mokou's senses, as they ran in the ironically bright evening. ' _The stars with the rain- makes everything a lot more visible than it should be.'_

Still, Dieter, the cyan miko, and the bunnies moved with surprising velocity, sprinting together into the night. They took a complex, weaving route, one that Sendai was sure she couldn't keep up with herself.

 _WOOSH!_ Overhead of Sendai, Mokou leapt across two rooftops, her red magical energy billowing from her center like fire. ' _Holy shit…'_

 _Spli- splish, splash!_ Sendai sprinted in her vague direction. She'd ascended up there to keep a lookout, and to help lead Sendai along, but now it seemed like she was just going off on her own, so Sendai tried to vaguely follow her.

' _Y'know- when this all started, I thought we were just going to cut them off when they blew up the jail, or follow them ten meters to a hideout right outside. What the hell's this…!'_

 _SPLASH!_ Then, after a moment, Mokou landed before her, water rocketing up into the both of them. ' _Wh- agh, shit…!'_

"Hey." Mokou met her gaze instantly. "They've split up, know we're followin' 'em still. Dieter an' that weird bitch're running a fuckin' circuit or something- the rabbits, they're coming this way. Get ready."

" _Hey, don't worry!"_ Marcus called out from the sound stone. " _I got visual on 'em! When they get ta tha' hideout, I can tell ya where it is, so ya can jump 'em there! You just worry 'bout yerselves!"_

...Mokou blinked. "Aa- ah. I forgot he existed."

" _Freakin'...!"_ Marcus wanted to gently whap her over the connection.

' _Not that it matters. Whether he escapes or not, we'll get our hands on him anyway. I'm more interested in these-... rabbits?'_

 _Spli- splish, splish._ That's when business suit-clad rabbits rounded the corners, between the two houses they'd managed to navigate between. Mokou and Sendai were pincered.

" _Haa~h…"_ The tallest one, with long red hair, stomped from the glittery dark of the evening, her grin absolute and wide. "Kessho- _chan_ told me we'd find you here!" Her eyes gleamed red, glowing in the evening, brighter than the stars and the puddles.

"Hehehe…"

Looking behind herself, Sendai saw two others step up from where she and Mokou came from. Each held some kind of small, flintlock-like weapon, aimed ahead. "We got the~m!"

Mokou patted Sendai on the side, to get her attention. "These're called _lunar rabbits._ They're fuck-fast, and fuck-strong, compared to humans. Whatever you do, don't die, and don't get caught."

' _...Alright.'_ Sendai felt tense. ' _My first bout with actual youkai, since coming back…'_

-+- _Vs. Renegade Unit 661 -+-_

Sendai had her fists raised, facing the two shorter bunny girls with the messily-designed guns. ' _These things must be allied with whoever's trying to make me their woman-... and whoever wants to break Keine's school and students.'_

"I got the leader." Mokou announced. "You take down the shitty support." She and Sendai were back to back.

 _Cra- crack._ Sendai cracked her own knuckles. ' _Remember, Tsukiko. No mercy. These're youkai.'_

 _FWASH- FWASH!_ Immediately, the two twin-tailed bunny girls shot yellow, crackling diamond shots from their pistols. " _Yeah!"_ The violently bright shots traced towards Sendai's form, correcting the flaws in their initial path by homing in.

 _WOOSH._ Immediately, Mokou snapped from her position, unnaturally landing alongside the wall of a house and running along it.

 _Fwish!_ Sendai slid along on the mud, to the left, as the two huge, thunder-esque bolts passed by her. She'd dodged at the last moment she could, momentarily blinded by their light. ' _Holy- shit…'_

 _KRI- KRA- KRACK._ When they passed her, they only very loosely traced her form, her new position slightly altering their direction. ' _I just barely- fucking…!'_

 _za- zap._ They met the wall nearest Sendai, after arcing into it, and fizzled out.

Sendai ran towards them, arms raised to buffer any unexpected shots. ' _Whatever- now's my chance!'_

"Ah-..." The right-most bunny girl pouted at her gun. It refused to charge again. "Fuck."

 _Fwi- fwi~sh._ The left-most one charged another shot. "C'mo~n…!"

 _FWA- FWA- FWAP._ Sendai chucked talismans at the one charging her weapon, but they were stopped by a rippling, white and yellow grid of energy which snapped into being around the bunny girl. "Aa- ah!" She jumped from the impacts, however. "What's _hitting me~!?"_

"Stupid- _gun!"_ The right-most bunny discarded her weapon, and raised her arms, her small twin-tails fluffing up. "Fu~ck that!" With her declaration, she became immensely fwoofy.

 _cli- click._ From her sleeve, Sendai drew a handful of rebound stones. ' _They've got some kind of magical shielding. I'm gonna have to strip that before I can do anything else…'_

' _I can't toss these stones at the floor, or the mud'll take them, so-'_

 _fwish._ She chucked them to the right, towards a house wall. They linearly traveled through the air as they left her hand, drawing glimmering lines of light. ' _I forgot how weird these acted!'_

 _FWISH._ That's when the unarmed and fluffy, twin-tailed bunny girl was right before her.

 _WHUNK!_ Her palm met Sendai's stomach harder than a trained man's punch, despite her relatively meek, cute appearance. " _Nngh-"_

 _Pap!_ Sendai brought her arms up to defend herself after she was struck, stopping an odd palm thrust from the girl's other arm. ' _Mokou wasn't kidding around-'_

" _Ha~h…!"_ The short lunar bunny crouched back for a moment, before springing forward with impossible speed. " _Hyah!"_

 _WHAP!_ Her left knee met Sendai's arms like a bullet, blowing them out of guarding posture. ' _Holy- shit! She barely has to actually do anything- and my defense is being broken-''_

 _Splap!_ After her flourish-like knee strike, the bunny landed hard on her own shoes, in the mud before Sendai. " _Yeah!_ I did it!" She posed with an arm in the air.

 _KRI- KRACK._ The other bunny stood aside them, smiling, her fully-charged and crackling electrical gun aimed at Sendai. "And tha~t's that..."

 _Fwip- fwip- Fwoo~sh!_ The handful of stones that Sendai tossed came back, meeting the posing bunny girl in the back. "Hw- ah…!?" She flinched as they met her unstable-looking shield, and it gave out, becoming thin, yellow mist. "No! My _shield!"_

She turned to face the energy as it left, but also to see just what hit her. "No~! Come back!"

 _FWAM!_ The other bunny fired her shot, looking satisfied, like it was an act of leisure.

Sendai had an idea. ' _That homing shot…'_

 _Pap!_ She grabbed onto the back of the nearest bunny girl, who tensed up at the feeling of Sendai's hand on the back of her collar. "Wh- _nnh-"_

 _WHISH!_ The bunny snapped around lightning-fast, which broke the grip. She stumbled to the left of Sendai, since Sendai was trying to pull her to the right. This put her between Sendai and the huge oncoming electric bullet. "You fuckin'-"

 _KAZAP- ZAP- ZAPZAP!_ The big, diamond-shaped bullet met her back, and her limbs spread out. " _Hekh- gehe- gegeg- hbububu!"_

 _za- zap, zap._ Her form still crackled after a moment, and she stood in place, arms up and knees clicked together, jittering. "Aa- aa…"

Sendai grabbed onto her again, by her right twin-tail. ' _Nice job…!'_

 _FWISH!_ Slipping one leg out on the mud, Sendai let her whole body fall towards the left house's wall, but stopped her face from hitting it with an arm.

 _WHAM!_ The bunny's face was crushed against the wall, cheek-first. " _Huu- uuh…"_ She'd slipped along with Sendai, but couldn't defend herself like she did.

Rebounding off the wall with her arm, Sendai spun around, sliding a kick high into the air as the wet ground aided her heel's pivot.

 _WHACRACK!_ Azure energy flourished along Sendai's leg, as her rotating kick landed. Her sandal met the back of the bunny's skull, digging in deep. " _Hkh- aa-..."_ Then, Sendai released it, taking posture again.

 _splap- splap._ Now free of any grip or momentum, the bunny stumbled back from the wall, her arms lucidly held up at her sides. "Aa-..."

 _Splat!_ She fell onto her back, mouth open. " _Uu- uoh…"_

 _Slap!_ Sendai tossed a talisman down onto her face. ' _See ya.'_

 _KRA- KRACK- FZZT!_ It lit up like electricity too, locking up the girl's form. " _Aaa- aaa~h!"_

' _Now, for the other one-'_

 _Fwi~...!_ The other twin-tailed bunny girl sneered up at Sendai, her hype building as she aimed her gun forward. "Hehehe~!"

 _FWISH!_ Sendai moved to grab her by the collar, but the girl spun to the right, her whole body rotating almost three-sixty as she took Sendai's side. "Gotcha~!"

 _Bwamp- Fwi~sh!_ Sendai rammed an elbow back, using the same arm she tried to grab her with. Instead of hitting, it bounced off, shattering the girl's unstable-looking yellow shield. ' _Aah-'_

 _Pap- ZAP- ZAP- ZAP!_ She shoved the gun into Sendai's side, using its partial charge to attack.

" _Ngh- nh- haa~h!"_ Sendai yelled, her whole body contorting and locking up, the dampness along her body only adding to the light show that came with being electrocuted.

 _za- zap, zap._ When she brought the gun away, Sendai was about as stiff-looking as the bunny she just defeated. ' _Wh- aa- ah…'_

 _Splap._ She fell to her knees, in the mud. ' _Fu- fuck-... o- ow…'_

 _Whack!_ The bunny kicked her in the back, onto her stomach. "Oo- ohn…"

"Hehehe~." Twirling her gun around, the bunny gave herself a peace sign. "Hostess capture~d!" Her black boot dug into Sendai's back, as she pressed it down.

' _Wh- what do you mean- hostess…? Gods- no...'_

"Hehehe…" Kneading Sendai's side deeper into the mud with her boot, the fluffy twin-tailed rabbit pouted down at her. "Ya gave us a _lotta trouble._ But, now yer _ours._ "

Sendai tried to push against the mud with her arms, but everything was too numb and weak. ' _Fuck-... gods, damn it!'_

"Where's bossy-chan…" The fluffy bunny girl began to look around. "We gotta get you back home fer _grooming._ "

"I- Ih…" Sendai spoke, keeping her face just above the mud. "I have-... I have a daughter-"

 _Whunk._ She pressed Sendai's face into the mud. "I didn't tell ya to _speak!_ Also-... what's _her_ name? Ah... we'll figure it out later. You just hang tight, sis." She began to look around more. "Seriously, where's-"

 _WHAKRACK!_ The red-haired leader bunny flew past them, flung by an impact to her gut. " _Hwh- woa~h!"_

Mokou's form was burning, every step she took along the ground smouldering, water evaporating in her trail.

The zap gun-armed bunny raised her weapon. "Oo- _oh, shit-_ Fujiwara-"

 _WOOSH._ Mokou spun around in almost an instant, becoming a flaming hurricane for one moment.

 _WHAKRACK!_ She thrust a kick forward, closing the distance between herself and the armed bunny with it. Mokou's boot met her stomach.

The yellow-grey gun was launched from the bunny's grasp, and her whole body looked limp, for a moment. " _Hk- aah-"_

 _WHAKRACK!_ Mokou thrust her other leg up to kick, meeting the same spot in the bunny's stomach.

 _BAM!_ The bunny was launched, her back ramming hard enough against the wooden house behind them that it left a dent. " _Kha-..."_

 _WOOSH!_ Leaving the ground as if she were a plume of fire, Mokou did a sideflip towards the bunny's limp body, her legs drawing a crescent of embers in the air over herself.

 _WHABOOM!_ They came down on the bunny's airborne body like an axe, smashing her into the mud.

 _KRAK- FWOO~M!_ That's when the ground erupted. A pillar of white-orange fire roared from the earth, engulfing the bunny and extending into the sky.

Mokou stood past her, as a figure of pure flame. Tufts of fire echoed off her body, for a moment, before dimming, revealing her clothes and skin again.

" _Nn-..."_ The bunny girl behind her wiggled on the floor. The mud was burning, the rain not enough to extinguish her, as pieces of her smouldered like an open wood fire, cracks of ember and ash now ranging her flesh. " _Nn- nn…"_

 _Click._ Mokou snapped her fingers, and all the fire was gone.

 _thud._ The bunny girl flopped onto her side, lying on solid, hardened mud, which began to wet anew. Her skin was still cracked in places, the lack of light now revealing that portions of her had become ash.

"Fu- fuck…" The huge bunny with the red eyes stood agape, holding onto her side, still lightly smouldering, some of her hair gone, and her clothing all black. "Th- they weren't kidding…"

Mokou centered her glare on her, and smiled, only briefly. "...Oh, yeah?"

The red-haired leader bunny began to look around. "...Loo- look, we- you won, okay?"

...Mokou's stare was plain, again. She hadn't taken her hands out of her pockets this whole time.

"You-... you want money?" Smiling, the bunny reached into her pockets with her good arm. "You can have- whatever ya didn't burn!"

"Mmm." Mokou nodded, at that. "I'd normally leave this here, but… that ain't good enough."

"Um…?" The red-haired bunny girl blinked, a few times. "What's up…?"

"I had to go out in the rain at all t'nite, 'cause you assholes are plotting against Keine." Mokou announced. "...And, that ain't gonna fly. Who's yer boss?"

"We- we don't have one." She gazed back at Mokou with a neutral look, now. "Look- we-... we're trying to get resources an' cut a profit-... we have the same enemy, even! Um-...!"

"...Oo~h." Mokou tilted her head back. "I get it, now. Yer defectors, or some shit."

"Exactly!" She beamed. "...We- we're sorry for attacking you. Can, um-... can I call you-... Mokou?"

 _Spla- spla- spla- splash!_ Mokou ran towards her, to get closer, before slowing.

"...Mo- Mokou?" The bunny girl tilted her head, and held her good arm up defensively… "He- hey-... I- I said I was sorry."

"If yer not with the _moon bitch…"_ Mokou held her arms out, and her form began to smoke again. "No one'll complain if ya don't make it back home. Especially since yer the fuckin' _mess_ they left behind."

 _Fwoom._ Mokou's form ignited. The bunny turned around, and began sprinting-

 _WHAKRACK!_ Mokou spun again, sliding across the ground. She landed her boot to the small of the bunny's back once she reached her.

" _Uuaa- ooh!"_ The impact sent the bunny flying. She rolled forward through the air uselessly, before landing on her back in the mud ten-twenty meters away. " _Ghh-..."_

Mokou loomed over her, where she landed. "Aa-..."

"Y'know what's the _best part_ 'bout rainy days?" Mokou was fire, the only human feature of her visible from her inferno being her pitch-white eyes. "I don't gotta hold back."

 _Fwoom._ As she stood there, she held her arms out, and the red- or crimson- haired bunny became a small fire. " _Aa- aagh- aah! Aaa~h! He-... he~lp! He~lp!"_

...Now standing again, Sendai lumbered up to the encounter, her body caked in mud. ' _God, damn it… I hate magic, and I hate these damn youkai rabbits. Can tell I'm gonna love this shitty breed. At least they're not two heads taller than me.'_

 _Fwoo~m._ As the bunny yelled and screamed, Mokou simply stared down at her, experimentally adding more fire now and then.

" _Eeee- aaa~h! Eee- aa- eea~!"_

Sendai sighed, stepping up to the warm sounds of flame, letting herself warm up by the fire. "Mo- Mokou-..."

...Mokou stopped adding fire and faced her, body still a smouldering, vaguely human-shaped flush of amber, white and heat.

"You think Keine would want 'em _dead_ , just yet?" Sendai had to question. "...We don't even know who they really _are_ yet. And-... personally, you know… I- I try to only kill when I gotta defend myself. Not just 'cause."

 _fwish._ All the fire went out.

"Fine." Mokou looked a little disappointed. "...You're right. This is Keine's thing."

...Silently, the now black and grey bunny girl on the floor cried, curling up on the hardened dirt stone that Mokou had created.

...In the quiet rainfall after everything, Mokou crouched down next to her. "You better tell your friends. Next time, you're all gonna _learn_."

 _Sendai obtained Broken Zap Pistol_.

Some time after their encounter with the bunnies, they'd taken to wandering aimlessly for a few minutes.

' _Mokou controls herself like no one I've ever seen before, and she fights with almost only kicks, and devastating fire magic.'_ Sendai noted the immortal's technique, after everything was said and done. ' _She has to be using magic to get her crazy momentum. Maybe someday I'll spar with her.'_

They were now aimlessly wandering the back roads of the village. They'd left the wealthy portion of the village some time ago, and were somewhere along the north side of it now. ' _We really got off-track…'_

" _Are you all alright!?"_ Keine called out, into her stone. " _We were looking for you, and we saw the flame geyser, but…"_

"Just fine." Sendai spoke into the stone, entire front covered in mud, save for her face. "Bunnies gave us a little trouble, is all."

' _I was right about them wanting to capture me. Seems like it's definitely not just Dieter limited to making good on whatever secret bounty they got on me.'_

...Idly, she articulated her hands, seeing how well her muscles could move after the electrocution. ' _Okay, everything came back. Fucking-... stun weapons. Who made that shit. Can we find them? I mean, it's probably a popular effect for a reason, but fu~ck.'_

Keine spoke up again. " _...Mo- Mokou didn't kill anyone, did she?"_

"Nah." Mokou answered herself. "...Didn't feel like it, this time."

" _Okay…"_ Keine sounded relieved. " _Just so you're aware, Mokou-... these aren't Kaguya's soldiers anymore. From what I've learned, they're renegades who provide the town with… 'services'."_

"An' I say that's all the more reason to off 'em." Mokou answered back. "Who fuckin' _needs_ 'em. At best, they're freeloaders, and at worst, they're trying to fuck up your school, and yer kids. I say we burn 'em all and be done with it."

" _...Or."_ Keine had a different idea. " _We could send them back where they came from. I suspect the clinic won't be elated to know what these fugitives have been up to."_

...Mokou almost liked that idea. "I don't trust those shitheads not to _promote them_ , or something. But-... if it makes you _happy._ "

"...Hey, Marc." Sendai called out next. "Any idea where the hell we're supposed to be?

" _Yeah, actually!"_ Marcus answered. " _They squared off in a little bomb shelter-like place up in the north east, 'round the farms. You'll know it when ya see it, but it's a little ways off the big dirt road up there."_

' _Ah, yeah, the dirt road where those random teens tried to rape me.'_ Sendai remembered it. ' _...That's gonna be fun in all this rain. Man.'_

At this point, she was sort of thankful for the rain- or, she at least tried to be. ' _At least all this mud'll wash off, in the next like, thirty minutes. Or, two hours. The worst of it's probably not gonna just get drizzled out, but whatever. Fucking-... cold...'_ She was soaked to the bone.

"...Bo- bomb shelter?" Sendai wondered, stuttering from the cold. It wasn't a term she heard often, but… "Huh."

"We're just about in the right neighborhood." Mokou began to walk. "That road's not too far from where we ended up."

' _...After we got rid of those bunnies, we pretty much crossed east main and meandered up here, since we didn't really know where to go next. Lucky that it's actually in this area.'_

The rain wasn't as intense as it was a few moments ago, but it was still raining. ' _At least I'm sure as hell getting some temperature conditioning in. Getting zapped like that in the village of all places really sucked. And now all of me is soaked to the bone, too.'_

"Ha~h." She let out a breath. "I… didn't start- today thinkin'... I'd be walkin' around in a rainstorm…"

"Should be almost over." Mokou noted. "That guy's probably nowhere near as bad as them rabbits."

Sendai didn't fully agree. "Unless... they're nesting at the place he's hiding out at. We might have a lot more to deal with than him."

...Mokou would've shrugged, if it meant anything in the darkness and rain. "We could just torch the place."

"...I'm pretty sure Keine wants everyone alive-... for now." Sendai worried, about that idea. "Fu- fuck, it's cold…"

"...It'd get 'em ta scatter, at least." Mokou defended it. "Also…"

 _fwoom._ She held up her hand, making a fire. Bringing this arm closer to Sendai, she turned up the heat, the small flame changing colors as it rapidly grew in condensed power…

Sendai shuddered in pleasure immediately. "Ho- holy shit. I didn't even think 'a that, but-... thanks."

"Don't need ya to drop on me, now." Mokou gave her a plain look. "Gonna be honest, you look like hell."

"I figured." Sendai smiled back.

Like this, they walked ahead, coming up to the road they needed to be on from the side, instead of from main street north.

Sendai had her hands up, warming up from Mokou's palm flare while they went. ' _...This feels kind of ridiculous, which just makes it better.'_

Also, the dirt road they found was very, very washed out. ' _Hurra~y. Mud.'_

"I'm gonna break his arms, when we find him." Reminded of Dieter again, Sendai made a decision. "All this shit, 'cause of him. I know he's a puppet for something else, at this point, but this was all made known 'cause of him."

"Yeah. It happens." Mokou continued forward plainly, not able to contribute much...

' _What was his plan with the kids from the school, anyway? Sex trade? Hmm…'_ She thought to the boys who'd tried to jump her with him, earlier. ' _...Maybe. But then, that'd all tie into the guard-... is he part of the guard, then? The guard wants to harass shrine maidens, Dieter wanted to capture shrine maidens and kids- to capture shrine maidens with- and these people who order Dieter around-... want to capture shrine maidens? Do they? Fuck me.'_

' _Wait.'_ She might've figured it out. ' _...Dieter works for all the assholes, but the assholes all have their own agendas. He just gets paid to do their dirty work, probably even among others. Aah. Now that makes sense. Wouldn't be surprised if the kids are for more than one thing, too.'_

' _Going by what that Iwayama guard captain dick wants, he also wants his own personal strikeforce. Probably so he doesn't have to go through idiots like Dieter anymore.'_

"Here." Mokou began to walk off-road. "I see what Kirisame talked about."

After some moments, they stopped outside a rectangular one-story home, fit only with grey brick. The roof was rounded to allow water to roll off of it, but it was otherwise unassuming and forgettable.

It had little for windows, aside from on the very front, and it looked like furniture was arranged on the flat of the slightly rounded roof. ' _...Nice shoebox.'_

Marcus began listing details, so that they'd know what they were looking for. " _It's one story tall, grey, an' has no windows 'cept fer the front. I guess I should say it has two windows!"_

"We found it." Mokou quickly silenced him. "...That outsider guy's shacked up just ahead of us, miko."

"Mmm." Sendai nodded, at that. "I'm about to make good on this shit, Keine. Here's hoping the chucklefucks stop harassing your school so much, after this."

"Since it goes further than that dick, probably not." Mokou shook her head. "...They seem more concerned with _you_ , so as long as you're in town, it might not be so bad."

' _...Why?'_ It sort of confused Sendai. ' _Are they really that concerned about me, already? I mean… they should be, but, it seems like making me a target is even worse. Provided-... that stun gun really did a number on me.'_

"C'mere." Mokou moved for the one window the place had. It was metal, made of tightly packed bars, with small slots between them. "Shh." She motioned to Sendai to be quiet.

"Didn't hafta tell _me_ that." Sendai smiled, a little. "...Marc, Keine, quiet, we're gonna listen in."

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

The inside of the building was about as worn out and dreary as the outside.

Around the window, Sendai and Mokou made themselves tiny, just their eyes peering over the window's edge for a moment, before they slipped under the cusp of it again.

In the center, a very rough looking wood table sat there, and a dim ceiling light hung from a chain, lighting up the table there.

" _Woo~..."_ Dieter reclined in a chair, sitting along the right side of the room. "Hit me~! I can't believe ya just busted me outta _fuckin'_ jail!"

...The cyan-clad shrine maiden sat on the table's left. Now that Sendai could get a look at her from another angle, she made new observations. ' _Her hair's really neat and round, not going past her neck at all. It flares really weirdly at her cheeks, for some reason.'_

There were two people at the back of the table. One was a blonde lunar bunny, who smiled in her seat. "'Cause yer _useful_ , silly~."

The other was a six foot tall man, his hair messy, brown and long, stretching way down his back. Two curly horns came from his head, coming from somewhere within his hair. "This is taking longer than usual." His arms were folded. "If you'd told me she'd take _this_ long to be captured, I'd have asked for a different maiden."

...He looked at the short-haired, cyan-clad girl. "Maybe _her._ "

"Kessho-chan's not fer sale." The blonde bunny smiled at him. "Again, I apologize, Orato-kun. I hadn't expected that Fujiwara would be interfering, tonight."

"...Hmm." Orato searched the ceiling with his brown eyes for a moment, before smiling at her. "You know… she'd _also_ make an interesting addition, that Fujiwara. Too bad that'd raise too many questions. Mmm..." He leaned back in his seat. "Why must I choose? I ought to throw more money at you girls."

"Ehehehe." The blonde bunny rolled her eyes. "You'd do us more favors if ya actually went and got us supply caches yerself, big boy."

...Orato frowned. "I'm a _host,_ not a warlord."

 _shoof, shoof._ "So~..." Scooting his chair closer, Dieter grinned at the people there. "Orato guy. How much you payin' for this, uuh, what's her face…?"

"Tsuruko Aoyama." Orato beamed at him, and held a fist forward. "She will be my next pet. And the bunnies here _almost_ had her. Of course, _something_ had to get in the way."

"...Why her?" Kessho, the cyan-clad maiden, spoke up. Shyly, she brushed lingering dried mud off her pants...

...Orato smiled at her. "Mmm? Why her, huh? That's a hard question."

His arms rested on the table, as he did his best at looking regal. "Her body is top-notch. Her hair looks nice, her breasts are big, and difficult women like her are the _best_ to see obedient. She's top dollar. And…" He gave Kessho a wink. "The boss asked me. She's becoming a problem. Aren't you evidence enough?"

"...Ho- how?" Kessho asked. "She's-... nice."

"Look around you." Orato advised her.

...So, Kessho looked around.

"Not _literally."_ He smirked. "...Precious. Anyway- I mean-... her impact. She was the first step in consolidating the village's irrelevant Shinto offshoots. That's none of my business. But, she continued. She's groomed you girls, for a reason. It's so you'd be out of _her_ way. She's not allowed to progress so far ahead, so the boss says. And… what better way to fulfill her wishes, than to make her another dutiful wife of mine? After all..."

He folded his arms again, now smug. "It is _because_ of her, that I have my present girlfriends. She'd be perfect to help me expand."

"Y'kno~w." The blonde bunny pursed her lips, at him. "Don't you ever get tired, of having so many chicks? You got like, three now…"

He shook his head. "Ha~h? I'm a _king_. I deserve what I pay for. I treat my women well, too. I think I'll stop-... at around seven, or eight. They'll be my retainers. Ri~ght?"

...She shrugged. "Sure!"

' _What in the fuck.'_ Sendai felt her body re-energize, as she listened to this… ' _Man, my list of people who need to be punched just keeps growing.'_

"Hey." Mokou poked Sendai's side. "I'm itchin' to jump in, here. You?"

"...You look and see if there's a back entrance they might go for." Sendai decided. "I'll bust down the door and make it seemed like you hung behind so I could pursue. If they try to leave, they go straight to you."

...Mokou nodded. "Alright. If things get hairy in there, I'm comin' in."

With that, she moved, walking to get behind the grey house.

' _Alright…'_

Taking in a breath, Sendai walked under the window, towards the front door, before stepping away from the small stone 'porch' it had.

' _Let's open this door up.'_ Sendai remembered something she liked to do…

Moving further back, she took out the new Chronicle of Gensokyo. ' _Al~right. Now…'_ Her holy energy within her body began to pulse, as she drew her mana in general further out, making it active despite the cold of the evening. ' _Let's get warmed up again.'_

Striking a pose, she tossed the book up into the air. _"Holy Spark!"_ Her magic flashed from within, a prismatic aura coating her skin.

 _Fwa~sh!_ The Chronicle she cast into the air split into nine, which revolved around a center point, expanding into the air behind her.

 _FWISHING!_ Between each copy, lines were drawn. An octagram hung in the air over Sendai, framed by a circle, which her pose pointed to.

 _VRRRRRRRR~!_ Then, the magic initialized. The beam roared into the top half of the door, and the roof of the stout, square building. Light flooded the nearby village, the rain and starlight-accented darkness becoming a vibrant lightshow of reflected colors.

 _KABOOM!_ The door exploded open, the rush of rainbow energy into it turning it into a fierce projectile.

 _BAM!_ It hit the table inside.

" _Gfuu- uuh…!?"_ Orato's jaw hung, as the table was rammed into his muscular midsection.

" _Hnu- uugh…"_ The blonde bunny got her gut crushed, too.

" _Hwuaoh!?"_ Dieter leapt back up from his chair. "Aa- _Master Spark!?_ Oh, shit!"

"Aaa-...!" Kessho sprang back from her own chair, before crouching, holding her arms over her head. "Nn- no, no, _no…!"_

 _VRRRRR- rrrr- rrr…_ Slowly, the power of the massive rainbow beam began to taper off, before it abruptly flickered out into nothing.

...Standing from a kneeling posture, Sendai took another breath, before moving forward. ' _Al- alright. Now to clean up…'_ It took her a moment to be able to see in the regular darkness, again.

Through the darkness of the rain and the outdoors, Sendai stomped into the small, stone hideout.

Orato and the blonde bunny were pinned against the wall by the table, gritting their teeth together, as they glared up at Sendai.

"I'm here to finish this." Raising her voice, Sendai talked down to them. "I may have come alone, but I'll be taking you all to jail!"

' _If I spook them, they shouldn't question why it's just me.'_

"Hh-..." Orato's brows twitched. "How…!?"

"What the _fuck!"_ Dieter pointed at her. "Ho- how in the _fuck'd_ you get here…!?"

"Mokou stayed behind." Sendai grinned at them. "So, I kept up with you."

"Bu- but…!?" The blonde bunny shut her eyes. Then, she faced Kessho. " _You!_ You told her!"

"Wh- I didn't…!?" Kessho looked fearful. "I don't know who she _is!"_

 _Shoof._ Orato pushed the rough table away from himself, and stood. "You _idiot._ That's Tsuruko Aoyama. There's no doubt in my mind."

He was dressed in a black suit, similar to the bunnies Sendai saw earlier. ' _Does he fight like them…?'_

"...Ye- yeah!" Dieter agreed, for some reason. "That uh, no good Tsuruko!"

' _...If that's what they want to believe.'_ Sendai wasn't sure what this was all about. ' _Who the hell's Tsuruko. Do they mean my name? My last name's definitely not Aoyama. Unless, they just gave me one, or something.'_

"What'll it be, then?" Sendai cracked her knuckles. "I'm ready to fucking take you all out."

...Orato's smile spread across his face. "Ooh? That makes this easy."

 _RI- RIIP, RIP._ Reaching up along himself, he began to tear his suit off with his bare hands, the fabric coming undone unevenly down the middle.

 _RIP!_ With a final pull, he'd de-shirted himself. His relatively muscled body stood tall, as he glared ahead playfully at Sendai. "This'll be just like my old job at Golden Grin."

Sendai snorted. "...What was that?"

"I stood on the third floor of the obstacle course." His arms were positioned rigidly at his sides. "Very few women got past _me."_

' _...He's a youkai.'_ Sendai reached for her sleeves. ' _So, talismans will make this quick.'_

Dieter stood beside him for a moment, before stepping back…

Orato noticed. "You two, go. I'll take care of the kitten standing before me."

"Aye aye, sir!" Dieter gave him a big grin, moving for the back of the room.

 _Beep!_ The blonde bunny pressed a button on a remote she carried. "Let's get the hell outta here!"

 _Shoo~f._ As the back door opened, and the cyan-clad Kessho watched everyone, Orato beckoned Sendai.

"Come into my arms, and feel the pleasure of servicing _me._ "

-+- _Vs. Orato, Golden Grin Pleasure Specialist, Gold-tier Host, Former Obstacle Course Junior Director -+-_

...Sendai flicked an arm forward.

 _FWA- FWA- FWAP!_ Three talismans met his rigid abs.

 _FZZT- KRA- KRACK!_ Immediately, the light power bloomed out from them, coursing through Orato's entire body like lightning. " _Hgh- rrgh-... ga~h!"_ Standing rigidly in place, he yelled, trying to take it all…

 _FWA- FWA- FWAP!_ Sendai chucked three more at him, with her other arm.

 _FWA- FWASH- FZZT- FZZRRZT!_ His body became a raging, holy storm of energy. " _Hh- aa…"_ His eyes wide, he dropped onto his knees. "Hh- how…"

 _Thud._ Dropping onto his stomach, he began crawling. "Mm-... _my-..."_

 _Cla- clack._ Sendai flicked the broken zap gun from her pockets, and began to grin. ' _Alright…'_

Kneeling down, she held the trigger, and rammed it into the back of his neck.

 _KZZT- ZAA~P! ZAP- ZAP ZAP!_ His body adopted the plank position, as he jittered on the floor. " _Gh- gegeg- ebubububhuh…!"_

 _KABAM!_ The gun exploded in Sendai's hands, giving her a single, brief jolt. "Ah- ow…!" She shook her hand about, heart racing…

" _Uuh-..."_ Orato was in no condition to do anything. " _Nngh…"_

 _Sendai broke Broken Zap Pistol! Nothing was salvaged..._

' _You know, even the mediocre kinds of youkai from my era could keep going hours, with tens of hundreds of seals slapped on them. That was kinda pathetic.'_

"Aa- ah…" The blonde bunny's eyes were wide, as she stood before the open back wall. "Ho- how… Orato!?"

" _Ouh."_ Orato acknowledged that he heard her, if only vaguely.

With the brick back wall open to the wet outside, Mokou was there, her hands in her pockets. "Hey."

Snapping to face her, Dieter seethed. "Fuckin'...! The _fuck_ is yer _problem,_ bitch girl!? Dieter's tryin'a take a damn _vacation,_ here!"

 _Beep!_ Panicking, the blonde bunny pressed another button on her remote. "I- I can't believe I've gotta waste these, but…!"

 _CLACK, CLACK, CLACK, CLACK._ Around the whole room, four metal doors dropped into the floor. They were lining the side walls of the small room, leading to very tiny offshoot rooms.

Still terrified, she held up her remote, talking into it. "The whole operation's _bust!_ We've been routed! Station H-four lost!"

"It's bust, alright." Sendai stomped towards her. "I'm gonna kick your ass."

Mokou stepped towards Dieter, and he stepped back into the room, holding his arms up. "Hey- hey, look…! _Yo!"_ He brought a stack of yen bills out of his pocket, waving it around. "Check it out, girl! I just got _paid!"_

 _fwish._ When he looked down, the yen was on fire. "Wh- _ah! Ff- fuck!"_

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ The stack exploded when Mokou landed her boot with it, thrusting a kick into it, spreading the flaming cash everywhere.

"Diete~r…" Mokou glared at him, but began to smile as she stepped closer. "Don't make me kick your ass, kid. It's time to make you own up to your shitty actions."

...Dieter glared back at her in turn. "Rrgh-...! Why you-... why d'you always gotta _shit on Dieter, hu~h!?_ "

"Why d' _you_ have to have such a thick damn head?" Mokou countered. "...Whatever. Either way, you're too far gone now."

...Adjusting his new pair of sunglasses- to replace the ones shattered earlier today- he sneered involuntarily this time. "Too-... far _gone?_ Yer just makin up _shit-_ t'write me off yer _list-..._ "

Mokou snorted. "List?"

"Lemme get this straight." He held his arms tight at his sides. "I'm in yer way, aren't I?"

"...Yeah." Mokou wasn't sure where he was going with this. "I'm not stupid enough to let you go fucking around with Keine."

"An', what's that get _you?"_ Dieter grinded his teeth… "What!? You into them little shits!? She got some money I don't _know_ about!?"

"...What." Mokou let her brows raise, for only a moment, before lowering them again. "You-... _no._ That's not what our fucking relationship's about at all."

"Hah!" Dieter tilted his head back, his sneer more confident now. "Get _real._ "

...After another brief pause, Mokou began to glare again. "I'm immortal. In my _thousand years_ , I've already settled on a life I'm comfortable enough with living. The kinda shit _you_ call important- if it's money or status- ain't worth anything to me."

...Fidgeting around, Dieter let his gaze meet the ground. "Like I'd trust a shitty story like _that._ Look, honey- we can toss lame poetry around all day, but if ya don't got _green_ t'show me, yer as much of a faker as anyone else in this room. We all want tha' green, an' we all wanna feel good. Obviously- you just gotta different dumb road to that than er'ryone else."

"This isn't even the point." Mokou's body began to glow, her red energy ebbing out from her skin. "If you wanted me to kick your ass so bad, you should've just said so."

...Everyone watched their exchange, except for Orato. Sendai didn't pay total attention to the trapped bunny girl, or the miko, since they seemed too frightened to move from their spots.

Dieter's black boot slid against the stone floor, his body posturing to bolt.

Mokou's eyes snapped wider, amber light shining from them. " _Kid-"_

 _FWISH!_ An orange afterimage was left where Dieter stood, as he bolted to the side, towards the front door.

 _WHABAM!_ Mokou's burning leg met the stone wall when it went for him, boot against the rock.

Sendai reached out to grab him, as he neared her. ' _Oh- like hell-'_

 _Fwi- fwish!_ He dodged behind Sendai in two bounds, darting past her form entirely, leaving him trapped on the other half of the room.

Mokou was already at Sendai's side, stepping off of Orato's body like a stepping stone. "You _really_ don't wanna make me chase you down. I've got all the _free time_ in the world, and I _won't stop._ "

Backed into a corner near the open side doors, he gritted his teeth, pressure clear on his face. Facing one of the doors, he gave it a frown, before settling for the corner. "Fu- fuckin'..."

Then, things began to stir from within each quadrant room. Sendai finally paid attention to the four open doors around the room. ' _There's something in them…'_

" _Aah…"_ Soft moans began to emanate into the main room.

"So- so-... _wet…"_

"Mistress…?"

"Where are you, mistress…?"

' _What-... the hell.'_ Sendai listened to the voices, her gaze hardening. ' _Uh…?'_

The sounds of bare feet against the cold stone floor became known. From each door, out came a woman.

Their eyes were wide, with inhuman, technicolor pupils. They were with skin of milky white, scantily clad in garbs of red and black silk.

Sendai looked around, taking in the generous amount of skin showing on each pale-as-snow woman. ' _What's been going on, around here…!? Are these the youkai who've nested here?'_

"Oh- _ah…!"_ Kessho, the cyan-white shrine maiden, doubled into the center of the room, with Mokou and Sendai. " _No!_ Wh- what've you _done!?"_

"I let them be _free!"_ The blonde bunny girl yelped, still pinned against the wall by that rough wood table. "We lost our base here anyway- so what's the _point!?_ I'm gonna _die!_ Ngh-...! _"_ She began to tear up, while she was stuck there. " _Nn- nnh…"_

"Oo~h, look at her…!" The one with cyan eyes pointed at Sendai. "She's so _pretty!"_

"She-... is _one of us."_ The pink-eyed, black-haired woman felt her own heart throb, taken by Sendai's similarity to all four of them. "Pretty…" They all had black hair.

" _Sexy…"_ A green-eyed woman began to leer, her green nails visible as she felt at the air.

" _Slutty…"_ One with yellow eyes licked her lips. "You _know_ she's here for a reason. We wouldn't be let out of our homes, for any other."

" _Mmm~."_ The cyan-eyed one locked her fingers together, beaming. "Ooh! I know… let's warm her up, by massaging her che~st!"

"Who-..." Sendai stared into one odd woman's cyan eyes, who had slinked out and simply ignored the cowering Dieter. "Who the hell're you?"

She felt at her own cleavage, for a moment. "Why-... we're your new _sisters._ And-... we're going to have a lot of fun, together."

" _Hehehe~..."_ The other girls giggled, stalking closer.

Mokou took Sendai's back. "Hey. Try not to let the guy get out."

"Aah…" Raising her fists, Sendai glared down the numerous busty, black-haired women uncertainly. "I'll do my best."

-+- _Vs. Elite Prostitutes -+-_

"Hehehe!"

"What's your _name…?"_

"We should call her Eliza. I knew an outsider named Eliza, once... _"_

"I think it'd be hot if we just called her _new girl."_

"He- hey…" Dieter spoke up. The cyan-eyed woman before him turned around, her bare feet pivoting on the stone. "We're like-... on the same side here- right?"

"...No?" She pursed her lips at him. "We'll drain you dry when we're _done_ here."

Sendai stood rigidly, her arms folded towards either arm sleeve, ready to maul the obscene women with ofuda. ' _More youkai, huh. No sudden movements, now…'_

Kessho hid under the table, while the blonde bunny sobbed, resigned to her fate.

"So. What's _your_ deals?" Mokou questioned them idly, a leg already held up, ready to lash out at one of them.

"...Hmm. I dunno~." The pink-eyed one leaned to the side lazily… "Pets, I think!"

"Mistress's _pets…"_

The yellow-eyed one came up to Sendai, hands outstretched and ready to feel her. "My-... you really _are_ a perfect-"

 _FWAFWAFWAP- FWAFWAFWAP!_ Sendai unleashed a six talisman spread of ofuda forward once the curvy woman was in range, every toss landing in nearly an instant.

 _KRACK- FWISH- FZZT- FZZRZT!_ The yellow-eyed woman's arms and legs splayed out, as she fell over. " _Hgh- haa~nh!"_ Her whole form became aglow with holy energy, which shook her to her core.

' _They're youkai, then.'_ Sendai centered her gaze on the cyan-eyed one. ' _Infiltration types; if I can land a single talisman on each, we won't be having problems.'_

" _Kumiya!"_ The cyan-eyed one squealed. "Aah…!" Then, she glared up at Sendai.

 _FWI- FWI- FWISH!_ Sendai lobbed another three-ofuda spread at her in a moment, but the cyan-eyed woman slid aside them.

 _Sla- sla- slap!_ They hit Dieter in the chest, and he was slammed back into the corner behind himself. " _Nngh…"_ He wasn't who Sendai meant to hit, but it worked out well enough.

The cyan-eyed girl's body flared with azure energy, as she stomped up. "I won't _let you-_ hurt my-"

 _WHACRACK!_ Behind Sendai, Mokou plunged her leg into a green-eyed girl's stomach. " _Oou~gh…!"_

 _Whunk!_ Before Sendai could act, the cyan-eyed girl plunged an arm into her stomach. " _Nh- ah-"_

 _Whack!_ She met Sendai's cheek with a surprisingly fierce hook, leaving her reeling a little. ' _Wh- what-'_

 _Pap!_ Bringing her arms up, Sendai stopped another thrusting hook from meeting her stomach-

 _PAP!_ The girl thrust her knee up, trying to break Sendai's guard, and not succeeding. ' _This string of attacks…'_ It was almost identical to the way Sendai favored a basic string of attacks.

"Yer not gonna _wi~n!"_ The cyan-eyed girl brought the arm opposite of her knee strike back, building up magic in it for an overhead thrust. Azure energy billowed from it, and her sudden, raw desire to simply persevere.

 _Fwish!_ Sendai was able to slide to her side, out of the range of it. Once aside the girl, Sendai stopped on a dime, rolling all her momentum from dodging into a right-armed hook.

 _WHUNK!_ She thrust it into the cyan-eyed girl's side. " _Unh!"_ The girl shut her eyes from the impact of Sendai's arm, turning around with her guard up almost like Sendai herself would-

 _Fwap._ Except, Sendai was able to lunge a palm straight forward, planting a single talisman gently onto her forehead.

 _Fzzt- FWASH- Fzzt- zap!_ The girl's body was enraptured by the light show of white, dancing sparks, leaving her stumbling, and nearly too weak to stand. " _Nngh- hh-... haa~nh…"_

 _WHAKRACK!_ Mokou thrust a leg forward, sending the same green-eyed, hime-cut girl rebounding off the same wall again. " _Ngh- huu-"_

 _WHAKRACK!_ Spinning around, Mokou did it again. " _Haa- nhu-"_

 _WHAKRACK!_ It was an unending cycle of violence, more blood gradually being upchucked from the green-eyed girl's mouth with each full-boot impact.

As Mokou did this however, she ignored the pink-eyed girl who ran towards her. " _Leave Kumiya alo~ne!"_ Her arm glowed blue-white with raw energy, as she thrust a hook towards the back of Mokou's head. " _Hra~h!"_

 _PAP!_ Mokou had frozen, turning almost fast enough to see the full-armed fist meant to blow her over.

"Nnh-..." Sendai let out a grunt, from the sudden, clumsy movement she'd taken to grab onto the fist. Before the blow connected with Mokou, she'd stopped it by grabbing onto it.

"Wh-... huh?" The pink-eyed girl blinked, her eyes meeting Sendai's strained expression.

' _Alright…!'_ Letting go of the girl's fist, Sendai whipped her arm back, then hooked it forward before she could retaliate-

 _WHABAM!_ Both her and Mokou had the same idea, both fists meeting the girl in both eyes. " _Hgh- ow- ow- agh- fuck…!"_ She flailed back, feeling at her face. Her back met the wall, and she slid onto her butt. " _Nnn…"_

"Hell yeah!" Mokou rammed her fist into her own palm, and loudly cracked her knuckles. "Let's fuckin' bring it to them!"

...When she'd turned to the green-eyed girl again, she was on the floor, a blood puddle expanding from her as she lied face-down. "...Ah."

...Slowly, Sendai looked around.

' _...That looks like everything.'_ All the black-haired, multicolored-eye youkai girls were defeated.

 _Sendai learned Endured III!_

 _Obtained 150,660 Yen._

 _Obtained pocket lint._

 _Obtained Roofie Collection._

...Sendai looked around again. "Wait. _Fuck."_ Dieter was gone. "That motherfucker."

"...It's whatever." Mokou decided. "If this was his only place to go... then all he's doin' now is pissin' about in the alleys, or gettin' outta town. Either way, his ass is grass. We've got a scry on him, so there's not much he can do."

Marcus spoke up, over the sound stone. " _Looks like we'll be tearin' down some other hideout, next time!"_

...At that, Sendai blinked in realization. ' _...That huge dumbass could potentially accidentally lead us to the entire village underground without realizing it, and knowing him, he won't even consider it his problem.'_

"...Huh." Mokou also didn't seem like she thought of that. "That's _true._ "

"If you think about it…" Sendai began to communicate her own thinking. "There's only _so many_ places he could run to, without leaving the village entirely. At that point, I don't think just running away would work on the local youkai."

"...I was just kinda centered on gettin' this shit over with." Mokou admitted. "That guy pisses me off. But-..."

" _Um…"_ Keine reluctantly spoke over the sound stone. " _...I- I mean-... I'm already guilty, that you're all out doing this, almost for me-... but, if you can track him down for us, and deal with the next location, if it's important… I'd really appreciate it. This might stretch beyond what I immediately need to keep my students safe-... but, any form of organized crime like this inherently makes the village a worse place to live."_

...Sendai began to smile. ' _If he leads us to the people spearheading this shit, we'll be able to kill two birds with one stone. Even if not, if we keep hunting him down, it'll send a message. A message that the human village isn't to be fucked with anymore. Law's back in town.'_

After thinking it over, she nodded. ' _So, this was actually a big win, tonight. We pushed back some fuckhead youkai, and we shook up a shitty deal room. Give us another evening, and we'll probably be hitting a fucking base, or something. Maybe. Hmm.'_

"No problem." Sendai agreed to the search. "We've got the ground covered. Anything legal's up to you." Sendai simply wanted to punch paperwork, because it seemed pointless to her. She knew it had a place, but...

" _That's why I'm here."_ Keine remarked. " _I'm still in the council, remember? If we move fast enough, we could shake things up enough for me to start using what I know. We could make a huge change, Tsukiko, Mokou."_

...Mokou cracked her neck, a little. "Mmh. I've been itchin' fer some fights recently, anyway. Big miko here ain't bad company, either."

Sendai took a deep breath. "...Alright." She glared out the front door. "Keine. Where's he heading, now?"

" _...You don't have to chase him tonight, however."_ Keine relented. " _Right now-... no one's reached out to him, so he's just running around aimlessly. Guard activity is pretty alive right now, 'cause of everything… and Iwayama wasn't going to step in, with how much momentum I built up regarding this. I think he's going to just bum it out for the night, and start moving once it's quieter."_

' _...Huh.'_ Sendai was sort of raring to go now, but… ' _I am pretty cold, and tired.'_ When she checked herself, she did feel worn.

"...Aa- alright." Sendai nodded. "...Before we head back, me and Mokou're just gonna… ask a few questions, here. We got some suspect people." She turned back to the cyan-white shrine maiden named Kessho, the blonde bunny, and the women with the multi-colored eyes.

" _...Aa- aah. Right-... I'd forgotten, in the moment. Yes, please, gather all you can."_ Keine requested. " _When you get back, I'll make you another dinner, if you want it…"_

' _Keine really is too kind.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

"Alright." Sendai had her arms on her hips, as she peered down at the table.

...The bleeding, green-eyed woman was lazily propped into a chair, her stare still semi-vacant. " _Kh-... kaugh-..."_

The pink-eyed woman now had two black eyes, frowning, with her legs balled up to her chest.

The other women were propped against the wall, limbs twitching due to the Hakurei seals applied to their body.

The blonde bunny kneeled before Sendai and Mokou, and Kessho sat on the table, her eyes closed. Next to her was a box of drugs, one which Sendai had accrued from one of the cells the matching women resided in.

...Mokou gave Sendai a plain look. "What would you even _ask_ them. They all look pretty useless, to me."

Immediately, Kessho pouted at her. "Aa-... are you an idiot?"

"And I suppose a smart person would insult someone who just beat the shit out of them." Mokou stepped closer to her, looking menacing.

Kessho leaned back, a little. "Aa-..." Then, she shut her eyes, as if bracing for something.

"...What're you doing." Sendai felt the urge to ask, after she remained tensed for a few seconds more.

...She blinked up at Sendai, still tense. "...You- you aren't-... you're not gonna hit me?"

"Not unless you provoke us." Sendai decided. "...Are we really that intimidating."

...Kessho frowned. "We- well-... you- just reminded me, of someone. She used to hit me, a lot. So-... um..."

"What're you doing here?" Smoothly, Sendai segued into a line of questioning. "Like, do you work for these people? What do you do?"

...Kessho slouched now, finally relaxing. "Mm-... I'm-... _recon._ I'm a detective. I um, had to help break that guy out-... of _prison._ I- I don't normally do that sort of thing."

' _A detective…?'_ Sendai felt that was extremely ironic… and also, worth doubting somewhat. ' _What the fuck.'_

"What do you normally do, then?" Sendai continued to interrogate the 'detective'.

"...I um, stalk, and do research-... we- well, _stalk's_ not the right word- I find out stuff about shrine maidens." She stated what she knew, fidgeting her legs. "People keep me safe, and-... give me purpose, by asking me to watch girls, and tell them things they want to know."

...Sendai gave her a half-smile. "Who'm I, then?"

"Tsukiko Hakurei." Kessho answered. "Revived mother of Reimu Hakurei, with a dubious amount of physical and magical power. The moment you arrived in town, the underground came alive with talk. Matters of faith, even the more insignificant village ones, are important to those who run our town, both sides of it. A powerful figure like you just appearing is reason enough for interest."

...Taking a breath, and looking away for a moment, she met Sendai's gaze again. "You're referenced often at Golden Grin, and Heaven Springs. Even before you arrived into town, I was told to follow leads of your name, tracing back to about one week ago. I couldn't learn anything more than what books said, until you walked in."

...Once the girl quieted down, Sendai continued this line of information. "Am-... am I a _big_ topic? Do I have anything to do with why you're here?"

Kessho nodded. "Ye- yeah. Um-... tonight was one of a few operations centered on you. People wanted me to be here."

"Wa- wait…" The blonde bunny turned to Kessho, looking up from the floor. "More-... more people are after her? I- I know she's worth a lot- but… even our intercoms never got much traffic on her. We figured she's easy picking…"

Kessho nodded. "Yeah. We- well-... people are _really_ trying. They're trying a lot harder than they are with other village shrine maidens. Not-... not to be mean, but they wouldn't tell someone like you what's going on."

Sendai leaned towards Kessho. "Can you tell me what the _exact_ idea was, tonight? What the _actual_ idea of this 'operation' was?"

...Kessho turned away. "I-... I don't know if I _should._ No one told me I couldn't-... but, if I say too much-..."

Mokou leaned in next to Sendai, leaning onto her shoulder. "We say you _should._ Y'know, or else."

...That was reason enough, for Kessho. "Um. Well-... that um, Dieter guy- he was kinda supposed to capture Tsukiko. But, when that fell through, the backup plan was to have him lure Tsukiko into getting captured by the renegade forces. If she wasn't captured during the pre-phase or phase A, or phase B, she was supposed to be captured here, by um…" She gestured to the blonde bunny. "...No one expected Fujiwara."

"...Huh." Mokou had a brow raised. "Any reason on _that?_ On forgettin' me, I mean. _"_

...Kessho looked unsure. "Um… they just forgot?"

"Whose plan is this?" Sendai asked next.

Kessho shook her head. "...Higher-up management at Golden Grin, the village guard, Heaven Springs, among the Artificial Hakurei Project, and the town council in some private meetings. Not all of it is one person's idea, or entirely shared. It's, um… it's a mess. But, there's a lot of money on the line-... maybe like, hundreds of thousands of yen, or millions even."

Mokou folded her arms. "And how the hell do _you_ know all this."

...Kessho gave her a wayward stare. "...I'm-... quiet, and I do stuff for people. It keeps me from getting hurt. So-... I look for stuff, and people sometimes let me know stuff."

' _...I guess we shouldn't let our guard down around her. She might seem meek and depressing, but the way she puts it, she's awfully fast to switch sides the moment a passing breeze hits her.'_

"I'm only fifteen." Kessho spoke. "I can't imagine reviving, Tsukiko. How does it work?"

"Don't ask me." Sendai didn't really want to be counter-questioned. "...If we let you go, are you going to go tell everyone you can about what happened here?"

"...Yes." Kessho replied promptly.

"What if we kept you safe?" Mokou tried to bargain in a surprisingly passive manner. "We kick ass, after all."

Kessho's reply was odd. "...I wouldn't be able to keep going."

" _Kessho."_ Keine spoke up, through the sound stone. " _...Kessho Futagoza? It's me, Kamishirasawa. You weren't in class, yesterday. Or, the months before."_

...Kessho nodded, even if Keine couldn't see. She realized this after a moment, and had to verbalize herself. "Uu- um-... yeah. Sorry. I'm done with school."

"... _Look."_ Keine had an idea, however. "... _I can get you information that might interest you, if you trust us."_

"I have to be careful." Kessho stated plainly. "Someone is out to get me."

"... _Who?"_ Keine had to question. " _We can help you. Do you know who?"_

Kessho remained silent, staring out the stone house's front door.

" _Kessho-..."_ Keine took in a breath. " _If you know this much about people-... then, perhaps you know how I could help you."_

"I have to be careful, from now on." Kessho shook her head. "...Bu- but-..."

She let herself look down. "I- I-... I'll think about it. Please-... don't look down on me, for what I have to do. Thank you-... Kamishirasawa."

Then, she stood up. "...And-... I sh- should be going."

"Wait-... hold on." Mokou held out her arm. "...How're we just-... supposed to let you go, if you know you'll go blabbin' to the whole neighborhood 'bout this?"

"...I'll be careful, I think." She gave a very vague answer. "Um…"

"Can ya promise us _anything?"_ Mokou's expression began to sour. "At all? If not-... why should we let ya _walk away?"_

"I-... can still get you information." She told Mokou. "If you hurt me-... I- I won't say any more. I can't ma- make you trust me-... and you really shouldn't, but-..."

' _...Ugh.'_ Sendai rubbed her own forehead. ' _Between the cold, and this kid, I'm gettin' a headache.'_

This left them with a decision to make.

Mokou sighed. "Just-... stay here, 'till we leave. Then-... when we go ta Keine's you can follow us. No pullin' 'er punching required."

...It was a hard bargain, but at this idea, Kessho finally seemed to come around to it. "...Oo-... we- well-... that might be nice. But, I can't tell you anything useful from now on."

Sendai snorted. "Or, _what._ Who'll get you?"

"The- them." Kessho stated plainly. "...There's nothing any of you can do."

Next, Mokou snorted. "Bullshit. I can crack almost anything, if I throw myself at it enough."

...Kessho didn't say anything more. She simply settled for looking displaced, and somewhat somber, or tired.

' _...So weird. I take it she's a village shrine maiden too, then. What the hell kinda color scheme is cyan and white, though...'_

She decided to give Kessho a break. ' _Tha~t's enough of that kid.'_

This left the matching women, and the blonde bunny. ' _...Let's find out about these new youkai in town.'_

"Hey." Sendai snapped her fingers before the blonde bunny's eyes. "You. What's yer name."

"...Seka Gamo." She responded promptly. "...Wh- what's up. Am-... are you gonna kill me?"

"Not necessarily." Sendai left the option on the table, even if she probably wasn't gonna go through with it on principle. "Depends on how you talk. What was this night about, for you? Why were you trying to capture and sell someone?"

"...We-..." Seka found it hard to respond. "...We~... we were told-... that you-... were a _bad guy-"_

"The renegade lunar rabbit faction within the village operates on a per-need basis." Kessho droned out what she knew, almost automatically just from hearing the question. "Tonight's operation was centered on capturing Tsuruko Aoyama, but it was understood that Tsukiko would be mistaken for her, and would be captured instead."

...Mokou gave her a flat look. "I thought you said 'no more tips'."

...Kessho held her hands to her mouth. "Mmph. Sh- shutting up, now…"

' _So, I was supposed to get jumped tonight after all. And, by per-need basis, she must mean…'_

"Your-... _team_ is hurting for money, then." Sendai assumed, looking over Seka. "Yeah?"

Looking absolutely drained, Seka gave little nods. "Ba- basically, yeah…"

' _So, they wanted to sell me for money. They need some. But, why? Also-... lunar rabbits?'_

"Why are they being referred to as, 'renegade forces'?" Sendai inquired first. "What do you need money for?"

...Seka smiled up at Sendai. "You-... really don't know? Um-..." After a moment of smiling wider, she continued. "...We- we come-... from an _evil kingdom-"_

"Shut the fuck up." Mokou didn't like the sounds of that answer. "No. They're renegades from Eientei, the clinic in the bamboo woods. You heard 'a that yet, miko?"

"Mmm." Sendai nodded back at her. "I was told they were scarily effective at medicine. They're also-... some kind of military power, aren't they?"

Mokou let her gaze flick up. "Yeah. They make guns and shields, and also drugs. Good fer a lot of things. They brought a bunch of bunnies down from the moon with them when they defected, and they made a bunch more too. I guess that makes chicks like _her..._ " She gestured ahead with her chin. "Defectors-... of defectors."

...At that, Sendai started to become satisfied. "Aah. So… they probably don't have access to the resources available there anymore. That's why they want supply caches, and cash. And-... they're willing to step on any human in their way." Her gaze centered on Seka. "Isn't that right?"

"Nn- no." Seka closed her eyes, and shook her head. "Li-... listen to me. We're just trying to get along, after we all left Eientei, for one reason or another. We don't _mean_ to hurt anyone."

" _Bu~llshit._ " Mokou shook her head lazily…

"Why were you trying to capture me, then?" Sendai wouldn't let herself be persuaded. "We listened in on your conversation before attacking. It sounded awfully like you were all just going to pawn me off for a price. If you were intelligent enough to plan for everything _but_ Mokou, you knew enough to figure that I wasn't just some random force of evil that needed to be stopped."

...Seka stuck by her story, frowning. "I-... that's all I know, I swear."

"Cut the _crap._ " Sendai demanded. "What do you need _money_ for?"

...Seka shook her head. "Foo- food? I don't know what you _want_ from me!"

"Probably so they can get metal an' start makin' their own guns. Tools an' schematics aren't worth shit without materials." Mokou made her own deduction. "...So, we basically know their motive. Better question is where they're shacked up, so we can just fuck 'em all up."

' _Hmm.'_ At this, Sendai began to shift her gaze. ' _Guess she's not good for much else, then.'_

 _Fwap._ A talisman met the blonde bunny's forehead. "Aa-..."

 _Fzzt- FWASH- Fzrt- Zap- Zap!_ The holy energy jolted through her, and she flopped onto her back, before the table. "Kh- nha-..."

...Sendai came up to the matching women with the colorful eyes. "Alright, girls. What's the story? Why the hell're you living in cages, eating-..." Sendai reached into the scummy plastic box she'd left on the table.

The pill she brought out was heart-shaped, looking like a tart. A note on the top of the plastic box read, 'to be chewed, replacement for normal food, water optional'.

"The hell're these." Sendai didn't even want to bring it close to her own face. The material was chalky, getting onto her fingers as she held it up.

"They're-..." The pink-eyed girl frowned up at her, looking sorrowful, and somewhat rueing. "They're our food. Please-... please, don't destroy it."

' _This doesn't look like food.'_ Sendai deduced, glaring at the tablet-shaped pill. ' _This doesn't look edible, period.'_

Since she was pressured to speak further, the pink-eyed girl chose words wisely. "We, um… we live here. Uu~m… Kumiya-chan knows more about who we used to be, than I do. But-... we stopped being human, some time ago."

"...Are you villagers?" Sendai asked casually. If they were, what this meant would be a lot less casual.

"...Some of us, I think?" She decided. "I know-... _I_ had a family, on the outside. Kumiya-chan, too. And-... Eliza, but we- I haven't seen her for _years_."

"How long've you all been cooped up in here?" Sendai wondered.

...Now smiling, the woman folded her legs, sitting upright. "Why-... the past five years, about. I was the first. This house-... was actually expanded, a little, to make room for my sisters. I-..." She looked at her mostly unconscious 'sisters'. "I do _love_ my sisters. Mistress Seka-... she lets us play, during the day, or when there isn't important business, for her to take care of."

...Sendai blinked, at that. ' _Five years.'_

"Mistress Seka, hu~h." Mokou smirked wryly, at that. "Doesn't wanna hurt anyone my _ass._ You girls ever seen the _fuckin' sun_ before?"

...The pink-eyed girl shook her head. "We-... we're not allowed to be in it, but we've seen it outside the windows. It's too bright-... and it burns our skin. Mistress said-... we're not strong enough, to walk around in it. But-... some day."

...Sendai stared at the sealed Seka. ' _...What a weasel. So, these lunar renegades are up to no good. I'm not even gonna question all this shit about the moon until we're done here. Seems unimportant compared to everything else.'_

"...Um." The woman caressed her own breasts, for a moment, before looking Sendai over again. "How'd-... how'd you resist mistress? What you did just now-..." She stared over at Seka again, who was now twitching absentmindedly on the floor. "I- I didn't think something like that, was possible."

"It's possible." Sendai supplied. "...I was the last Hakurei shrine maiden, if you know what that is. Our god has gifted me with the ability to repel youkai. This includes your mistress. Just because I look like you, and your-... _sisters,_ doesn't mean I'm meant for their fate."

"...Oo- oh." The girl blinked, at that. "...Ah."

' _...This is fucking weird.'_ Sendai didn't really like looking at them, for too long. ' _The fact they look kinda similar to me-... like, what the fuck. Why? Well-... their bodies look a lot smoother. They've obviously not put the time into training I have. But, the way they fight is too close to mine for comfort, even if I've only seen a little of it.'_

"Um-..." Then, the pink-eyed girl smiled up at Sendai. "Hey…" She began to stand, rubbing one of her black eyes.

Sendai immediately stepped back from her, tensing herself. "...Yeah?"

"Will you-... be our new mistress?" She leaned forward, giving Sendai a broad view of her chest. "We-... we won't let you down."

...Sendai shook her head. "Fuck no."

"But-...!" She propped her arms up next to her boobs, jutting them out in a different way. "Plea~se? You're so _strong!_ And-... and _I think_ you're kind, so-...!"

"...I'm not a fan of _enslaving people._ " Sendai remarked. "In fact, most normal people aren't. If you really want to get in my good graces, you and your sisters should all be your own people. Stop eating fucking sweet tarts for food, too. That's fucking mental."

The ideas were sort of hard for the girl to grasp. "...Be-... our own people? And-... that's- that's _good_ quality food. Mistress didn't need to eat-... but, we always wanted her to try some. You should try them, too."

Dropping the tablet she held, Sendai let it pitter against the floor before them.

"Aah!" The girl froze in delight, before dropping to her knees. "Tha- thank you-"

 _CRACK._ Sendai stomped on the tablet, grinding it into dust against the stone floor.

...The pink-eyed girl stopped at the muddy sandal. "...Mi- Mistress. Please-..."

"I'm not your fucking mistress." Sendai shook her head. "...That wasn't a dom-sub play thing, by the way. I mean I'm taking these shitty tarts and destroying them."

...Snapping into standing, the girl smiled, as she ended up face-to-face with Sendai. "But-... will you do that, if I-" She lunged forward for a kiss, her hands snapping to Sendai's chest.

 _Thud._ A single push from Sendai sent her back onto her butt, however. "Anh…!"

"I _mean…_ " Sendai leaned forward, over her. "Get your fucking act together. There's more to life than _sex_ -... and these stupid fuckin' _tarts._ You ever been in other clothing, even?"

...At that idea, the girl furrowed her brows. "I- I like my clothes. Don't-... look, mistress. Can you-... can you leave us-... here, with mistress Seka?"

' _...What the fu~ck.'_ She was starting to really frustrate Sendai. ' _I didn't think I was asking anything fucking impossible of her! Just the words 'be your own person' are too much for her! What the fuck!'_

...Foot steps began to be heard outside. Quickly, they grew in number, coming from both directions around the stone house.

Mokou moved back from one of the doors, having been observing the outside while Sendai struggled with her questioning. "Hey. Town guard finally caught up with us. You just about done here, or should I…"

...Sendai moved to the box of drugs, grabbing it. "I'm done here. Let's let the guard sort them out."

With that, she moved for the door, finished with this evening. In the door frame, she paused, giving the bleak room one last look, before stepping outside.

' _What a hopeless, soul-crushing room this is. I hope it gets torn down now.'_

...As she and Mokou meandered out, Kessho got up, moving behind them. They left behind the hollow husk of a one-story house.

Soon, once it was combed through, the story of its inhumane history would come to a close. It's not very likely that this unique situation could persist after something as huge as this.

"Mist-... mistress?" The pink-eyed girl shifted onto her knees, still seated inside. She awaited the mysteries ahead with blissful anticipation and wonder, but also a little fear. "Where-... mmh." She was trained not to leave the doors, so she refused to follow Sendai out.

She sat obediently, awaiting whatever would come next.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

 _Clack._ The door to Keine's house shut. The rain outside was weaker now, becoming a drizzle again.

"God-... _damn."_ Sendai rubbed the side of her own head. "What a fucking night, this was."

The house was well-lit, compared to the dim, open black and the dazzling starlight of the evening.

"...Yeah." Mokou let out a breath too, stumbling in behind her. "It was kind of an event."

"Maybe for you." Sendai grinned. "...For some reason-... I feel like I was out walking all of Gensokyo. Fucking patrol days."

...Inside, Keine stood beside the table, also next to Marcus. She smiled at the girls. "Welcome back, Tsukiko, Mokou. I'm almost done with the-... _second dinner._ So, don't go collapsing just yet."

 _Creak- creak, creak._ They flopped down onto the central couch together, Mokou and Sendai each taking one cushion. "Nngh…"

' _I wanna loaf out.'_ Sendai deflated in her seat…

Taking some idle steps back towards the kitchen, Keine stopped herself halfway there. "...Also, when you two go to bed, you can leave your clothes by your beds, if you feel like it. I'll wash them tonight, so you're ready to go tomorrow."

' _When the hell'd my friends become an effective team.'_ It felt really weird for Sendai, to feel like Keine was actually at all reliable. Rinnosuke, too. ' _It feels like they all turned out so balanced! Even Marcus stopped being such an ass...'_

"Aa~h." Mokou gave a vague noise, in response. "...Y'don't _gotta-_ nnh…" By the time she actually replied, Keine was already in the kitchen, attending the food. "Well, sure…"

...Marcus smirked over, at them. "Long day, ah?"

"...You could say _that_ again." Sendai smiled. "S'not anything new-... but, for some reason, my body's taken this way harder than it would've. The me of ten, twelve years ago-... I would've blown through everything today without a problem. Mokou wouldn't've needed to help me out. If she wasn't there today, those rabbits with stun guns…"

...Mokou faced her plainly, giving her a half-smile. "Mmh. Y'say that, but what the hell was with that-... _spark laser,_ you used on the house?"

...Sendai exhaled. "That's… called an _Item Crash._ I can only do them so often, after I've revived. Maybe I could've used one to escape, from that encounter. But-... I don't know, it all would've been harder, and I'd have been way more blown by the end of it, even if I didn't get hurt bad."

The two girls centered their gaze on the table. On it now was a map of the Human Village, chess-like pieces placed atop drawn rectangles.

"...I guess yer welcome, then." Mokou consented her point. "To be fair, I'd've gone through all this shit way faster on my own. Not like that'd've been a good thing, exactly."

' _Mmh.'_ Slowly, Sendai shifted her gaze to Marcus. ' _...Don't think I don't see you, Marc.'_

At her stare, he smiled. "...So. Hell of a place that last one was, ah?"

"Pft. Yeah." Sendai nodded plainly… "That place was frustrating. Everyone was hard to deal with-... those _chicks,_ that bunny-..." Her gaze turned to the right.

On the side couch, Kessho sat there, staring at the table blankly. ' _Oh, right. We let her follow us here.'_

Her eyes traced a single, glowing piece on the board, which seemed to move on its own, tracing village alleys, and the sides of houses.

"It sure seemed like it!" He seemed to think on what he heard, of the experience. "...I knew the village's bullshit ran deep, but I didn't know it was _that_ deep!"

Sendai snorted. "That so…"

' _Keeping it simple: Dieter and bunny youkai want to screw me over, and then target Keine's school after me. Not surprised that youkai are mad about the school, to be honest. Not sure why the guard captain's such a fucking loon about it. Something something maidens.'_

"It was also fun just listenin' ta like, the sounds 'a violence." He grinned… "It was like one 'a those outsider audio drama things!"

' _The what.'_ Sendai took a moment to think on that… ' _Oh, wait. Those like, stupid cassette tapes that had audio stories on them? Now that's something I'd totally forgot existed.'_

' _...Those chicks we met there were pretty fucked up. I almost forgot about that big youkai guy, too. I couldn't question him 'cause he was completely out. With the stuff Kessho gave us, though-... I'm pretty sure no one else was really necessary.'_

Her gaze centered on Kessho again. ' _What a weird girl. Does she-... well, she's obviously not having fun anymore, but I wonder if she started collecting information for fun, at first?'_

"Hey-..." She decided to question Kessho. "...Kessho. Why'd you get into the information business, anyway?"

...Kessho gave her a glance, then looked back down at the table. ' _...Ah. Guess she considers that too useful. Well, if she's not comfortable, it's whatever.'_

Keine stepped back into the living room, now holding plates.

...Sendai received the plate of steak, looking somewhat mixed. ' _Man, I already feel like I'm eating her out of food, at this rate.'_

"...Thanks." Mokou accepted her own plate quietly.

"Aah- yeah, thanks." Sendai was somewhat out of sorts, saying that in this moment.

Keine smiled. "It's no problem."

...As the warm plate sat on her lap, Sendai moved to dig into it. ' _Hmm…'_ She also considered tonight's events. ' _I don't imagine this place has enough room for more secured deal houses like that. Must've been pretty spooky for the youkai around. I wonder how many fucked up people are actually hanging out in the village.'_

She thought back to the school, and the one solemn girl she saw in the dusty-rose shrine maiden outfit the other day. ' _Still, there's a lot of regular people in the town, who're just trying to keep their heads low and stay out of this wasteful shit.'_

"Om…" She took a bite of the meat.

' _So many places that girl- Kessho listed, as having a hand in this.'_ The names returned to Sendai's mind. Golden Grin, Heaven Springs, Artificial Hakurei Project, the village guard and council...

' _For now, we'll just-... wait, and follow that asshole Dieter to wherever he chooses to shack up next. We'll take our problems one at a time, for now. Not sure if information-chan over here is gonna be a problem later, or not.'_ She briefly glanced her gaze towards Kessho.

"Alright." Keine had her arms behind her back, as she leaned down, looking over the table. "Tomorrow-... Tsukiko, Mokou-... if you'd like, I'm thinking you'll both tail Dieter in the later afternoon, after you've both done some things you want to do. Considering how late he'll be running into the night, he won't be waking up until way later, when he inevitably has to sleep."

"...Sounds fine to me." Sendai agreed.

"Sure." Mokou also readily agreed. "You think anything of those slutty chicks, back at the place we just got out of?"

...Keine nodded. "Tomorrow, I'd like to have them released _formally_ from the jail, so that we may talk with them. I'd like to know more about their situation. The lunar bunny can stay in jail, and so can-... that _Golden Grin host._ Neither of them are worth talking to again."

' _...The Keine of now is really empathetic. Considering how she used to befriend fairies when she was younger, it's no wonder.'_

The food warmed Sendai, and she began to finally relax. ' _That really hits the spot. Nothing like some good food, after getting fucking electrocuted in the rain. Felt good using one of those guns on that shitty host guy.'_

Even though she was willing to help the village of her good will, and her will to help Keine with her new intentions and goals, she didn't really want to think about it anymore, tonight.

"I just want to reiterate…" Keine began to speak, looking over the tired girls. "Thank you both, for everything. You didn't have to help me, or anything…"

"Mmh…" Mokou swallowed her bite of steak. "It's no biggie. I keep on tellin' ya, it's 'cause I know ya, Keine. I know what this sort of thing means to ya-... and, again, it keeps my head outta the clouds, to run around and get some shit done."

' _Keine's students- and the village as a whole-... and me, we all aren't gonna be safe until we settle whatever the hell's going on.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Sendai and Mokou were both directed to the guest bedroom on the top floor, where there were two beds lying in wait.

Instantly, Mokou began whipping everything off. "Nnh…" She grunted, as she used one boot-clad foot to remove her other boot, before having to bend down to remove the last boot. "There."

...Sendai faced her. "How do you _do_ those kicks, that you do?"

...Mokou paused, raising her brows at her. "Mmh? ...Why?"

"...Why not?" Sendai smiled, a little. "I mean-... they were fairly impressive, and had decisive force. Ever since I've come back alive… I've felt like my hits lacked an amount of power that I used to wield."

' _There's a lot I had to have forgotten. My speed, my power… all I have right now is something I can hardly even call technique. Something unrefined, but-... well, it gets the job done. I would've never been strong enough to just randomly hook people in my youth, so this is kind of new.'_

...Mokou leaned a little, now that she was in her socks. "I mean-... I've been kickin' like this for centuries, now. Kinda hard to tell you _how._ I put my all into kicking, and I just-..."

 _WOOSH!_ Her form snapped into a spin nearly instantly.

 _WHIWOOSH._ She almost nailed the wall with her foot, after thrusting her leg out, her kick nearly sending her across the whole room to connect with it. "...Yeah." She faced Sendai again, her body disengaging itself. "I kinda got sick of all that fancy martial arts bullshit. Kicks are better than punches, so I just do those."

...That really made Sendai think. ' _The only problem with a kick, is that you've gotta wind it up, missing hurts, and such an awkward movement can leave you open to mid-attack interception. Mokou's inhuman dexterity sort of makes up for a lot of these problems, but since she only uses kicks, she's also sort of-... predictable?'_

"Won't opponents get wise to the fact you're only using kicks?" Sendai had to question.

...Mokou hunched her shoulders a little, subtly shrugging. "Eeh. Does it matter? Those bunny fucks knew I was gonna kick them, and there was hardly a damn thing they could do about it. That, and I can just burn 'em. A kick's the last thing they'd be worrying about while on fire."

' _...I see.'_ Sendai supposed. ' _She's really not that martially skilled. She just has a lot of raw power, both physically and magically. She can pull off crazy shit, but that doesn't mean the technique that goes into it is really crazy.'_

' _Still. She must know a lot about fighting to survive, at least. Maybe it'll be a good idea to keep an eye on how she does things. I might learn something new.'_

...Sendai began to take off her own clothes. She was already in her socks, since her sandals were at the door, so she began with her apron and leotard. "Nnh…"

Mokou had gotten out of her muddy red overalls, and was now undoing her shirt, as she moved for the bed. ' _She's got fire resistant material charms on all her clothing. Probably a really old band-aid fix to make them unable to be destroyed by her own fire.'_

With her leotard, apron, and hakama off, Sendai was already in just a fundoshi, ready to flop into bed. ' _...My outfit is fortunately not complicated. When this is all over, I need a bath.'_

Quietly, she placed her clothes on a nearby dresser, and stalked up to her own bed. Across the room, Mokou had worked down into nothing but her own bloomers. ' _She wears bloomers, under all that? Huh.'_

...Since she was staring, Mokou ended up giving her a flat stare back. "Wha~t."

"I haven't seen many people wear bloomers, is all." Sendai dismissed Mokou's confrontational demeanor. "...Nor have I made a habit, of sleeping near anyone. Except for my daughter."

Mokou snorted. "I won't bite. Not like we're sharing a _bed._ "

"...Yeah."

 _Creak._ Sendai snuggled into the blankets. ' _Ooh, yea~h.'_ It was a curiously western bed, but it still felt great. ' _...It's like sleeping on a table, except it's soft. Kind of weird, but not bad.'_

"...You wanna level with yer daughter at some point, right?" Mokou spoke up, while Sendai worked into her own covers.

...Sendai sat up, a little. "Ah-... yeah?"

"Yer gonna have a fuckin' hell of a time, fighting as you do right now." Mokou pointed out. "...Ya fight like a _youkai._ Shrine maidens're typically, y'know, good at fighting _youkai._ Yer gonna hafta-... get creative real fast, or yer ass is gonna be grass."

...With that, Mokou had relaxed into her own covers. "Nn-... ngh." She immediately rolled onto her stomach, burying her face into her pillow.

...Scooching back down into the blanket herself, Sendai stared up at the ceiling. ' _That so…'_

Both girls were too tired to really care about the scenario, as sleep quickly took them, once they found their fatigue.

' _I love you, Reimu.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

The pre-afternoon sun held high in the air.

"Nn- nn…" Sendai made tiny noises. She was buried under the bed's covers, her nearly-nude figure warm and simply relaxed.

' _Sleeping in places like this... is dangerous. If I get too used to the warmth of a fire... the shrine will feel like hell to adapt to...'_

It was a stark contrast to last evening, so much so that she felt like she was melting, in a good way. ' _So soft. Oh my god.'_

She felt like she was sinking into the average-quality mattress. ' _Even so-... I feel stuck. I love bed.'_

...Her morning mind wandered to her daughter, and the village. ' _I guess I can see why Reimu thinks this place is a big hassle. Because... it is.'_

 _Crea- creak!_ Experimentally, she slid the covers down. The morning air was not kind; it was cold. ' _Aah… well. I'm an even bigger hassle.'_

She sat up. The cold wasn't so bad, once she was immersed in it, for a moment. ' _...Still pretty warm, in here. Keine kept that fire lit all night.'_ It was a pleasant kind of cold, she found.

Looking down, she saw her breasts. Smiling, she brought her arms behind her head, and stretched, watching how they swayed forward. ' _...Thinking of myself like this just makes me think about Keisuke, again.'_

 _Crea- creak._ There was no time like the present, so she threw the covers off, and plunged her whole body into the cold of the morning air. ' _Aa~h. Let's get moving.'_

Instantly, she began her pushups, since she could. ' _Time to get the morning exercise going. Knowing how today'll go, I'm gonna need it.'_

Quickly, she almost let herself zone out, as the pushups began. "Thirty- _one._ Thirty- _two…_ "

' _This whole village thing really isn't a problem Reimu should be dealing with, anyway.'_

"...Thirty-five. Thirty six."

She looked up, at the door to the room she was in. ' _I used to be able to do more. I could jump higher. I could kick faster. I could hit harder. I was a monster. Well- until I had Reimu. Then I was a mother.'_

" _Fifty-one._ Fifty… two. Fifty-three."

' _Consider this whole 'cleaning up the village' thing a gift from me to you, Reimu. It's me cleaning up a problem you wouldn't- or couldn't- yourself. Part of my debt I gotta pay for spending twelve years dead.'_

" _Seventy-five…"_ She was almost to the one hundred mark, and wasn't very tired yet.

' _There's a lot of problems left to solve, but Keine's got the legal and technical bits all taken care of, I'm sure. It's mostly just up to me- or me and Mokou, depending- to clean up some big egos.'_ ...Thinking about it, she began to smile. ' _Man. Today'll be just the exercise I need.'_

"Ninety-one! Ninety-two!" Sendai got pumped as she neared her first one hundred push-ups, now glaring into the wooden floor.

' _Almost there!'_

" _One hundred."_ She'd reached the initial morning benchmark. "...Yea~h."

' _Now, I just need nine hundred more… if this was an actual training session. I think I'll leave it there for now. At least limbered me up.'_

...Coming onto her knees, she contemplated a handstand for the sake of it. ' _Let's do it!'_

" _Hup…"_ Rolling forward, she pushed her arms against the ground, and brought her legs up. The world was now upside down.

' _Good thing I'm naked, too. The arm sleeves and cloth chest piece would just fall in my face…'_

She looked down- or up- to her breasts. ' _I look like a lunatic right now.'_

 _Thud._ She thudded her butt on the floorboards, after falling back. "Ah…"

' _Alright, time to rob Keine of breakfast too. Not that I'll wither away if I have to go awhile without gouging… but it rea~lly doesn't hurt to have a full stomach, especially when you're me. People always say I'm lucky to have this body with how I like to eat, but food's a rare and necessary treat for keeping the muscles in motion. Can't exercise on water and air.'_

' _...Of course, it has to be good food, too. No dessert-tier crap, or pastries.'_

She saw her washed shrine maiden clothes on a table nearby the bed; only noticing them after she almost walked out basically naked. "Oops…"

' _The people who say that about my diet also don't have to nearly die on a routine basis… or, you know, actually die somehow, like in my case.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

The house was empty. Some fruit was left out on the main table…

Sendai, now fully dressed, stared over a note Keine left her.

' _Hi, Tsukiko._

 _Sorry I couldn't be there for when you woke up. I have to teach class today, it being Friday. I'll be out at about noon, if you're not already up by then._

 _Before I went to the school, I had the youkai women from the house last night transferred out of jail, on the premise I transport them out of the village. I actually intend on re-educating them, and if they adapt well, I want to integrate them into the village as standard citizens. I might have to hand them off to someone outside the village in the end._

 _If you want to talk to them, they're in the hidden guest room under the stairs. Guess how to access it. Hint: what have I fed you, last night? It also takes a key, which I left in your pockets, too._

 _Marcus is out shopping I think, and should be back later._

 _Have a relaxing morning! Your sound stone is still in your pocket, so if you're not back in time, we'll yell at you until you come back. Not that you have to, or anything!_

 _Keine.'_

 _Obtained Keine's Second Guest Room Key._

...Sendai nodded at this. ' _No shit, huh.'_

Idly, she began to eye the fruit left out for her; namely, apples and mandarins. ' _Ooo.'_

 _Crunch._ First ravaging an apple, she looked to the sun outside. ' _Looks almost like noon, already. How much cash do I have…?'_

...After checking her pockets, she blinked. ' _When the fuck did I get a hundred grand. Ah- right, it was lying around with the drugs in that house, last night. I could buy a house with this much money…!'_

With nothing better on her mind, she made for the front door. ' _Not that a house would be useful.'_

' _...If me and Reimu are going to live together, an extension to the shrine wouldn't go amiss, actually. Regardless, time to shop. All this yen's burning a hole in my pocket.'_

It wasn't often she could think about being so liberal with her cash. With Reimu manning the shrine and seemingly maintaining herself, and Keine offering free meals, Sendai felt out of the loop in a good way. ' _Just living isn't constantly draining my funds, anymore. Holy shit.'_

Stopping before the doorframe, she turned back inside. ' _Actually. Let's find these prisoners of ours. Wanna make sure they're not having a field day running off or something.'_

She felt at her now tubby backpack. ' _Also, I've got so much crap again. I've gotta ditch some of this shit if I wanna go shopping…'_

 _Crea~k._ Instead of following the note's hint, she just walked to the door in the very back of the house, next to the messy record room. ' _...Holy shit there's a lot of paper.'_ It wasn't much better than the record room itself.

This room was along the back wall of the main room, and about as large as it, too. Every wall was lined with filing cabinets, multiple desks lined with books and scrawls splayed about. A fraction of the room was well-organized, and the other half was complete chaos.

Not seeing any useful doors in here, aside from a backdoor outside that was closed, Sendai retreated. ' _Paperwork scares me. Let's not linger in there longer than need be...'_

...Moving up for the stairs behind the appliances, she furrowed her brows. ' _There's something weird about this…'_ There was a seam on the wall past the bottom landing, where it looked like a door _should_ be. ' _Keine said a hint about steaks, or some shit. Hold on…'_

Surveying the kitchen counter before the stairs, she came up to the preserving box. ' _Let's see what's in here…'_

Upon opening it, Sendai found meats and fruits. Ignoring those, she threw her gaze around…

There was a switch along the back, near some raw steaks. ' _Oh?'_

 _Click._ She flipped the switch.

' _...Doesn't sound like anything happened.'_

Closing the food storage box, she looked back at the stairs.

They were gone, a seam of dust along the wall where they were. ' _Woah.'_ A door replaced the bottom landing, into somewhere new.

Moving up to it, she tried to open it.

 _Cli- click._ The handle jiggled in refutation. ' _Ahah. It's locked.'_

…Sliding the key from her pocket, Sendai began to smile at it. ' _Actually… I've got an idea.'_

She arched back. " _Haa~h…!"_ Charging dark and holy magic through her body, into the key, she searched for the words associated with the new item crash for this first-time cast. The magic had made her float up into the air, a protective aura of prismatic energy blooming through her body.

However, nothing actually came to her.

 _WOOSH._ She thrust her arm forward automatically. It wasn't a punch, it was a thrust, as if she was displaying the key to someone, awkwardly clamped between her fingers so that it would point up. ' _...U- uhm…'_

The magic returned to her, as if doing a complete one-eighty through her processes, making her feel off for a moment. ' _Woah. What the fuck was that. Did- it not work?'_ She landed on the floor, just confused.

...It was a phenomena she had noticed with oddly specific objects in the past. ' _I forget what keys were supposed to do, to begin with. I- I mean, I know they unlock doors- I mean the item crash. Is there something unique about this key? Not that every key is the same or something, but… is there something that makes this- you know what, whatever. I'll have Marcus think it over later. Item crashes just don't work with certain things.'_

Moving up to the door, she slid the key into it the normal way.

 _Click!_ After turning it, it pushed open slightly for her. She nudged it further, and stepped in.

"I made it into a _hat…_ "

" _Oh-_ thank you, Kumiya-chan…"

"I- I think my pussy is ready, again."

"Ever since we stopped eating-... my milk stopped."

Sendai was greeted to the four black-haired, color-eyed women. One was wearing a doily like a hat, with the help of her yellow-eyed friend, and the pink and green-eyed ones were feeling at each other on one of the guest beds.

' _Oh, no.'_

Immediately, the pink-eyed one leapt off of her bed. " _Mistress!"_

"Ooh!" The cyan-eyed one beamed at Sendai, and romped closer. "It's the new mistress!"

"Her outfit is so _pretty_ now _."_ The yellow-eyed one came closer. "I'm not even mad, about last night, anymore…"

When they got closer, Sendai brought up her dukes. "Nn- no, no, get back, fuck off."

...When she looked at their faces closer, she noticed that the ones she sealed remained sealed; the yellow-eyed one still having six talismans across her body, and the cyan-eyed one still had one upon the bridge of her nose.

 _Thump._ The yellow-eyed one glomped Sendai, burying her face into the cloth apron, trying to sink into her breasts. "Mmh!"

The cyan-eyed one grabbed onto Sendai by the side, and kissed at her ear. " _Mm~ mwah!"_

Her eyes wide, Sendai reached for the seal on the yellow-eyed one's shoulder, and pinched the paper.

 _FWASH- KZZT- ZAZAP- KRZRT!_ The unlit papers glowed with ferocity once again, jolting her entire body with overwhelming holy energy. " _Hyaa~nh!"_

... _thud._ She fell back, onto her butt. " _Oohf…"_

...Sendai gave the cyan-eyed one a flat look.

"Mm- mmh…!?" Then, she doubled back, when the woman tried to kiss her on the lips, her breasts pressing against Sendai's.

 _ZAP- FWASH- ZAP- ZAP!_ The talisman on her nose initialized, just because it met Sendai's own nose. " _Nnh- agh…!"_ The kiss was broken, the girl stumbling back…

...Rubbing her lips, Sendai spat onto the floor. "Bwuh. Fuck." Then, she gazed at the other girls, who weren't moving for her. "...Anyone else feelin' lucky? I've got enough talismans, to seal your asses a hundred times over."

"That's-... okay." The pink-eyed one smiled awkwardly. "I know better than them, mistress."

"What the fuck're your names." Sendai began to get annoyed, with having to think of them by eye color. "Who's Kumiya."

...The pink-eyed one spoke up. "I'm Sarah. Our yellow sister is Kumiya. Blue sister is Asakura, and green sister is-..." She paused. "She said her name was Unit one-one-three. So, we called her Uni-chan."

' _...Ah.'_ Sendai blinked. ' _Unit-... huh.'_

"Mistress-..." The green-eyed Unit-113- or Uni-chan- spoke up. "What is your name?"

"...Tsukiko." Sendai reluctantly revealed her own name. "Tsukiko Hakurei."

"Ooh…" From the floor, Kumiya grinned. "Mistress- has a last name…"

Asakura beamed, blushing from where she stumbled to. "Can I be Hakurei, too…?"

"...Probably not." Sendai quickly decided.

" _Suck-_ kiko." Sarah pressed at her own left breast, with a palm. "Tsukiko's _such_ a pretty name. The next time, we play with a man, you should join us."

"I sure wouldn't." Sendai refused outright. "I'm not perverted."

"Ooh…?" Kumiya stood quickly, brushing off her short, red skirt. "Why _no~t?_ It's honestly-... a whole lot of fun! You play with their long part, between their legs, and a tasty drink comes out."

"...Because I have ambitions past sucking dick for money." Sendai decided. "...I mean, fuck knows you'd probably do nothing but suck dick, even if you _weren't_ paid."

"...Paid?" Kumiya perked up at the strange word. "Do you mean, 'laid'? You don't need to be _laid_ to suck on a man's good part, mistress Suck-kiko."

' _...These bimbos have brain damage.'_ Sendai gave them a professional medical diagnosis. ' _Keine has her work cut out. Alright- that's enough of this for this lifetime.'_

"You four gonna be happy, in here?" Sendai decided to at least confirm that they wouldn't cut it and run, if left alone…

Sarah nodded. "Yeah. This room is the best place we've ever been. And-... you wouldn't believe it. On the way here, we saw _so much_ cool stuff. It's crazy, almost-... how many _square things_ are outside this room. Our old rooms feel so far away, now."

Uni-chan moved for the back window. "This room has a window, and it's so _bright._ But-... when we look outside, we see so much. It's like the windows in the big room where we used to live-... except, we can always look out it."

' _...Gods. An education is gonna blow their fuckin' minds.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

' _Why do I have a box of roofies.'_ Sendai stood just outside Keine's house, holding the labeled box of drugs she'd acquired last night. ' _...What the hell is the item crash, for a box of roofies. Do-... do I want to find out?'_

"Hey, Tsukiko."

Keine had just returned to her home, coming up to the porch. "...Why're you just, ruefully staring at that box of drugs?"

"My bag is full, _again."_ Sendai complained about her inventory size. "I've got so much useless shit. Fucking- _yukkuri mix,_ some _good looking water_ … that _umbrella,_ still."

"...You could probably always sell what you don't need." Keine suggested. "But, it might be a little cumbersome to do that."

"I don't think anyone would want to buy this stolen nail filer of a katana." Sendai felt at the chintzy iron katana on her backpack… "It's-... I'm afraid it'll break if I _walk too hard."_

She looked down at her drug box. "I'm not sure who'd buy a box of roofies… much less would I want to give it to them even if they did."

Keine snorted. "We- well, you don't have to sell _drugs on the street_ to get rid of them. Worse comes to worst, you could just… _discard_ what you don't need."

For some reason, Sendai impulsively rejected this idea. ' _...That's sort of a waste, though. They might be good for something, but they just take up too much room. I might have to make the sacrifice anyway.'_

 _Shi~ng._ She drew the chintzy iron katana with her free arm.

"You weren't kidding." Keine's eyebrows raised at the blade quality. "This can't even be fixed. It's… I'm not sure how it's even still _together_ , to be honest with you."

...Gazing at the floor, then the blade, Sendai stepped off the porch, then swung it down.

 _Swi- chink!_ True to her expectations, the blade flew straight off the handle from the force of her swing.

 _Cra- crack!_ It hit the brick wall of the school's perimeter ahead, and broke into many tiny pieces. ' _There goes that.'_ She tossed the handle aside...

With this one extra space free in her inventory now, she searched for other things to cull… "Oh, yeah. This is sort of redundant now. Found this on the kids who hung around Dieter."

Taking the experimental aphrodisiac from her pocket, Sendai handed it off to Keine. "I figure you'd be better at asking questions with it than me."

"...Ah." Keine raised a brow, at the bottle. "The-... kids with Dieter, huh? That's right. I'd forgotten, but he does have a posse of-... some of my former students, doesn't he?"

Her response worried Sendai, somewhat. "... _That's_ who those were? I hadn't even thought to mention them, the other day. The stuff with the guard was more important, at the time."

"It'd have been nothing new to me, anyway." Keine shook her head, and moved for the door. "...Is there anything else you've found of interest? I could take that box of drugs off of you, if you'd like. I doubt you're going to find a use for them, today."

Sendai handed over the drug box. "Yeah, I got nothing. Everything evidence-like can go to you. I'm more used to youkai shit, where you don't have to think too hard about who did what. Giant beast man walks into town, rips a guy's head off. Criminal's pretty obviously the giant beast man."

...Keine smirked at her. "I'll have you know, cases like that are far rarer, now. Most beast-type youkai are either sedate, or reside in remote regions, and those who assault the village now are of a far, far weaker sort."

"...That so?" Sendai let a brow of her own raise. "Those lunar bunny bitches weren't anything to sneeze at. Their bodies are kinda weak, compared to what I'm used to, but they've obviously got some dangerous tech to make up for it."

At that, Keine let out a short breath, and considered it. "I honestly hadn't known anything of the lunar bunny situation."

"You might know how humans operate, do crime and judge each other…" Sendai smiled at her. "But, if there's anything I've spent time thinking about, it's how youkai do their shit. The kinda skills they get and use to get an upper hand over humans. If it ever comes time fer us to deal with a youkai nest, I'll be on it."

...Keine nodded, at that. "If I ever get any information on it, I'll forward it your way then."

The fair sun casted warm midday light down on the two, as they stood on the sunny porch idly now.

"Anyway…" Keine moved for the door, before pausing. "Mokou will be back eventually, as will Marcus. Until then… why don't you find some way to kill time, or relax a little?"

...At that idea, Sendai blinked. ' _...Ah. Hmm.'_

 _Chintzy Iron Katana broke! Nothing was salvaged…_

 _Experimental Aphrodisiac was given to Keine._

 _Box of Roofies was given to Keine._

 _Keine's Second Guest Room Key was left in her house._

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

' _Now that I'm loaded, I should be able to just… stock up on good things.'_

After the rain of yesterday, the day was warmer. When equalized by it being the latter half of fall, the result was a rather temperate day. As such, the village square was alush with life.

The vendors contested with the common villager for most obnoxious white noise. " _Free! Genuine_ vampire-warding watches! For eleven _easy_ payments!"

"Outsider-style food! Confirmed by _actual_ outsiders!"

"Man. Cats are _small…"_

"Will you fuck _off?"_

"Hey- free fliers, get'cher free fliers here! I don't want 'em, you don't want 'em, you're takin' 'em anyway!"

Sendai took pause. ' _...Cats_ are _small.'_

' _But- anyway, let's see what I can dump money into. Maybe a snack, and… who the hell sells potions now? Other than Marcus. He used to offer them to me for a price, but recently he's just been giving me stuff. Guess old age made him less greedy…'_

She took note of a peculiarly cleanly stall on the edge of the square. She wasn't sure how she didn't focus her gaze on it before, but it looked unique.

' _From the midst up, it looks like a regular house, but below that, there's these… weird blue and white materials. Looks good and clean, but very… off.'_

The stall itself was a large, two-wall stall with the other two faces vacant to make room for sterile, blue counters. There was a beam at the outward facing corner to keep the structure from hilariously caving in on itself.

Stepping up, she stared over the lavender-haired girl at the counter. ' _...Something about her is similar. Wait.'_

The girl was clad in villager-like garb, despite her inhuman hair color. Sendai remembered back to when she saw Reimu, and remembered seeing this girl there. She had tall rabbit ears, back then, and a business suit.

' _...Lunar rabbit.'_ Sendai realized. ' _A lunar rabbit, who was hanging around Reimu. She's even trying to hide her identity.'_

"...Good afternoon." The long-haired girl greeted Sendai. "...Is there anything you're interested in?"

"Just browsing around…" Furrowing her brows, she examined the back walls… "What do you sell here?" From what Sendai could see, nothing much…

"Prescriptions, medical supplements and health care." The bunny girl supplied simply. "We help people with general diagnoses and common illness, as well as general health care. We've solved some common health problems for good, even."

"...What's _that_ mean?" Sendai was genuinely perplexed. "For good? Like what?"

"An example being dental hygiene." The girl smiled. "Did you know that most of Gensokyo's populace are now immune from tooth decay and bacteria? It's one of few, um… necessarily _convenient_ solutions Eientei has proposed, as tribute for its occupancy."

' _...I-... I'm not sure if I buy that?'_ Sendai only half-recognized some of what she spoke. ' _No doctor can just… outright cure something that big. This smells like a scam.'_

"So how's this _doctor_ you work for cure _teeth?"_ Unconvinced, she leaned against the counter…

The lavender-haired girl made a thoughtful face. "...Well, from what I _remember,_ master- I mean, doctor Yagokoro, simply created a bacterial solvent that treats plaque. What's kinda left unsaid, is if you have actual tooth destruction, she has to give you a flush of nanomachines to recreate and rebuild the teeth as they were. Which actually kinda _costs money._ Opposed to this solvent, which is actually just _free_ , for all intents and purposes. And, um- oh, If you've had a tooth knocked out recently, a potion or two should fix it, if it's new."

' _Tooth destruction.'_ Sendai latched onto this first, because it was kind of silly sounding...

Then, she blinked at the bunny. "I mean. I brush my teeth to keep them clean. Wha- what the hell do you mean, 'bacterial solvent'? Isn't that what you keep _off_ your teeth?"

The girl looked dulled for a moment, before sharpening up again. " _No,_ it's a _different kind_ of bacteria."

"How the hell can a doctor create a 'bacterial solvent', anyway?" Propping her arms on her hips, she became even more distrusting… "And- _free?_ So I'm just supposed to eat some capsule and trust you on it?"

"Look." The girl gained new definition to her stare, almost glaring back. "Our products- while _maybe overpriced,_ are _not_ hokey. _At all._ You don't have to believe me, but very few people _don't_ trust us on the essentials."

Sendai shook her head. "Well. Sorry, but… no."

...Relaxing, the girl continued. "I mean… you didn't really have a choice."

"...Is that a threat?" Sendai felt herself begin to energize.

"...What- no." The girl shook her head bluntly. "Chances are, if you've been in breathing distance of another villager, you've already got the bacteria. Just- be careful with the sweets still. Acid's acid, even with the great fortification."

' _What the fuck.'_ Sendai wasn't sure what to say from here…

Sensing this, the girl gave her a nod. "So, um… sorry about the sidetracking. Did you need any medicine, or anything…?"

"What's your name?" Sendai wanted to remember this girl later.

The girl shifted her posture. "...Reisen. And, if you don't mind _me_ asking…" Reisen eyed her over. "What's with the um, shrine maiden getup?"

' _Maybe I'll keep a low profile for now. Reimu kicked my ass, her mage friend nearly kicked my ass… I'm kinda sensing a pattern here. They also don't seem to take kindly to doppelgangers or anything, which is to be expected. Still, talk about a bunch of misfits...'_

"Cosplay." Sendai lied blatantly. "Shrine maidens… are _cool."_

...Reisen nodded skeptically. "I… guess so. I'm just curious, 'cause I keep seeing girls dressed up like Reimu running around, and it's kinda weird, but whatever."

' _What do you mean, you guess so. Whatever… also- girls dressed like Reimu? Hmm.'_

"You sell any potions here?" Sendai inquired, taking some anxious steps before the counter. "Actually- list some of yer notable types. Probably got healing potions and ethers."

Raising her brows, the plainly dressed Reisen took pause. "...We- well, yeah. We've got panaceas and elixirs, too."

' _Woah. That's neat.'_

Sendai was willing to spend. "...How much does an _elixir_ cost?"

"Fifty thousand yen." Reisen preemptively stepped back…

"Are you _fucking_ mental." Sendai was no longer willing to spend.

Looking indignant, Reisen verbally prodded back. "Well- _hey._ To be _fair,_ where else're you gonna get an elixir? Much less _buy_ one."

"I might as well make the damn thing myself." Shaking her head, Sendai began to step back… "Seriously. That's not even the price of materials plus effort, that's just-... _robbery."_ She began to grin. "Seriously!"

Reisen began to awkwardly smile back. "Well. Sorry."

...Nodding, Sendai turned to leave. "Yeah. Sorry."

' _What the fuck is this stall.'_

...On her way away from the bunny, she paused in the middle of the village square.

' _Hold on, I'm not done here yet.'_

Immediately, she returned, staring down Reisen with new resolve.

"Change your mind…?" Reisen gave Sendai a bored look. "Look- if you're not buying anything-"

"I need information." Sendai spoke over her, raising her voice. "Seka Gamo. You know any bunny pals by that name?"

...At that, Reisen blinked, pausing. "...Uu- um. How do _you?"_

"Not important right now." Sendai laid her arms down on the counter. "She a friend of yours?"

"...I mean, no?" Reisen wasn't sure what to respond with. "Look, um, matters of the clinic are confidential, for the most part. Which is why _I_ was wondering..."

"I'm askin' for a reason." Sendai kept eye-contact, brows furrowing. "She was arrested last night. Lunar bunny chicks are fucking with the village, and _you're_ just sitting here scamming people. They tried to _capture and sell me_ , last night. Should I be lookin' into what _you're_ doin' here, too?"

...At that, Reisen stepped back a little, more put off by her. "What…? Who _are_ you? Look- if you've _really_ gotta know, she was dismissed from the clinic for repeated misuse of drugs and weapons, as well as theft and general bad will. We meant to imprison her with the rest, but she-... she must've gotten away." She began to look angrier. "Those _idiots._ Well-... um, did you have a _problem_ with her?"

' _They have their own jail? What the hell is this clinic.'_

"I just said I did." Sendai asserted. "So, she and some others broke outta your own jail? Ain't that kinda shitty?"

"...We're not typically as harsh on jailing as the village even." Reisen explained. "We do have a sector within the clinic for it, but for the most part, offending bunnies are retired with reduced credit spending capabilities. They're still useful for breeding, but only count as partial units, or are shifted to non-military jobs. Or, in some cases, _I_ straighten them out."

"Well, get fucking on it." Sendai demanded. "How should I know you're not just making a bunch of shit up, anyway?"

"I represent Eientei." Reisen began to glare back, into Sendai's own forceful look. "I-... I am Reisen Udongein Inaba, the commanding officer of the New Lunarian Army. You-... if they've really been screwing with the village so much, this is a huge problem that we've gotta deal with."

"Ooh." Sendai grinned. "You're some high-ranking chick, all of a sudden? And you're out here selling fuckin' potions?"

...Reisen sighed. "We- well, whatever. You're telling the truth about the defecting girls, right?"

' _What a weird character. Mokou and Keine know these rabbit shitheads better than I do, so…'_

"If yer bein' _serious,_ go to Keine's house." Sendai gave one last order. "We've been tracking the village underground pretty hard. We've got some victims of drugs I found with the bunnies there."

"Aa…" At that, Reisen gave a nod. "Thank you, I guess."

...Letting out a breath, Sendai marched off, once Reisen moved to close up the stall herself. ' _Good. I'll let them sort this chick out. I didn't come here to get my feet wet, already. I'm sure Mokou'll kick her ass, if it comes down to that.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Already feeling like lounging, Sendai found a bench on the western road. Here, she was able to take in the full blue sky, and wonder about what now lied beyond the village walls.

' _They say outsider towns have parks. I kind of wish this village had some kind of park…'_

She was sort of surprised to find benches dotted about the village, now. Before, there was actually absolutely nothing of recreational value on the roads. ' _...Not that there's much to see. I'm staring at buildings right now. Buildings, buildings and more buildings.'_

There were still occasional puddles on the road, as well as awkward dirt asides to the road's stone composition. Especially the built-up dirt banks…

' _At least the whole road's not a big damn mud trap like it used to be. That was hilariously shitty…'_ The roadway actually gave her an incentive to be around the village when rain happened.

' _This might be one of few not-stupidly-muddy exteriors in the land now. Next to my shrine steps, that is. As a whole, this village is kinda cozier now.'_

 _Creak._

Sendai looked to see who sat next to her. ' _Marc...? Oh. Different old guy.'_

He was a man in a white kimono, with a faded green vest over it. His belt seemed to have a gold finish, and his undershirt was black. ' _...Doesn't look like a normal villager. Not quite, anyway.'_

...Sendai thought back to her inventory, returning to sitting idly. ' _I've actually got decent room for things, but I don't know what I wanna get. Maybe some accessory item… like, a magic one. Jewelry can go fuck itself, unless it's useful. I don't know what to buy other than bread. Stuff for kids is out of the question, Reimu now being fuckin'-... eighteen and all.'_

She stopped. ' _I-... didn't I have some things on, when I died? What happened to them? What were they? Ah, fuck it…'_ She'd probably just go stock up on protect chains, or some other low-tier cheapo accessory when she got the chance.

"You…" The bearded, white-haired man spoke.

...Sendai faced him plainly. "Me."

"You know the embrace of death."

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

x / Sendai Hakurei No Miko, the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

NEW SKILLS:

 _X Body_

Endured III - Sendai has forged her body through a long cycle of training and combat. She's still not much stronger, but she's remembering what endurance feels like.

==x==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

hi new chapter 6

changes include:

o old man stuff moved to chapter 7

o reisen becomes relevant a lot sooner

o we actually find out stuff about the village underground… a lot of stuff

o meet kessho! isn't she cute o w o

o mokou is now sendai's bro for the rest of the arc

o marcus and keine are actually useful for most of the arc now

o sendai has less flamboyant reactions in some places

o the _ELITE PROSTITUTES_ no longer get written out of existence, and pinkie/Sarah survives the night this time

o oh yeah now they have names

o skill list change and things

o mokou spills her heart out to sendai

with the "mysterious old man" stuff this chapter hovered dangerously near 30 k words, and without it, it just sits at 22 k

also took out the pointless inventory from this chapter because this time nothing changed! also it's a really tubby chapter so this helps; it's like that thing when a plane is sinking so you toss the cargo off first

not the kindest word count but it's GOOD DUDE; also the stuff relating to him was moved to next chapter

after rereading everything over, i dunno, i think the pace is better as a whole. we have some periods of action following the stuff that went down in chapter 5, but then we get a little downtime after it where sendai and friends can unwind a little

it's definitely less weird than it was with the old chapter 6, and things actually feel like they're getting done now XD

one edit i made on this proofreading pass was giving sendai more awareness of what dieter's use was compared to the other village organizations, and the fact that people were probably pushing dieter around; she's less confused by the idea and feels more sated by the night's events

it's an important fix to make repeatedly moving forward, since myself i don't always hold onto the full picture while moving forward with plot design, and then when i look back i go "hmm, this would feel and operate a lot better if i'd just known X, or remembered Y at the time".

but as a whole i think, even if the pace could be considered weird 'cause of the setup paired with the action, the context as a whole is a lot harder to doubt, it feels less like an FG-tier plot and more like some spooky shit

let's see if this carries itself into the next chapter!

as always, see you all next time!


	7. Fringe of Decency

"You know the embrace of death."

...Sendai scratched at her own cheek, facing the old man in the green-white yukata. "Was it on my face, or what."

"...You could say that." Giving a solid nod, he pondered. "...For a Hakurei, that's something of note."

"Who are you?" She leaned against the arm she'd rested on the back of the bench, more impulsively than idly.

It took him a few moments to respond, mulling over the question as if he was rolling it around in his mouth. "...No one you'd know."

"No shit." She began to grin. "That's why I asked you, guy."

He stopped staring into nothing, and finally focused on her. "...Someone, who too, knows death."

"...Good." She figured she wouldn't get anything else out of him.

' _Old man telling me riddles on a bench in the middle of an unremarkable road. Good course to take today. Literally just-...'_ She didn't have a coherent thought to describe how oddly fitting this felt to her. ' _But- it's also really weird! This entire future village is completely weird…!'_

"Your body, mind and soul are no longer in harmony." He claimed, before staring into nothing again. "It makes one wonder…"

Sendai was becoming desensitized to how much he was able to intuit. "Yeah, it does. Questions like, 'why the hell's this guy giving me a spirit reading'."

"You have the drive to reclaim your former strength." His gaze suddenly met hers. "I find this all… interesting. This whole scenario should not be. It's as if you, yourself, are in an unpredictable flux. Particularly due to your Hakurei heritage."

"...Sounds like a fancy way of saying I'm fucked. Or, you know, 'in interesting times'." She leaned forward in her seat… "I'm guessing you're not just saying this to wax philosophical."

"Clearly." He moved to stand…

The tall, weathered man looked down at Sendai. She saw his twin katanas at his waist. ' _Swordsman, huh…'_

"This natal period. It is a time to rebuild the foundation of who you once were… and in doing so, you can correct the faults made in your previous life. As a warrior, Hakurei, you relied on the blood of others. The expendable humans of non-heritage. Items. Crutches."

She stood up to level with him, her gaze meeting his. "I did what I had to do. Fighting youkai is about winning, and not getting your head ripped off. And- I _really_ don't care about the villagers, if that's your point."

He shook his head. "Other developed warriors survive of their individual merit. That is not to say pragmatism is of no value. Rather, you rely only on that. Your path of the warrior was born of the need to survive. Weakness was a sin."

Saying nothing, Sendai waited for him to go on, vaguely skeptical…

"And so, you developed your body constantly. Day after day. Survival was your code." Closing his eyes, he brought his hands together before himself neatly… "That was who you were. The Hakurei of slow, implacable force, fueled by pragmatically assembled means of survival. You could live for hours in combat, floating not on your holy blood, but on alchemic blends, healing magic and pure rage."

...Sendai folded her arms. "Okay..."

' _...He's… not totally wrong, so far.'_

"And because you lived to survive and continue, you hardly appreciated what you had mastered, in the first place." His eyes met hers. "And so, the shrine went down. You lost what you loved most, and then you lost yourself."

' _...I- what the fuck. Does-... he's talking about Keisuke, isn't he?'_

"Do you want to grow truly strong?" He questioned her resolve. "Do you want to become a skillful warrior?"

…She gazed up, into the blue sky above, and the unending, warm sun.

"Ye- yeah." She let her arms drop, looking away before focusing on him. "I need to."

"You don't need to." He rebuked. "You want to."

She tilted her head back. "...How do I not need-"

"If you willed so, you could leave this village." His eyes closed. "You could hide somewhere. You could give up. You could submit to the forces trying to meld you. Or, more accurately… do nothing."

"Yeah, not an option." Sendai shook her head resolutely. "I got shit to do."

"Do you?" Continuing with his eyes closed, he tested her. "The drive to fulfill your ambitions is one thing. However… what would you really want to be doing? Let us say, you are at peace. There is no more trouble. The fighting is over. What do you do?"

...She took a breath. "I would keep training. The fighting is never over. Not for me."

He almost smiled. "So you say."

' _...What a smarmy asshole.'_ While she sort of appreciated this almost spiritual moment, she also wanted to punch him.

Opening his eyes again, he spoke without taking a breath. "The fight against your opposition… or the fight against your inhibitions?"

" _What_ inhibitions?" She frowned. "What a cliched line."

This time, he actually smiled. "Isn't it true?"

"How." She held an arm out plainly, just to gesture.

He moved, to stand up. "Your fear. Your anger."

"You act to protect, but in doing so, you spend yourself. Of course, you couldn't avoid this. After all, survival… is an instinctual expense of willpower. It is unavoidable. But, for you, it has cut so deep. Even a Hakurei as you are, your own ability is a mutation of your hate, your bloody blade. The only Hakurei affinities you implement are those you've found convenient."

"What-... am I supposed to do about _that?"_ Sendai now just looked tired… "Look. Again- I just-"

" _Be quiet."_

' _...Why'd I listen to him?'_

"You have been given a fresh start." His level stare bored into hers. "...I would like to help you. Your potential is great… and I would like the privilege, of guiding such an unprecedented individual. A Hakurei warrior who has been set to square one, her powers an amalgamation of her raw, frayed emotions."

He bowed. "I would like to teach you… a thing or two."

…

Sendai sighed. "If-... if you say so."

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

They were outside the village. The old man had simply escorted her to a plain, outside the western gate. Behind them were the near, steep 'mountains', which stood taller than the trees, as crags of rough rock. Even amongst them, there were some lone trees atop them, and mixed grass.

Behind those crags, was the pier of the Sanzu. Sendai remembered staring along their other side for a moment, when she woke up on that shore. ' _What a day that was.'_

Having had time to think it over, she distrusted him. "How do I know you're not trying to use me?"

"You may abandon me when you wish." He stated stoically, as he continued to march forward. "I will make no effort to stop you."

' _...Maybe not.'_ She doubled back on that idea.

In the middle of the flat plain, he turned to face her.

"You've taken wounds recently." He noted. "Firearm wounds."

' _Just how fucking psychic is this guy…'_

"How did you know that?" She was actually genuinely curious now. "There shouldn't even be scarring. I got shot by electricity."

He met the question instantly. "The mark is still there on your soul."

' _Wh- what, no.'_ That didn't really explain anything to her…

Sensing her bafflement, he continued. "Along with all your other wounds. You forget, but the body remembers. The mind processes what the body remembers, and the soul amplifies what can be seen manyfold."

' _...Ah.'_ She supposed that explained it… ' _What?'_ Or, maybe not.

Hands behind his back, he instructed her. "I will teach you, how to deal with firearms users when you are unarmed. While my specialty is blades… it would be unfortunate for my clan to be unfamiliar with hand-to-hand, particularly when pragmatism is important in any combat situation. It is especially important… for _basic self-defense._ "

He stepped towards her. "Your offense is your best defense. For now, that is going to change. The world is not one of predictable brutes; you will fight fellow pragmatic cowards, and they will be more cowardly than you are."

' _Fucking- wow! Just dropped all pretenses, huh…!?'_

"You cannot be awkward about this." He declared. "Today, I will teach you the Konpaku Shot Stopper."

-+- _Vs. Legendary Swordsman, Previous Heir of the Konpaku Clan, Previous Retainer of the Lady Saigyouji, Former Watchman of the Ayakashi, Youki Konpaku -+-_

From his form, two huge, floating masses of soul matter expelled themselves, glowing as his form grew translucent.

' _Oh- woah! He's a ghost…!?'_ Sendai's eyes widened at his form. ' _No wonder!'_

As the huge wisps revolved around him, his form glew as it regained new definition. From one of the wisps, he drew a shape that faded in. It melded into the form of a hand pistol.

"See this." He held the metal, outside-style pistol, pointed at her.

Sendai stared at it idly, sort of amazed he could just obtain one from nothing. ' _...Huh.'_

 _Pow!_ He shot Sendai in the chest.

' _Wa- woah- ah-...'_ Sendai recoiled violently at the gunshot, but felt nothing. ' _Um…'_

"These are not real weapons. They're spiritual, illusionary imitations." Upon clarifying this, he surveyed the weapon… "However… they could afford _some_ repercussion."

He aimed at her again, and she tried to move-

 _Pow!_ This shot also passed straight through her, immaterial, but this time it staggered her. " _Uhf…"_

 _Pow!_ A second shot traveled through her, knocking her off her feet. " _Oof!"_

"That should be good." He was pleased with that amount of power. "First… I'd like to see how you first try to deal with an opponent like me. Someone with a quick firearm."

Thrusting back onto her legs, Sendai cracked her neck, then her knuckles. ' _If you say so…'_

...She studied his form, as he lowered the gun, as if to start standing neutrally. ' _I should act before he raises it again…'_

 _Pap!_ Thrusting a sandal against the soil beneath, she galloped forward towards him. In her arm, she had a handful of rebound stones, which she also casted towards him.

He leapt to his right, which was her left, plainly avoiding both the oncoming rush and the stones.

She came to a stop just behind the stones, as they lost momentum on the soil, and moved to kick him.

 _Woosh!_ He spun around, letting her kick come just shy of his body.

 _Pow!_ And, from here, he had his arm in a clean position to open fire. " _Unh…"_ Sendai stumbled back.

 _Pow!_ He fired again, knocking her over gently. " _Ugh…"_

"Again." He requested, lowering the pistol once more.

Pushing herself back up, Sendai looked over his posture. ' _I need to do something snakey. Maybe disarm him somehow, or…'_

She ran straight at him. He backpedaled as she approached-

Then, her form was gone, flickering out.

He stopped, standing idle, raising his pistol at where she was.

Sendai's form re-emerged from the space behind him, running up. ' _Surprise!'_

 _Pap- whap!_ She connected a jab to the back of his head, then his spine.

" _Hup."_ Before she could even continue the combo, he turned ninety degrees to the left, then thrust himself back, to fall on his left side.

As he fell, he rounded her form, stopping almost entirely behind her. ' _Look out!'_ She knew what he was going to do, from there.

 _Pow!_ His shot missed. Sendai had leapt into the air, to pounce on him. ' _He's on the ground now! Fuckin' idiot-'_

 _Pow- pow!_ He awkwardly fired up twice from the floor again, double-tapping her with bullets before she could stomp onto him.

" _Hu~nh…"_ Sendai let out a sigh of discomfort, as she was blown back in the air. The force made her backflip against her will-

 _Thud._ -and she came down on her stomach. "Ooh… da- damn..."

' _For an old guy, he's pretty damn dexterous…'_

"...I see." Already standing again, he stared down at her, as she slowly got back up. "You're trying to overwhelm me with an unstoppable offense. However, guns are immediate, powerful weapons, compared to even your most effortful maneuvers."

"One more time." Now on her legs, she exhaled… "I've got an idea."

He took a few steps back. "Very well. Come."

...After watching his idle form, she ran at him again. ' _This time…'_

 _Fwish!_ As he rose the pistol at her sprinting form, she tensed all her muscles to flick forward with even more intensity.

 _Pow!_ She evaded the shot with her sliding motion, and stopped on a dime. She slung her arm to the side, using all her sudden momentum to thrust a hook into his stomach.

 _Whunk!_ She actually managed to plow the hook into his gut.

The old master staggered back. "Ah…"

 _Whunk- whap!_ Now that she had him staggered, she hooked him in the cheek, then the stomach again, his body withering back.

 _Bam!_ Her knee met his stomach next, and he shut his eyes. " _Hrgh-"_

Reeling an arm back overhead, Sendai's limb flared with azure energy. " _Ya~h!"_ She was going to ram an overhead thrust down into him, almost leaping off the momentum of her knee strike to plow it forward.

 _WHAM!_ She met his collar, with her fist.

He flew back, thrown off his feet by the the absolute power.

 _woosh._ As he rolled back through the air, he did a backflip, landing smoothly onto his own sandals.

 _fwish._ Then, in the next moment, he was facing her precisely again, some evenly-spaced meters away like before. ' _What the fuck…'_

"...That was _almost_ what was in mind." Stroking his beard, he held the gun out to his side. Upon dropping it, it faded into nothing. "You seem to already be adapting to defensive techniques, which is unexpected, but good."

...One of his great wisps around him landed on the ground beside him. After a moment, it formed into another one of himself. ' _Wh- what…'_

The old masters faced one another. The new one had a pistol, aiming it at himself.

"I'm going to demonstrate the Konpaku Shot Stopper for you." He explained. "Watch carefully, as you will be expected to simulate these motions."

...Like this, the two men stared at one another plainly.

'... _Well. I'm watching…'_ She awaited their actions.

Then, the unarmed one sprinted forward.

 _Pow!_ The bullet fired by his counterpart whizzed beside his face, as he slid into melee range. He seemed to glide ahead, almost as if to meet the barrel with his face, but all the while he weaved to the side of it.

' _He abused the gunner's perception! Still- the risk… I mean, it's not like you're gonna do that with your torso, though. Damn I hate guns.'_

Grabbing onto the gun arm outright, the unarmed master brought his other arm back-

 _Wha- Cra~ck!_ He backhanded his other self, his forearm smashing against the head with a flash of lightning.

 _WHAM!_ Then, using the momentum from that same arm swing, he hooked his arm across the gunman's head.

His other form went sprawling as the arm powered into his face and neck, balance ruined by the hold the unarmed master had on his gun arm. " _Ongh…"_

 _Thud!_ Falling onto his back, the formerly armed master lied defeated.

The original now held the pistol, twirling it around a finger.

' _...I see.'_ Sendai blinked, the exchange having lasted literally all of one or two seconds.

' _He remained close to the barrel to make the accuracy of the opposing weapon more awkward and unpredictable. Sort of like aggressive strafing. Then he just used the gun arm to leverage himself, before smacking the guy around. Looks like you need a lot of force to actually take the opposition down…'_

"This also works for two-handed weapons." Next to him, his other self took a moment to reform.

The wisp blurred into standing again, becoming another of the old master, this time holding a shotgun.

Sendai vaguely recognized the firearm. ' _Oh, woah.'_

Coming up to his other self, the old man simply moved to demonstrate the motion. While the second man aimed, the first came up quickly.

 _Pa- pap!_ When the man raised the shotgun to fire it, the unarmed master moved to put himself beside the barrel, hands locking onto the first and second thirds of the weapon.

" _Rgh…"_ The other man tried to tug back, as it seemed like the unarmed master was simply trying to pull it from him to disarm him-

 _Crack!_ Instead, he subverted the struggle, thrusting the gun back into the shotgunner's face, both blowing it from his hands and sending the firearm user sprawling by doing so. _"Uagh…!"_

 _Thud- clack._ He landed on his side, the shotgun clattering on the grass beside him.

"...And, there you have it." He turned to Sendai. "Now, you will repeat it."

"...Okay." She roused herself into activity again, stancing herself to be ready to move.

 _Fwish._ The other, fallen man became a wisp, returning to the original's form.

Also, he now held a shotgun, which Sendai didn't see him equip. "Do as I showed you."

' _Oh, gods…'_

...She began to run towards his form. This time, as he began aiming preemptively, she strafed to make his shot harder. ' _First, I've got to get up close-'_ She began to slide preemptively-

 _BA~NG!_ _Chi- chick!_ He fired the plain shotgun.

 _Fwish!_ Sendai slid aside the volley of pellets, eyes wide. ' _Holy shit…!'_

Recovering from her flinch-like dodge, Sendai lunged into range, her adrenaline firing up. ' _Now…!'_

Her body and face came up aside the barrel, as he held the gun up along his shoulder.

 _Clack!_ Her arms latched onto the further two-thirds of the weapon, like he'd demonstrated earlier.

She tried instantly to thrust it back into his face, but instead he pushed back, resisting the motion. ' _Wait- I've got to pull it!'_

So, she did. Upon her pulls, he tried to hold on as hard as he could-

 _Wha- crack! "Nnh…"_ She thrust it back, and the shotgun's butt hit his face. This disarmed him, his arms letting go involuntarily from the sudden pain.

As the weapon fell away, he staggered back. He now had a pistol from nowhere, aimed right at her, and the shotgun Sendai stole was gone.

 _Pow!_ She ducked into a kneeling posture early, a shot missing her. ' _I- wow…!'_ The way her heart leapt made her short on breath.

Then, pushing herself, she rushed up to him, rising as she began to near him.

 _Fwish._ Staring down the gun, she slid to the left again-

 _Pow!_ She saw the muzzle flash out of the corner of her eye. The old master was ambling back to keep away now, re-aligning his aim. ' _No you don't…!'_

His brief escape attempted ended when she grabbed his arm. ' _Alright! Now-'_

She brought her other arm up, readying to backhand him. He resisted with a thrusting punch to her stomach, but his balance was already too betrayed to lay force into it.

 _WHAM!_ Fueling her arm with dark power, she whipped it clean across his head, rattling it in its entirety. " _Ungh…"_

 _BAM!_ Reeling the same arm back, she plunged it fist-forward, sending him sprawling. " _Hnh…"_

 _Thud!_ He landed hard on his back.

Sendai had the pistol in her hands, having slipped it away after punching him down. ' _...Ho- holy shit. This move makes so much sense.'_

 _Sendai learned Konpaku Shot Stopper!_

' _That-... actually flowed really nicely, too. Quick and painless.'_

Now back up, seemingly unfazed by any of what just happened, the man gave her a slight bow and a nod. "Excellent. You adapt quickly. Fitting, for such a simple technique."

"Make sure you don't praise me too hard, now." Sendai casually quipped at his hard nature. "I might blush."

He resisted the urge to snort. "...See that you use this self-defense technique in the future. It would do you no good to flicker out so soon."

"...Thank you for this, I guess." It felt awkward for her to thank someone formally. She also felt this session was coming to a close... "Where will I be able to find you for next time?"

"You'll know." He gave her another nod. "...By which, you may seat yourself at that same bench."

She smiled dryly. "Thanks for not making _that_ a riddle."

...Turning away, he saw himself off. "Goodbye. May we cross paths again."

"Don't glare at the sky too hard." She gave him a wave, even if he didn't look back to see it.

' _...What a weird old karate master guy. That's some shit from a novel, right there. I've never even heard the name Konpaku before…'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

 _Crea~k._ Keine's front door folded open for her, as she stepped inside in the early period of the sunset.

...Inside, Mokou was flopped on a couch, looking tired. ' _Nice.'_

Marcus sat, enjoying a super pretzel. "...Oo~h." He gave her a wave, as she progressed inside.

Keine looked up from some papers she was examining. "...Hi, Tsukiko."

"Hey." She casually greeted her friends. "...I walk in on break time, or somethin'?"

"Yeah." Keine surprised her with the truth. "Mokou just got back from-... whatever she was doing, and Marcus is getting ready for this evening's activities. Dieter's taken residence at an actual location of interest, now."

' _...Where the heck's that Kessho chick.'_ Sendai just realized, she didn't know where the short, cyan-white shrine maidenly girl was. ' _Ah, whatever.'_

...On the central couch, when Sendai rounded it, she saw Reisen there. She was no longer in her villager-styled garb, now clad in a navy-colored suit, her ears revealed.

Marcus snorted, leaning back in his seat. "Can y'believe how _little_ magic shit's sold here? Like, _wow!_ I thought it was bad years ago, but we're dumb as bricks now!"

"Aah." Ignoring his idle banter, Sendai moved to sit next to Reisen there. "No longer goin' around in disguise, huh. How many more rabbits are disguised like you are?"

"...How'm I supposed to know." Reisen countered, looking casual.

Sendai looked over at Keine, expectant. "...We learn anything from this bunny chick? Who's she?"

Keine gave her a smile. "She is who she said she was, actually. I know she picked a rather odd time to tell you, but she is indeed an important figure at Eientei. We can trust her."

"...Really." Sendai was still fairly skeptical. "But-..." She looked over Reisen's suit, and then up at her bunny ears. "She looks like the kind we fight to me."

...At her aggression, Reisen gave her an awkward smile. "Suits of this style are a common formal armor distributed to our ranks, all of them. They typically come with sophisticated, auto-recharging shield technology, cloaking, telepathic amplification, and lock-on aim assist mechanisms. From what I heard, the faction taking root in the village here uses a replicable, off-brand variant with only half the features."

"...The fuck." Sendai only understood some of that. After considering it, she understood most of it, but… "Aim assist?"

"For guns." Reisen summarized. "You can shoot more accurately, basically."

"Ah." Sendai wasn't really interested in that sort of thing. "...So~."

"She's here to clean up the mess she made." Mokou drawled from the blue side couch, before moving to sit up. "Ain't that right?"

"...Well, the mess _we collectively_ made." Reisen defended herself, a little. "I did my best, but I can't micromanage what my fluffheads do in their off-time, or what they think, or feel. I have total control on the battlefield, and in the barracks, but I'm not some kind of dictator."

...Sendai thought back to the conversation she had with Reisen just some hours ago. "What're you gonna do to set this shit right, then? I don't think a sorry can cut what's happening to people, here."

Reisen's eyes locked with hers. "I'll help you guys out. You and Mokou here-... you're going around, doing the muscle work, aren't you? I'll spend some time helping you. I can't just let these defectors go around, making a mess of the place, or our reputation."

' _...Huh. For someone who calls herself a 'commanding officer', she's way more hands-on than I expected.'_

"Will this be alright?" Keine interjected her own wonder. "With your master, I mean."

"Definitely." Reisen nodded once. "We've known about the problem of defectors for some time, but always figured-... that, if we weren't getting registers of our own guns or tech on radars, they were a remote and disjointed problem not worth pursuing. If they're causing a big problem in the village, though… something needs to happen right now. Regardless of leads or help, I'm going to be spending some time doing recon and infiltration myself."

She turned to Sendai, meeting her gaze again with her red eyes. "It just seemed most convenient that I get to help your assaults, since I'm sure the defectors have their hands in the underground."

' _...Guess we ain't stoppin' her.'_ Sendai didn't exactly mind the help.

Keine moved for the kitchen. "Tsukiko, let me get you a drink, before we continue…"

Sendai held up a hand. "Wh- hey, hold on. You're not my _maid,_ I can get myself a drink."

"...You had to have been tired, after whatever it sounded like you did with that old villager." Keine gave her another smile. "Let me help, dang it."

' _She heard that practice over the sound stone? Huh.'_

...When Keine stepped off again, Sendai slouched into her seat. "Aa~h." Her arm flopped onto the left arm rest...

' _I'm not used to getting looked after, damn it. Specifically by Keine, somehow…'_

Looking back over at the stairway, at the kitchen's back wall, Sendai saw that the stairs were back up, obscuring the hidden guest room. ' _...Why does Keine have a secret guest room, anyway? ...Actually, considering this village, that's a dumb question.'_

"So…" Reisen broke the ice, a little. "Your name is Tsukiko, huh?"

...Sendai faced her again, looking neutral. "So?"

"I hadn't really thought about whether or not Reimu had family, or not." She admitted. "...Everyone here really seems to trust you, too."

"How do you know Reimu?" Sendai was reminded, of seeing her at the shrine.

"We're friends." Reisen replied quickly, before Sendai could go down any darker roads of thought. "...Everyone you saw at the shrine that evening, were friends of hers."

' _...I did see Marisa there, too. Hmmh.'_

Keine returned with a glass of water, giving it to Sendai. "Here. You'll need your energy."

"I'm not even _that old._ " Sendai accepted the glass begrudgingly…

"...We- well, I didn't mean it that way." Keine raised her brows in vague sympathy. "It's just-... things could get crazy, for all we know, and it'd be best if you went to each of these areas prepared. Anything could happen."

...Slowly, Sendai drank from the glass. ' _Don't think this glass of water's gonna make or break me. It's… pretty good, though. I've still got all my potions, so I should be fine, if anything weird happens.'_

The house had warm, darkening lighting, as the sun began to set in the distance. ' _Sunset is the best time of day, next to dawn. Dawn and dusk are awesome. Everything else is-... okay.'_

...Sendai met Reisen's gaze. ' _Why's she just staring at me.'_

"...I _will_ say." Mokou also spoke up. "Reisen's kind of a stiff, but she means well. An' if she's serious about helpin' us out, then y'know… it'll be good. She's pro'lly loaded on healing items, too."

Reisen snorted. "Well, yes."

...After enough peace and quiet, Reisen spoke up again. "When are we, um… beginning operations?" She looked down at the table, where the village map rested, with various pieces…

Keine scanned over everyone, then down at the board. "...Well. Right now, if everyone's okay with that."

She continued, "Dieter's taken residence inside a building called Heaven Springs, near the south gate of the village. It's a business that was started rather recently, using funding from Okane. It makes sense that he'd hide out there, because-... considering the time frame, Dieter himself probably worked over the deal for the funding."

"Cool." Mokou nodded. "Can I burn it?"

"No." Keine put it simply. "It's also not raining anymore, so please refrain from burning even youkai, unless it's dire."

"...I'll try."

The lit piece on the board resided within one rectangle. True to Keine's words, the building was to the very south, almost near the gate there.

Sendai stood, setting her glass down near the map's edge, now that it was empty.

She took in a big breath. "Hnn~..."

' _No time like the present. I'm not gonna have time to fuck around until we're finished with this stuff, probably. Which is fine by me, because I don't really have any ideas other than-... drinking and training, basically.'_

She let out her breath. "Al~right. Let's go."

...Mokou moved to stand, too. "Aah. We gettin' this shit on?"

Approaching the front door, Sendai moved to look out the window, for a moment. "Yeah."

' _Time to get up and do things.'_ The auburn glaze of sunlight over the land filled her with a weird sort of warmth.

"Judgin' by how Dieter's chillin' out…" Marcus took a glancing look at the deactivated sapphire orb, which held the scry on Dieter. "He ain't plannin' on movin' anytime this evening. Y'can spend as much time as ya want gettin' to the joint, pro'lly, long as ya don't start a riot 'er some shit."

...Reisen gave him an awkward look. "Does that-... happen often?"

"Yes." Sendai lied. "We're a running riot." She moved from the window, to the door.

 _Crea~k._ She pushed it open, and embarked into the vaguely chilly evening.

' _Time to get closer to the heart of this village.'_

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

7

Fringe of Decency

' _The sunset-... kicks ass.'_ Dawn and dusk were Sendai's favorite times of the day.

Sendai, Mokou and Reisen marched down the alley away from Keine's home, looking dangerous altogether.

...On the road, amidst the random villagers scattered about it, a black-haired man sighted them, and his eyes widened.

"Hey, Reisen." Mokou spoke, as they left the alley. "No villager disguise, today?"

"Not while I do this business, no." Reisen shook her head. "As far as the villagers see it, suited-me and disguised-me are different people. I'm not trying to sell wares right now, so~..."

"Ah. Gotcha." Mokou tilted her head back, then nodded. "Yer hangin' around _us_ , too. Pro'lly wouldn't look good overall."

Sendai recognized the young man ahead of them. _'I've seen that kid before. I saw him on that dirt road-... I beat up him and his friends for trying to rape me.'_

Breaking from the other, Sendai marched up to him.

"Aah-..." He began to step back, looking around. "Shit-..."

"Hey." She called out to him. "Kid."

"I- what, what is this?" Backing up further, he looked like he was preparing to run. "I- I'll get my dad. Leave me alone."

"You got any of those shitty pills on you, still?" Sendai asked. "Asking for a friend."

"Nn- fuck off…" He scowled at her. "Even if I _did-_ I'd-... I pay for them with my _own money._ "

"Fork 'em over." She held her hand out.

...When he began to glare, Mokou and Reisen walked up behind her, from either side, looking down at him.

"Whah…" He looked at them both, and stumbled back. "What- the hell're you-... look- my _dad_ works for the school. He can talk with the head teacher there, and you'll all be in trouble for-... beating me up!"

"The hell's all this about." Mokou looked at Sendai plainly.

Sendai gestured to him. "First day back in the village, he and some other kids tried to jump and rape me. He wanted to feed me some of that drug getting passed around."

...Mokou nodded. "Whelp, that settles it. Off to the big house with you, kiddo."

" _No!"_ With that, he turned and ran.

Sendai held onto him by the shoulder. "Let's _see here._ " Weaving down, she reached for one of his brown pants pockets…

Then, she felt the chalky substance. ' _Ahah.'_

Bringing her arm out, she smiled at the heart-shaped tablet. "Haven't learnt your lesson from last time, huh."

Now free from her grasp, his glare flared. "Yh- agh! You _bitch!"_

Villagers began to move further around them, some slowing and staring at this spooky exchange.

...Sendai stopped his assault, by pressing a palm back against his forehead, as she held the pill up. "How long ago you get this? Anyone particular sell it to you?"

"Nn- ngh…" Stepping back, the youth glared up at her. "...If I answer, will you give it back?"

"I'd be lying if I said I would." Sendai frowned. "How you answer determines whether or not we break all of your legs. No, we don't care about your dad; in fact, we'll break his legs too. So, get talking."

...Shaking, he looked up at Mokou and Reisen again, before spilling what he knew. "I-... I- I got the first pill-... from this one guy, and then this one- I got from a shrine maiden… girl, thing. Except- she wasn't in her outfit, she was-... um…"

...Sendai looked up, to see that Reisen had stolen the pill from her fingers. "Ah."

"Do you actually know anything about these, kid…" Reisen stared over the heart-shaped tablet with a flat look. "These heart pills _aren't_ meant for humans. They're not even meant for regular, habitual consumption. They're the stuff that's sometimes handed out during mating mega-parties at the clinic, and in limited doses. Is this stuff just being sold all the time, now?"

...He blinked at her, and nodded. "Ye- yeah. Some guys I knew-... when they gave them to their girlfriends, they just-... it was like, _wow._ I knew I had to have some, myself."

"Uuh." Reisen furrowed her brows, and grinned awkwardly. "...Tell your friends to stop. Especially if their friends have eaten more than like-... _one._ I don't exactly _know_ what happens when you overdose on these, but considering what goes into them, it's probably big trouble.

"We've had a few cases of over-consumption, and we've had to hospitalize earth rabbits for memory loss and irregular blood flow to certain parts of the body. Those things are _only_ meant to be used once every few months, and by _lunar rabbits._ "

...He blinked, a few times. "Se- seriously…? Well-... for some of my friends, that might be bad, so um, thanks. But-..." He stared them all over cautiously. "...How-... how bad really _is it?_ If it makes girls really like you, for a long time?"

...Reisen exhaled. "What do you mean. Isn't that kinda reason enough? It's abusable. It's-... it's also not _real love,_ or anything, so I don't see why that'd be a good thing. It numbs the mind and increases sex drive at its most basic. The only time the clinic has actually used it was when it was just getting started, and we needed serious repopulation."

"...Re- really." He stared down, at the floor. "Well-... I say it's not bad!" He glared up at Reisen with newfound resolve. "It speeds everything up-... and-..." Reisen's dour stare back silenced him.

"What do _you_ know?" Reisen shook her head. "What are you, a pervert? No girl you give this to will ever love you. At _best,_ they'll never wake up, and you'll have a broken person. At worst, they'll hate you for how you unstabilized their mental comfort, and they won't rest until you're in jail. This is why love potions are universally frowned upon, by Gensokyo's societies."

...He clenched his fists. "Do-... don't talk, like you're so _smart._ You all just want to bully me."

Before Sendai or Mokou could interject, Reisen got closer to him. "Oh, _shut up._ I'm trying to _explain things_ to you, and here you are- thinking it'll all just have a good ending if you ignore everything. Nothing will end well for you, if you toss this kinda crap around."

"That's where you're wrong!" He barked back. "I-... I haven't used it on anyone yet, but a cool guy-... he took me to Golden Grin, and-... some of the girls there were so _hot._ " He pointed at Sendai. "Li- like her. So, when I saw you…"

He bowed before Sendai. "I love you!"

' _...I think something's just wrong with this guy in particular.'_ Sendai just gave him a dull look. ' _I bet the kids around Dieter are all drugged. Then you got this clown, who doesn't even need to be drugged to be an idiot.'_

"We~ll." Reisen slid the tablet into her suit. "I'll hold onto this, and look at it later. We done here?" She looked over Sendai…

She nodded back. "Mhm. Let's roll."

"Wa- wait…!" He held out his arm. "What about my _pill!?_ I paid-... I paid _ten thousand yen, for that!"_

...Sendai gave him a vain look back. "Fuck off."

"I-... I think you're all gonna be _sorry!"_

-+- _Vs. Rai, Human Villager_ -+-

Rai ran at Reisen first, ready to ram her with his shoulder. "Rrgh-"

 _WHUNK- CR- CRACK._ Reisen flicked her arm up, her elbow meeting his nose faster than the eye can see.

" _Hgh- thuu~..."_ He flew back, blood roaring from his nose as if he was just shot by a bullet, as he flipped back through the air. " _Hk- aa-..."_

 _Sendai gave Lovestruck Tablet to Reisen._

...Mokou, Reisen and Sendai all walked into the village square together.

"Nothin' useful came of that shit." Mokou reflected on that kid they met… "We didn't even learn anything real new."

"We saved someone from getting mindbroken, hopefully." Reisen shook her head. "So, I'd call that worth it."

' _...We also learned stuff about that drug, actually.'_ Sendai saw value in that meeting that the other two didn't. ' _Sounds like some serious shit. Maybe Keine can make use of the information she rattled off to that kid, since that sound stone's still goin'.'_

On that note, Sendai turned to Reisen. "Actually… did you take a look at those weird ass women we captured, yet? The ones from last night, if Keine told you that much."

...Reisen perked up, at that. "Oh, right! Them! Uuh." After a moment of thinking further, she continued. "Yeah, I did. I have no idea what happened to them. All of them _used-..._ well, _three of them_ used to be human. Two of them were outsiders, one of them seemed like a villager, and the last-... I think she's some kinda homunculus, maybe. She'll require more vigorous testing to make sure."

"They've been living off nothing but those heart-shaped tarts for uh… the past five years." Sendai supplied what she knew. "Yeah."

...Reisen's eyes widened at her. "Wh- what-... what the _fuck._ The _drug,_ you mean…!?"

...Sendai blinked a little, and nodded. "Yeah?"

...Reisen held her hand over her own mouth. "...Ooh. Oh, that's-... that's not good. Oh shit. Holy-... crap."

Sendai grinned. "Is-... is it that remarkable?"

"Yeah!" Reisen was simply awestruck. "I didn't think anyone'd be stupid enough to do something like that! That-... that might explain why they're youkai, now."

Mokou paused in the middle of the square with them. "Wa- wait, hold up- you're tellin' me this drug could make villagers inta youkai…!?"

"Potentially, yes!" Reisen gave her the most intense awkward grin back. "Yh-... ooh, _fuck._ Alright-... look, whatever we do, we're _not_ telling Reimu about this."

...Sendai took pause, at that. "Ah…? Why?"

...Reisen stared at her for a moment. "...Because- if Reimu caught wind of _something like this,_ I can guarantee she'd kick down half the doors in this village stressing out about potential villagers-turned-youkai. We really can't have that… so uh, we won't."

' _Huh. Guess Reimu's really anal about that sorta thing. I'm only really prickly about it if they turn into something harmful, or make too much of a show over it. Although, considering how those girls turned out, at this rate it might as well be mercy killings.'_

"...Y'know what." Mokou began to turn away from them. "'Fore we hit the place…" Her gaze was centered on one of the village storefronts. "How about we grab a quick drink?"

Reisen snorted. "...Well-... sure."

' _We're not gonna go sit in a bar, are we. Wait...'_ She saw the front that Mokou had her sights on. ' _Oh, sweet. She's thinkin' of the quick stop-and-go food vendor. Glad to see that trend's still around.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

The storefront was simply a window next to a door, where a man stood, looking somewhat tired. It was early sunset, after all.

The girls all stood there casually, as Mokou surveyed them for their decisions.

"Any beer, nothing too fancy." Sendai gave a flat answer.

"Same." Reisen wasn't in the mood for anything exact either.

...Mokou look at the man flatly.

He grinned, a little. "...Good thing we only carry the basic stuff. We ain't a bar."

 _Click, click, click._ He slid three glass mugs onto the counter, and moved somewhere inside the building.

' _Ooh.'_ Sendai stared at the mugs… ' _They've got it in actual glass mugs, now. No more cheap wood shit.'_

 _Fwi~sh._ He poured the beer into each, from a big bottle. ' _...Malts, huh.'_ She wasn't familiar with the brand he was pouring...

"Here ya go." He held out his arms. "Malt's 'the _Draft'._ "

"Otherwise known as plain ol' pisswater." Mokou gave him a half-grin.

' _Ah, so, nothing new, then.'_

Laying the yen down on the counter, Mokou took the leftmost one, and Reisen took the rightmost one.

This left Sendai with the center one. ' _Looks good…'_

...While they all stood idle, at the storefront, Sendai took a sip of her new beer.

' _...Well, it's beer.'_ She couldn't say much more about it. ' _Not as rough as the stuff the village used to default to, but it ain't winnin' any prizes. Malt's, was it? The old regular used to be unnamed, but everyone knew it when they tasted it. To be honest, I like beer with a kick. Keeps me from getting too drunk, if it tastes like raw dogshit.'_

After a moment, they took to standing around the right wall of the store, leaning against it as they worked on their beers.

Reisen gave the mugs of Malt's they received a sardonic look. "Never heard of a Malt's highball before."

Mokou was plain about it. "'Cause it ain't a highball, genius. Might as well be drinkin' this shit out of a can."

"...Ah, yeah." Reisen brought it towards her lips. "At least the mugs are _nice._ I'm used to getting a buzz off this kinda stuff, anyway."

' _...Who the hell'd drink beer out of a can. Who even cans shit. Sounds like a huge waste of metal.'_

"So…" Reisen turned her head to them. Their glasses glimmered gold from nearby, warm sunlight, although they were leaning against a westward building, which blocked most of it. "How long've you guys been goin' around doing this?"

"This marks the second day." Sendai provided. "...I dunno how much longer we'll actually be doing this for."

"As long as it takes." Mokou decided. "...Not sure how cooperative Dieter'd actually be after we grab his ass. For all we know, this could be the last run."

' _Kessho did list those names, which we could look into. We're hitting Heaven Springs tonight… and the Golden Grin's a giant fuckoff building that you can't miss for any reason. No clue what a fuckin' Artificial Hakurei Project is. The guard-... well, they've already pussied out by helping us arrest people, and by fortifying Keine's school.'_

The bronze-colored clouds in the reddening sky drew Sendai's eye. ' _I feel like, after we hit this place, someone's gonna get wise to how much of a detriment Dieter is.'_

"Mmh…" She took a sip of her beer.

' _Aah, there we go. The old swill.'_

"I could start running recon ops of my own, later." Reisen considered how to approach the situation, herself. "...But, we'll see. For now, I wanna size this problem up myself. If we end up destabilizing the chain of command this early in the game, even just Keine should be able to clean things up on her off time. Maybe with _some_ help, to expedite it."

' _...For now, I just wanna punch things that deserve to be punched.'_ Sendai's values were simple.

"Hmh." Mokou grunted, at Reisen's idea. "I don't think we should overthink it, really. Once we've got everyone real spooked, I imagine things'll be quieting down."

"Maybe." Reisen raised her drink. "But, y'know… we'll see."

'... _Hmm. I wonder if I'll be able to experiment more, now that I got two pretty powerful people helping me out.'_

"Hey." Sendai decided to talk to Reisen, this time. "...What would you say one of the most important things about unarmed fighting is?"

...Reisen grinned. "That's uh, kind of an unexpected question."

"She really wants to learn how ta fight better again." Mokou spread the context for the discussion to Reisen. "She asked me how I kick an' shit last night. I, uh… couldn't really give a straight answer to that."

"...I think defense is very important." Reisen decided. "Offense is a tactically sound way of reducing your opponent's options, but no matter what, if you can reduce the damage you take, you're a little better off overall. For us youkai, that's not so important in a lot of encounters… but for someone like you-... Tsukiko, it's uh, kinda important."

' _...Well, yeah.'_ Sendai figured all of this, already. ' _That old man I saw today also said something about defense.'_

"How would you say I do that, then?" Sendai wondered. "...I can kinda dodge, and block or parry stuff. But, overall, I'm just-... not that fast, and not that strong."

...Reisen raised her beer. "I'd hafta see you fight to be the judge of that. But… y'know, if you can keep your head, I'd imagine you could keep your guard up, too. Unless they've got a weapon, I'd say keeping your guard up is the most important thing you can do against a youkai."

"Really, now…?" Sendai wondered, about that. "Just, keep it up? Is just _defending_ really that useful?"

...Reisen smiled. "Well, yeah. I could show you, if you want."

The idea made Sendai look interested, for a moment. ' _Show me, huh. Hmm.'_

On a delay, she stared down at her beer, before taking a slow sip of it. ' _I think I'll accept…'_

-+- _Vs. Tertiary Incident Resolver, Commanding Officer of the New Lunarian Army, Right Hand of Eirin Yagokoro, Weapon Production Hobbyist, Reisen Udongein Inaba -+-_

Standing at a short distance from each other before the simple food and drink shop, Sendai and Reisen stared one another down.

 _Cra- crack._ Cracking her neck, then her knuckles, Sendai held both arms up, ready to brawl. ' _Alright. Let's see what she wants to show me…'_

"First!" Reisen raised her voice. "I want you to guard _now."_

...Sendai did so on an experimental delay, crossing her arms.

Reisen came at her. Sliding forward, she unleashed a roundhouse kick that went as high as Sendai's face, whipping her leg out lightning fast.

 _WHAM!_ Sendai's guard was immediately broken, her left arm thrown way out by the sudden, fierce impact of the tip of Reisen's shoe. "Oo- oh-"

 _pap._ Reisen poked her in the tummy. "...You didn't guard well enough."

...Sendai shook her impacted arm, a little. "That-... that so. You hit my arm really hard. Almost specifically to, you know, break my guard."

' _And, hell does that sting. Not sure if the pain's from her boot shoe thing, or if it's from the kick itself.'_

"That shouldn't be a problem." Reisen countered. "Youkai attack fast and hard. Your defense should be ready at all times, no matter what happens."

Sendai saw Reisen bounce closer on her feet, and raised her own guard again. ' _Oh, boy-'_

 _WHISH!_ Reisen unleashed another upward roundhouse, drawing a crescendo in the air with grey afterimages left by her leg's swing.

 _Fwish!_ Sendai slid beside it-

 _WHAM!_ Reisen spun around faster than could be seen, her leg meeting Sendai's side instantly. "Ngh- ow…" The blow almost toppled Sendai, but she just barely saved herself…

"I said _guard,_ dangit." Reisen grinned at her. "I'm way faster than my soldiers, and my soldiers are way faster than you. Don't even think of dodging."

Sendai brought up her arms again-

 _WHAM!_ Reisen whipped around in a moment, her blindingly fast crescent roundhouse roaring into one of Sendai's arms, stealing it away from the guarding posture.

' _Damn it- come on!'_ Sendai was frustrated with how slow her arms seemed to move, as if they were suspended by the air itself. ' _Fuckin' mo~ve!'_

Sendai's limbs flared with azure energy, her adrenaline spiking. She tried to pull her arm back into position, gritting her teeth through the pain of the impacts. ' _I can take it-'_

 _WHAM!_ Reisen seemed to intentionally slow for a moment, as Sendai snapped her arms back into a cross-shaped posture, only for the kick to part them again.

' _Ghh- damn it! I'm faster than this! I should be able to take a shitty kick like this!'_

 _WHAM!_ Azure afterimages trailed the movement of Sendai's arms, as she snapped them back into guarding almost instantly. _'Fuck…'_ The great stinging from each hit only grew and grew, blocking out other senses.

 _WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!_ Multiple times within one second, Reisen whipped around. Each pivot was accented with a mighty crescent-style kick, scraping one of Sendai's arms away with each pass.

 _WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!_ Sendai's glare was fierce, her arms black with dark magic. Her limbs moved to correct her posture faster than the eye could see, and faster than she herself could even sense. ' _Nngh-...! Fuck!'_ The pain was enough to make her wince an eye shut, expression aflare.

 _PAP!_ Whipping around, Reisen changed tactics, and tried to disarm Sendai's guard with a lunging hook of some sort. This blow displaced one of Sendai's arms at a weird angle.

Before she could even feel it, her arms now numb from the bruises, Sendai corrected her guard again. ' _...Why'd she stop-'_

 _BAM!_ Reisen thrust a kick forward into Sendai's defense, blowing both arms away at once on impact, her boot's force echoing through Sendai's forearm bones. Yet, magic rolled through Sendai's shoulders, snapping her arms back into place almost instantly. ' _Nngh-...!'_ It wasn't very kind on the joints.

 _Pap!_ Suddenly, Mokou pushed Reisen aside. "Wh- ah…!"

 _WHAWHAM!_ Immediately, Mokou thrust a leg forward, smashing Sendai's arms aside-

' _Aa~gh-'_

 _WHAWHAM- WHAM- WHAM- WHAM!_ Spinning around, Mokou thrust a kick forward again and again with the same leg. Each time, Sendai's arms snapped just into position to block the attack at the last possible moment.

The kicks were faster than Reisen's, and stronger too, each blow rattling her to her core, but her arms remained, a standing brick wall of force between Mokou and herself.

…Finally, Mokou relented. "Hu~h. That's an awfully neat-"

 _WHAM!_ She whipped a leg slower this time, with more force, blowing into one of Sendai's pitch black arms back again.

 _BAM._ Bouncing onto that leg, she kicked her other leg up quicker, and Sendai managed to resist that one with both arms at the last possible moment, too.

"Ha~h…" Sendai was sort of exhausted, however. "Fu- fu… fuck…"

' _God-... god, damn…'_ Even though it was all only against her arms, she felt like her whole body had taken a toll. ' _That-... really hurts, actually…'_

"...Hu~h." Relenting genuinely now, Mokou was actually sort of impressed, this time. "The fuck."

 _Sendai learned Re-Guard!_

Reisen clapped.

"...Damn." Sendai looked down at her pale arms, and at the growing, black and blue marks along them. "You guys really didn't hold back. This'll fuckin' smart in the morning."

" _We_ didn't hold back…?" Scratching the back of her own head, Mokou grinned, a little. "Humans aren't supposed to be able to move their arms like _that._ "

...Once Reisen stopped clapping, she beamed. "You caught on remarkably quickly! I thought I'd have to tone it down a little, because I forgot about human reflexes, but-... wow!"

"...Tha- that so?" Sendai smiled. "I thought the idea was I'd work it out, eventually. I mean, youkai're fast, right?"

Still beaming, Reisen shook her head. "...We- well, no. I wanted to dissuade you from the idea of fighting youkai with your fists _at all._ Because- what idiot does that? A human normally just can't keep up. But-... what did you _do?"_

"...I really wanted to not fuck that up." Sendai declared. "So I uh… didn't?"

...Reisen shook her head. "I can see how you're Reimu's mother, now…"

' _What's that supposed ta mean.'_ Sendai propped her arms on her own hips… before stopping, because that kind of hurt. ' _Ow.'_

Noticing the fatigue, Reisen reached along her suit. "Ah, hold on, I've brought some medical stuff. You want a potion, or a medipack? Wait…"

After digging, she managed to take out a flat tin, with a white cross on the top. "Here we are."

 _Pap._ She popped the top off, and inside, there were some band-aids, a big soft cookie, and a small bottle of some clear liquid.

"Eat this." She gave Sendai the cookie, then took out the bottle.

 _Pop!_ She unscrewed the cap with just one thumb, and watched Sendai expectantly.

...Raising her brows, Sendai reluctantly bit into the big cookie Reisen held. "Om…"

' _...Ah. Sugar cookie.'_ The flavor was distinct and sweet.

Instantly, Reisen began pouring the clear solvent onto Sendai's arms, dousing one, then the other. They were only wet for a moment, before the liquid was gone. ' _...Huh. What- ff- fuck, fuck-'_

" _Mmgh…"_ Shutting her eyes, Sendai took big, angry bites of the cookie, while her arms stung. " _Omh- om, mmh."_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

 _-+- Chapter 7-2 Marker: Refer to Index at bottom of chapter if you need to take a break. -+-_

In the end, her arms were all better. "...The hell was that clear shit, anyway?"

They were now progressing down the south road, in approach of the structure which housed Heaven Springs. The sunset grew later and more vibrant, and the road grew colder and dimmer, shadows running longer.

As they moved down the road, Sendai let her gaze hand on a building on the right of the street. ' _Comet Pizza, huh. What a jarring design choice…'_ The eatery's exterior was made of white painted brick, a complete tonal clash of the buildings around it. ' _Maybe we should stop by there, at some point.'_

"Ah- yeah, the clear stuff." Reisen snapped into awareness, again. "It was a basic medical solvent, which rejuvenates the body. It's not as pleasant as a potion, or healing magic, but it gets the job done with less risk. We have it standard issue in all medium medkits, and health tubs."

' _Health tubs.'_

"...We also typically use it for anything minor enough that a potion would just be wasteful on." Reisen provided. "Even then, using it for just your bruised arms was pretty wasteful, but I doubt we'll need a whole array of medkits for this mission- er… _job._ If we were going by regulation, I'd have just fed you painkillers."

"Thanks for actually helping." Sendai appreciated the sentiment. It was a little confusing, considering the prices Reisen charged for her potions…

"As a side note, those sugar cookies actually have the nutrients of an average meal." Reisen smiled, as they went.

"...Oh." Sendai blinked. "No shit, huh. Any catch?"

...Reisen looked sheepish. "I mean, it still has sugar in it. It's a sugar cookie, after all."

' _Huh.'_ Sendai didn't expect something that innocent. _'I guess these bunnies make more than shit-tier drugs, then. Kinda surprised, that they-... actually make pretty cool sounding stuff. The cookie and the solvent already kinda impress me.'_

Slowly, the three women stalked up to the front door of a grand, three-story building. It was wide, and also fit in with its surroundings in all but width and height.

' _This wasn't here before.'_ Considering how much she used the gates, she would have remembered this. ' _...Architecture looks new too. Paper walls all around. Not much for a yard or anything, despite that… or perimeter walls.'_

" _That's the place."_ Keine spoke up. _"...Again, please-... make sure you're ready for this."_

"Heaven Springs." Mokou slid her hands into her own pockets. "We think we're all ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." Reisen reached along her back…

 _Woosh- whish._ From somewhere behind herself, she drew a huge metal weapon, before letting it slip back into some odd space behind herself. "...Heavy Claw's all ready. Actually..."

She stepped ahead, facing back at the other girls. "I could do some recon. With my heat sensing, I could tell you how many people are in here."

...At that, Mokou gave her a look of satisfaction. "Yeah, that'd be cool."

"Sure?" Sendai had a brow raised… "Heat sensing…?"

Reisen took a pair of goggles out of her suit, with red eye pieces. "...Ah, yeah. Basically, this here lets me see heat signatures through walls. I can count the amount of people in a building with it, as well as where they are, their concentration, and even how far they are."

' _...Holy shit.'_ Sendai began to realize the utility, of something like that. ' _You can just- make something like that? What the fuck.'_

 _WOOSH._ Fitting the goggles on, Reisen leapt, immediately ending up on one of the nearby rooftops. ' _Holy shi~t! She can jump!'_

...This left Mokou and Sendai to their own devices.

"Actually." Mokou reached into her pocket, and drew a sound stone she'd obtained earlier today. _"Yo, Reise~n! Catch!"_

 _WOOSH!_ She chucked it up towards the roof Reisen was on, with scary velocity.

...Moments later, Reisen was heard over Sendai's sound stone. " _Ah. Good idea. I'll relay information to you remotely, then. Do you want to go in with just the two of you, then? I can still provide… ranged support. These walls are nothing to me."_

"Sounds like a plan." Mokou was all about this idea. "...You ready, miko?"

 _Cra- crack._ Sendai cracked her knuckles again. "As I'll ever be."

"Mi- miss…" Sendai heard a voice from behind herself. "...Um, Fujiwara?"

' _...Ah. It's this boy.'_ Turning towards him, Sendai recognized him quickly. ' _The one from the school. He still has that ridiculous broadsword.'_

Akihito stood nervously behind them, as they barely attempted to stare at him. "...Um. Dieter-... I- I saw him running, I chased him this morning-... but-..."

"He's in here, yeah?" Sendai got to the point.

"U- um, yeah…" He was taken aback, by her assertive demeanor. "...I, um, wanted to go after him-... but no one wants to walk in there. Not even guards…"

...Sendai smiled at him. "Just stay out here. We'll take care of everything. Alright?"

...Akihito nodded. "We- well… alright. But- please, be careful. From what I hear, it's um, really dangerous in there."

Letting out a breath, Sendai moved for the door, taking relaxed steps up to it.

" _The bottom floor is currently crawling with sedate activity."_ Reisen spoke to her, through the sound stone. " _There's a lot of human youths, and a few grown men. The upper, second level has mostly grown men-... and the top floor is loaded with heat signatures everywhere. From what I can tell, they've got some kind of-... heat spa, going on up there."_

" _Heated pipes run throughout the base- I mean-... house, and they trace up the interior walling around the perimeter. Hot spring, that's what it is at the top. They've somehow got a huge water pool, up there, and otherwise heat signatures are bunched together. I don't know if they're having sex, fighting, o~r…"_

' _...Huh.'_ Sendai wasn't sure what to make of the intel, at first.

' _Alright.'_ She held onto the handle for the sliding front door to Heaven Springs. ' _This is where some of Keine's students might be held. This is the base of operations for a fraction of the idiots who want to hurt Keine's kids, and me.'_

 _SHOOF- CLACK!_ She rammed it open with enough force to smash the door into its slot, rendering it broken. ' _Let's see what they've got to say to me.'_

 _Clack, clack._ She stepped inside plainly, her gaze cold. ' _I sure as hell have a lot to say to them.'_

 _Thump, thump._ Mokou stomped in behind her, looking similarly unexpressive.

...Inside, this front lobby had a well-dressed, short-haired older man behind the square counter. His hair was greasy, reminding Sendai of Dieter.

Along the green couches in this lobby, young boys of varying hair colors sat idly, their eyes all on the two women.

...Slowly, the man with the greasy black hair began to smile. "Mm~h. Did Dieter send you girls here? 'Premium Reservation'? Even if he didn't, I'm sure he'd _love_ ta see _you._ " His voice was ironically high-pitched, and distinctly non-Japanese.

...Sendai looked over the boys, then smiled at the man. "These boys-... they wouldn't happen to have once been Keine's students, would they?"

He simply stared at her for a few moments, before leaning his head back a little, raising his brows. "Eeh? Well-... yeah, they _used_ ta be. Then they found they didn't need an education! Heaven Springs is all the education they need!" He gave both her and Mokou a big thumbs-up. "Just ask Kowai Dieter! That man's like a son to me!"

After a couple of seconds, Sendai nodded. She took a breath in, walked closer, then exhaled. "Ha~h."

Watching her movements, he moved to get out some paper. "Aah- hold on, lemme just get the reservation checklist out, so I can book you a stay _right_ away! And trust me…" Looking up at Sendai and Mokou again, he gave them both a wink. "I think you won't wanna leave."

...At their non-reactions, he gave them a compromising smile. "Aw, why the long faces? You know what? This stay's _on the house!_ Just for you beauties!"

"Those kids." Sendai considered negotiations again. "Do you know what all this shit's doing to them?"

He snorted. " _Forget_ a~bout 'em. Whaddaya mean, even? My studies prove- students see greater success under the Dieter and Okane apprentice wings, than they do in a classroom! We teach 'em real life fast, an' that makes 'em productive! Everyone wins!"

"Studies, huh." Sendai frowned. "What kind. What's that got to do with the drugs you're passing around, or the fact that the students don't seem to be doing anything useful?"

...He snorted. "Look. Y'betta' just shut up, lady. Not ta be rude. When ladies like you two're sent here, it's only fer one reason: ta have some private chit-chats with my boy Kowai. If ya wanna talk shit 'bout how we do things, you oughta just go pay respects ta him. An' I'll be honest, if you, y'know, bend over a little for 'em, he'll probably listen. Else, I ain't answering no questions."

"How will these students benefit." Sendai idly glanced the young men along the left wall.

They could barely contain themselves, obviously aroused, and on the edge of their seats, anxious and fidgety.

...He sighed. "Hrrm. Well-... well, they get jobs, an' they're protected under our combined family. Village code allows us to adopt as many children as we want, and include the men we want, so we do. Anyone who's got a problem with it can take it up with Kowai, or the village. I mean, the _kids_ don't exactly have a _choice_ in the matter, but we're really doin' 'em a favor. Humans are stronger in numbers, and ain't that the whole point 'a this shitty village?"

' _...They're stealing them from their parents, forcibly adopting them, and using them to simply gather numbers. All the while, they throw away the kid's independence, so that their pack here is stronger. If the parents came by to deal with this shit, who knows what would happen to them.'_

Sendai now realized she stood somewhere that other villagers considered dangerous. ' _That's why I'm here.'_

"So." The man smiled, placing the clipboard down on the desk before Sendai and Mokou. "You two gonna spend the night with Kowai, or am I gonna hafta ask ya to leave?"

' _This whole place is a huge crime trap. And, these kids, without me here, would never get out. They're going to serve years of servitude, without even knowing, and they'll come out of it all just as unaware as before. Hell, with those drugs, they might walk out as youkai.'_

"Consider me these kids' last chance at a normal life." Frowning, Sendai held up her fists. "A shrine maiden who's gonna _get in your shit."_

-+- _Vs. Dieter Family Gang -+-_

 _Clack._ Immediately, Sendai scooped up the reservation paper and clipboard, tearing it from the man's hands when he tried to retract it.

"Wh-..." Stumbling back, he reached for his pants. "You wouldn't-"

 _WHACLACK!_ Sendai tossed it at him like a frisbee, and it clipped one of his eyes. " _Rgh- hngh!"_ Doubling back, holding his face, he yelled. _"_ Attack- gh- you _idiots- get her!"_

From around the large lobby room, the flushed boys sprang from the many couches that lined the walls, coming to rush Sendai and Mokou all at once.

There were eight to ten boys on either side, and they moved fast, sprinting up to them in seconds.

 _CLACK!_ Immediately, Sendai leapt onto the big, square central desk, then landed inside it. ' _Let's see them figure out how desks work.'_

In here, Sendai kneeled down, charging up a kick. ' _Also- let's get rid of this guy.'_ Her leg was aided by her dark magic and energy, which began flooding into it while she stood in wait.

 _Shing._ The man she'd hit with the clipboard earlier drew a short katana from inside his yukata. No longer holding his now shut eye, he leered at her as he stomped closer. "Alright- if that's how you wanna _play, bitch-"_

 _WOOSH!_ Sendai slid forward, her dark magic giving her thrusting kick enough power to carry her across the floor to him-

 _WHUNK!_ Her sandal met his gut, his katana doing nothing as he let go of it from the pain. " _Hn- uuh-"_

 _Pap!_ She grabbed onto his head, then whipped her arm around, towards the desk.

 _BAM!_ His head was smashed against the inner edge of the square lobby desk. " _Kgh- haa-"_

 _WHACRUNCH!_ Doubling back, Sendai rammed her heel down into the side of his head, crushing it against the desk. Blood exploded out of his mouth, and his eyes shut. " _Hk-..."_

 _Thud._ He collapsed onto the floor-

 _CRUNCH!_ Sendai stomped his cheek again, this time into the floor. ' _Eat shit.'_

 _WHAKRACK!_ " _Hwuaa~!"_ A young boy went flying into one of the walls, thrown by one of Mokou's thrusting kicks.

" _Hra~h!"_ Snapping from her spot, Mokou did a sideflip, rotating mid-flip to slam her legs down axe-style into a horde of four kids who came up behind her-

 _WHAM- BAM- BAM- WHAMCRACK!_ When she touched down, the young men were either slammed to the floor, or blown back onto their limbs. " _Hngh- aagh…!"_

 _Pap!_ Two leapt onto her back, as she snapped into standing, and two more came up to hug her. Quickly, their flailing hands weighed her down, despite her strength.

More and more teenage-looking men leapt onto her, weighing her back down into sitting. "Nngh-..." Mokou was getting buried by them, soon to be pinned down.

That's when her body began to glow red, heat energy billowing out from her form.

" _Ah-_ ow…!" The boys clambered to get off of her, now. Her aura itself began to burn them, and aside from that, it was uncomfortable to be near. "It- it hurts-"

 _Woosh._ As they tried to flee, Mokou jolted into the air, one leg extended.

 _THOOM- BAM- BOOM!_ She spun, and her extended leg scooped into nearly every young man as they tried to scramble back, flailing them about the room.

 _Shoof- clack, clack!_ Doors around the room began to slide open, men in beige yukatas lumbering out. "What the _fuck_ is going on in here!?"

 _Shing._ Another drew a full-sized katana from a sheath, beaming ahead at the girls. "You think you'll get away with this!? The fuck'd you _do!?"_

 _Cla- clack!_ Latching onto desk's chair, Sendai lugged it overhead, and leapt onto the countertop nearest him, glaring down. "Rrgh…!"

 _WHAKRACK!_ Coming along the square desk's side, Mokou thrust her leg into the katana-wielding man, as he was glaring up at Sendai. " _Hu- ooh…!"_ He was flung back into the door he'd come out of.

Sendai turned, seeing the other man climbing onto the desk's opposite side to be on even ground with her. ' _Idea…!'_ Her adrenaline fed her a dangerous, spontaneous idea.

Hunching down, she reeled her chair back, charging her arms with azure magic and dark, like how she'd charge a kick. ' _What's this asshole think he's doing- climbing up onto the desk to get to me!? I'll crush him…!'_

Once he was up, onto his legs, he glared forward again, and smiled. "...Hehe- what, ya think you'll hit me with that? Throw it, I dare ya. I'll fuckin' catch it." The blonde man with slicked-back hair held his arms open-

 _WOOSH!_ Sendai slid forward, her muscles all tensed as she swung the chair. She swung it with so much momentum, she cleared the square gap between the countertops-

 _WHISH!_ She spun around from how hard she'd swung the chair, reminding herself of that one time Okane swung a chair into oblivion blindly two days ago.

 _WHUNK!_ " _Huu- aa…!"_ Except, her swing was lightning fast, meeting the beige man's stomach with incredible, inhuman velocity. The chair's wood legs plowed into his gut and ribs.

As he flew back, off the desk, Sendai's momentum carried her around three-sixty for another strike-

 _WHU- KRACK!_ " _Ngh- hraa~h!"_ Once it hit him again, the chair exploded against the man's gut. The wooden pieces flew everywhere as he launched back, on course for the hard, wood top of one of the couches.

 _BAM- thud._ He'd hit the couch's back so hard, he flopped onto the floor again, missing the cushions. "Nn- ngh… nnn~..." He was crying, slowly balling up on his side.

One of the kids was still here, untouched by any attack. He cowered into the corner of the room, his arms shakily held before his head. "Nn- nnh… pl- please-..."

...Pushing herself up off the floor, having wiped out from her ludicrous spin attack, Sendai grinned, looking around for Mokou. ' _Aa- ah. She must be deeper already.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

 _WHA- BAM!_ Sendai tossed the crying, slick-haired man through a shut door, into the greater room behind the lobby. " _Uu- nnh-…"_

Lumbering into the room, she took in what she saw.

 _WHAKRACK!_ Mokou's great kick sent another beige-yukata clad man flying, across the very large room, which comprised the last of the first floor. " _Haa~!"_ He yelled as he flew, spiraling through the air-

 _BACRACK._ His upper spine met one of the couches arranged around this common room. The furniture slid back three meters as he bounced off of it, now limp.

There was a bar counter, on the right side of the room, beer and whisky hanging on racks. From behind the counter, another man in a beige yukata stood, his brown hair straight and long.

 _Click!_ He pointed a flintlock at Mokou. ' _Oh- shit!'_ Sendai sprinted for him, since she had nothing else to do-

 _BAM!_ He fired.

" _Hukh-..."_ Mokou stumbled to the side, eyes wide. The shot had blown into her torso, and Sendai watched Mokou's whole body ripple.

' _No!'_ Sendai forgot she was immortal, for a moment. ' _Fuck! I shouldn't have let her-'_

 _SHUNK!_ Another katana-wielding man came out from behind one of the couches, and while Mokou recoiled from her new bullet wound, he ran her through the back and gut with his blade.

 _CLACK!_ Sendai leapt up onto the counter. ' _Fuck! Mokou...'_ She took a glance back at her, and saw what happened. ' _Damn it… I- I was getting to like her, too.'_

The flintlock-wielding man looked up at her, and his face flashed with fear. "What the fuck!"

 _BAM- CRA- CRACK- CRACK- CLATTER- CRACK!_ Adrenaline flaring, Sendai kicked one of the bottle racks. It fell, causing an instant, terrifying roar of noise, a whole unused row of alcohol exploding into dirty puddles on the floor.

Stealing one of the thickest bottles from the top row- a huge Yamazaki Twelve Years bottle- Sendai leapt from the counter, landing before the flinching gun wielder.

" _Mm- miko~!"_ Mokou yelled out, despite the holes in her chest and clothing, and the blade actively still in her gut. "Ghet- ohutta the cout- counter!"

Eyes wide, Sendai did as she said. She was dying, after all; so Sendai wouldn't deny doing as she said.

 _Thud!_ Rolling over the counter, onto her ass, Sendai quickly stood off the floor, getting back from the counter-

 _Woosh._ A fireball whizzed by her face, moving just past her. ' _What-'_ She looked back at the counter.

The fireball hit the booze. Sendai instantly knew what would happen next. ' _Oh shit-'_

 _Krik- Kafwoom!_ ...The blast wasn't as explosive as Sendai thought, but she was still fearful of the aftermath, scrambling to keep her distance from the inferno the counter had become. ' _Holy shit…'_

Shards of beer bottles and alcohol splashed all around, all aflame, as everything had gone up in ember and ash. The entire counter burned, and the whole half of the room glowed with blue-red flames.

" _Aaaa- aaa~h!"_ The man behind the counter yelled, his whole body ignited.

 _fwish._ Then, in the next moment, all the fire was gone. ' _...Thanks. Wait-'_ She turned back to Mokou.

 _SHUNK- SHUNK!_ The man behind her grit his teeth, eagerly sawing into her form deeper and deeper, trying to run his katana through as much as possible. "Just- _die,_ you _bitch!"_

 _Shunk._ When he pulled his katana from Mokou's body, she finally fell forward. " _Uu- nnh…"_

" _Mokou!"_ Sendai yelled, and ran towards the encounter. An absolutely huge lake of blood was on the floor beneath Mokou, showcasing just how much abuse she took during her final flashy stunt.

Sendai centered her gaze on the grinning man, and his bloody katana. He held it like a club, not even knowing how to wield it properly, which made the loss of Mokou even stupider. ' _This-... this fucking no-name killed Keine's friend.'_

" _Hrr~gh…!"_ Her whole body flaring with azure energy, Sendai ran up to him. "You _fucking cowa~rd!"_

" _Ha~h!"_ After reveling in his success for a moment, he snapped forward and thrust the blade in her direction, since it seemed to be a winning strategy.

 _Fwish._ She slid to the right of the blade, moving just to the side of it.

 _BAM._ She hooked him in the jaw, using the bottle of Yamazaki to aid her punch. " _Ngh- uh-"_ He recoiled from the hit, and staggered to the side, reeling his katana back with one arm as fast as he could.

 _Think!_ As he tried to clumsily drag the sword back, Sendai kept walking closer, whipping the full bottle across his face.

Her arm flared with pitch black energy. " _Hrr~h…!"_ She jumped, bringing the huge booze bottle over her head-

 _WHACRACK!_ She smashed it down, and it broke against his head, blood and booze exploding into the air.

 _Thud._ He collapsed onto his side, the katana falling uselessly beside him.

"Fu-... fucker." Sendai felt the urge to insult him, even though he was probably in no condition to be in anything other than a bed, right now.

She returned her glare to Mokou's corpse. ' _Goddamn it- Keine's gonna be so torn-...'_

Mokou was shambling off the floor, the holes in her chest closing. "He- heh…" Smiling, she faced Sendai, as she slowly corrected her posture again. "...Awh, what? Y'look like ya've seen a ghost."

"...Fuck." Sendai tried to whap her in the head, but Mokou leaned out of the way, grinning wider. "I forgot. You just _don't die."_

"Make sure ya don't forget _next time."_ Mokou began to survey the big room, now… "Trust me. I ain't worth cryin' over."

 _WHAKRACK!_ She suddenly thrust a kick towards Sendai. ' _Woah…!'_

Her boot had grazed Sendai's torso, and met a beige-yukata clad man behind her. " _Kaa~h…!"_ The man had tried to jump Sendai, and went soaring as a result.

Due to sliding forward from her kick, Mokou was now shoulder to shoulder with Sendai, their arms inadvertently locked together. "Aa-... whoops." Mokou slid her arm from Sendai's quickly.

...Around the first floor, Sendai could see more young men, who could be Keine's students. They never engaged the girls, afraid of getting hurt, as they remained behind furniture, or near the walls.

"Let's get this fuckin' show on the road." Sendai turned to the stairwell, past the bar on the room's right.

 _Fwoom._ Mokou stretched her arms as she followed, fire licking her form for a moment. " _Yea~h._ This'll be fuckin' _good._ "

" _Yeah, hey."_ Reisen spoke up, over the sound stone. _"It's me. They're waiting for you on the next floor. The good news is, I've got some clear shots. Don't be reckless now, there's a lot of them. It's not as mismanaged as the lower floor. I'd call those teenagers 'worker-type' units that aren't even worth engaging, at the moment."_

"Hey, Keine." Sendai spoke up. "...Is the town guard respondin' to this shit? They should be in our footsteps, cleanin' up shit. Every ass we just kicked needs either medical help or jail time. Or, y'know, both."

...Keine spoke up, a moment later. " _Akihito, the boy you met outside- he's organized a team already, with a little from me, of course. I'm heading back to the house now- but the guards will be there shortly, to clean up the first floor."_

' _Perfect. Keine, when'd you get so fuckin' smart.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

 _Bam! Thud!_ Sendai tossed a beige yukata-wearing man up the stairs, onto the top landing, for no reason. " _Nnh…"_

' _What, no traps on the stairs themselves? Idiots.'_

Up here, things were different. The halls were condensed, organized in a square circuit that went around the building's perimeter, with the cluttered rooms all packed into the middle.

 _Shoo- shoof, clack, shoof._ On cue, the doors of the halls all ahead of them opened. Down both the right and left halls, men in both beige and crimson-blue yukatas marched out, all wielding katanas or knives.

 _Shoof._ The door just before Sendai and Mokou opened. A crimson-blue yukata clad man padded out on his socks, pushing away a scantily-clad, blue-haired woman that was in the room behind himself.

"Thought you'd get away, hu~h?" He took off his reading glasses, and felt at his scant amount of black hair along his mostly bald head.

"I'll rip your head off, and shit down your neck." Sendai retorted.

"...Aa- ah." He reached for the katana along his waist-

 _WHAKRACK!_ Mokou thrust her boot into his head, faster than either he or Sendai could see.

 _Thud!_ A streak of blood shot into the air from his nose, as he fell onto his butt. " _Uu- aah…!"_

 _Cla- clack, clack, clank!_ All around them, men began to raise their katanas, wary of the two women who'd fought their way into the heart of Heaven Springs.

Sendai glared at all the swords. ' _Boy, do I fucking hate swords.'_ Each hallway had at least ten men down them, making approach difficult at best, if not impossible.

Mokou moved to one of the sliding doors. "Miko, help me. We're rippin' this door out."

' _Oh, shit.'_ Sendai hadn't even considered something like that, considering she couldn't do it on her own. ' _Hell yeah!'_

 _Shoo- shoof, shoof._ Both her and Mokou clumsily slid the door out into a shut position before pulling...

 _KRACK!_ They stole the entire paper and wood sliding door.

Stomping down the left hallway together, they lugged the big sliding door forward, putting their all into shoving it. " _Nngh…!"_

" _Raa~h!"_ The at least ten men down the thin left hall let out a charge together, roaring towards them.

Mokou snapped her gaze to Sendai. "Now _kick it!"_

 _Clack!_ They both let go, and the door stood on the floor before them.

 _WHA- WHAKRACK!_ They gave a synchronized thrusting kick to the door together, sending it roaring down the hall at the men.

 _Clack- shunk- shink- clack- bam- shink!_ They ran through blades through the paper of the door, which ended up not helping a lot, with no one to skewer on the other side. "Agh- _shit…!"_

"You- _stabbed me-_ you motherfucker!"

"You know how much the outfit cost!?"

"So- so fast!"

"Stop _fighting-_ you _inbred fuckholes-"_

" _Rrgh…!"_ Mokou sprinted towards the door, which was stuck against at least five katana blades, and two knives.

 _WHAKRACK!_ Spinning around on the way, she delivered a thrusting kick to the door's midst.

 _CRA- CRACK!_ It exploded into fragments, the momentum of her blow transferred to the horde of men behind it. " _Aagh- fuck- argh!_ You _dumba~sses!"_

" _Ow-_ fuck!"

"You _idiots…!"_

 _Clack clack, clack!_ Behind Sendai and Mokou, another eleven men were there, running down the hall to pincer them. "Fuckin' _youkai who~res!"_

 _BANG._ That's when a shot passed through one of the walls.

" _Aa- aaagh!"_ The man closest to Sendai collapsed onto his knees, then his side. There was a hole straight through his thigh. " _Aagh- daa~mn!"_

"Wh- what…!" The men behind him were spooked, staring at the hole, then the fallen man.

"Fu- fucking youkai, man…!"

"They're fucking monsters…"

Mokou silently stalked past Sendai, now wielding one of the men's katanas. ' _Oh- shit, good idea!'_

Picking up a katana of her own, Sendai smiled. '... _Time to carve a path.'_

 _WOOSH._ Mokou simply chucked her katana at the men behind them.

 _Thu- thud, clack- clack!_ Men leaped to get out of the way of it, all of them still afraid and suspect of anything the girls did. "It- it almost _hit me…!"_

"We're gonna need backup! There's too many!"

"There's only _two,_ fatso!"

Sendai moved for the collapsed band of men ahead, down the left hall, who still had mixed blades on their persons. They mostly lied in heaps, but a few were still standing.

 _SWISH!_ Sendai lugged her katana up along the floor like a hooligan, running it up the chest of one of the standing men before her. He hadn't even realized she was focusing on him, until it was too late. ' _Pay attention, asshole!'_

While he fell back in shock and pain, his blood now on the blade, the other man brought his blade up with a semblance of grace. "Alright- you're-" He thrust, before he could get intercepted mid-yell-

 _Thunk!_ Sendai threw her katana in his face, and the hilt booped his nose. " _Ugh-_ the- the fuck-"

 _Whunk!_ Running aside his blade, up to him, she thrust a hook into his gut. "Ouh-"

 _Wham!_ She hooked his head next, with her right arm, and he stumbled back into the wall. "Fuhck-"

 _Bam!_ Another hook to his stomach made him drop his blade, and bring up his arms. " _Ghet-"_

 _WHUNK!_ She thrust her knee into his gut, before he could guard. " _Uuh-"_

Leaping over her own leg she used to knee him, she threw an overarm thrust into him, azure energy roaring along her limb. " _Hrrah!"_

 _WHAM!_ She punched him straight into the wall, and his spine rammed against the wood. " _Kgh- haa~h…!"_

...He began to fall onto his knees-

 _Whunk- clack!_ Sendai started her combo string again, hooking him back into the wall, making him rebound off it-

 _Whunk- clack! Whunk- clack!_ She grinned, from how loose his body'd become, now being toyed with by her momentum. Each hook delivered his limp form to the wall, his head flopping back each time she hit him.

 _WHUNK- BAM!_ She kneed him in the gut again, and leapt, throwing her arm overhead-

 _WHAM- BAM!_ This time she landed the thrusting punch, he practically sunk into the floor, curling onto his side. "Nn- nnh…"

Around her, the down but untouched men from the door explosion remained down, eyes fixated on the around-ten blow series she'd used on one man.

 _BANG._ Sendai heard a sniper round, and looked in Mokou's direction.

 _WHAKRACK!_ Mokou kicked the last man she had to deal with towards the stairs, the rest all having either outright surrendered, or fallen quickly. Behind her, another man lied with a bullet in his leg, writhing. "Ghh-... da- damn it-..."

"...Alright." Mokou took in a deep breath, running back towards Sendai. "Let's go…!"

"Yeah!" Shooting her a nod, Sendai ran ahead, down the hall.

They ran forward, escaping the twenty or so defeated or unwilling men. Sounds came from the floors below, the village guard likely having arrived.

' _Let's find those stairs, and end this.'_ Sendai was ready to bolt onto the third floor.

Once done with the left hall, they turned right. ' _Ah. The stairs!'_ It was down the hall just ahead.

 _Shoof._ One last door opened, right before the stairway.

 _Thud._ Kessho, the cyan-white maiden, fell onto her arms, cast from the door. "Aa- anh…"

' _Ah- oh, shit…'_ Sendai looked down at her, then at the person who walked out after she did. ' _When the hell-...'_

A shrine maiden clad in black and purple garb stepped out from the door. Her hair was done up in a short ponytail in the back, and she leered ahead at Sendai and Mokou, with an inhuman smile.

She had a pitch-black, jagged maw of shade, and her eyes had nothing organic to them, looking like a void of black that began precisely where the eyes should have been. " _hh~-..."_

"I- I'm _sorry~!"_ Kessho held an arm out, towards Sendai and Mokou.

" _i have counted"_ The black-clad shrine maiden stepped towards the two with pep. " _your sins"_

' _...Who the fuck is this.'_ Sendai wasn't impressed. ' _Did they try to find someone like me, or something? Even I'm not this bad… I'm pretty sure, at least.'_

"Fuckin' step aside." Mokou wasn't in the mood to joke around. "Fire beats shadow, numbnuts. Kinda the point."

" _the sin ends here"_

 _-+- Vs. Tadiyuki Ha, Artificial Hakurei Project, Former Ha Maiden -+-_

The girl waited, for Mokou and Sendai to come to her, her arms held out at peace.

" _i am shadow"_ When they simply stared at her, she spoke. Slowly, gentle purple light began to glow along her sides, reminding Sendai of something, but she wasn't sure what…

"Cute." Sendai admitted. "We have things to be doing. So…" She moved to step by the girl-

 _woosh._ Snapping down, the girl slid along the floor, then stood next to Sendai, ready to thrust a hidden blade into her stomach.

 _WHACRACK!_ Mokou thrust her boot into the smaller maiden's ribs, however. "Fuck o~ff."

" _Enh-..."_ The girl made a womanly noise, cartwheeling to get rid of the momentum. " _you- add to the toll"_

 _Fwish._ Sendai tossed a single talisman her way.

 _swish._ As it came at her, the girl cut it with her knife, deflecting its halves. " _this training made me ninja"_

 _woosh._ Then, the girl was gone.

 _Shunk._ A knife slipped into Mokou's back, along the midst. "Agh- fuck…" She turned, to see the girl hanging upside down, eyes level with Mokou's as she used her legs to dangle off of nothing at all, or some invisible ledge.

 _woosh._ When Mokou glared at her, the girl slid through the air, around her form in an instant. " _it spreads and kills who i used to be"_

Mokou finally used her arms, to reach behind herself and grab onto the dark girl by the shoulders. "ah-"

 _WOOSH- WHAM!_ Mokou tossed her forward, slamming her onto the floor back-first. " _Anh!"_ The dark girl let out another womanly noise…

 _fwish._ Then, she slid forward, between Mokou's legs. " _i feel it tearing me apart- the dark-"_

 _Fwap._ Sendai slapped a talisman onto her back, as the girl rolled onto her stomach.

 _woosh._ The darkness all died. The girl returned to her regular pale complexion, and her eyes were revealed to actually be grey, and she had black lipstick on. "I- I am the knife-... in a gun-... fight."

...She stared at her hands, which were no longer inky black, akin to how Sendai would do it. "What sin-..." Then she noticed her own voice. "Oh, shit." She began to sit up, onto her knees...

Sendai chuckled. "O- 'oh shit' is right. Get your skinny little ass out of here."

"The hell-... what'd you even _do."_ Standing, the girl slid away her small knife, and stared her own hands over. "I can't-... what'd you do to my _magic?"_

"I put a seal on you." Sendai stared at the seal, which fluttered off her back the next moment. "Oh."

 _woosh._ Suddenly, the girl was coated in all black. It took her a moment to dial it back, so that she had the spooky eyes and mouth thing going on that she liked. "... _i will remember today"_

 _whish._ Then, she was gone. " _i will catalog your sins"_

"...What a cheeseball." Sendai shook her head… "That's not how you do that at all."

...Then, she retraced her thinking. ' _Wait, what the fuck'd I just say. I mean, I guess I'd make a pretty good youkai, knowing how they act and all.'_

...Finally, Sendai turned to Kessho. "The fuck're _you_ doing here. I thought Keine tried to keep you safe."

Kessho stared up at her, before moving to sit on her butt, instead of on her knees. "I-... I had to."

"...Why." Sendai wanted to know.

"It's dangerous." Kessho didn't necessarily make sense, at first. "Someone's-... out to get me."

"...Are you okay." Sendai asked flatly. "I don't think you're okay."

With that, Kessho stood up, and began prancing off. "I- I'm sorry- I'll be back!"

"Wait- the, uuh…" Sendai held out her arms, but Kessho practically sprinted off.

...Turning back to Mokou, Sendai gestured to where she was. "Uu~h…?"

"Let's just leave her." Mokou dismissed her existence. "If she wants ta fuckin' hop around like a slimy bastard, that's her own damn fault."

...They stood at the base of the stairs, to the next level.

" _Hey."_ Reisen spoke up again. " _There's a big window on the next floor. I can tell you that Dieter guy is likely holed up there, if you haven't seen him by now. There's a few bunnies up there, and a who~le lot of civvies gettin' it on, some in the big bath, and some behind closed doors. It's actually pretty crazy. There's some non-standard youkai, too."_

' _Pretty crazy, huh.'_ Sendai considered that. ' _At least it's one last floor, fer the evening. After all this shit is done, I won't mind a turn in the supposed hot spring myself, if we don't fucking blow it up or something.'_

"No use staring at the stairs." Mokou began to use the stairs to walk up. "C'mon, miko. Let's finish this shit."

"...Yeah." Sendai let out a breath, and moved to follow her. "Let's go."

 _Sendai learned Charge Weapon!_

 _-+- Chapter 7-3 Marker -+-_

The stairway was long, and dark. It stretched all the way to a corner of the building, before turning and continuing up. The plain, brown wood walls and stairs were oddly cozy, due to the stairway's strange proportions.

' _What a weird space.'_

The air became warmer as they neared the top.

"...You think we'll have time for a bath, after all of this?" Sendai brought up the hot spring itself again, because it felt like a good idea…

Mokou snorted. "Pro'lly not, if the water's even safe. I can _make_ hot springs, y'know."

"...You're a really cool girl, Mokou." Sendai immediately kissed up to her. "When we get outta here, I wanna see you make a hot spring."

...Mokou grinned. "You know there's one behind the Hakurei Shrine, right? Oh-... wait, that was recent."

' _There's one behind the shrine, now!? Holy shit!'_

"...Now I _especially_ have to get past Reimu." Sendai really wanted to relax in a hot spring.

' _I'm glad I didn't bring a random asshole to toss up the stairs, this time. There's too many stairs, and it'd be weird dragging him by the collar the whole way. Actually-... maybe that'd have been fun, anyway. Ah, well. Maybe next time.'_

They were beginning to reach the top of the stairs. Up here, the ceiling was near, and comfortable warm light came from a tiny window above the door.

The plain door was made of wood. Sendai wrapped her hand around the handle.

 _cli- click._ It was locked. ' _...You're- really just gonna lock a door, to stop us.'_

 _BAM!_ Mokou thrust her boot into it, and it shuddered. "Fuckin'..."

 _BAM!_ She kicked it again, now floating in the air. "God, damn-"

 _WHABAM!_ After getting more momentum, she gave it a third kick, and it roared open. The lock mechanism clattered to the floor in pieces, from inside the door itself.

With that, Mokou and Sendai were free to saunter into the main room, up here.

All of the top floor was before them. Dim, gold light was cast around the whole domain.

Their boots and sandals both clicked against the marble floor, fit with huge tiles. Glittery starlight was visible from a window to the room's left, accented by a sea of darkness beneath it.

An ocean of onsen shifted and churned in a huge, square gap in the marble. ' _So-... that's why the stairs were so tall.'_ The entire center of the room was the artificial hot spring. The village's moderately precious water resource sat shimmering before them in this huge pond.

All around the spring, fair women sat in matching beige-colored swimsuits, accompanied by the young men.

' _Some of these women…'_ Sendai centered her gaze on a woman with long navy hair, who sat on a couch, accompanied by many young men.

She then looked at the next couch, where a man in a mint green yukata lounged, young-looking women crawling at his sides, stares vacant.

"Hehehe…" One of the couches had a suited woman with a familiar red hair bow on, attended to by four blonde boys. "Oh, ma~n…"

Across the artificial, hot sea, Dieter sat on a bronze throne that was too big for his proportions, all of his weight put into the right arm as he leaned. He had his sunglasses on, and his jeans, but his white t-shirt was gone, as was his jacket he never actually wore.

"...This looks fucky." Mokou immediately decided.

" _Some of these boys…"_ Keine spoke over the sound stone. " _Some girls, too-... some of these were my students. They didn't want this."_

"Nnh…" Across the room, a girl moaned.

Sendai looked for her, before seeing something weird. ' _...Ah.'_ The moaning girl was bound by a wood pillory, one of the other young men caressing her butt. On a chair nearby, an older man sat, holding a wad of yen, staring at the interaction between the lucid youths.

There were two open pillories, next to Dieter, one painted red-white, and the other red-black.

He shifted onto the other arm of his bronze throne, grinning at the girls.

" _Uhm-..."_ Keine spoke up for a moment, before her cringe could be felt over the sound stone through her pause. " _Oh, gods."_

On the right of the hot spring, inside it, girls licked at a man's chest, as he reclined in the water.

" _Nnh- haa~nh! St- hah!"_ Loud moans came from somewhere that couldn't be seen. By listening long enough, Sendai could tell it was coming from one of the changing rooms.

An odd moving, kimono-adorned woman floated along the side of the hot spring, eight young men marching behind her in a perfectly synchronized single file line.

Turning around, the mouthless woman spoke to them. "Pair with unattended women clientele. Else, be available for paid performance. Here." From a chalk-white palm, she held the heart-shaped tablets, and they floated out, to each of the boys. "Feed."

' _What the actual fuck.'_

Getting up, Dieter walked off of his throne.

 _Shoo- shoo- shoo- shoof._ Stones rose from the onsen for his whim, and he held out his arms as he strolled towards the two intruders. The whole time, he had a toothy grin, revelling in the raw bewilderment of the two women.

"He~y!" Once he was halfway across the hot spring, he waved at them. "...A little blue birdie told me you'd be here!"

"What in the-... name of _fuck_ is this." Sendai had to ask. "All of this…?"

"Aw, what?" As he got closer, his smile widened. "Don't tell me you don't like it, now."

"...Yeah, no." Sendai shook her head. "What the hell. Do you know what those pills are doing to those kids?"

He snorted. "Pft, _yeah._ That's why I'm givin' 'em out. I win, they lose. That's the world, babe."

...Sendai grinned at the sheer audacity. ' _Holy shi~t. This guy is the gift that keeps on giving.'_

"And, _boy._ Have I got a _deal_ fer _you."_ He swayed back and forth, gesturing to everything with his arms. "Now, I've been lookin' into all this _shrine maiden_ shit, recently-... and I'll say it right now: I don't wanna fight you chicks."

"That's too fuckin' bad." Mokou cracked her neck. "I think I got that when you ran away every time you saw me."

"Heh." He chuckled at that. "Dieter's a coward, guilty as charged."

He held his arms up placatingly. "Now, hear me _out._ "

"Why." Sendai asked simply. "Who even cares, at this point."

His brows lowered, just a little. "Now-... that ain't very nice, honey. But look-... people're tellin' me you used ta be that shrine maiden's mother. You know. The _Hakurei_ shrine maiden. Reimu Hakurei."

...Sendai quickly began to glare. "What about her?"

...He reached up, almost awkwardly adjusting his sunglasses. "I wanna _expand my horizons,_ and y'know… she's kinda in the way. Not that I can do anything about that. But, you can."

"What the _fuck_ are you implying." Sendai began to raise her fists, already.

He gestured to the right of the hot spring with an arm. "Look at all a' this."

She chose not to, still glaring at him.

"This place is my playground, my kingdom." Dieter smiled at her again. "All the shit I've _earned._ Now-... my boys, especially _today,_ were tellin' me to be careful. But, what could be a threat t' _me?_ I might as well have conquered this damn little village."

Then, he stepped forward. "Of course, tha' threat wouldn't be _of_ the village. When I got all this shit by fuckin' over weaker people-... when _you_ get all your shit, by fuckin' over weaker people, wouldn't you be real scared, too? When some _bitch_ would just come along, 'balance' this, and 'balance' that? With some crappy, sappy holy power that can kick yer ass?"

"You'd better be scared." Sendai remarked. "I'm also nothing like you. When I wrong an individual, I do it to make a point. I do it to protect what's mine. What you don't understand, is that what you're doing isn't preventing anything. It's aggression, and you're only bringing attention to yourself. Clawing to the top like this isn't what life's all about."

"Oh, shut the _fuck_ up." Dieter ended up sneering again. "Ma' point is, she needs ta shut the _fuck_ up 'bout all this Gensokyo balance bullshit. I don't give a rat's ass 'bout all you fake ass sonsa' bitches. But, since yer her _momma_ an' all that, maybe you can shut her mouth up."

"If you think whining to me about it will get anything done, you're wrong." Sendai didn't care about his problem. "If you even _think_ of threatening my daughter, I'll make sure you'll spend the rest of your days pissing out blood."

...Smiling, he tilted his head back. "Oh, yeah? Y'know, I like ta fuck village girls that look like 'er."

"Just shut your mouth and die already." Mokou tossed her arm in his direction.

 _Fwoom!_ A fireball whizzed past his face, as he slid out of the way of it.

...He stood tall, frowning hard at her. His hair was on fire, because the grease in it had ignited. "Now-... that ain't no way to bite the hand that'll feed ya. Ah-..." He looked up. "Ah- _fuckin'-"_

 _Sploosh!_ He leapt into the hot spring in almost an instant, submerging himself.

 _Spla- splash, splash._ He trudged out from the aggressive onsen waves, onto the marble floor. His sunglasses were now dotted with water, and his jeans soaked.

He sighed, scowl fierce. "...He- heh. This-... is why I'm offerin' ya _two options,_ here. An' in _both of them,_ yer _my_ bitches!"

"What're you gonna do." Sendai began to stomp towards him. "Run away?"

"Option _one!"_ Dieter stumbled back along the marble side of the hot spring. "You help _me out-..._ ya keep yer cute daughter Reims _outta_ my hair- none 'a that _Gensokyo balance_ bullshit! Ya help me take over the rest of this bumfuckin' village! An' then I _redo all of it!_ "

"If you wanted to get me _pissed off,_ it's working." Sendai stomped faster. "My daughter's not just some fucking obstacle for you to overcome."

"...Op- option _two."_ Dieter slid his arms along his jeans.

He drew two steel knuckle dusters, fitting them onto his hands. "I'll serve yer asses myself."

"Kowai Dieter-... may be a _pussy-_ but if I- if _he_ can't school some rowdy bitches, his ass's good as dead. An' when he _wins,_ yer both gonna know-... that this world is _Dieter's world!_ This world where magic exists- an' it's so _damn easy_ ta one-up people! _"_

Sendai cracked her knuckles. "You were fucked the moment you talked about my daughter like that."

Mokou snorted. "He was fucked. Period."

Dieter laughed. "Heh- hahah! Y'know, the moment I saw your daughter, I knew I wanted her ta suck my _dick!"_

' _That's it.'_ Sendai stomped towards him.

 _Pap- pap, pap!_ Dieter sprinted along the marble walkway, fists raised boxing-style. "Bring that _shi~t!"_

-+- _Vs. Outsider, Okane Family Organizer, Flight of the Coward, Kowai Dieter -+-_

The onsen bubbled and shook, as women, men and youkai all shifted to watch the exchange.

Mokou and Sendai stood side to side. Mokou had her hands in her own pockets, and Sendai had her fists raised.

Dieter hung in place, five meters before them, bouncing on his black boots, ready to move. ' _Pft. What was that, again? Guy doesn't even wanna make the first move.'_

"Alright." Sendai let out a breath. "...You said something, at one point. About the youkai, was it?"

...Dieter held his furrowed brows. "Yeah. Ooh- yeah, I served _those_ sonsa' bitches real well. An' when I'm done here- I'll keep servin' 'em!"

"Have fun." Sendai brought a yin-yang orb from her arm sleeve, and held it between two fingers. She felt her holy energy begin to bubble up inside herself, and she reeled back. " _Fantasy Heaven!"_

 _fwoash._ From the orb, and from her core, black began to spread across her limbs. ' _Here-... we go…'_

Dieter blinked, as the pitch black began to overtake all of Sendai, including her clothes.

Mokou stared at her in vague perplexion, as the black began to spill over Sendai's eyes. ' _No one tries to fuck with my daughter, and gets away with it-... and, seein' reactions after this stunt should be fun.'_

She felt her eyes close. Slowly, she grew drowsier.

In this weird flux between awake and asleep, it woke up. ' _dark'_ It saw ahead. ' _me'_

-+- _It's Perspective -+-_

' _its good'_ It let its whole body spread, taking in the warmth of the onsen room. ' _moisture'_

"...Uh. Miko?" Mokou seemed genuinely surprised.

It gazed back at her with its candle light-esque eyes. Then, it looked into the hot spring. ' _good'_

 _Splash!_ Immediately, it indulged, leaping into the pleasant-looking water. ' _hot hot too hot-'_

 _Splash._ The youkai surfaced, water running down its dark, maiden-like features. It was like the black substance that coated the youkai was a raincoat. ' _just right'_

The tar-like substance that embodied it began to spread, leaving a layer of nasty particles which began to string off into the water, like smoke or soap.

The feeling of water through the crevices where ribs would be was pleasing, especially because the water felt largely pure. Azure light shone from its flesh, contesting with the golden shine from the magical lamp strips along the ceiling.

It wanted to melt into the heat, feeling its clumped, black hair spread into the relaxing waves.

 _Spla- splash, splash!_ People began to get out of the water, the other youkai moving first. "Uum…"

"What- the hell is that…?"

"So-... so much mana-..."

" _Hey!"_ Dieter roared at the water. "Yer shit's with _me,_ smokey! Leave tha' bath alone!"

...Sitting stock still in the water, the buoyancy of the tub's water not affecting it, it gazed up at him with its solid circles of yellow, no longer moving.

"...I- I said get out!" Dieter barked at it. "Or I'll _make ya_ get out! Er- don't make me get the _stick!"_

It saw him, and remembered. ' _human'_ Still, it didn't exactly care, at the moment. ' _it will wait'_

Dieter yelled again. "Rgh-... I bet yer bitch of a daughter's a _monster,_ too!"

For a moment, its eyes shone brighter. ' _reimu'_

 _Fwish._ It pulled itself up, out of the water. It didn't climb onto the marble floor; it climbed onto the water itself, standing seemingly atop the black crap which formed sickly, sticky rings in the shifting hot spring.

Dieter glared harder. "That make ya _mad,_ huh!? Look-... if yer daughter were any regular chick, her cute ass would be mine!"

Mokou stared at him flatly. "You _trying_ to die or something-"

 _KRACK._ The youkai snapped down, hunching a leg back, its bones scraping one another, as azure, white and black began to clot up around a rear leg. ' _reimu'_

Dieter raised his knuckles, grinning. "Come _at me,_ bitch-"

 _KRACK- KRA~NG!_ It snapped up to him, stroking its leg up diagonally. Its knee met his knuckles first, its foreleg then scraping along the same path.

Dieter stumbled back, having guarded the instant flail-esque kick with his knuckles. Looking down, he saw a layer of steel was scraped from the top of them. "Wh-"

 _fwish._ Then, the youkai was gone. He threw a hook forward, at nothing. "What tha' _fuck-"_

It was behind him. It slid its fingers up under his sunglasses, covering his eyes. " _Nnh- whah…!"_

' _When the fuck!'_ His thoughts were known, now.

' _guess who'_ It spoke to him.

 _Fwi- fwish!_ He snapped from its grasp in one movement, before sliding to the side again. "Uu- oh!" He almost slipped, his boots still wet, but he caught himself before he fell. "The fuck-... the fuck kinda _youkai're_ you!?"

He was afraid of getting trapped, and especially of something that resembled a woman, but wasn't.

...Mokou casually turned to him, since he was near her now-

 _Whunk._ She punted him in the gut.

He fell on his ass, after cringing back, actually slipping this time. " _Uuh…!"_

It stood over him, and loomed down. ' _stop him from moving'_

 _WHAM!_ When it pounced down, Dieter hooked his arm across its head, diverting its landing. ' _oh'_

Scrambling onto his knees, then his legs, he got back up in record time. "I'm-... takin' you _all out!"_

 _WHAM!_ Mokou thrust a leg into him again. This time, he guarded it with both arms, shutting his eyes from the impact. "Gh-"

 _FWISH._ The youkai was behind Dieter again, its hands sliding up the back of his neck in an instant. ' _got you'_

"Gh- get the _hell_ _offa'_ me!" He pushed it back, stumbling out of its grasp-

 _WHAKRACK!_ Mokou spun around, landing a thrusting kick right into his gut.

" _Huu- ngu~h…"_ His glasses flew off from the impact, his grey eyes shut. Yet, by some miracle, he kept standing, refusing to yield to the might of her kick.

 _Thud._ Now in front of him again, the youkai easily pushed him back, and he landed on his ass a second time.

"Yh- youkai- ass…!" Eyes wide, he took in the form of the pitch black being that loomed quietly over him.

It moved to pounce. ' _this time'_

Except, he sprang up off his legs with surprising vigor.

 _WHAM- WHAM!_ He hooked it twice in the torso with surprising velocity, the steel knuckles making it flinch back. ' _ow'_

 _Pap- PAP!_ The youkai held its arms in a cross-style guard, and Dieter weaved down again in anticipation, throwing a left hook, then a right hook. The second hook forced the youkai to retract an arm.

 _Pap- PAP!_ He kept going even when it instantly found its guard again, plowing a left hook, then a right one into its guarding posture-

 _KRAWHAM!_ " _Hyeah!"_ He unleashed an uppercut that left a trail of raw, explosive energy behind it as it flew up, smashing the youkai's arms aside-

 _Fwoam._ A flare of shadow came from the being after its guard broke, the magic black crap splashing from its arms onto Dieter's face like blood, blinding him. " _Aah-_ fuck- fuck-"

 _WHUNK._ Now behind him, it unleashed a full-armed thrust of its fist into his back. ' _no escape'_

 _WHAKRACK!_ The youkai was out of the way, when Mokou thrust her leg into his stomach again. " _Huhk-"_ He flew back-

 _Clack!_ He flipped around, landing on the tips of his boots instantly, running forward while blind. " _Hra~h!"_

 _WHAM!_ Mokou took a steel knuckle to the collar, stumbling back. " _Oouh-_ fuck…" He'd met her with an overhead thrust born from his wild momentum.

 _Pap._ The youkai grabbed onto the back of his collar. "Aah-" He hardly felt it at first, but when he began to move, he was stuck.

 _THOOM._ Its leg shot into his gut like a bullet, sending him sailing into the onsen ahead. " _Hrgh- aah!"_

 _SPLASH- Splash!_ It leapt into the water after him, and they both hit the surface at the same time.

...Under the water, everything was peaceful. Keeping his mouth shut, but frowning fiercely, Dieter flailed, and began to swim to the other side of the pool. He was useless while in the water, so he had to get out right now.

The dark miko slowly floated down from the water above him, gently getting in his way. ' _hello'_ It was also pretty useless while in the water, but he didn't need to know that.

 _woo- woo- woosh._ Flailing his arms, he changed course for the right of the hot spring, while the youkai simply sank deeper. It seemingly parted from him, as it let itself sink…

Then, its breasts pressed down on his back; it was grappling him as he swam. ' _im in your mind'_

' _Fh- fuck off!'_ His eyes were wide, as he swam through the scorching water. ' _No youkai is fuckin' eatin' me! Not now! Not fuckin' ever! Not fuckin ever, bitch!'_

 _SPLASH!_ He roared from the water, arms clambering on the marble shore of the onsen. "Ha~h-"

 _Bam!_ His jaw hit the ground hard, when the youkai tugged him back, trying to draw him into the murky, greying waves again. " _Nn- no~!"_ He let out a primal roar, refusing to be wasted here.

 _Fwish!_ He slipped from its hold. ' _Hell yeah!'_ His heart-pumping sentiment made the youkai shiver within the warm onsen.

Slipping around as he fought to stand upright on the marble shore, the youkai followed him out, its yellow eyes now tinted cyan. ' _so good'_ The heat of the water, and the fear of the man made it feel at ease.

While he stood, fists raised, it lucidly paced towards him.

 _PAP!_ Before it could act, he lunged forward first this time, stomping on its sandal-clad foot with his boot.

" _Hroa~h!"_ Dieter whipped his left arm out towards it, then hooked his right arm forward, explosive energy billowing off his flail, then his strike.

 _Thud- splish._ To dodge it, the youkai just fell over, allowing itself to flop free-form. It hung backwards off of the edge of the marble walkway, submerging its upper body in the shimmering water.

 _WHAM!_ Flying over the youkai, Mokou flew in from over the hot spring, her boot meeting Dieter's face. " _Kgh- aa-..."_ A glob of blood exploded out from the impact, his nose annihilated.

 _Thud- clack._ When he fell over, she landed beside him, and brought her leg up-

 _WHACRACK!_ She stomped him in the face, even more blood exploding out from his nose. " _Hh-..."_

' _yes'_ The pain, and the sudden spike of fear through him, made the youkai very happy.

Nearby, there was another bar counter, near the changing rooms. Now that they were all on the right of the onsen, everyone had access to it, including the youkai.

 _fwish._ Snapping up to the counter nearly instantly, it stole a bar stool. ' _mine'_

"Nnh- kaugh…" Now crying, Dieter moved to stand again, wiping the blood and tears from his face.

 _THUNK._ But, before he could stand, the youkai slammed the bar stool down, into his gut. "Ough!"

It leapt up, azure beginning to glow along the entirety of its legs-

 _KABOOM!_ It rammed both legs down, blowing up the bar stool with a flourish of dark magic along its legs, fragments of wood boring into Dieter's body. " _Huu- aa~gh!"_

 _Sendai obtained Blue Flexi-Suit._

 _Sendai obtained Bread Loaf._

 _Sendai learned Heated Spirit III._

' _hehe he'_ The dark youkai enjoyed this. ' _again'_ It moved to fetch another bar stool, mostly to see how he'd react.

With it in arms, it loomed over the fallen Dieter, as he lied there, crying uselessly. "Nngh-..."

Before it could toss it down, Mokou held onto the base of it.

 _woosh._ It ended up tossing nothing, throwing its arms down anyway. ' _what no'_

"...Wasn't there a line you fed me?" Mokou searched her own memory. "You didn't like killing, or something like that? This guy's half in the bag, y'know. And-... I think we kinda forgot the plan we had goin'. You know?"

It connected a hand with Mokou's wrist. ' _it would hurt reimu'_

...Mokou blinked. ' _Oh, you can do this, huh.'_

' _i want to kill him'_ It revealed. _'it wont hurt reimu'_

' _The hell is this, anyway.'_ Mokou was completely nonchalant about this. Idly, she tossed the bar stool into the onsen nearby.

It tried to trace Mokou's fears, but it didn't seem possible. There were too many memories, too many blurs, and many things were simply beyond the comprehension of this dark youkai; things like eternal solitude, unending silence, the mental numbing of eternal life, the eventual heat death of the universe, and someone named Kaguya Houraisan.

Dieter and Honoka were simple. They saw something creepy, they began freaking out.

' _so strong'_ Not Mokou, though. Mokou also smelled of many elements. Light, fire, darkness. ' _so warm'_

It hugged onto Mokou. ' _warm'_ It appreciated the strength, and the heat of her soul.

' _I'm not warm, you're just cold.'_

' _warm'_

' _If you say so.'_

...After a moment of this, Mokou began trying to peel her off. ' _So, what're the magic words to change you back. Hocus pocus? Reimu Is Greaticus?'_

Mokou eventually succeeded, holding the dark maiden like a big tubby bug, as its limbs hung under itself. ' _...Cute. Also, fuckin' weird.'_

 _fowam._ Slowly, the darkness around the shrine maiden's flesh and clothes began to come undone, now that the rush of battle was gone.

-+- _Tsukiko Hakurei's Perspective -+-_

...Sendai yawned, when she came to. ' _The-... hell. Man, I'm tired. Why the hell'd I sleep somewhere-... oh.'_ She very quickly remembered what happened. ' _I used Fantasy Heaven, didn't I…'_

She was also being held by Mokou, who had her by the collar and stomach. "Wh-... what- the fuck're you doing."

Mokou grinned. "I should be asking you. The hell'd you just _do?"_

 _Thud._ She dropped Sendai onto her stomach. " _Unf."_

...Getting up off the wet floor, she wiped herself off. She was curiously dry, despite earlier events.

"Nn-..." Dieter was also on the floor, before her. "What-... what the hell _are_ you?"

...Taking a breath, she stared down at him plainly. "A shrine maiden."

"Like _hell…"_ He moved to stand again. "You-... goddamn- fuckin' _youkai._ "

"Yeah." She didn't bother to correct him. "...I get that a lot."

...When he stood, blood and water soaking his face, he held out his arms. "Whelp-... finish me off."

"...Hmm." Her look towards him was vague. "What?"

"Yer gonna eat me now, yeah? That's how it works out." He gave her a half-smile. "We both fought wit' all we fuckin' had, and I had my ass kicked. Ol' Dieter can't even do the bitchslap."

"...I don't like the taste of people." Sendai supposed, thinking this'd get him to shut up fastest. "Also, it looks like your guys are all gone."

Dieter looked around the sides of the hot spring. The only people left were the obviously drugged young men and women, who idled around the marble sides of the spring. All the clients had fled.

"Wouldn't expect any less." Dieter nodded at the fact everyone had tried fleeing. "Not that those dumbasses'll be gettin' far. Y'know, on account 'a-"

 _BAM!_ The wood door into the hot spring was kicked open again.

 _Clack, clack, clack!_ Marching up onto the top floor, was the tall, greying guard that Sendai keep seeing. "Everyo~ne! Hands in the air!" He had his huge lance equipped, looking back to make sure it didn't get stuck in the stairs…

"...Master." The mouthless, kimono-clad youkai girl was actually still here, too. "This doesn't look good, for you." Her hair was long and black, but thin, and kept within her kimono.

...Dieter faced her with about as much surprise as Sendai did. "Aa- ah. Yeah, no shit."

"So." Mokou had her hands in her pockets again. "Y'gonna have fun rottin' in jail?"

...Dieter nodded. "Hmm. Yeah. Sounds good."

 _Click._ He brought an outside-styled handgun out from his jeans, pointing it at Sendai.

' _Wait…'_ She blinked at it. ' _No-'_

 _Fwish!_ He slid up to the mouthless youkai girl who served him. "Nozakure babe, c'mere."

When she did as he said, he wrapped an arm around her neck, and held the gun to her head. "Any 'a you takes a step towards me, and the youkai babe gets it, hear?"

...Since the plan was that he'd be able to leave, Sendai folded her arms, and just waited.

"Fuck off, then." Mokou gave him a tired stare. "We'll find you later."

...He grinned. "Heh, Alri~ght…" He looked back at his hostage-

"Omh." She'd turned to face him while he was unaware. Her whole face had split open like a mouth, down the middle, a vertical maw latching onto half of his face.

" _Gh- haa~h!"_ He stumbled back-

 _BANG- BANG!_ He shot two bullets-

 _Thunk._ "Uuh…" Mokou stumbled back. When Sendai faced her, she'd seen that Mokou got nailed through one eye.

' _Oo- oh, shit. Fucking-... outsider guns.'_

 _Thud._ A pool of blood began to expand from Mokou's head, as she lied there on the floor.

 _Fwish!_ Dieter sprinted away from the youkai girl and Sendai at a pace rivaling athletes. " _Hyahahah!_ Dieter flies again, bitches!"

 _BANG!_ He shot the wall-sized window ahead of himself, shattering it instantly. ' _Guns- are fucking loud…'_

 _Clack!_ Leaping onto the window's small lower trim, he crouched and faced back, using his gun to salute them all. "Catch y'all on the flipside, bit-"

 _BANG._ Someone shot a louder gun, from somewhere outside. ' _Oh, right. Reisen.'_

There was a hole in Dieter's leg now. "Hh- _ah-"_ He began to fall out the window, and he flailed his arms. " _Shit- fu~ck!"_

...Once he fell outside, Sendai exhaled. ' _Knowing that fuckhead, he'll survive that no problem.'_

"...Ow." Mokou pushed her own eyeball back into its socket. "Ff- fuck-..."

' _Yikes.'_ Sendai cringed at the visual. ' _Ooh…'_

" _Is everyone alright?"_ Keine sounded worried. "... _That was-..."_

"No problems here." Sendai announced. "Whole place is lookin' clear. Guard's about to catch up with us, and Mokou got shot in the head, but she's fine."

' _...What an evening. If he had a gun like that the whole time, why didn't he try shooting us? I mean-... if he didn't hit us, I don't think that would've ended well. I guess he was saving it for an emergency, like at the end there. Maybe he has some fucked up sense of honor. I mean, he did wanna fuck me… and, Mokou just gets back up, so it'd just make her angrier.'_

 _Clack, clack, clack._ The tall, old guard bounded up to them. "Hakurei! Fujiwara! Are you alright!?"

...Mokou's stare towards him was mixed. "As alright as you can be after gettin' shot in the face. How many idiots you catch?"

His stare in return had a grin and a prompt furrowing of the brows. "If you think I'm the one who undertakes the headache of counting this sort of thing, you're mistaken. I think that young villager boy elected to do it, but I'm sure it's somewhere ove~r-... thirty? Of course, when we have them all locked up and ready to be sorted, we'll know for sure."

...Staring around the entire third floor, he moved to put his not-that-useful great lance somewhere more viable. "Ah, hrm-... ah, yes, if you were wondering about those who fled from up here, rest assured that we _did_ get them. Perhaps-... forty to fifty might be more accurate, then. Hmmh."

The onsen still shifted and bubbled. The black crap that was left in the water earlier was now brown and grey, cracking apart and sinking into it. ' _What happened, to it? Aw, man.'_ Sendai was disappointed. She'd never even gotten to get pushed into it by anyone. ' _Fucking thing shoulda been on the second floor.'_

Panning around, Sendai noted the youkai girl there was chewing on the skin she ripped from Dieter's face. ' _Uuh. Hmm. Is that his left cheek? I didn't get to see...'_

...Brows thoroughly furrowed, the old guard pointed at the youkai, then gave the girls a bewildered look.

They both shrugged. ' _Not really hostile, bu~t… she just ate some guy's face. Not unprovoked, mind you. Actually, she was leading those boys around, and drugging them... so, she's still an accomplice. Oh well.'_

...Leaving her be for now, the aging guard looked to the youths. "Hm, hm. Let's get these kids out first. Finding a place for _all of them_ is gonna be~... hard."

' _I'd imagine.'_ Sendai nodded… ' _At this point, you can't just hold them in the jail with all of those other lunatics.'_

" _Perhaps the school could be useful."_ Keine spoke up, over the sound stone. "... _Also, hey- it's me, Keine."_

...His surprise fading, the guard grinned at them. "Ooh, ho ho? Aah, right-... so _that's_ where the stone you speak into leads. It would make sense, that you have Fujiwara and this Hakurei in close contact."

...Sendai blinked, at him. "When'd you get convinced I was actually a Hakurei."

He stared at her, for a moment. "...Why, when I'd heard you sealed youkai. The talismans you used were quite similar to the ones used by your descendant. Not just _anyone_ can effectively use Hakurei combat talismans."

Nodding gradually, he faced the onsen beside them. "I'd know. I tried."

' _If only more people realized that. It'd make explaining myself a lot easier...'_

...Mokou moved for the bar. "You think they spiked the booze?"

...She met Sendai's level stare for a moment, then sighed. "Yeah, they probably did."

' _Now what do we do?'_ Sendai began to get listless, standing around like this. ' _There's nothing for us here, anymore. Maybe we can rip up that bronze throne, and move it into Keine's place.'_

Her stomach growled, all of a sudden. "Aa- ah…"

...Everyone stared at her. "I just fought an army." She explained herself.

"You fought an army _with some help_ , you mean." Mokou smiled. "...I think it's time we split, I guess. You and yer chucklefucks can take care of the rest of this shit." She gave the old guard a nod.

Sendai pointed at the big bronze throne. "Hey, Mokou. Whadda you say, we go nick that big dumb throne?"

...Mokou turned back to her, in the midst of leaving. "Ah. Steal it, yeah? ...Sure, why not."

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

-+- _7-4 Chapter Marker -+-_

It was now the dead of night, with stars glittering down over all of Gensokyo.

 _Thoom._ About thirty minutes later, the girls had successfully stolen the giant, triangular bronze throne. ' _Cool.'_ Sendai smiled at it, even though it was extremely gaudy.

They'd planted it across the road and down it some, next to Marcus's shop.

"...Why." Reisen gave it a ginger stare, under the eternally lit neon lights of the store.

"Trophy." Mokou explained all she needed to know.

Sendai also nabbed one of the creepy swimsuits on the way out, after some investigating. It was blue, unlike most of them, and had strange, unsafe looking fibers on the inside. ' _...Maybe I'll ask someone about it. Maybe not.'_ She sure as hell wasn't going to wear it, though.

...Since the guard and Keine had the handles on the resulting legal crap and investigation, Sendai didn't really need to think too hard about what just went down. ' _...I guess that marks one place off the list. I bet crime'll start winding down now.'_

Crime wasn't the only thing that was winding down. Only now, did Sendai's body begin to tire, after everything. ' _...Food would be good right about now, actually. Maybe something that isn't steak this time, even. I mean, I love my meat, but a balanced diet's more important than preference.'_

Her stomach growled. ' _Shut up, I know that already.'_

...At her hunger, Reisen blinked. "...Uh. Hey, I got some spare rations, that might hold you over, until you get a real meal."

Sendai blinked. "...Rations?"

Reaching around her back, Reisen brought out a sealed yogurt cup, and a bread loaf. "Here. Protein yogurt. Also, bread. Um-... plastic spoon's in a slider, on the side of the cup."

Taking the plastic cup, and the bread loaf, Sendai gave them gentle looks.

' _...Cup, and loaf.'_

" _Om…"_ Sendai was hungry enough to tear into the bread loaf right away.

' _This tastes nice…'_ And, she liked it.

...While she took a moment and gnawed at it plainly, someone came off the road, approaching them. ' _Ah-...'_

Keine marched up to them, so she could swoop in and playfully graze Sendai with her fingers in passing. "When we get back later, I'll make you something. No living off of just bread."

' _...Oh.'_ With that, Keine walked away, presumably to attend to the guards. ' _Man, Keine's really on the ball.'_

"Mmf." Sendai took a fwoofy-type bite from the bread loaf.

"...So." Mokou spoke up plainly. "We takin' this big dumb thing to Keine's, or…?"

Now that Sendai thought about it, it was too big to fit inside any of Keine's doors. Only through Mokou's gift of flight- which Sendai recently discovered- were they able to get it out of the big third floor window, and to ground level.

"Man." Lowering her loaf, Sendai shook her head. "This thing's too big to be worth anything. We could probably just-... get Marcus to melt it down into bronze, or something."

" _Y'know, I can still hear you!"_ Marcus spoke over the sound stone. " _It ain't bedtime just yet!"_

"Hey Marc, you want a big stupid throne?" Sendai asked the air plainly. "We'll leave it out back. It's fuckin' mega-heavy, so I doubt just anyone could pick it up and steal it."

Marcus snorted over the sound stone. " _...Y'know what, sure! Maybe it'll be big enough fer me ta make ya a set of bronze armor!"_

' _...Who the fuck wears bronze armor.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

The night lights of the village were bright with activity. It was mid-evening now, approaching midnight, but this didn't stop some villagers from finding things to do, or choosing this time to sell to a more limited evening market. ' _This place is becoming restless. Gods.'_

There wasn't much left to do, other than go home and sleep. ' _To think, I got out of all of that with little more than-... well, fatigue. I suppose Mokou is to thank, for that. She's fucking reckless, and for good reason. She never dies, so-... she's the ultimate expendable, in a way. She doesn't even stay down long. Wounds mean nothing to her, almost...'_

Reisen spoke idly as they walked, now having nothing better to do. "The good thing about that protein yogurt… is that it's not very filling, but it has basically everything you'd need in a meal in just one cup. And, _because_ it's not filling, what rabbits like to do is eat one 'a those, then load up on a bunch of rice."

...Sendai smiled back at her. "Where the fuck has this been all my life. How much does this shit cost? You sell it here?"

Reisen folded her arms behind her own back. "Hmm~. Not _normally,_ actually. Villagers often only buy cold medicine and like-... what's prescribed to them, from us. We're not really trusted enough to distribute things like that. That's why the bacterial tooth solution was the best option for Gensokyo-wide dental care. But, If you went to the clinic itself, we sell the yogurt for sure."

' _...I ought to stop by this clinic some time, then. It almost sounds too good to be true, but… well, I'll find out more later.'_

"It's sort of like… 'we can easily make really good vitamins', but we can't make inherently small things filling." Reisen explained further. "So, we just eat the rice the bamboo forest has by the truckload."

' _Rice, huh.'_

"Oh…" Reisen had another idea, too. "You should try the mochi the earth rabbits make, actually. They've been making it for like, a thousand years."

"Ooh." Sendai sort of liked the sound of that.

' _Yes. Rice cakes…'_ Anything with cake in the name generally became cute to her, even if she hated traditional cakes.

"Should we bother to pick up beer, on the way back…" Mokou considered, looking pensive about it. "If we did, I wouldn't be buying."

Reisen snorted. "...I _could._ But that doesn't mean I _should…"_

' _I do have some money. Do I wanna bother spending it tonight, though…'_

They entered the village square.

"Ah- hey!" Immediately, a short young man confronted them. "Keine said I'd find you guys here."

' _...Oh.'_ Sendai recognized him. ' _Akihito.'_

"What're you doin' out so late, kid." Mokou gave him a simple, vain look. "Go home."

He shook his head. "No way. Keine asked me to help you guys get home _safe."_

...Sendai spoke plainly. "Thanks, Keine. Dunno what we would do without _him._ "

" _I told him he could sleep over at my place."_ Keine clarified what was going on. " _You might be surprised to find out he's actually of drinking age."_

' _What, really.'_ Sendai was surprised, actually. ' _I thought he was like-... fifteen.'_

"Y'know what? Fi~ne." Reisen waved her arm, and began to step ahead. "I owe it to ya anyway, havin' to pry you off a' the princess with bullets so many times."

"Wait." Mokou had an idea. "Hey, kid. How much money you got?"

" _He's not buying your beer."_ Keine refused this. " _If you're all really overdrawn at the bank, I can repay what you spent later."_

"Wh- ah, no, Keine." Mokou tried to refuse her generosity. "We're not all _that_ sleazy."

"If it really comes down to it, I'll pay for it." Sendai supposed she'd step forward-

"It's fine, I carry yen for luxury expenses anyway…!" Reisen gave them all an intense grin. "I don't even really have a _use_ for yen, myself! ...Y'see- the clinic uses these things called _credits_ to do in-house staff transactions, and uh…" She could see Sendai wasn't really certain where she was going with this.

' _...The clinic has its own staff currency, what. That's kind of neat, but also sounds incredibly stupid.'_

...Akihito gave her a bewildered look. "What's a _credit…?"_

' _Oh, gods.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

 _Crea~k._ The door to Keine's house opened easily and plainly…

Reisen stumbled in, her arms full of premium booze. "We're- _not_ getting through all of this in one night. That'd be such a _waste."_

"We'll burn it a little at a time." Mokou rolled her eyes. "We're not fuckin' braindead, bunny girl. No one said we had ta get shitfaced drunk, either."

' _...I wonder where the hell Dieter would choose to go next.'_ While the girls shared some kind of weird rivalry, Sendai thought about the next big goal for their village beat'em'up tour. ' _He made that place out to be his… 'kingdom', and we just walked in and tore it down. I'm thinkin' he's not got very many other places to go, now. His first option was a deal room, and his second option was-... his home, basically. Where'd he sleep? Might've had a separate house. Whatever.'_

While Reisen clumsily shuffled for the kitchen, Mokou stole one of the bottles from between her arms. "Wh- _Mokou…!_ I coulda _dropped these_ if you picked the wrong one!"

"Good thing I didn't." Mokou ambled for the couch... "Let's see what the hell this one is…"

 _Creak._ Sendai flopped onto the central couch. ' _Whatever the case, I think tomorrow's job will be the last. I can't see much topping today. Village crime better be fuckin' scared after all of that shit. We just tore down a small army.'_

The bottles were all very different. Mokou had persuaded Reisen to buy a large variety, so that they wouldn't get stuck with one kind they didn't like. She also didn't want to stick with tried-and-true bog standard sake. So, they ended up with a huge array of different bottles, and different colored beverages.

' _Time to drink and sleep.'_ Sendai figured, smiling into the lit living room, from her seat… ' _I guess everyone else didn't feel like bed either…'_

Marcus looked up from his tome, seated in the same chair as when she left. "...Hello~." He gave her a plain little wave…

"You should move." Sendai immediately recommended a change of routine. "...Sitting in one place for too long isn't good."

He stared into space for a moment. "Gee. Y'know- I'll keep that in mind…"

' _What, no. Don't just keep it in mind, do it now...!'_

" _He gets more exercise than you'd think."_ Keine was heard from both of their sound stones. " _You just happen to be seeing him in that one spot constantly."_

' _...I'm not sure if I totally buy that, but I get what she means…'_

Akihito followed the girls inside, somewhat heistantly. "...Mrmh."

...After setting the bottles down in the kitchen, Reisen stalked into the living room quickly. "...Mokou- aren't you harder to get drunk then normal? Like- harder than rabbits, actually?"

Mokou snorted. "I'll just have taller glasses. Hey, miko. You heavier than your daughter?"

...One brow raised, Sendai slowly smiled at her. "I wouldn't know how heavy Reimu goes. I'm still only human, y'know."

 _Clack._ Mokou sat down on the central couch, placing the thick bottle down on the edge of the table, near the map. "...Reisen, go look fer the glasses. What, we gonna drink with our hands, here?"

"Yes." Reisen snorted, before heading back for the kitchen. "Gimme a _moment_ …"

Coming back around the table, Sendai moved to sit down next to Mokou. "...Nnh." Sitting down felt good. "Woah…"

' _Didn't realize how wound up I was. Did I get punched in the cheek, at some point? It feels like it, and I don't-... know why. Probably while I was using Fantasy Heaven...'_

Mokou gave her a half-grin. "Don't go tuckerin' out on us just yet. Y'gotta be at least half-drunk, first."

"Yeah, yeah." Sitting up again, Sendai took in a breath. "...Hoo~. Tonight was more of a gauntlet than I'd prepared for."

"...Yeah? Fer me, this was whatever." Mokou shrugged the day's events off. "Try doing that, except fuckin' everyone's a lunar rabbit, with shields and guns. Yeah, that's what I do every other fuckin' week, pretty much."

Sendai smirked, letting her brows raise. "...But, why though?"

Mokou let her gaze flick up. "So I could get to that princess bitch's room, and skull fuck her. Pussy bitch she is, rarely coming out herself."

...Leaning forward, she looked over the bottle. "Suntory Shochu, huh. We get a lotta Suntory-brand crap over here."

It was a solid white bottle, which hid how much alcohol was really in it. ' _Never heard of many name brands before, really.'_

Reisen came back with three glasses. "...You don't invade _that_ often, Mokou. Half the time we just let you walk to her room, 'cause we'd know she'd just walk out and find you at some point anyway. Most of the time, it ends up not being our battle… and stopping you's pointless like, most of the time, anyway."

...Mokou let her head tilt. "Well, yeah. I'm just sayin', there's worse idiot parades out there."

 _Creak._ Reisen plopped down on the rightmost couch.

Akihito happened to be there, on the cushion closest to the central couch, leaving him awkwardly stationed between Reisen and Mokou. "Um…"

"...You think we're gonna be tailin' Dieter much more, after this?" Sendai wondered aloud. "I feel like three's a few times too many for milkin' this thing."

Mokou snorted. "What makes ya say that? S'not like someone'll dispel the scry. Few people in this village're smart enough for that, and even fewer'd actually help him without sawin' off a leg first."

 _Pop!_ Reisen popped open the Suntory Shochu bottle. "...Hmm."

"I mean, the last place was practically _his home,_ if not more important to him than that." Sendai reasoned. "We pretty much just ran over his whole career in the village. Whatever the hell kinda career it _was._ "

...At that, Mokou licked her lips, thinking on this. "...Aa~h. Well, even then, we still did pretty good. He musta been a more important person than his shitty personality let on, if he had all that crap under his name. Really don't think too many people are gonna be into fuckin' with us after all of that.

"I mean-... that's _generally_ why people didn't screw with Keine in the first place." She faced Sendai, looking more focused. "Only reason anything was going sour, was 'cause they were playin' the long game against Keine for awhile, it sounded. Y'know, takin' the real occasional student here, passing an inconvenient standard or law there. But then the idiot up and started shit in the place like some kinda fuckin' lunatic, and everything was suddenly on Keine's side again."

' _...The only reason he started shit in the school was 'cause he wanted in my pants. So-... he accidentally gave Keine a huge advantage again. That, and me existing accidentally gave her a huge advantage again also. I'm not sure what to think, at this point…'_

 _Spli~sh._ Reisen leaned over the table, carefully pouring Sendai her glass, then Mokou's.

' _Clear stuff, huh.'_

...Turning to Akihito, Reisen began to smile. "Actually-... would you like to drink with us?"

Mokou grinned dangerously. "Aw, yeah. I wanna see this little maniac smashed."

" _Um…!"_ He was immediately worried, about this…

' _...Now that Keine's problem is just about over, maybe I should get back on track with finding shit out about my death.'_ Sendai considered… ' _Well, there's also Reimu. Hmm~.'_

" _Akihito…"_ Keine spoke up, over the sound stone. " _You don't have to drink, if you don't want to. Although, I do feel like some socialization would be good for you."_

...His eyes shut, Akihito made his decision. "I- I'll _do it!"_

Holding up the fancy glass cup she was given, Sendai looked it over… ' _It's like a wine glass, except more cup-like, too. What a far cry from three weeks ago, when we used shitty metal mugs.'_

Tilting her head back, she began to sip the clear liquid.

' _...Oh, god.'_ It was interesting, to taste. ' _Oouh. That's-... what a mixture. At-... at least it has some flavor?'_ She might have preferred regular sake, if she was honest…

She held back after just a sip. ' _I mean-... good thing, too. We don't have any snacks. This's gonna be a long glass.'_

Reisen had gotten up, to get another glass. Akihito was practically frozen in place, blushing for some reason.

Mokou sipped, and after tensing a little, began to outright down her glass. "...Nnh." Lowering it, she twirled the empty cup around. " _Ah._ Good. Who doesn't like the 'we tried to cram fucking everything into this' shochu. If I wanted to taste potato, I'd've just bought the common sweet potato-flavored shit."

Sendai began to become smug. "If I wanted to taste potato, I'd've bought a potato."

Mokou grinned at that, too. "Fu- fuckin'..."

' _I'll worry about my problems tomorrow. Tonight, I wanna have some fun. Even if it's not with the old gang-... these chicks're alright. I mean, Marcus is technically here, reading a book and not drinking like fucking always. Yeah, this is perfect, actually.'_

"...Reminds ya of three weeks ago?" Sendai raised her voice, speaking across the room. "Huh, Marc?"

...Marcus looked up, grinning at her. "Three weeks 'a-... _oo~h!_ I getcha! Ho ho ho!" He grinned wider when he actually got what she meant. "All ya need's for Akihito there ta wanna fight ya over a titjob, and it'll be a great book end!"

"Wh- what…!?" Akihito was deeply confused. "A-... what's a _titjob?"_

' _Holy shit, he's dumber than Kourin was. And- Kourin was like-... a year or two younger than- nevermind, Kourin was way way younger, actually. He's what, twenty? Kourin was like, fifteenish, thirteenish. Goddamn.'_

"I _really_ wanna see you drunk." Mokou leered at him. "That'll be a fuckin' riot."

Reisen waded back into the room, holding another drinking glass. "...He~re we are."

 _Click._ As she sat down, she plopped down the one for Akihito. "I'll even _pour it_ for ya. Here."

 _Spli~sh._ He stared at it apprehensively, as the clear liquid filled the glass…

' _He's not gonna like the taste.'_ Sendai immediately doubted he'd bother at all. ' _To be fair, most beer does taste like complete piss, until you get used to it. Even after, it still does. That's what I like about it, personally; keeps ya from drinkin' it too hard, because… euh.'_

...Smiling, he beheld the clear liquid, expecting it to be kinda refreshing. "...I- I've, um-... never really tried drinking beer. Um-... there was this one time-... I tried the um, general kind, and it tasted bad. This looks better, though…"

' _It's not better.'_

Reisen's smile towards him was a degree more vain now.

Slowly, he brought up the glass, before chugging a gulp.

Instantly, his eyes widened and he lowered the glass. " _Kh-_ kaugh, kauf- nngh…! Oo- oh, my god!" ...Slowly, he brought his gaze around the girls. "Wh-... how- are you just _drinking_ this!? Ooh…"

"Practice." Sendai admitted.

"Time." Mokou didn't lie.

...Reisen thought on this. Staring at the other girls, she began to grin. "This reminds me-... one time, we made a beer at the clinic that actually tasted _good._ "

"Uh oh." Sendai knew where this story was going. "...You had to stop making it, didn't you."

"Yeah." Reisen shook her head, in parts amusement and sorrow… "Everyone who had it just didn't stop. Overdosing on alcohol became scarily easy."

Slowly, she brought her own glass up. "...Ah-... I still gotta join the club. Mmh…" She began to sip her glass.

...After working on it enough, she licked her lips, and nodded. "Fu~ck, that's a weird one. Fuckin' shochu. I hear it's normally sweeter-... but, this _is_ some lower-tier Suntory shit." The glass was still mostly full, when she was done with it.

Mokou snorted. "Yeah. I know ya picked randomly, but damn, you picked a hell of a bottle for us to start with. S'not even terribly strong, s'just weird."

Then, Akihito brought his glass up to try again. He briefly saw Mokou's glass, and thought to imitate her by downing all of it in numerous gulps.

' _Uh oh.'_ Sendai's smile widened at him. She saw where his eyes had gone. ' _You fucking idiot. Oh, man.'_

" _Mmgh-..."_ He began drinking. His eyes screwed up, as he winced aggressively.

' _He's really doing it…!'_ Despite his intense pain, he refused to let himself back down from finishing the glass. ' _Oh, no…!'_

He lowered his glass, and placed it on the table promptly, looking vaguely alarmed. "Wh- _khh-_ water- _I- I need_ \- _kaugh…!"_

He shot up, stumbling away from the table, running to the kitchen. "Mmgh…!"

"Wh- hehaha…!" Mokou was satisfied. "There ya _go,_ boy! Chug that whole fuckin' glass!"

"Wo~w." Brows raised, Reisen shook her head… "He's really gonna _not_ like booze, after this."

"Good." Sendai smiled at that. "The less drinkers in this town, the better. I don't trust this place to have booze, anymore."

On that note, she stopped looking at the kitchen, and faced Reisen again. "...How much yen did you _spend?"_ Sendai thought on this, now. "You got like, ten fucking bottles."

"More than I _should've._ " Reisen gave a decisive nod. "...Yep. I- I mean, seemed like a good idea at the time. I'll probably nab a few bottles when I scram, honestly."

' _...Nice. That's like, four fucking nights of beer. I don't trust these chicks to not get bored after this one, especially miss 'commanding officer' here.'_

Mokou reached for the bottle. "Alright, enough dicking around. Round two. Should I bother pouring the kid a shot."

As she said this, Akihito lurched back into the room, feeling at this throat. "...Yh- yes. Yeah..."

"...Oh?" At that, Mokou smirked. "Pftuh. Alri~ght."

' _This kid is going to get annihilated.'_

 _Spli~sh._ She began filling his glass, her own, and topped off Reisen's. ' _I really have no idea when we'll finish this bottle. Mokou literally downed the glass like he did, and just-... nothing happened to her. I'd call that a waste, but this stuff tastes like shit anyway.'_

Akihito took a seat again, this time with a glass of water by his side. His face was all wet, and so was some of his shirt. ' _...Did he fucking fall in. What the hell happened to him.'_

...After giving him an ironically rueful look, Reisen raised her own glass. "I'll be the first, this time."

On cue, Sendai and Mokou raised their own glasses. ' _Guess we'll all just dust this one at once, and then wait a little.'_

Mokou gave Akihito a glance of attention. "Hey- we're _all_ chuggin' at once. Y'know what to do."

' _Mokou's gonna break this kid, gods.'_

"Um…" He was fearful, as he beheld more of the dreadful clear liquid. "We- well-... ok- okay-..."

"Mmh." Sendai tilted her head back, and began to down it.

' _Who the fuck brewed thi~s. Why would you do this to something that already worked just fine…'_

Although, Sendai took it marginally slower than the other girls, only downing up to a quarter of the glass, to spare her throat. ' _Oo~h, man.'_

" _Kh- khh…"_ Akihito held back tears, as he downed the glass of water, also only halfway done with his shochu glass. "Mmgh- nnh…"

Mokou placed her empty glass down. "Haa~h. Now it's kickin', a little. Gonna need a whole 'nother damn glass to catch up with all 'a you, 'ventually."

' _Mokou- I've hardly touched my own glass. Reisen's only like some of the way through hers, and Aki-boy there is-... he's gonna fucking drop, at this rate.'_

"Hmm~." Reisen seemed to wince at the taste, but got over it. "...Ha~h. Well- you and me both, Mokou. Pretty sure biology dictates that-... miko here will be the first to get drunk."

Sendai let her gaze flick up. "Yeah, this is real fair. Drinking with youkai. Gonna be honest, this shit's not good on the tongue."

Giving a mixed nod, Reisen felt like that was fair. "Well, yeah. I just bought random crap, so I didn't think everyone would be down with it. _Akihito_ here, on the other hand…"

 _Clack!_ Akihito finally finished his glass, placing it down hard on the table. "I-... I _dihd it_ …"

"Nice." Mokou droned out. "You did what I can do without thinking about it."

' _Might as well take another sip...'_

So, she did. ' _There. Man, we shoulda waited for Keine. Dinner woulda went over well with this. Maybe not this shochu in particular, however…'_

"We- well…" Leaning back in his seat, Akihito frowned. "Eeh- excuse me, for bein' _new._ This stuff tastes _terrible_. I don't know why the hell you're all drinking it."

' _Oh my god, he swore. All that shit's kicking in...'_

"...To be fair, it tastes worse than usual." Sendai chose words deciduously. "But, the point's more to get drunk, to be honest. Before I had Reimu, I _loved_ getting shitfaced. It made me feel sexy, and even stronger."

"Being drunk _does not_ make you sexier." Reisen sternly shook her head… "It really _doesn't."_

"I know that _now._ " Sendai grinned back. "...And, I dunno. Ke-... my _husband_ seemed into it. He was pretty alright while drunk too. Not always, but _sometimes,_ mmh…"

"...Oo- oh, yeah." Reisen widened her eyes, a little. "You had a hubby, at one point. What was he like?"

"Don't go getting me thinking about him, now." Now with a half-grin, Sendai leaned back. "...He was nice. I loved him."

Immediately, from her body language, Reisen was afraid of pushing this fold too far. "...Ye- yeah. You don't have to keep going."

Mokou was less sensitive, however. "Loved him, hmm? When'd he kick it?"

Indifferent, Sendai snorted. "...Two years ago, yeah?"

"Mokou, shut up." Reisen asserted herself. "Especially not with the _beer_ out."

Smirking back at her, Mokou held her empty glass up to her own cheek. "Wha~t. I'm _curious_ is all. S'not like I asked 'er ta write me a fuckin' documentary."

...Unable to say much more about that, Reisen just pouted at her own glass.

Since it was still just shy of full, Sendai brought up her glass again. ' _If I'm gonna get any sorta buzz, I should probably do more than these puny sips. ...Maybe not too much more.'_

"Mhy-..." Akihito was already looking warmer, however. "Mm- my dad always says- that it was a bad idea, ff- for me to wanna become a yhoukai-... exterminator. And I always thought he was _stupid._ "

...Her brows raised, Mokou gave him a simple look. "The hell's _this_ comin' from. Also, maybe you shoulda listened to him."

' _Really should have. Mister 'I carry around a broadsword bigger than me' over here…'_

"Wh- well, no!" Akihito _refused_ Mokou's opinion, however. "Y'see-... y'see- _Reimu-_ she's never _killed_ a youkai…"

' _Really?'_

"...Um." Mokou blinked. "She _has?_ I mean-... she's killed before. _"_

' _...I was gonna say.'_

"We- whell- I know _that-..."_ Akihito scratched his face, and felt at his own head for a moment. "I-... just mean like- she doesn't _most_ 'a the time. So- I always like, wanted to be like her."

Smiling, Mokou snorted. "...Except you're a dude. Also, you can't fly. You also don't have the yin-yang orb. Or, a god. Or talismans. Or ofuda, or charms-..."

' _Reimu can what. Wait-... I did see her flying before. Oh.'_

"Not _exactly_ like her…" He shook his head, and began to slouch down into his legs. "Oouh…"

'... _And now, he's melting.'_

Then, he sat up. "Yhou know what would _really_ stop the youkai…!?"

...Taking in a breath, Mokou leaned back. " _What._ "

"What if…" He began to _grin._ "What if- we scared _them._ Like-... like with, a _really big_ cannon."

...Mokou slowly faced him. "A _really big cannon."_

He grinned wider. "A _really big cannon."_

"...And what do you suppose we'd _do_ ," Mokou wondered, "with a really fucking big cannon."

His grin was brilliant. "Whe-... hrm." Then, it wasn't. "Ghood point…"

Reisen had her face in her palms.

' _This fuckin' kid…'_

"Like- no!" He saw everyone's dismal reactions. "It's just like-... lihke- if we _shot it,_ we might kill them- so, we'd hafta let it _sit there._ Bhut- if we _never_ fired it, no one'd be scared of it."

"Maybe we don't just build a _giant fuckoff cannon."_ Grinning again, Mokou proposed this back at him. "How about _that?"_

"No…" He knew this was not the truth. "Nn- no, it'd be the name that sh- scares people."

"The _name._ " Reisen had to get in on this, too. "Like what? A fancy military name? Those can be pretty scary."

"Buttfucker nine thousand." Mokou devised a name on the spot. It wasn't a very good one.

"M.A.L.E.V. Flax Strider." Looking down at her glass, Reisen considered this name… "No idea what any of that would mean, but it's kinda spooky."

Akihito held his finger up. "Nn- _nho._ I got- the _perfect_ -... a good name. It hasta' like-... be _related_ ta the village, y'know? No _gun names_ \- no um, swears."

Snorting, Mokou refuted him. "Whadda you mean. Swears are totally human village-y."

"I'm thinkin'-..." Holding up his hands, Akihito anticipated a strong reaction. " _Big Bertha."_

...Sendai exhaled. "Y'know what. I think I'm done for tonight."

Turning to her, Mokou snorted. "Awh? What, ya tipsy already?"

"Just a little." Sendai admitted. "...But, I don't think anything's gonna top what just happened."

"Y'might be _right,_ but…" Smirking, Mokou stared down at Sendai's glass. "Hell, y'haven't even gotten _buzzed._ Don't pussy out now."

"Even then, I think it'd be good if we had _something_ to snack on, for this." Sendai really didn't want to down this shochu on its own. "...And maybe some pretzels for the kid." She gave Akihito a sympathetic look…

"Wh-..." He looked all mixed up. "I'm not a _kid._ An' I don't need _pretzels…_ "

"You know what would be an intimidating name." Suddenly, Reisen had a dangerous smile… "The _planet cracker."_

Akihito found it funny, instead. "Pl- _planet cracker…!?_ Pf~t…! Cr- crackers…"

...Reisen numbly pivoted to him. "I didn't even _think_ of that, but I hate that you thought of that immediately."

Pursing his lips, he became pensive, all of a sudden. "...Aa-... what's a _planet."_

Reisen sat back, sinking into the couch. "Uu~f."

 _Click!_ Mokou poured herself a full glass of the clear shochu, the bottle meeting the cup abruptly. Holding it up, she gave everyone a smile. "Chee~rs." Then, she just guzzled it.

Sendai's brows raised. "You know, I didn't say anything at first…" She watched Mokou chug. "Are you _this_ used to drinking. Is this what a thousand years of drinking experience looks like."

...Mokou stopped halfway through the glass, and nodded at her. "Yh- yes…" Then, she resumed immediately.

' _Fuckin'... immortal regeneration. If I did that, my throat would be on fucking fire.'_

Sendai reluctantly brought up her glass again. ' _Man, Mokou's in a hurry to get smashed. I'm just looking for a little buzz, and some chat. Also, something that doesn't taste like-... a fucking mess, I don't know.'_

Akihito stood up, and moved for the bottle himself. "...Mm- mmh." He poured himself another glass like he was readying for battle, giving it a stern look…

Sendai snugged into her seat, folding her legs. ' _What were we drinking, three weeks ago? Pretty sure that was the weird deal Marc completed, at the time. Didn't think too much, about that. That shit was the bomb. Went down smooth, felt good to drink, and it was only a little bitter in the end. This shochu, nn~gh.'_

" _Mmh!"_ Immediately, Akihito took the dive, downing another glass like Mokou.

"Geez, kid…" Reisen hadn't even gotten past her first glass, altogether. "Slow down. You're gonna die when you wake up tomorrow."

" _Mrgh…"_ He clenched his other fist hard, undergoing physical pain as he slowly downed the drink. " _Nhnhnh…"_ The alcohol bubbled a little, as he whined into it.

...Setting her own glass down, Mokou began to smile sincerely. "Mmm~. I feel _good_ , now."

...Ignoring the maniacs, Reisen shifted her attention to Sendai, again. "So, um…"

Sendai noticed her gaze, meeting it.

"Reimu's mom." Reisen forgot Sendai's name, at some point. "...How was life, when you were kicking around?"

...Sendai let her head lean, a little. "What do ya want from me. It was good, I guess. Kinda sucked, but I made all I could of it."

"Yeah. Kind of a loaded question." Reisen supposed. "I just heard it was really different from now."

"...Yeah, it was." Sendai wasn't sure what to say. "I don't really know _how_ big the differences are. I'd have to go patrol in the woods-... and, I might want to figure out some more things about myself again, before I do that."

' _All this 'helping Keine' stuff has kinda given me something to sink my teeth into that isn't just-... the big problem of why the hell I'm back again. Also, Reimu, again. And, it really has helped me rethink some things, like how I fight.'_

The way Mokou leaned back into her seat this time was very leisure-like, accenting her reddening cheeks. "That's right…" She faced Sendai. "Yer not a hotshot like you used ta be, yeah? Honestly, fer a human, you go fuckin' deep, though..."

"Oh?" Sendai blinked, at the praise…

"Her endurance is something strange, yeah." Reisen nodded down at her own glass, again. "Also, how she just-... what is that _darkness_ stuff, actually?" She met Sendai's gaze again. "Seems a little odd for a shrine maiden, doesn't it?"

"I remember getting good at dark magic." Sendai provided. "...Well, familiar, at least. When I was young, I was just that angry and bitchy, after my own mother died, and-... the village _really_ wasn't any better then, so people in general began pissing me off, and overall, life sucked."

Mokou pursed her lips, at that. " _Your_ mother died? How old was she?"

...Sendai had a half-smile. "Well… she made it to about forty. Like me. Then, she didn't come back one day. Most of her friends that she associated with by that point had died, too. It'd take awhile for me to learn about that. So-... yeah, that was a really fun week."

"...Ah." Mokou actually managed to let herself look a little awkward, accidentally. "Hmh."

"Maybe we should look into if Hakurei maidens don't have a sorta-... Hieda family thing, going on." Reisen proposed an idea… "Because, that's awfully coincidental."

Sendai snorted at the idea. "...Well, you can do that."

' _...I don't really know the specifics of how I died, now that I think about it. Akyuu told me about how my body was left in a strange state, and from what I remember of that day myself, it… was certainly strange. Up until now, I've assumed a youkai was responsible. But-... why spare Reimu? It'd be nice if I knew exactly what's happened to Reimu since I was gone. Not like that's exactly possible. Unless...'_

She glared into her glass, suddenly pensive. ' _Who would have been around to see her? Marcus, maybe. Keine and Kourin, perhaps? Genji? Is Genji even still alive, is the better question...'_

' _...Questions to ponder maybe tomorrow, I suppose. I wonder if we'll even bother with that Dieter guy. It would be nice to take a day to do something else. Unwind, ask some questions… train a little. We'll see, I guess.'_

"Tsu-... Tsukiko." Akihito remembered her name, at least.

Sendai looked over at him, dully. "...Yeah, kid?"

He stood up, face flushed, and a hand over his heart. "I-... I'll help you!"

' _...Good.'_ Sendai gave him an unimpressed stare. ' _Just what I needed. A bodyguard who'll go down in like, two hits. Or, in this state, a gentle breeze.'_

"That so…" Sendai raised her brows. "How."

"If-... if anyone ever gives you trouble…" He held up his fists. "I'll protect you!"

It was a cute gesture, Sendai consented. "Say that to your girlfriend, kid. Doesn't mean anything when you throw it around to people you don't know."

...At that, he faltered. "Wh-... we- well, I- want to protect _everyone._ How-... do I protect everyone."

Sendai began to smile. "Well-... by not being drunk off your ass, for one thing. But, failing that, strength is important. You'll hear pansy-ass poets saying it's not everything-... but, there're more types of strength than physical power. Knowledge, wisdom, courage… kindness. And-... actually being _strong_ in any of these respects takes more than just, blindly walking towards it. You have to know what it's like to _lack_ those things, too. That's when you'll be able to level with people who aren't as far along as you might be."

' _...Provided, you can't always fix stupid. Some people really just never get it, and say what you will about chances, some people will just-... even when given chances, they'll just continue to fuck it all up. That's why some people aren't worth sympathy. At least, not my sympathy.'_

...Akihito nodded vaguely. "Aa-... ah. So-... um. Hmm."

"...I suppose," Sendai had a vain look, now. "Another form of strength, would be saving your words when talking to drunk people."

Marcus looked up from his tome nearby. "Issa good thought exercise, lemme tell ya!"

"I-..." One could see Akihito's mental gears turning, sometimes sticking. "I think-... I _get it._ "

' _Sure.'_

Then, Sendai looked at the clock. ' _When's Keine getting back, anyway…?'_

"So." Reisen looked at Akihito's empty glass. "Uh-"

" _Tsukiko_ …!" Suddenly, Akihito was louder. "How-... how strong do you think I am-... compared to _you?"_

"Incomparable." Sendai instantly shot him down. "Not even on the same scale. You know nothing, you're like a paper bag in the breeze, you're fairly naive, and-... you're kind, but I can't tell if that's just how you are, or if it's just because you're dumb. You might have potential, but I really couldn't be bothered to look for it."

"Aa- aa…" Akihito looked wind-swept. "Ooh."

' _Yeah, 'ooh'.'_

"...Sounds like your head's still all together, at least." Mokou stared down the bottle on the table. "Mmh."

That's when Akihito moved towards the negative space in the corner of the room. "Mmr- mmh…"

' _...He have to take a piss, or something?'_

Turning to face the whole room, Akihito bowed, almost toppling himself in the process. "...Tsu-... Tsukiko~! I-... I want you to fight me!"

...Sendai gave Marcus a plain stare. He grinned back at her.

She stood up, her gaze still plain as she now faced him. "...What do I owe the honors of _this_ to?"

" _No one, because ideally, you wouldn't humor him."_ Keine was all against this, however, her voice coming from multiple sound stones in the room. " _You know he knows nothing, Tsukiko."_

"Oo- oh my _god…"_ Akihito was astounded. "...Te- teacher-...! Where are you!? I hear you _everywhere!"_

Mokou leaned from the side of the couch. "She was so proud 'a you- she _ascended-..._ kid."

"Don't worry." Sendai came around to the back of the couch, before the door. "...I won't be rough, or anything. I could use something to jump around, for a moment. When you comin' back for dinner, anyway?"

" _Very soon."_ Keine answered. " _And- I want you to be relaxing, not jumping around!"_

"I gotta keep Aki-kid jumpin' around, then." Sendai decided. "I'll help sober him up, a little. With my fists."

" _No! Look-... fine- you can walk around, but don't break anything, and don't actually hurt him. I mean-... chances are, he'll hurt himself- but, don't let him break anything, either."_

With that, Sendai stepped closer to him. "Cool."

 _-+- Vs. Human Villager, Big Bertha Influencer, Akihito -+-_

"Ok-... okay!" With that, Akihito raised his dukes. "...I- I don't want to hurt you, so-... is this good?"

Sendai snorted. "Do whatever you want. Don't mind me."

...With that, he beamed, and ran at her. " _Hya~h!"_

 _fwish._ As he worked up a run, ready to slap a hook of his arm into her abdomen, she slid around his side in what seemed like an instant to him.

"Awh- huah…" He had to take a moment to stop, and almost fell. "Aah…"

' _I used to be a lot faster. Thinking back to three weeks ago-... it's hard to tell in actual combat, but I'm so slow now.'_

 _fwish._ As he turned around, looking for her, Sendai slid again, getting around to his back. ' _Man, he's drunk.'_

"Wh-..." He began looking only along the wall, and towards the couches, and not beside himself. "Where'd you _go…!?"_

 _pap._ She locked an arm around his head, and ruffled his hair with her other hand. ' _If I was a youkai, you'd be dead right now. If you were a youkai, you'd be dead right now.'_

"Wh- ah…!" He hardly even struggled, so she had to voluntarily let him go. "...Do- don't play-... don't play with me… take this- _seriously._ "

"Make me." Sendai smiled, while he turned to face her.

...With that, he gained a determined glare, and grinned back. "Oo-... okay!"

He had a brilliant idea. Since Sendai could do that slide dodge maneuver, he thought of how to repeat it himself…

 _Woosh!_ Moving towards her, he tripped over his own ankles, plummeting to the floor and nearby wall with dangerous velocity. " _Uah-"_

 _Pap!_ Sendai had to reach forward, grappling him by the collar, so he wouldn't brain himself against the nearby cabinet. " _Easy,_ now."

"Uu- ah…" His eyes were wide, as she pulled him back, and onto his feet. "Wh- hah-... what'd you _do…"_

"Saved you from destroying your skull." Sendai stated simply. "If you actually fell, you might've seriously hurt yourself. Which, y'know… is not exactly what comes to my mind when I think power."

He sighed, feeling at his head. "I- just-... I wanna get _stronge~r!"_

Glaring up at Sendai with renewed vigor, he raised his leg to kick it. " _Yeah!"_

 _fwish._ Sendai dodged the two second-long kick. "Wh- uaoh…" He had to turn around, the momentum from his own kick too much for his plain body…

Pivoting around, he beamed, and brought a hand up. "Al- alright…!"

 _fwish._ Sendai came along his side again, when he tried to slap her shoulder, or something along those lines. ' _Even if he actually hit me, nothing would happen. All he's trying to do is actually clip me, at this point.'_

Turning around again, he threw himself forward. " _Gotcha-"_

 _pap._ Sendai grabbed onto the collar of his shirt instead, stopping his grapple attempt by grappling him. "...Got _you."_ She smiled back.

She let him go, and he stumbled back. "Aah…"

" _Hey."_ Keine spoke up. " _I'm almost back. What would you like for dinner, Tsukiko? More steak, or…?"_

' _Ooo.'_ Sendai immediately became invested in this, instead. ' _I wonder what Keine actually has, first of all. Some variety should be good.'_

 _Slap!_ After stumbling forward, looking tactically terrified, Akihito swung his arm out, and managed to slap Sendai's right breast.

" _Ah-..."_ She froze, standing stock still for a moment. "...Alright, you skinny little motherfucker."

"Ah…" He blinked, as she casually walked up to him-

 _Whunk._ She suddenly hooked him in the stomach, within half a second. " _Uuu-...!"_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

It was now later that evening.

' _Mmm…'_ The food was good. ' _Of course Keine learned how to cook, over the years. I wanna ask how that fit into being a teacher-... but, mmh.'_

The dish had managed to incorporate salmon, and a variety of sauces, one of which being just a pinch of some of the alcohol Reisen bought. ' _Cooks are the real magicians. Goddamn.'_

"...I wanna know-... _why_ you had that much salmon just _around._ " Mokou had sunk into the couch after finishing her meal... "Unless-..."

"It was to congratulate all of you." Keine smiled simply. "You did great today. Honestly-... if we wanted to all rest easy now, we very well could."

"Mmh…" Akihito was actually vaguely sober now, although he was also very tired, especially after eating. He was leaning on one of the couch arms, dozing off.

"Keine-..." Sendai spoke up. "When'd you learn to _cook?_ Like-... more things than just poppin' meats and fish into an oven?"

At that, Keine smirked. "Hmm. Maybe it'd have paid off, for you to pay more attention to the village's culinary side. Wives and chefs around town have a wealth of recipes they'd be happy to share, if you spent a little off-time socializing with them. Some people may not know it, but there's more types of people in this town than the loud, obnoxious kinds."

...Sendai couldn't really even say anything back to that. ' _Yeah. I just, never really tried. I was always put off by the ones who shunned me. Dunno if any of them wouldn't have… but, I always felt like I had about enough people in my life.'_

"...And, to be honest," Keine followed up, "I was mostly making steaks because I knew that's what you liked to eat, when you were alive. I always tend to have a surplus of steaks anyway."

...That struck Sendai a little curiously. "A-... surplus of steaks, huh. What, you like 'em too?"

Keine snorted. "Ah, yeah. They're pretty good. Especially with the spices, yeah."

' _...Hmm.'_ The way Keine spoke about that, made Sendai just a little suspect. ' _Oh, well. Maybe for guests, since they're typically pretty easy to prepare. I was not a complicated woman.'_

"Regardless 'a what _you guys_ do…" Reisen tried to fluff up, but she kept looking relaxed. "I've gotta keep tabs on the town for awhile, now. This whole um… _bunny business_ has got master all up and about, I'm sure."

Keine snorted. "How do you know?"

"Oh, she knows." Reisen was certain. "...I couldn't imagine playing the recon game _against_ her. Watch, I'll walk back home at like _two,_ and she'll be there with her bow, and she'll hand me a rifle, and then we'll be off."

...After a moment, she smiled sheepishly. "Well-... perhaps not _that_ abrupt, but she'll totally know _everything_ of what happened tonight."

' _...There's someone above the commanding officer, there? Does she mean the princess, who Mokou wants to brain? Actually-... you'd think Mokou would have succeeded, after a thousand goddamn years. Unless-... the princess is an immortal too. That'd make sense.'_

Sendai wanted to loaf out. _'Gods. That was good…'_

Marcus had remained quiet throughout most of this, as he usually did when he had nothing to really say. He was looking tired too, however.

Keine got up. "Oh, right. I picked up some quick takoyaki, for the, um… girls. Someone mind helping me heat it back up?"

Marcus and Mokou moved at the same time, before locking eyes with one another.

"Ah, I got this…" He waved her off, moving from the chair he'd claimed as his-

" _Nah, nah._ " Mokou quickly marched around the couch, and towards the kitchen herself. "Go crash, or something."

"No~pe, no~...!" He sped up, shuffling to the kitchen faster.

Mokou accelerated after him, since he was closer to it than she was. "Freaking- take a hike…!"

They both accelerated into the kitchen at almost the same time. ' _I wonder how Mokou and Keine even met. Knowing how Keine likes to connect herself, it might not actually be a big question…'_

When Keine, Mokou and Marcus were in the kitchen, this just left Reisen and Sendai. Also, Akihito, except he might as well have been asleep.

"So…" Sendai decided to question Reisen, this time. "How's Reimu been?"

...Blinking, Reisen met her gaze. "...Ah. Well… she's been good? What do you want _me_ to say. We're friends, but-... we don't talk together _too_ often. She's cool, but Marisa hits up the shrine way more often. Both 'cause she has nothing better to do, and 'cause the shrine's right there-... and, they're definitely close friends."

' _What would a shrine maiden be without their aggressive magician friend, at this rate.'_ Sendai smiled, at the thought. ' _...Marisa's definitely about as fucking annoying to fight as Marcus was. Except, Marcus was mostly into reinforcement stuff back then; Marisa's all about fucking blowing me up, and-... yeah, that's just terrible.'_

' _...Doesn't help that mages are just not fun to fight in general.'_ It would be an understatement to say that Sendai wasn't a fan of magician-type youkai, or even humans. ' _I'm about reading body language, momentum, and cues like that. Marisa can just hold out her hand, and I've got some new ventilation.'_

Since Sendai had seemingly fallen into a spooky silence, Reisen continued. "She's a hard fighter, too. She doesn't always use her head, necessarily, but she's got an uncanny amount of savviness at times… and, she travels with Marisa, often. Marisa's good at keeping her on her legs."

Sendai snorted. "Really? How so?"

"Reimu keeps swinging and tossing paper 'till she drops." Reisen summarized. "Marisa force feeds her potions, and then sits behind her while shelling everything with bombs. I dunno where Reimu learned to just roar ahead all gung-ho like she does, but she does. She likes to put herself in position to take hits, which is good. She has defensive options Marisa doesn't."

"...Where would you place yourself?" Sendai smirked. "Relatively, that is."

...Reisen smiled, a little awkwardly. "Aa~h… hmm. That's hard for _myself_ to be unbiased on. But, um… I try to be an all-rounder, but I'm really good squad support. I'm the one who'll pick off key targets, spot incoming foes, call in healing for everyone, strip defenses-... and, if I _had to,_ I could hold a line, with my multi-purpose guns. Look-..."

Standing up, Reisen slid her hands behind herself.

 _SHOOF._ She drew a huge, metal gun onto her shoulder, from some odd, unknown space behind herself. "This-... this is Heavy Claw. It's a custom gun I made a few months ago. It can shoot multiple different types of elemental barrages, elemental mortar payloads, and it can be used to charge any small arms I'm carrying on me, for smaller foes. I can even use it to crush things."

Sendai didn't understand one of those words, in this context. ' _Payloads…?'_

 _whish._ Reisen let it fall behind herself, and it slid into nothingness along her back. "So-... I'm not just packing heat, and I'm not just calling shots in the back. It pays to be ready for any situation."

' _...What the hell.'_ Sendai was somewhat put-off by the way she built up her own combat prowess. ' _That's a fucking cut above village guns, for sure. What the hell was half that metal even for. Elemental mortars? Barrages? She could've leveled that entire fucking complex we went through by herself. Just-... walked down the hall, and sprayed that shit.'_

... _thump._ Reisen flopped back onto the side couch. "Unh. But-... yeah. I'm tired."

' _...Yeah.'_

"Who would be the fourth, then?" Sendai questioned. "Of your little merry band. I find teams like this always have a fourth. ...Never a fifth, though."

Reisen snorted. "...Us, a team? Well-... yeah, recently you'd be right. Uuh… if you considered all of us _together_ -... let's see. Reimu, Marisa, Sanae, Sakuya, Youmu-... _me_ … well, in _total,_ there's six of us, but it does just tend to only be four of us at a time. Sometimes with other random people. Aya, if you know who she is."

' _That's-... a lot of names. Sanae? Sakuya? Youmu? Reimu really got around…'_

 _Crea~k._ In the kitchen, Mokou opened the door to the room of the youkai women. "Uh, hey, bitches. Got ya some fuckin' takoyaki- _oomf."_ She was instantly pulled in by the girls.

" _Ehe-_ ehehe! My, look at those _breasts!"_

"Your skin- is so _pale…_ "

"What-... is a _takoyaki?"_

"Nevermind that, Uni-chan-... um- here, suck on my-"

" _Get the hell offa me!"_ Mokou's yell was heard throughout the house.

Sendai got up. ' _I wanna see them taste real food for the first time ever. After that, I'll probably hit the sack.'_

...When Sendai got there, Mokou was already free. "Alright- _lesson one._ When you see a person, you don't fuckin' _shove yer tits in their face._ Next bitch who does that'll get fuckin' slapped."

The green-eyed Uni-chan eyed her takoyaki. "...This smells-... weird." It partially stuck out of its wrapper, and Sendai could smell it from the door.

...Eying her, Mokou exhaled. "It's food. We bought it fer _you._ "

...Looking indifferent, Uni-chan took a bite.

Instantly, her eyes lit up. " _Mmm-... mmh."_ Soon, she seemingly re-learned how to use her teeth to part the food, using her whole mouth to chew something for the first time in awhile. Initially, she tried to push it all where she defaulted to chewing her tablets, but since she bit too much, she had to chew with most of her mouth.

' _Wow.'_ Sendai felt like she was watching a kitten learn how to walk. ' _Those pills have them all kinds of fucked up. It's like I'm watching a young kid, except-... she's got this young adult face. It's so weird.'_

She swallowed her bite. "Thi- this-... mmh-" She had to swallow again, not quite ready to talk yet. "This is so _good…_ wh- what _is_ this?"

"Takoyaki." Mokou replied simply. "...It's also not quite real food, but it's for-fuckin'-sure more real than those fucking mints."

She took another bite. "Omh- gh… mmh…"

Following her example, the other girls began to bite into theirs, too.

...For some reason, they slowly began to emit girly, pleasured moans to convey their appreciation.

' _These girls are weird. This house is weird. Everything about this is weird. I'm going to bed.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

==x==

x / Sendai Hakurei No Miko, the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

NEW SKILLS:

 _x Normal Style:_

Charge Weapon - In a similar vein to how Sendai can charge kicks with dark energy, she also may charge her arms and pelvis with dark energy. With smaller objects, this may just be a heavier, thrusting blow, but with huge objects, she lashes out with a massive, terrifying spin attack that sends her sprawling afterward, if she breaks the object.

Re-Guard - When Sendai is calm, she's able to quickly channel her dark energy to assist her arms in guarding, allowing her to instantly guard again after her guard is broken. Will not work if her adrenaline is too high.

==x==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

hi welcome to new chapter 7

yeah fuck the old take, here's 95 reasons why:

o as a whole this scenario feels more structured in a good way, for the duration it lasts

o but not too structured

o keine and marcus play a collectively bigger role, albeit marcus just hangs out for most of this chapter - w -

o two cool drinking sessions with the girls, where sendai learns some good skills and also some fun stuff happens

o previous weird meandery recon spent in okane springs replaced with huge fight gauntlet with sendai and mokou; also it's heaven springs now

admittedly i have no idea how the fight gauntlet touches on the pace, nor how chapter 6's does, but they all have unique visuals and context for happening

if they feel like they drag on it might be because i didn't do enough to place motivation flags throughout; although there's only a certain extent you can make a long process not seem like work

also one thing i'm not sure about is if the current plot focus also ends up being intimidating because sendai doesn't get a lot of time to herself during it, but at the very least it won't be like "sendai half-assedly helps keine out of obligation" and is more like "sendai really wants to get to the bottom of this shithole, let's see how far the septic pipe goes"

i mean, in 5 the current direction felt kinda new and warranted after keine's stress, and basically how hard keine's stress hits home determines whether or not all the fighting in 6 and 7 is too much or just right (with a little that can be decided between combat and during rest)

since 6 was basically like "sticking your head in the toilet and then finding out there's an entire sewer complex" and then 7 was like sort of conclusive

dieter's encounter itself didn't end super conclusively, but after the fact the girls were all pretty much like "yeah that was a pretty crushing defeat all around for him and for the village underground", and keine's little celebratory meal at the end really sells the feeling that a lot got done

but y'know, "stick the boat in the water and find out if it leaks"

o more skill things!

o inventory item physics take a backseat to everything else going on because no one pays any attention to them really (not even me sometimes) but we'll see if i can make some good excuses for sendai to use items at some points…

as always, see you all next time!

-+- Index -+-

CHAPTER INDEX: CTRL and F on the keyboard, type [marker] in the box (no brackets).

7-1 Chapter Start

7-2 Heaven Springs Combat

7-3 Heaven Springs Finale

7-4 Conclusion

i decided to add this at the last minute just because this one chapter's the size of like three, and the fighting is also pretty chunky this chapter too so…

it'd also be unsightly to have an index at the top, so… the index is down here! and you're not told about it until 7-2 because that's the only point you'd start needing it

realistically this chapter could have been _three chapters_ but interjecting this stuff now is problematic because fanfiction net system reasons


	8. Fun in the Sun

Sendai was peaceful.

Her near-nude body was laxed in the western bed.

' _Remember-... when you had to sleep on rafters, to stay safe?'_ Aesthetically beautiful mornings like this made Sendai very, very happy. ' _Oo~h. Something about the morning sun on rapturously cold days like these…'_

Sunlight always felt a little eerie to her, if things were quiet enough, or if something bad had happened. Especially after Keisuke's death, it felt both parts incomplete, as well as wrong. It was the raw message that the world would move on, unknowing, even after the two of them lost one another.

...Thinking about it made her a little creeped out by the sunlight, again. But, the way it shone through the window, and the healthy glow of the blue horizon made her more cozy than she was spooked.

' _...This really is dangerous. I'm gonna hate life when I sleep in the cold shrine again. Unless Reimu renovated, or something… bu~t it didn't look like it.'_

She rolled onto her side. ' _I wanna loaf.'_ She was prepared to loaf out, and waste this whole morning, for a moment. ' _...Actually-... I might wanna get up and do stuff. I had a really short amount of time yesterday, before the job thing. Unless, we're just taking a break. In fact-... a break would be strategically wise.'_

Alone in the room, she sat up. ' _...Let's start with those pushups.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Sunlight gave Keine's home a healthy glow. Coming down the stairs, Sendai felt like basking, for some reason. ' _Man, the place is warm. Real homes feel so good.'_

In her newly washed socks, she padded onto the bottom of the stairs, and proceeded into the kitchen. ' _Something smells good, even. Egg, rice…'_

To the left, there was a new table placed in the midst of the kitchen, since Keine's main coffee table still had a map on most of it.

The four technicolor-eyed women were there, seated in plain wood chairs. Keine stood around the table, smiling as she oversaw them.

 _Click, click._ The cyan-eyed Asakura clicked her chopsticks together like drum sticks. Sarah was trying to actually use them, doing a relatively mediocre job at it, while the other two stared at their own sticks and hands in vague confusion…

"Why can't we just-..." Uni-chan looked up at Keine. "Use our hands?"

"You'll get the food dirty, and get your hands dirty." Keine supplied simply. "This is in a bowl, not a wrapper, and unlike more snack-like foods, it's not fit to be held by the hands, unless you want to deal with the mess. Which, in this case, you don't. It simply wouldn't do."

"...Aah. Um…" Kumiya looked perplexed. "Well, if you _say so..._ "

...They began looking towards Sendai, holding their stares.

"Um-..." Asakura spoke up again. "How does-... hmm. You two-... if mistress is mistress," she looked at Keine once more as well, "who are you?"

"No one thinks in terms of 'mistress' and 'pet' in the real world." Keine tried to correct their viewpoint. "We're all just people. Also, random sex doesn't happen. You might feel like that's quite peculiar, and even bad in certain scenarios, but that's how everyone does things, and they'll be worried if you drag them into your way of thinking."

 _click. click, click!_ One of the girls snapped her chopsticks at the air, as if attacking it. "So wei~rd…!"

' _These girls really are learning everything from square one. That drug must've been seriously dangerous. I mean, not that it wasn't already, turning them into fucking youkai, but still.'_

Since Keine was busy at the moment, Sendai wandered into the main room. There was a lump under a blanket, on one of the couches… ' _Ooo.'_

 _fwoof._ Sendai gently folded back the covers, and found Mokou snoozing. ' _Does she have her own place, or…?'_

Moving from the kitchen, Keine quickly came up to her. "Hey, Tsukiko."

"...Hi." Sendai greeted her plainly. "What trouble we gettin' up to, today?"

...Keine smiled at her. "None. We're taking this day to _relax._ And-... you know, some logistical things, too. For now, Reisen and the guard have stored the victims of Heaven Springs at the school, and weekend activities have been dismissed. I'd like to be hands-on with these girls today, too."

"They _do_ seem to need a lot of help." Sendai gazed over the open divide into the kitchen… "What do you plan to do with them in the future? Don't you work at the school, during the day? I mean-... they'd probably be fine with being locked in a room all day, but…"

"We're not going to do things like that to them again, if we can help it." Keine decided. "...Soon, I might want to have someone else help. You're right, in that I can't devote _all_ my energy to them."

Staring down, she moved for the open couch on the room's right. "It's just-... this was all sprung on me, so fast. I'm not sure _who_ I'd trust to handle them and teach them right, yet. I don't want to just _spring them_ on a family, but-... nnh."

' _...Yeah. Complicated situation.'_

...Sendai offered the best advice she could. "Well-... if it were _me,_ and I really cared about them, I'd make them somewhere in the woods to hang out, and patrol there a little more heavily."

...Keine flicked her gaze up. "That's just what you did for _us._ And, it wouldn't end as well for them. They-... well, their _existences_ are different, both from growing adolescents, and people in general. I want to adapt them to society, so they won't have to be hidden away, or left to be blissful until reality drops on them."

Sendai couldn't really argue with that. ' _...Yeah. Admittedly, I'm not good at the whole 'fixing people' thing. Or, teaching. Keine knows how to plug things into the village and make it work, while I just want nothing to do with the place.'_

Looking over at the girls again, Sendai noticed something she didn't before. They all had plain, villager-like robes and undershirts, covering up their scarlet garments. Each outfit was color-coded, if only roughly. Their cleavage and curves were now properly hidden.

"When they finish with their breakfast…" Keine began to stand, again. "I was thinking we'd hit a local library, together. What do you think of that, Tsukiko?"

' _...A library, huh.'_ Sendai considered that… ' _Wonder if the tablet-heads know how to read. That actually is a pretty important idea.'_

"Sounds good." She nodded. "...You made any breakfast for yourself, yet?"

...At that, Keine blinked. "Aa- ah, right. I'll get on a meal for you and myself, right away. Would you prefer steak, or…?"

Sendai shook her head. "If we had any more ingredients, what the girls're having might be nice. Smelt good when I came down."

' _Plus, I had steak for the past couple nights, so changing it up shouldn't hurt.'_

Keine smiled. "Sure thing."

' _...Maybe I should find a seat. Maybe near the map's northern village end, since I feel like nothing relevant will be happening up there, for awhile.'_ There wasn't much room on the table, so if a plate were to be put down, it'd rest partially on the huge map.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

The food took a little longer than normal, since Keine had to pause to guide the recovering women through the process of eating.

' _Sounds like the girls got the grasp of it, if only vaguely.'_ Sendai didn't envy the mess they probably made in there.

For the moment, Keine left them to their own devices, as they finished up their food. They were just a look away, since the only thing standing between the living room and the kitchen was a thick countertop.

 _Creak._ Keine plopped down into the chair Marcus typically commandeered.

"Fuu~..." She sighed, somewhere between happy with the temperature and uncomfortably cold. "Today's going to be a chilly one."

"Heh. Yeah." Sendai acknowledged… "Wish I coulda got in some temperature training, before things got so cold, but-... y'know, shit happens."

' _Dying and then reviving kinda put a dampener on any plans I had.'_

Now that Sendai was able to properly look the dish over, she could determine what was going on. ' _It's a bowl of seasoned rice, with an egg yolk in the center. Mmm.'_

"Tamago Kake Gohan." Keine stated the name of the meal without context. "...That's what this is."

Sendai snorted. "'Egg on Rice', huh. I wouldn't have guessed."

"It's a rather simple dish to eat, and it kind of encourages doing it any way you want, so, yeah." Keine gave her logic for today's meal… "You could eat the rice first, but eventually you'll need to mix some of it into the egg yolk. Not gonna pick just that up with your chopsticks."

"...How hard was this process for _them."_ Sendai tilted her head towards the kitchen, meanwhile already digging into her own food. "I assume you're still in caretaker mode."

"Aside from learning how to _use_ chopsticks, it was okay." Keine nodded in mild satisfaction. "...Also, they're all very playful. They remind me of children."

' _This feels like the plot of a bad comedy… except, Keine actually would like to get some help with their situation, and not hold onto them for twelve novels.'_

With her bowl held, Sendai used her own chopsticks to scoop up the rice. ' _Aah. These flavors are good.'_

For some moments, Sendai simply let herself enjoy the breakfast's taste.

Soon, they were both almost done. While the girls in the kitchen had taken a while, Sendai and Keine had scarfed down their bowls in just a few minutes. ' _Serving size is kinda small, but you know, breakfast. If you wanted to be more active in the long run, you'd have something dinner-sized, bu~t… digestion.'_

"That was simple, but damn good." Sendai stood, looking gentle and somewhat restless. "You've done a lot of growing up, Keine."

"...Is that a compliment?" Keine smiled up at her, from her own seat. "You're about as I remember you, even. I can't restate-... just how nice it is to see you again. I missed you, Tsukiko. You played a role in helping me become who I am now."

Sendai snorted. "Did I, now?"

"Yes." Keine began to stand, too. "...I think everybody looked up to your strength and persistence. When you died, unexplainably even, it was a crushing message. Myself, I aspired to hold some of the strength you did."

"...Really?" Sendai actually seemed a little surprised. "I mean-... I was _physically_ strong, yeah. I guess you'd seen some of the best and worst of me, too." She'd known Keine and Rinnosuke, when Keisuke had died.

...Since the colored girls were getting up and grazing about, Keine began to stand too. "You were an important person for us, Tsukiko. Don't let yourself forget, that-... raunchy as we may have been, we cared about you."

Moving for the kitchen, she briefly lingered, to keep speaking. "And-... we should probably get going now, actually."

Sendai stood up, too. "Yeah. I'm gonna get some water, really quick."

...From the kitchen, Sendai gave one last glance across the rooms, at the sleeping Mokou. ' _Guess she's just gonna loaf out, for now.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Taking in the frigid land's air, Sendai shivered a little, before tensing her body. ' _One of these kinds of days. All the water from yesterday must be frozen. Probably not good for the stone, or the shrine-... right, Reimu's handling the shrine. Still, shrine's probably having a hell of a time.'_

She was on the front porch, waiting for Keine to guide the women outside.

On cue, Keine came out, immediately smirking at Sendai's regular outfit. "I… probably asked you this, when I was younger, but… how _do_ you survive in the winter, in that outfit?" It _did_ expose Sendai's armpits, which seemed like an immense design flaw. That, and her hakama was quite airy, easily letting heat out.

Sendai smiled back. "Asking again for old time's sake?"

" _Yes,_ essentially." Keine admitted. "Even so."

...Sendai vaguely recounted her response. For her, it was actually around three weeks ago, as well. "I sat under waterfalls to poise my body. Enough practice gave me resilience to temperature differences. It was a matter of exposure, living conditions and routine. To kick it off, I had to swim and sit under waterfalls in the weather for awhile… until I could graduate to actual winter antics. I'd usually do this in the early fall, or late summer."

"Of course… such resistance only works up to a certain point, right?" Keine guessed. "People can't naturally become just invincible to the elements."

"Mmm." Sendai nodded… "Once the temperatures dip too high or too low, I suffer as much as anyone else. In fact, I'm sure it wasn't _resistance,_ or anything of the sort. It was practice in discipline and will. I'm human like everyone else."

Keine nodded at that. "...A human who's been able to jump over houses, when she put her mind to it. I wouldn't be surprised, if your affinities conferred _some_ form of elemental resistance, at the time."

Sendai snorted. ' _Maybe. If that's how it works, sure. I'll take what I can get. But, I never got to do my temperature endurance training anyway, so… whatever. That run-around two nights ago probably helped, because it was actually way colder than right now, even if it feels uncomfortable.'_

"This still beats a few nights ago." Sendai recounted the experience. "When I was all muddy, soaked, and freshly electrocuted."

...At that, Keine pursed her lips. "Yeah-... that was somewhat worrying, but Mokou was with you, so I figured nothing bad would happen. Wasn't it terribly uncomfortable, though?"

"Yes." Sendai admitted. "...But, after awhile, you get used to it. Being able to climb into a bed after all of that was fucking fantastic, let me tell you…"

Keine smiled. "I'd imagine."

' _I still wanna take a bath. Does Keine have any baths, set up? That'd be nice…'_

Sarah, the pink-clad girl, stalked out of the front door first. "We're all set-... Ke- Keine."

Asakura, Uni-chan and Kumiyo slowly filled in behind her, looking between tired, peaceful or intimidated. ' _They're already way different from the other night. They were quite assured of themselves then, but now they look lost.'_

"...You all look nice." Keine gave them all a smile, too. "Don't stray too far from me, okay?"

"Come on, sisters." Sarah lead everyone else out onto the porch. "Let's go."

"Alright…"

"Food is _good…_ "

"Socks- are kind of itchy."

Sendai stepped down from the porch, clad in her sandals again. Keine followed by her side.

The alley clearing was accented by the infinite, blue-teal vastness of the cold day sky. It was like a projection of the land's frigid, cold-blasted state.

The girls were sort of confused by the temperature difference, and began shivering a little immediately.

"Mmh…" Asakura blinked her cyan eyes. "My body- is shaking…"

"Mine, too…" Kumiyo looked at the sky, taken by its color and emptiness. "But, you don't feel good either, do you, Asa-chan?"

"No… just _slow."_ Asakura looked down at her own pale hands.

Smiling back at them, Keine explained the mystery. "...I don't know how warm your previous home was-... but, that's what it's like to feel cold. Do you remember it?"

...After a moment, Uni-chan replied. "Uum-... we _did_ feel a lot faster, after spending time in that house, didn't we?"

"Yeah." Sarah perked up in realization. "This feeling, must be the cold of the air."

" _Air_ can naturally just-... cool down?" Kumiyo let her brows raise… "I know- people can be warm… but, it's weird thinking that warmth could come from anything other than-... skin."

They moved for the alley out onto the village's west road, Keine and Sendai leading.

"Heat is energy." Keine began simply. "...It can be energy the body processes-... I mean, _makes_ after eating food, but also the energy made by fire, by the sun, or by the earth's-... center." She had to simplify some terms.

"...So." Uni-chan nodded with certainty. "That must mean the air doesn't have a lot of energy."

"Well, I'm not surprised…" Asakura looked around, at the nearby houses. "There's-... so much _stuff._ It looks like the sky goes on forever, and-... there's stuff far, far beyond the walls of this place we're in right now, too."

This talk of energy and heat got Sendai wondering about the villages alleys. ' _I bet this mud pit's gonna be sweltering in the summer, with all of these taller houses. Actually-... will they provide good shade, being two stories, or will the barren nature fuck it all up? We'll see, I guess.'_

' _...I wonder if I can fry an egg on the stone road, when summer comes.'_

"So…" Sendai spoke up in the cold. Being able to move was warming her up. "This library, we're heading to. What's it like?"

They crossed onto the west main street. The bright sun made Sendai narrow her eyes instinctively...

' _Also-... looks like I'm just chilling with Keine, today. That's fine with me. I was hoping for something like this. A nice day to-... actually get my bearings. Since I've gotten back, I haven't done something as casual as-... shop for books, or groceries, or anything. I've just in fight mode.'_

This idea perked Keine up. "It's quaint, but robust. I dare say this is one of Gensokyo's better eras for texts. It's really something, how far literacy has progressed in such a short amount of time. I suppose the way-... the environment treats villagers now, helps aid the ones who would think critically. Less to be immediately afraid of."

Sendai was about to consider that idea, before she conversed it instead. "Yeah. At the same time, it feels like villagers are kinda afraid of _each other_ now. Or, if not that, the society thing in general."

...Keine had a mixed expression. "Honestly… I don't think you've seen enough of the good here to give the village a fair shake. It has problems, huge ones, yes… but, it's also full of great and plain people, who I think you would appreciate. You just never get a chance to."

' _...Hard for me to appreciate it, in my day. Everyone was an asshole to me, so I was an asshole to them. I realized they weren't so bad later, but y'know… at that time, the line'd already been drawn. Didn't care for how they treated Kourin and Keine, or Keisuke, either.'_

She gained a gentle look, realizing something funny. ' _All my friend's names start with the letter K, except for Marcus's. Unless I called him Kirisame, but that'd sort of be cheating. Mmh. Still a funny pattern.'_

"So, Tsukiko-..." Keine briefly looked back, to make sure all four girls were still with them. "Were you one for reading, when you were alive? I'd seen you with books sometimes, but you never struck me as the type to care so much."

At that, Sendai smiled. "Ah…? Books, huh. Well, until I had Reimu, I was never that into books. But, when I was taking care of her, they helped me… you know, have something convenient to do while watching her. I learned that books were actually pretty nice."

Keine was interested. "Do you ever regret not reading sooner?"

"Only kind of." Sendai was indifferent. "While I did feel like I missed out for _awhile,_ I didn't have the time to kill just _reading._ I was pretty glad I'd only picked it up after having Reimu. It gave me a satisfaction, to have an excuse to indulge like that, if only for so long."

' _...Um. I was looking forward to a reading session soon at some point, too. Instead I spent two nights fighting my ass off, at a fraction of the ability I used to hold. Life really doesn't pull punches.'_

' _All my old books are probably-... where the hell would they be? I have no clue.'_

They all arrived together at the town square. In the pale light set over the washed out, frigid land, people only gave them passing glances while going about their business.

The guards at the job board held their gaze on Sendai and Keine, and straightened their posture, looking somewhat intimidated.

' _Why is the sun so bright, today? My eyes need to adjust…'_

"So… many _people._ " Uni-chan beheld the scale of the village square. "And- it's so bright, too…"

"So many _men…"_ Sarah would have had her eyes wide, if she wasn't being perpetually blinded by the morning sun's unbelievable intensity.

"For now-..." Slowing down, Keine faced the girls. "Do not ask anyone anything _uncouth_. That is to say, no sex, lewd jokes, or otherwise. Do you see, how no one else acts like that?"

...At the silence of the girls, Keine continued. "I don't want to _command_ you, or impose my own personal preferences onto you four. But-... I do want you to be able to hold yourselves in a way that will let you at least get along with the people here. 'When in Rome, do as the romans do'."

While Keine spoke to them, Sendai let herself meander into the square a little. ' _Let's browse the job board, out of curiosity. The weather was really shit a couple days ago, so I couldn't really do more than ask for the school job.'_

The eyes of the guards widened as she approached.

 _Ri~p!_ One of them turned to the board, immediately ripping one of the jobs down, before balling it up and tossing it off.

Once she'd reached the board, they both bowed. "Uu- um-..." The leftmost guard hung in his bow the longest, before standing back up. "Good morning, ma'm."

' _...He looks familiar.'_ His hair was brownish, and he had a small, white casting of sorts around his neck. ' _Wait-...'_

"Morning." She greeted him. "How's life."

"...Good." He frowned. "Here for a job?"

"Nah. Just lookin'." She clarified. "Awful chatty, today. Usually, you guys're eating snacks next to the board, or something."

"...Sorry." He nodded again, almost going to bow.

"Also." Sendai focused on him particularly now. "The other day. Tell more people to look into water-screening magic, and adhesives. There are ways to keep jobs on the board _without_ having people just stand in front of it. There's magic on it, ask the older guards or your captain. Look around."

...He frowned harder, leaning back. "Tell someone-... who can do anything."

Sendai raised a brow. "Aren't you-... your name started with a T. You were a sergeant. You got demoted?"

...He exhaled. "No. No, nothing like that."

"Tell the captain to do something." Sendai repeated. "Otherwise, you all just look like motherfuckers, when there's magic that does that shit for you. Keeps jobs from getting annihilated in the wind, too."

...The sergeant frowned. "The _captain_ does not believe in magic. It spreads fear, and is the weapon of youkai."

"Spreads no more fear than fondling chicks." Sendai waved the idea off. "Also, it's fuckin' utility magic. Oh no, _the papers don't blow off in the wind,_ so scary. I hope the job postings don't jump off the board and attack me."

At that, he gained a half-smile. "Hmh. You know, that sort of thing _does_ happen in magus libraries... miko."

...Sendai stared at him casually. "Yeah, I know. Who the fuck do you think you're talking to." His partial also smile began to annoy her. "Stop being smug. You told me something I already know."

"Wha~t?" He stepped back, as if offended. "I was makin'-... I was making _conversation,_ lady."

"...Really." Sendai furrowed her brows. "How old are you? Twentyish? You ever ran the bigger jobs? You ever even _been_ to a magi's library?"

"Well-...!" He began to get indignant. "Who are you, then?"

"You should know, considering I broke your neck and all." Sendai remembered him. "Sergeant take-a-shit or whatever your name was."

" _Takuro."_ He frowned. "...You- should respect my-"

"Nah, fuck this." She turned, and began to leave. "I'm gettin' out of here before I punch you."

"Aa-..." He stepped forward, before stopping, unwilling to follow her.

' _Village guard really is a mixed bag. I wonder how this prick compares to the alright older guys, rank-wise.'_

Sauntering away from the job board, she came back up to Keine and the black-haired women…

Turning around, Keine began to stroll forward again, almost missing the fact that Sendai got away from them at all. "...So, feel free to talk with people, but don't be too forward, just yet. There'll come a time when you're all adapted, but we've just started."

' _Those girls're gonna cause some hijinks, one way or another.'_ Sendai felt like it was futile to stop them from being themselves, just yet. ' _Their definition of 'normal' is being half-naked in a cold room and licking themselves clean, or something. They're gonna have to learn some things the hard way.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Stopping in the midst of the village's east main road, Keine turned. Her pale arms rose in the sun's brightness, to shield her eyes with one hand and point with the other. "Here."

Sendai looked to where she pointed… ' _Ah. Quaint little place…'_

"This is Suzunaan." Running her gaze along the one-story building's exterior, Keine explained it… "It's one of the village's growing book rental stores, and a rather promising one at that. They also sell books, and even print some."

The house wasn't long, but it was wide, fit with dull red shingles atop its arched roof.

' _Book printing? That wasn't cheap, as far as I remember…'_ This surprised Sendai. ' _Well, the whole place was a pile of shit back then, so of course it wasn't cheap. Still, a cute little place like this…?'_

' _Books weren't necessarily cheap, either. Knowledge comes at a price, even for entertainment. It's supposed to be a noble's activity, but… I don't know, it was perfect for killing time when I needed to. Many texts I feel would go over a silver-spoon's head, so they're obviously not directed to noble-types. The atmosphere around them's probably changed over the years.'_

Moving for the open front door, Keine smiled over at her. "Come on. Let's take a look inside…"

...Sendai began to follow. "Mmm."

' _I hope there's a good adventure book. Maybe something on fighting. I should wait until I see how tiny the selection is, before I get my hopes up…'_

Behind them, the four women kept relatively quiet, their eyes scanning the cozy, long store with speculation.

The fierce but light breeze of the day gave away as they neared the store's front. Warm light came from inside, visible once they approached.

 _Ding._ The store bell was quiet, and a little uneven.

A gentle, cozy feeling came upon Sendai, as she proceeded into Suzunaan. ' _There's something… really homey about this place. I like it.'_

It was also surprising. ' _So many books. Keine wasn't lying about the 'book store' part at all. Shelves- there's even shelves against the walls. This is great.'_

"So many _books…"_ Sendai had to communicate her mesmerizement…

"...If you think _this_ is a lot of books…" Keine spoke something fascinating under her breath, stopping at the front door to hold it for their quiet posse.

While they stopped near the front door, Sendai snapped her gaze to Keine. "You mean there's somewhere _bigger?"_

"I might show you later… _"_ Keine began to give her a widening smile. "But, that will come later. I'm sure the Suzunaan is more than enough, for now."

' _...I guess so.'_ Sendai had to shelve her greed for now. ' _Yeah, she's probably right. Gotta be at least one interesting thing, in here.'_

When all the girls got inside, they were immediately fascinated by the interior's shelves and warm lights. With no organization or order, they began to fan out, their faces casual but excited…

"Hey, hey…" Keine called out to them gingerly. "Don't spread out just _yet._ "

Little jingling sounds were heard. From beyond the desk, an orange-haired girl emerged.

Sendai's heart immediately melted. ' _Oh my god- she's the poofiest thing. Aww...'_

...Giving her and Keine a small smile, the girl rose her brows. "Welcome to Suzu-... ah. Hi, Keine."

"Hello, Kosuzu. Um…" Keine smiled awkwardly at the spread out women company, and Sendai. "This is Tsukiko. And, all those women-... well, they're with me too, basically. Please excuse them, if they do anything wrong by accident. They… are not well educated."

' _That's one way of putting it.'_ Sendai snorted…

...Smiling wider, Kosuzu gave Sendai a wave. "Hi, Tsukiko! You, um… you're dressed awfully _familiarly."_

"I'm a big fan of Reimu."Sendai confessed to her. "I wish to one day be like her."

"...Um, okay." Kosuzu nodded the peculiarity of that sentiment off. "I'm here if you guys need me. Unless, you're looking for something in particular?" She panned her gaze around...

Sendai pondered asking for her recommendations, but only briefly. "Not exactly."

Giving her and Keine one last look over, Kosuzu smiled. "...Alright."

'... _Those little glasses of hers are adorable. Anyway- let's see what they've got here...'_

The distance to the store's front wasn't very far. As in, she and Kosuzu could have held a regular conversation from the doorway, if they wanted.

Only two claustrophobic shelves stood per row, and their height was short enough so that there could be no hiding. Or, at least, no hiding that wasn't suspect.

Never familiarized with library organization methods, Sendai skirted the shelves quietly, a hand to her chin after some moments. ' _Time to randomly look around…'_

Eventually, Keine held near the counter, sort of looking around as if she were attending a class. She'd probably make some idle chit-chat, while the other browsed.

Sendai decided to get active with searching herself, instead. ' _...Wait. Can these bimbos even read.'_

She approached the pink-eyed Sarah, who stood in a corner of the store, staring at the shelves there.

"Hey." Sendai spoke to her. "...Any books catch your eye?"

"Books?" Sarah furrowed her brows, a little? "...I've heard the phrase, 'read like a book' before."

"If you don't know what a _book_ is, I'm going to be fairly depressed." Sendai's stare back was dismal…

...Sarah smiled. "Ehe. Um-... they're- these things, right?" She gestured to the shelves. "If you wanted to know, why I came over here-... it's because I like corners."

' _Holy shit.'_

Sendai grabbed a random book, from the shelf row just ahead of herself. ' _What's this. 'A Concise History of National Weather Phenomena'? Wait…'_

Upon looking around, she realized they were in the non-fiction section. ' _Huh. Never been one for the raw information-type books.'_

Holding it open, Sendai read over some of the thick pages, before holding it up before Sarah. "...Can you _read_ any of this?"

...After pursing her lips at the text, Sarah spoke. "...Um, no. I can only read English."

' _English…?'_ That sort of caught Sendai off-guard, but considering Sarah's name, it make sense. ' _The fuck…'_

Taking that same book, Sendai moved to the front of the store. Uni-chan sat before the front window, taking in the great sky with a mesmerized expression.

Sendai kneeled down next to her, and held the book before her. "Hey-... _Uni-chan,_ was it. Can you read some of this?"

"Oh…?" Uni-chan looked at her, and smiled. Plainly, she looked down at the book Sendai pointed her way…

"Throughout the history of the Osaka region, temperature by comparison to other geologies remains relatively consistent. It's this temperate, balanced climate which gave a very specific influence to the various regions of Japan, as well as its varied agriculture specialties. Opposing this consistency is the occasional earthquake or tsunami, something which is commonly attributed to the work of the gods, according to various beliefs."

' _...She read that so fluently.'_ Sendai was surprised.

"Uh." Sendai blinked, a few times. "Do you-... read, a lot?"

"I don't know." Uni-chan went back to staring at the bright sky. "...I can read words and stuff, but I don't always know what they mean."

' _...Huh.'_

Standing up from her, Sendai supposed she had little more to say. ' _How strange. Like-... very, very strange.'_

This left the cyan-eyed Asakura, and the yellow-eyed Kumiyo.

Asakura was in the actual fiction section, on the store's right side. In fact, when Sendai came up to her, she already had a book of her own. ' _These girls know how to surprise…'_

"...What'cha readin'." Sendai casually heckled her.

Pausing, Asakura turned to her, then smiled. "I don't know yet. I used to know how to read… but, now I can only read some words."

' _How. What the fuck.'_ That sort of worried Sendai. ' _I guess I have it pretty good by comparison, damn…'_

"I think this one's a comedy. I like it." Asakura decided. "...I should get a book with pictures."

"...Maybe you should." Sendai quietly agreed with her, before gingerly moving away.

Lastly, she came up to Kumiyo, who was seated at a little booth that was set up in front of one of the big windows.

...Kumiyo gave Sendai a neutral look. Casually, Sendai slid out the seat across the small table, and sat down.

"...You're cute." Kumiyo smiled at her.

"Thanks." Sendai wasn't really phased by that. "Can you read?"

"No." Kumiyo was blunt. "...I- I thought they couldn't either, so… I'm a little sad."

"Not that they haven't got their flaws." Sendai argued. "...And, Sarah can only read English, which kinda hurts here, since everything's written in Japanese. Uni-chan can read well, but she doesn't seem to understand what she's reading, and Asakura lost a lot of her reading ability."

...At that, Kumiyo stared at the table. "Yeah. I guess it's… not so bad."

"You're all pretty much at zero, give or take." Sendai wasn't actually exactly certain, but she felt that Keine would be thorough with them regardless. "So, don't feel bad about any differences. Especially since, y'know… it wouldn't be the end of the world for you and your sisters to develop some different personality traits. Sometimes, aside from the eyes, it's hard to tell any of you _apart._ "

"...That's true, isn't it?" Kumiyo began to smile. "You're cool, Tsukiko."

Sendai sat back in her seat, taking in the airy, pale light shining in from the window they sat just before. "...I guess so."

' _Well. I now know their literacy, kind of.'_

After a moment of appreciating how full the light outside was, Sendai turned her gaze back into Suzunaan. ' _Curiosity sated. Maybe I should actually look for a good book for myself. I don't know exactly what tomorrow holds yet, but it couldn't hurt to have some new books on hand, just in case.'_

Getting up, she moved for the counter at the back, again. ' _But first, let's see what these chicks are up to. You'd think Keine would be already going around doing what I'm doing, but…'_

When Sendai reached them, Keine was smiling at her, and Kosuzu was looking adorable in a non-specific way. ' _Those fucking tiny pigtails...'_

"I _was_ going to go around, asking them about that myself," Keine began, "but it looks like you beat me to it."

"...Ah." Sendai blinked. "Yeah."

"Keine was just telling me about them." Kosuzu gave the store floor a brief once-over, before centering on Sendai again. "It's really cool you're trying to teach the more docile kinds of youkai about the village!"

Sendai snorted. "That obvious they're youkai, huh…"

"Mmm." Kosuzu smiled widely. "Just one glance at their eyes will tell anyone. They also carry themselves too strangely to be normal people."

"...They _are_ mentally ten years old, I'd say." Sendai gave a rough estimate. "It can vary, but they're certainly very… simple."

"Mm, mm." Kosuzu hummed back, and when she nodded, her little bells jingled, making Sendai want to glomp her. "It's fine. Just be careful taking them places, or people might be upset with them."

"I know." Keine still held her smile, looking plain with her arms together at her waist. "...I'm kind of looking for ideas. I can't always provide or care for them, with my job, but I don't know who would actually be comfortable with taking them in. I also don't want to push them onto anyone."

"Hmm." Kosuzu looked down at her desk, for just a moment. "That's a good question, actually~. You might be able to talk with Akyuu about it. Her estate is pretty big, and she could always use more kung fu maids and stuff."

"...Maybe." Keine considered this. "I want to give them a relaxing place to grow and learn in. I'll talk with her, and see."

' _...They seemed like they had pretty decent martial ability.'_ Sendai thought of how the girls could fight. ' _Their fighting style reminds me of myself, except even worse. That, and their power seems to be at the whim of their emotions, or something similar. Not that it matters; they don't seem combat-oriented, as far as youkai go.'_

Since the conversation trailed off, Sendai went looking for some books herself. ' _Let's dig through the fiction section…'_

...After perusing for a little while, she raised a brow at a few things. ' _...A tale of a man in a tower. The tale o~f… the bamboo cutter. The Art of War… oh?'_

Near her, Asakura put her hand on the seam of a black book-

 _fvrar._ There was an anti-material reaction where she touched it, a black-red flare of energy making her pull her hand back. "...Ow." She pursed her lips, slightly saddened.

Black magic vaguely flowered from between the covers, subtle enough for Sendai to only feel a little just by looking at the book.

' _This- book… it has a hell of a lot of dark energy in it!'_

 _fwoof._ Coming up to it, Sendai took it immediately. Reaching the front stand again, Sendai decided to question it. "...Hey- is this supposed to be here?"

"Oh?" Kosuzu looked up from some small stuff on her desk, and at the book Sendai held. "Oh- right, misplaced that again…" Reaching forward, she grabbed onto it. "I can't believe the Necronomicon got into the fiction section…"

"The- what." Slowly, Sendai began to feel herself grow more awkward…

"...The Necronomicon?" Kosuzu repeated herself plainly.

" _Why_ do you have a- _the_ Necronomicon?" Sendai wasn't sure if she was to trust the claim… "Isn't that out of place?"

"Not at all." Kosuzu shook her head, and her little bells jingled. "In fact, we have more books like it, even if they aren't as powerful. This one's sort of expensive to rent."

' _...What the fuck.'_ She let herself lean back in skepticism… ' _Does she have other tomes or dark books here, then? What if she has those youkai-crafted works? You know what-... let's not think about it. I've got more to do than harass this fwoofy librarian.'_

Leaving the Necronomicon in Kosuzu's care, Sendai returned to the aisles. She ended up in the non-fiction section, accidentally turning into the left half of the store.

' _Ah, whoops.'_ She noticed this once inside an aisle. '... _Might as well see what's in this aisle before I go back.'_

...She blinked. ' _Oh? Martial arts?'_

There were books on unrecognized styles. ' _Not really up to busting my brain on anything entirely new, to be honest. Aah…'_

She slid some of the books with vague spines out, so she could see their titles.

' _...The Kick-ass Guide to Breakdance Combat. What, no.'_

' _Boost your Thuggery: Ten Ways to Slay Thots. What's a 'thot'.'_

' _Bat Meets Head. How straight-forward.'_

' _Hime-sama's Ballbuster Extraordinaire. Free Ballbuster Included. What in the fuck. That sounds like some fetish shit.'_

...Her interest vaguely piqued, she opened the last book. Packed under the front cover was a weird tool, which looked like a neon-red nutcracker. ' _...Maybe if I eat something with a hard shell, that'll be useful. Maybe I'll rent this for the sake of it.'_

Uninterested in any of the other fighting style books, she returned to the fiction section with renewed vigor.

' _A Boy and His Barrel. That's… that sounds weird.'_ She refused to draw this book…

' _By His Own Volition. Eeh.'_ The title of that one didn't catch her.

' _I Slipped and Died: Tragic Tale of a Maniac. For some reason, those comedy titles always get me, but I never pick them up. Maybe I'll give this one a try later…'_

' _Housewives in a Bind. Fuck off.'_

' _...Hot Passionate Manly Bathhouse Battle.'_ Her eyebrows rose at this one. ' _...It, at least, sounds action-centric. Might be a comedy, or something.'_

Plucking the book from the shelf, she held it atop her ballbuster book, and flipped it open.

' _...Ah, yeah. Manga style, huh. Why the fuck do they have so many muscles. Why're they naked!?'_ It was actually way more than she'd bargained for… ' _This is almost just porn!'_

' _At least it's censored, so we don't have to see their fuckin'... wait, is this supposed to be softcore porn? You'd think, if you're drawing this shit, you'd go the extra ten yards and actually just make full-on yaoi. No one's happy with this.'_

There was a weight on her shoulder. "Owo, what's this? Aw- turn the page…"

This was what Sendai was doing anyway, so the page folded ahead before she could stop it. ' _What- how did-'_

She paused at the page's contents, the men on it now in a grapple hold with one another. ' _Oh, that probably looks bad, who the hell is-'_

"Pfft- _wahaha~!"_

Sendai whipped her head, to see Marisa in the aisle beside her. "Ho- holy _shit,_ ze…!"

"What- when'd you get here…?" Lowering the book, Sendai glared weakly back at her. "Marisa!?"

"What's goin' _on here,_ Doppel-ze!?" Marisa bounced with energy in Sendai's face, before moving alongside her to stare back into the manga. "Oo~h, look at the _rocks_ on that dude! Is Reimu as much 'a pervert as you…!? Oo- _oo~h!_ "

Marisa shoved her hand forward, the movement flipping the pages. The next revealed more intimate grapple holds, and what Sendai had to admit were very questionable positions…

' _Why his his butt up against- oh, shit…'_

"I- I couldn't even _imagine..._ when'd ya get inta this shit!?" Marisa beamed into her face. "Ooh- check this ou~t! Imagine the _schlong_ on that dude!"

Looking up, Sendai saw Keine and Kosuzu staring at the scene owlishly from their positions across the store…

"Nn- no, it's not what you're thinking." She glared back at Marisa with parts amused bewilderment, and parts genuine fear. "The art's not even _good-"_

"Hohoho~! So ya've seen ones with _good art before…!?_ " Flipping to another page, Marisa's gaze lit up. "Oh, man- look at _this_ dude- he's actually sorta realistic!"

On the next page after that, she guffawed. " _Fuhu,_ woa~h shit! That's _not how that works!_ Two full grown me~n, havin' a tussle in the _nude!_ This is the kinda shit I _joke_ exists, but don't actually count on it…! _"_

Sendai had to agree that upside down mid-air grapple made absolutely no sense. ' _Still- I can't let her just-...'_ She had the perfect idea: she'd play it off, so it'd look like Marisa was being weird to everyone else.

"Take a closer look." Sendai kept herself composed, something easy for her after so many years of social aloofness. "This is clearly an Edo period martial arts piece."

That really did it. "Pft- _duh- woo~hahaha~!_ " Marisa couldn't take that comment.

"There's- there's _steam_ blocking it- it's not _porn._ " Sendai doubled down. "I literally _just_ opened it."

"Da- _hehaha~!"_ This also killed Marisa. "Not- _not porn!?_ No~t porn!? Whaddaya mean, _not porn!?_ Dude- look- _oo~h…"_ Flipping the page again, Marisa found man ass. " _Oo~h man,_ dude…"

Sendai's hope in the work wilted further. "...At least- I don't- didn't _think_ it was-"

"Rela~x. Nothin' ta be ashamed of…" Smug, Marisa handed it back to her. "We're super good buddies, Doppel-chan. Reimu's secrets're safe with me, so _your_ secrets are safe with me!"

"You've got it _wrong."_ Annoyed by the teasing, Sendai pushed her back with one arm. "Really."

Stepping back, Marisa shook her head, holding up a hand apologetically. "Nah, yo- look, it only figures you'd like 'em hung. Just caught me offguard, 'cause you're a bombshell yerself! Usually you sex bomb types're all into the cuddly guys."

"But- I _am-_ nnh…" She almost clarified Marisa there, and tried to stop herself.

"Oh…!?" Marisa beamed at that. "What the hell's wit' that hyper muscle doujin, then? Expandin' yer tastes? I mean, imagine a big cool dude treatin' yer curves like prized pirate doubloons, while yer all excited an' leaned up against him! Maybe not as big as _that_ manga- but y'know…!"

" _No."_ Sendai slid the porn doujin back onto the shelf. "...I had my husband, and he was enough."

Marisa pursed her lips together. "Tsk. I don't think so~. I'll tell ya what, Doppel-chan. I'm gonna roll around an' see if I can find a guy who'll give ya a nice dickin'! Wait-... _ooh!"_ Her face lit up. "You'd totally be into Kourin, no~w!"

This whole scenario lit a remaining juvenile fuse in Sendai. "I'm not going to let you go around starting rumors about me." She also saw most of the other girls in viewing distance, which only addled this idea…

Marisa's eyes widened pleasantly. "Ho~h!? Shit's gettin' _real_ now, ze!? I thought ya weren't all about fightin' me!"

 _Pap._ "Come on." Moving for the front door, Sendai began to march, tugging Marisa by her shoulder.

Keine had her brows raised. "Um- Tsukiko- uh-"

"It's good." She stopped Keine from saying anything more. Turning back to Marisa, she beckoned her with a glare.

"Looks like we're about ta have a manly, passionate bathhouse battle!" She beamed impossibly back.

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

8

Fun in the Sun

-+- _Vs. Famous Youkai Exterminator, Secondary Primary Incident Resolver, Ordinary Magician Marisa Kirisame_ -+-

Villagers paused in the midst of their daily routines, as Sendai and Marisa squared off in the middle of the road.

Cracking her neck, then her knuckles, Sendai glared ahead.

Marisa rolled up her fluffy white sleeves, a perky smile on her face. "Hehehe…"

Keine had a hand to her face, looking somewhere between dismal and concerned. "...You know, this is a _really_ bad idea…"

Within the Suzunaan, the multicolored girls stared out at the street, where the exchange would be happening.

Sendai didn't respond to her. ' _...Still, Marisa got on my nerves, which seems like it's going to be a trend. Let's see if we can finally settle this weird… thing, we got going on.'_

Kosuzu smiled at the spectacle innocently. "I wonder what kind of danmaku Tsukiko has…"

...Keine just stared at the bookkeeper mourningly.

Between Sendai and Marisa, a few rays of soft sunlight came down from the partially cloudy sky above. It was a pretty serene atmosphere, altogether.

"So…" It was about to get livelier. Bringing up her mini-hakkero and broom, Marisa arched one arm back-

 _Woosh!_ She tossed her broom aside.

 _Cla- clack._ It clattered harmlessly against Suzunaan's front.

Rolling up her other fluffy sleeve, she now only held her mini-hakkero. "Alright! So, y'know… I've been studying martial arts recently, ze!"

"...Really." Sendai's gaze was disapproving. "Face me with your magic."

...Seemingly ignoring her ire, Marisa winked at her. "Oka~y!"

Villagers now gathered down each end of the road to watch the spectacle, signalled by the two obviously out of place women looking rowdy. Keine gave a troubled sigh.

' _Let's see if I can use what I learned recently…_ _I should be able to disarm her of that box thing. It shoots all of her projectiles, so she might be useless without it.'_

As Marisa plainly took aim with said 'box thing', Sendai felt her adrenaline spike. ' _Ah!'_

 _FWAM!_ There was a thick, teal blast of jagged magic from the octagonal implement. Villagers down the road darted out of the way of the danmaku beam.

"Aa- ah…!" Sendai darted out of the way, too.

"I hope you've been _studyin' up,_ Doppel-cha~n!" Marisa beamed dangerously. "I'm gonna lay yer ass out _flat!"_

Sendai neared her. ' _Let's open with evasion-type strikes again. Is there anything around I can use, too?'_

There was a wood sign propped up on the road just outside of the Suzunaan, and across the road, there was a bench set up. ' _Aah…'_

 _KABOOM!_ Suddenly, an explosion came out behind Marisa, and she shot towards Sendai with inhuman velocity.

 _BOOM- BOOM- BOOM!_ Sendai ducked, under a three-explosion chain of yellow light that happened over her. ' _Holy shit…!'_

 _VRRRRR~!_ Suddenly, Marisa shot a thick, torso-sized beam of rainbow light into the floor at an angle, using it to shoot a whole house's height into the air.

Sendai ran for the bench, across the road. ' _That noise…!'_ She looked back, and saw Marisa flying with the aid of the laser. ' _What the fuck…!'_

" _Yahoo~!"_ Doing a flip through the air, Marisa aimed the octagon down, and it hummed with ominous rainbow energy.

 _tick- tick- tick, ti- tick!_ Behind Sendai, cartoonishly large, pine-tree shaped magic missiles spawned from Marisa's weapon, meeting the ground nearly soundlessly. Despite this, they made absolutely huge, grass-colored orbs of light, which shone in the daylight brighter than the sun.

Coming up to the bench, Sendai ran behind it, and crouched. ' _Oh my god…! Where the fuck'd this firepower come from!?'_

 _click._ Marisa's boots clicked gently on the ground, her fall unnaturally floaty. "Aw, c'mon, don't hi~de!"

 _PAP- PAP._ Inky black energy rolled down Sendai's arms, and she began to lift the bench. " _Nngh- nnh…!"_

 _WOOSH._ It didn't feel practical at first, but once she got a good hold on it, she was able to lift the wood bench into the air.

"Oo~h…!?" Marisa beamed at the display of power, tilting her head. "What're ya gonna do with a whole damn bench, ze!?"

' _I'm gonna-...!'_

Crouching down a little, Sendai held the bench with both arms, by the midsection. Reeling it back like a club, she felt her magical energy begin to well in her muscles. ' _I'm not about to just fucking get beat up by Marisa- after everything I went through!'_

 _WOOSH!_ Once her form lit up with azure, she unleashed the stored energy. Within half a second, she spun a whole rotation after swinging the big road bench. Frozen bits from yesterday's rain flecked off of the stone in her roaring path.

Marisa blinked. "Aa-" Sendai had spun around for a second, high-powered rotation.

 _WHATHUNK!_ The back of the bench plowed into Marisa's midsection. " _Auagh!"_

 _THUD!_ Marisa rolled along the cold stone some meters down the road.

' _Yea~h!'_ Barely holding onto it, Sendai lugged the huge bench back up, and began to stumble towards Marisa. ' _Get the fuck back here!'_

Already, Marisa was back up, coming into standing as Sendai lumbered closer. "Ho- holy _shit-"_

" _Rra~gh!"_ Her muscles roaring with inhuman magic again, Sendai whipped the entire bench down, holding it by both halves.

 _VRRRZT!_ Marisa fired a beam straight up, as it came down-

 _KABOOM!_ The bench exploded in Sendai's arms. " _Woah…!"_ The beam's bottom barely brushed her topmost hairs.

...Crouched down, Marisa had her lips pursed. She'd expected to be annihilated by the bench, but the hit never came. "...Hoo- hehehe~!"

 _fwish!_ Immediately, Sendai slid into range, and with her momentum, slid a hook straight for Marisa's gut.

 _Clack!_ Marisa's octagon met the fist.

 _Fwrar!_ A plume of fire lashed out of the magic device, connecting with Sendai's red cloth apron. "Wh- _oh…!"_

' _She set me on fucking fire!'_

 _Thud!_ Dropping onto her arms and legs, Marisa held the magic weapon against the ground-

 _Bam- bam- bam- bam- bam- bam!_ She shot the floor repeatedly, her entire body spinning along the ground, propelling her towards Sendai. " _Woa- hoohoo~!"_

 _WHAM!_ Her torso met Sendai's legs, while she patted out the fire.

 _THUD!_ Sendai ate shit, falling onto Marisa. " _Ohf…!"_

"Ow…!" This ended up getting Marisa squished, too. "Freaking-...!"

' _What the hell was the idea…!?'_

 _Thu- thud._ Rolling off of her, Sendai patted the last of the fire off. ' _Fucking-'_

Marisa's golden locks brushed her face; she'd already gotten up, now looming over Sendai. "Hello~!"

' _What the fuck!'_

Rolling onto her stomach, Sendai stood-

 _FWAM!_ By doing this, she accidentally avoided a gut shot from Marisa. "Ooh…!" Stepping back, Marisa twirled her magic octagon on one finger now. "What's wro~ng, Doppel-chan!?"

Immediately, Sendai hunched back, azure and black combining along her furthest back leg. ' _Let's see if what Mokou said about kicks was right…!'_

 _Click!_ Clasping the octagon correctly again, Marisa smiled, aiming it ahead. "Yer gonna hafta try a lot harder than-"

 _WOOSH!_ Sendai leapt from her hunched position, flicking her leg forward into a thrusting kick. " _Hyah!"_

 _WHUNK._ Marisa's eyes were wide, when it met her stomach. " _Uhfh-..."_

While she was cringing, Sendai grabbed onto her octagon with one hand. ' _Alright!'_

Tensing up, Marisa immediately moved to try and struggle for it. "Wh- _hey-"_

 _BAM!_ Hooking her fist across Marisa's cheek, Sendai began to win the tug-o-war while Marisa recoiled with her whole body. ' _This is fucking-'_

 _WHAM!_ Her dark arm slapped back across Marisa's head, breaking her grasp on it. " _Kh- aa…!"_

Now with the small octagon held, Sendai looked down at it. ' _Now- what the fuck is this thing…?'_

She looked ahead. Marisa had reached into her own hat, and drawn a blue, mana potion-esque bottle-

 _KABOO~M!_ It looked like she let it slip from her hands, and when it met the ground, the resulting neon blue blast engulfed her. " _Wha~!"_

Sendai snorted. ' _Uh…'_

Unbeknownst to her, Marisa flew five-ten meters straight back, stopping on one heel just aside the wood sign outside the Suzunaan.

 _CLACK!_ She spun backward on that one heel, the back of her left boot carrying all her momentum into the back of the wooden sign. After it flew away, she was left spinning. "Wh- ooh…"

 _WOOSH._ The big sign flew straight through the black-blue remnants of the messy magical blast-

 _BAM!_ Sendai reeled back, the side of the sign slamming into her forehead by complete surprise. " _Uu- aa…"_

She nursed the point of impact immediately. ' _Oo- oh, my god- what the fuck…'_

That's when Marisa ran up to her. Eyes wide, Sendai hugged the arm holding the octagon to herself-

"Check _this out, ze!"_ Marisa performed a huge leap off the ground, aided by some kind of magic as she floated. She held out her hat, trying to hold it over Sendai, who began to scramble-

 _BOOM!_ Sendai flinched. A huge, wooden box rained down onto the stone beside her. ' _What…! She's dropping shit on me!'_

She looked down at the box, which had wooden bars on the top of it. ' _...Wh- that's the donation box!'_

Standing atop it, Marisa beamed, as the donation box began to glow with yellow magic. "Hehehe~! Beho~ld…!"

The donation box began floating, moving to attack Sendai. "The _mysterious-... floating shine box!"_

Mouth agape, Sendai stepped back, her fists raised as the huge box slowly hovered closer. ' _Um…!'_

 _WOOSH._ That's when it attacked, flying straight for Sendai.

 _WHAM!_ She guarded the blow with her arms, stumbling back a step as her cross-armed guarding posture repelled the big wooden crate.

 _WHAM!_ Marisa tried again, but Sendai guarded just at the last second. ' _Fuck-'_

 _WHAM!_ The motion of re-guarding after her arms were blown out of their stance by the pain and impacts was almost rhythmic. ' _Damn it-'_

 _Woosh!_ This time, when the crate was shoved forward, aiming for her legs now, Sendai leapt.

 _Clack!_ Landing atop it, her wide eyes met Marisa's.

 _Whunk!_ She finally hooked Marisa across the jaw. " _Nnh-...!"_

 _Clack- thud!_ The donation box flopped onto the ground, almost betraying Sendai's balance, as Marisa rolled onto the floor, tossed off by the single fierce hook. ' _Sent her fuckin' sailing!'_ Sendai was happy that it only took one hit-...

She didn't have the octagon held anymore. Marisa had nicked it when Sendai attacked. ' _Motherfucker!'_

Now that Sendai was at an upward angle, Marisa's plan was complete. She aimed the octagon up at her, since the resulting shot would only be above the village, colliding with no homes. " _Love Sign!"_

Sendai was just angry she lost the magic weapon. " _Marisa~!"_

 _WOOSH!_ Sendai leapt off of the donation box. Azure energy flared like a lightshow off of her dark-imbued legs. She'd unleashed a flying kick, ready to plow into Marisa with either leg's might.

Eyes wide, Marisa cancelled her spell card attempt. "Aah-"

 _FWAAM!_ She shot a shorter beam up, nailing all of Sendai directly. " _Hell ye-"_

 _WHAM!_ Sendai's legs roared through the love-colored, tiny laser, meeting Marisa's face and breasts.

" _Uu- aa-..."_ Marisa let out one last sigh, the octagon flying from her hands as she was cast back into the daylight.

 _Thud- THUD!_ Sendai met the ground the hardest, and despite stopping her fall with her arms, everything hurt. "Nn- anh…"

...Everything became silent. Neither girl wanted to move.

Splayed out on the floor past her, Marisa gazed up into the sky, breathing hard. "Ha-... ha~h…"

' _That-... that beam-...'_ Sendai saw _inside_ the laser, when it had hit her. ' _Ow…'_

...Keine stepped past the donation box. Neither party was getting up, so she stared down at them gingerly…

The villagers were dispersing, since all the action seemed to be done. No guard dared to step in and say anything; when Marisa Kirisame was involved, they'd learned long ago that interfering generally wasn't a good idea.

"You people…" Keine crouched down, looking over their now loafish forms. "Was this really necessary? From either of you?"

"He- hehe…" Marisa giggled. "Hell yeah…"

She sat up, all of a sudden, making Keine jump. "That was _aweso~me!"_

 _Sendai learned Flying Kick!_

"Oo-... ow…" Rubbing her head, Sendai sat in the warmth of Suzunaan, before the counter. Kosuzu had arranged a chair for her.

' _God, damn-... mages.'_ Sendai was still feeling where that sign nailed her. ' _Boy, oh fuckin' boy do I hate fuckin' mages. Aside from that-... Marisa is really, really full of surprises.'_

Marisa was all smiles again, the aid of some of Keine's emergency potions having come in handy. "Ma~n. That _flying kick_ was the kinda shit I wanna see from ya…"

' _...It really wasn't an old technique of mine or anything. It was just… battle sense, and innovation.'_ Sendai figured. ' _When you're at this level of physical performance, everything is… either a matter of basic skill, or a matter of power. Sometimes both.'_

Although she was grumpy, she had to admit something. ' _...Marisa was right. That really did feel pretty awesome. Aside from her fucking attacks, that shit hurt. Still-... it was a thrill, being able to put what I learned to use, and surprising her back.'_

"Are you two _seriously_ this short-sighted…!?" Despite their mutual good feelings, Keine was angry. "What if Reimu noticed!? Ah- actually, is she in town today…?"

Putting her arms on her knees, Marisa gave her a nod. "Aw, yeah. S'cool though. Y'know how you guys raided the shit outta Heaven Springs? Yeah, she's over there givin' people hell 'bout it, now."

' _Oh, shit. Reimu's on the scene, too…?'_

...Keine blinked. "How-... do _you_ know, about that?"

Marisa gave a big smile. "Well, that's easy! I've had my eyes _all over_ this place fer the past _couple days,_ ze!" She turned to Sendai. "When I said I'd have my eye on ya, I meant it!"

Keine let her brows raise. "...What do you mean? Have you been observing the village's problem, with us?"

...Marisa shook her head. "Ah? Well, no…! I've just been stalkin' the shit outta her!" She pointed at Sendai. "I'm tryin'a teach 'er, ze. The streets a' the human village ain't so plush, no more!"

Sendai snorted. "They weren't plush to begin with. In fact, they're _more_ plush now, I'd say."

' _Less youkai, more dumb villagers. On a scale of 'threatening' to 'fluff', I'd put villagers pretty close to 'fluff'.'_

...Marisa gave her a little look. "Shush shoosh."

"Gesundheit." Sendai grinned… "You know, help during any of that would've been appreciated."

Marisa rolled her eyes. "Pft, help? Y'had fuckin' _Mokou_ and _Reisen_ rompin' around wit' ya. Addin' me to the equation's not even _fair._ 'Sides, I got this bag 'a chips that night, and they were actually pretty good fer a change. While you all had the big brawl, I snacked out an' watched."

"Wouldn't Reisen have seen you?" Sendai hoped this didn't imply her technology wasn't really that great…

"Oh, yeah." Marisa nodded. "I sat next ta her an' kept quiet. We waved at each other! An' when I was done, I buzzed off."

' _...Marisa, you're fucking weird.'_

...She looked around at the strange stares Keine and Sendai were giving her. "Wha~h? What else am I gonna be doin' while eatin' a bag of chips…!?"

"How did you even _know_ where Tsukiko was." Keine wanted to know… "And-... what is this sudden fascination with her? There's no scrys on her, or anything."

...Marisa smiled naturally again. "Aw, I just take a guess, an' it's _always right._ Call it a sense, ze! And, y'know-... I follow her fer fun shit like what we just did!"

...Looking unsure, Keine met Sendai's gaze again.

Since no one but Sendai was looking at her, Marisa mouthed, 'it will be harder next time'.

' _...She's really into trying to get me to learn new skills.'_ She had to consent, this fight was actually helpful. ' _I did learn I could do that sick flying kick…'_

 _Thunk._ Smiling innocently, Kosuzu sat a single manga book down. "You dropped this, Tsuruko."

...Sendai saw the cover of Hot Passionate Manly Bathhouse Battle. ' _Oh, fuck off.'_

A grin crept up Marisa's features… "Aw~. I gotta get a copy 'a that fer Reimu sometime…"

"I don't think you need to…" Sendai shook her head…

"Also." Kosuzu also put down the Hime-sama Ballbuster Guidebook. "You dropped _this_ too."

...Marisa snorted at it. "Ooh, that looks like fun. Man- ballbusters are a lotta fun, ze."

"Marisa, would you mind repeating that." Keine's mind didn't process that.

Marisa shook her head. "Not in the way yer thinking! Like- when ya slap a dude with a ballbuster, they just go flying!"

...Keine tilted her head. "What-... in what way do you mean?"

Standing up, Marisa reached into her hat, and took out one of the neon red nutcrackers, like the one included in the book. "Lemme show you!" Then, she turned to Sendai.

 _Clack!_ Before Sendai could react, Marisa slapped it against her shoulder.

 _THUNK- WOO- WOOSH!_ Sendai literally spontaneously flew away, her chair tumbling beneath her. " _Wh-_ woh- woah…!" Spiraling through the air, she passed over stout shelves, tossing and turning while she flew. "What-...!" The way it launched her was surprisingly gentle, doing little other than stinging where Marisa struck.

 _Thud!_ She softly came down on her side, in the empty clearing between the final wall-mounted shelves, and the aisle shelves. "Nnh…"

Kosuzu fluffed up. " _Marisa!_ No ballbusters in my store!"

Marisa's hands were clean now, and she was grinning big at the statement. "Su- sure thing…!"

...Standing up, Sendai brushed herself off. The multi-colored girls were staring at her from a seat near the window that they all shared.

"You sure busted my balls." Sendai monotoned, as she came back up to the counter.

' _...It's stupid, but also kinda funny that something called a fucking ballbuster sends people flying.'_

"Hehehe~!" Marisa giggled. "Yeah, _ze!"_

' _...Can't wait to start using the one included with that book.'_

...The store's coziness almost made Sendai not want to leave. "I've still gotta pick out some books, so…" She also wanted more books than the one with a ballbuster inside it.

Kosuzu smiled. "But, what about this one…?" She held up the Manly Passionate Bathhouse Battle doujin...

" _Destroy_ it." Sendai made a strong recommendation.

"Aw… lookin' for _books."_ Marisa appreciated the sentiment, as it was one she could share. "Good luck wit' that! I've gotta go _help Reimu_ _exist_ , and stuff like that. Catch ya-"

 _whunk._ From under the counter, Kosuzu suddenly drew a tiny, fluffy broom, which came down on Marisa's poofy witch hat a second later. "Ow."

 _thu- thunk._ Some books fell from her fluffy witch dress, too.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode _-+-_

Once Marisa was gone, things at the Suzunaan began to calm down.

Ironically, the tiny book store had seen a short burst of popularity for about thirty minutes after she'd left, bystanders coming by to check out the place. ' _I think only one of them rented something. What happens if they don't come back with the book?'_

"Lemme tell ya…" Setting down some books she thought she'd be happy with, Sendai made idle chit-chat with Keine. "These past few days have been a _workout._ "

"Oh, I'd imagine." Keine empathized… "I never got how you used to put up with it."

"I like punching people." She grinned back… "Not only does it solve most of my problems, it's also fun."

' _...There are parts of it that are also not fun, but you know, I commit to life decisions. A bit late to drop years into being a mage… and also, fuck magic. Mostly shit like thunder, and fire. Ice, too. Non-elemental things kinda suck. Yeah, fuck magic.'_

Shaking her head, Keine found herself fixated on a dim candle-light lamp. "If you _say so."_

"Ah, hey…" Kosuzu returned to her station. "Sorry~. My parents made lunch, and I had ta quickly just slide out, y'know…"

Keine ultimately only got one book, while Sendai picked out about three. ' _Probably gonna have to beeline these over to Keine's place for now. Not much room in my bag, and fantasy novels aren't gonna help me in a fight.'_

She'd ended up with that comedy book after all, as well as some generic fantasy-looking novel, and something called _Ninjas of Love._ ' _Maybe that'll end up being a comedy, too.'_

...After all of this, her gaze returned to the Necronomicon, which was just sitting on the counter. "...Hey."

"The rental for all three of those will be three hundred yen." Kosuzu made herself fluffy by nature.

"No. I mean- yes, but I have a question…" Sendai accidentally spoke over herself mentally. Shaking her head, she composed herself… "Do you have any… _youkai books_ , here?"

Instantly, Kosuzu nodded. "Yeah."

...Sendai slowly brought her head back. "Oh, okay. That's... a safety hazard, you know."

"That's why Reimu's around." Undeterred, Kosuzu gave her a big smile from behind the counter. "And- I kinda want you to compare the threat of an angry book or two, or a restored youkai, to um, whatever happened to Heaven Springs the other day. Everyone knew that place was nuts, but we never expected the guards to grow a spine and crack down!"

' _...She's got a point.'_ That couldn't be denied. ' _Even so…'_

"I'll keep my eyes open, then." Almost on impulse, Sendai restated her authority as a Hakurei. "If those books eat anyone, the blood will be on your hands."

…Kosuzu was literally undeterred. ' _No-... no reaction?'_

"Also, do you have any that're actually readable?" Curiously, Sendai also made a request. "I've read books for years, so something written by a non-human should be interesting, for a change…"

Turning, Kosuzu looked towards her back rooms. "Aah. That-... might be difficult. I got a lot though, so um, lemme~..."

She romped off to see her stock. It apparently wasn't anywhere among the main shelves.

' _Man. She was totally stoic when I threatened her. Why's this librarian so implacable? ...It might be the books.'_

' _...I wonder what topics youkai have to write a book about. As in, what drives some of them to write? I mean, it's already limited, in terms of what species can even author them… and, writing a book is a-... I guess it's a way of storing information, but when you put it in a book, you kinda-... hmm.'_

She was thinking over the purpose of archiving anything, but she supposed certain species would see value in it. ' _Outside of magicians, I guess societies like the tengu would find that kind of thing valuable. Kappa, maybe. I'm thinking more about… aloof, crazy types that just decide to work on an epic before their demise, death, or… however they feel their end is near. Or, maybe they just do it because they've got big egos.'_

' _...I'm discounting the ones that just put the ideas of themselves down in book format until they can become restored. That's just, well, the intent is obvious. It's a way to not die.'_

' _Some youkai texts are written explicitly to be understood by humans. Although, some are meant for humans but still end up being illegible. The written language barrier gets… unique, when you leave human territory.'_

Kosuzu returned. "All I've got… is _this._ Well- it's not _all_ I've got, but I think this is more, uu~h, what's the word… _organized?_ It's also in Japanese, and one of those done so in a way legible to humans."

The tome had nothing on the cover. It was a simple, blue design, and on the binding, it had an intricate seal of a flower vector. The detail was impressively tiny and varied.

Brushing a finger over the design, Sendai admired the texture-

"Ow…" Retracting the finger, she looked over it, to see it'd been serrated by the design. "...Just what I wanted. A book that can bite back."

Beaming at that, Kosuzu shook her head… "Hehe! Yeah, some of them are _mean._ Both in design, and personality…!"

' _I'm gonna need a tissue or something to read this book, or I might kill myself by poking that cute flower thing too much.'_

"This one was written some time ago." Making a sedate expression, Kosuzu leaned over to look at it, as Sendai lowered it over the counter. "...It doesn't sound _very_ plausible, but I heard it was written by a deva of the mountain. You know, the onis?"

"...You're right, that doesn't sound very plausible." Sendai shook her head. "Of all types, I highly doubt the oni would write _books._ I feel stone tablets would be more appropriate…"

"It's just, between the nature of the writing and some of the things it implies, it's hard for me to say it's _not_ oni-like. Yet, it's also really… _disciplined,_ I guess." Kosuzu made a curious expression down at the text. "Well- then there's the sake recipes. Oni who actually _make_ things like this, don't care enough to only make a book about only one thing."

' _...Oni sake recipes, huh. They'd be better if they didn't include enough alcohol content to kill normal people. Should be fun to see how many gallons you're supposed to pour in, at least.'_

"I'll take this too, I suppose." Sendai casually accepted the supposedly-oni text. "How much?"

"One thousand yen for two wee~ks." Kosuzu offered lazily… "A lot of these youkai books are _very much_ one-of-a-kinds, so it's important that I'm strict with how I let them get exchanged."

' _They're potentially deadly too, so it's good they're pricey enough to deter people.'_

 _Click._ Sendai sat the thirteen hundred yen on the counter, while Keine sat down the yen applicable to her own rental.

Kosuzu nodded bluntly and happily, her bells jingling. "Thank yo~u! Have a nice day!"

' _Why is this librarian so fluffy…'_ Sendai was almost reluctant to turn away, as she picked up her books. ' _That hairstyle is dangerous.'_

...Turning back, Sendai saw the four multicolored youkai girls there. They all hopefully held up various books, most of which were picture books.

' _Speaking of fluffy…'_ Sendai turned to Keine, who'd began to dig into her yen purse again.

 _Sendai obtained Ninjas of Love._

 _Sendai obtained Love Hina Volume 1._

 _Sendai obtained Hime-Sama's Ballbuster Guide._

 _Sendai obtained Oni Fight & Drink Archive._

 _Sendai obtained Ballbuster!_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode-+-

 _-+- Chapter 8-2 Marker: Refer to Index at bottom of chapter if you need to take a break. -+-_

 _Thunk._ Back at Keine's house, Sendai plopped the regular books down on the main table. From the Hime-sama book, she drew the Ballbuster from within the covers. ' _Time to go randomly whack villagers with this.'_

The four varied color girls filed into the house after Sendai, and they immediately relaxed at the temperature difference. Soon, they dispersed, some moving for the couch, and others finding strange places to take their books, like corners. Asakura decided to crawl under the table immediately.

"I'm becoming a shelter, at this rate…" Coming inside last, Keine had a sardonic smile. "Not that I mind."

"My old house is being held hostage by my daughter." Sendai bluntly summarized her current homelessness.

Also, Marcus was here, in the usual seat he'd made a habit of claiming. "...Mmh!" He had milk and cookies, and was currently in the process of chewing on a cookie...

Smiling, Keine came up to him. "Ah. I'm glad I caught you, actually."

"...Hi." He grinned at her as she stopped before him. "This ain't gonna be one of them cheesy porn setups, is it?"

"I'm not _planning_ to hurt you today." She chided him casually. "...In seriousness, I was wondering if you had any ideas on… you know, safe shelters. For…" She gestured to Asakura, under the table, hoping to imply all of them.

...Marcus pursed his lips together. "That's a _tough one_ if ya want someone ta educate 'em and stuff. I might not be as big of an asshole as I used ta be, but I still got my own things t'do! Otherwise, y'know… I _do_ got that house."

' _...He's got a house?'_ Sendai became curious, watching their discussion quietly…

"I _would_ like them attended to." Keine decided. "...I wonder if I can ask Kasen for ideas. I'm banking on Akyuu, at the moment."

This idea made Marcus nod. "Aah, solid idea. I dunno, I _think_ they'd be capable of chore work after a li'l on-the-job training, and a _itty bit_ a' special attention to keep 'em organized. I'm sure the Hieda family has its share of whacky bullshit goin' on that'd justify bein' able to protect a few scamps on the sidelines."

' _...At that point, they'd be pretty much out of my hands, too.'_ Sendai figured. ' _...It'd be nice to check up on them now and again, though. As much as I hate to admit it, their really basic and curious personalities make them sort of endearing, so us shoving them onto someone else feels kind of sad. But, I'm sure the Hieda family is fairly graceful about things. When I met Akyuu herself, she seemed pretty chill, and also cute.'_

"Then…" Keine held an arm to her chin. "The next question… is _when._ "

"I say y'oughta hold onto 'em fer the weekend." Marcus decided. "...Y'know, fer adjustment reasons. Come Monday, y'can probably give 'em the goodbye. Not that they'll be far, considerin' how tiny this freakin' village is…"

...Keine nodded. "Alright. That sounds like a plan. Until then."

Sendai came up to the couch where Mokou was sleeping before, but now she was gone. ' _She vaporized.'_

That's when someone else opened the door again, technically coming in behind Keine. "...Oh. There you all are."

...Sendai idly turned back, and saw Mokou there. ' _Ah, there she is.'_

"Ah…" Keine sighted her, and remembered. "Oh, darn. I'm sorry I didn't leave a note of any sort, Mokou."

Mokou smiled, at that. "Oh, it's fine. Just assumed you went to get groceries, or something. Kinda wondering: we doing anything related t' that dickhead today?" She was speaking of Dieter.

Keine shook her head. "No. We're spending today relaxing, both because I think we need it for logistical reasons, and because-... well, the weekend just started. You know?"

"Mmm…" Mokou looked like she agreed with this.

' _Reisen must be out doing whatever the hell she does. She did say she'd be doing recon shit with or without us. Guess she's doing it without us.'_

"Did that Aki-kid have a huge hangover this morning?" Sendai wondered.

"Yes." Keine gave her an endured smile. "He went home. We might see him later."

...With all of this said, Sendai was curious of something. "Marcus, when'd you get your own actual house. And-... if you own a house, why do you live in your shop, _still._ "

...He grinned at her, and gave a big shrug. "I dunno~! S'more cost effective! And, y'know, after awhile I _didn't need it so much_ anymore. But it's still _my place-..._ so I _like it._ "

After giving it a moment more thought, he continued. "Plus, y'know, it makes a good backup if my store ever gets _fucked._ Which _has_ happened more than once!" He grinned up at the girls. "S'always good to have more options! Well- in property, and home spaces, at least, unless we're talkin' _too many_ , which is also possible..."

' _...Hmm.'_

"We should visit." Sendai suggested. "...I'm in the mood to sightsee. I also never got to see that shit, because I fucking died. Let me guess, you bought it with that wine deal you were talking about, didn't you?"

...He let his brows raise. "Hoh, _shit_ you remember well. Yeah, that wine deal I was braggin' about… y'see, the house was a restaurant fer a short time. Idea was we wine an' dine people, two bangs fer everyone's bucks. Went pretty well, 'till we ran outta stock, so we just liquidated the remainin' restaurant things and held the property. Stock was limited 'cause of the deal y'see, couldn't just pour money inta keep makin' it. Youkai deals, yeah?"

"That was a youkai deal?" Immediately taken back, Sendai raised a brow, stepping towards him aggressively. "Marc, I'm gonna-... hmh. If this was twelve years ago, I would've kicked your ass. Didn't we _just_ do something about seedy local youkai deals? I thought I'd demonstrated to people that shit like that doesn't end well. Case in point, torso girls."

He had a half-smile. "Well, _y'know_ how shrewd I was back then. When ya discouraged seedy deals, I saw it as an opportunity t'be the _only person_ who did 'em!"

' _...Really.'_ Sendai was sort of put off, by that. ' _Really, Marc. Just- nngh. You're fucking lucky I was dead, or you'd be getting a chair leg up the ass, you shifty-eyed, western motherfucker.'_

Noticing Sendai's bitterness, he held his hands up. "Now-... I know what yer thinkin', and yer right in thinkin' it, but at this point, s'in the past. That an', y'know, _torso girls_ never happened again, freakin' gods forbid. I kept a standard ta things, which is why I didn't stay on top always. Dried up the smaller, less extreme things."

...At that, Sendai folded her arms. "What stopped you from going full fuckhead? Also, if you ever actually repeated _torso girls_ , I'd probably actually just break your teeth right here."

"...Mmh. Some things happened." Standing up, Marcus stretched a little. "Mm~h. Big things, yeah? An' eventually, I kinda made all the cash I'd ever _need,_ an' I realized that."

Mokou couldn't follow one thing, and so she brought it up. "Torso girls…?"

Marcus and Sendai looked over at her. ' _Uh oh. She doesn't know, does she.'_

Marcus took in a deep breath. "Ho~h, shit."

"Aah…" Keine let her head lean back, for a moment. "...Yeah, that was… a hoot. I remember hearing about it. That was horrible, even back then, but thinking back on it now, especially so."

"Now I really wanna know." Mokou wanted all this build-up to be justified. She focused on Sendai in particular, as if daring her to recount it.

...So, Sendai began. "It was a hell of a time. Basically, youkai paid resources to villagers to trade off employees. But, first, those employees would be ran through a youkai magi hidden in the village. They'd use their healing magic to cut off the girl's limbs, something the youkai around the village couldn't do themselves without killing her, and they'd hand over the girl to them alive, disfigured limbs included."

...Mokou nodded vaguely. "Ah, yeah, what the fuck. This was when _Keine_ was a kid?"

"Mm." Sendai gave a single nod. "So, the youkai would usually eat the limbs, but then they'd keep railing the torso girl, and sometimes when they raided, they'd come show them off. It wasn't for awhile that I figured out that, they weren't just taking girls and tactically ripping their limbs off during raids-... villagers were actually conspiring to supply them. That had me all kinds of fucked up when I learned about it."

Mokou pursed her lips. "Ever find out who did it?"

...Sendai smiled. "Felt a lot better, when I found the magi behind all that shit. I tore his arms and legs off myself."

...She panned to look at Marcus, still smiling. "It's a good thing I don't have to rip _your_ arms and legs off, Marc."

He grinned back. "Yeah, me too…!"

"Let's not reminisce on that too long." Keine didn't really want to think about that…

"So!" Marcus strolled towards the door… "Y'guys serious about that house visit? 'Cause we could do that! I'm just brushin' up on ol' tomes of mine, an' y'know, ya never _did_ see the house, Tsukiko. So this'll be a real delayed house visit!"

"...Yeah." Sendai decided. "Wouldn't hurt."

' _Not sure if he's going to have a super fancy place or an unfittingly plain one. He was never one for the aristocratic parts of being loaded with cash.'_

"Actually…" Keine had an idea. "Marcus. Would you mind-..." She looked over at some of the colorful girls around the house. Then, she held up a hand, and it glowed.

 _Fwish!_ Magi-lights lit up in front of Asakura, as she rested beneath the table, and Sarah, confusing them. Keine continued, facing Marcus again. "That. For the weekend?" She spoke oddly vaguely.

"Ooh, yeah." He gave her a big smile, and a nod. "I see, no problem. You roundin' them up?"

"I'll let you." Keine decided. "...Tsukiko, Mokou, let's step outside."

' _...Hmm?'_ The way they spoke was very odd, and uninformative. ' _They're concealing information from something.'_

Silently, Mokou nodded, and moved with them. Sendai followed. ' _Guess I won't say anything more.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode _-+-_

Outside, Sendai, Mokou and Keine stood somewhere well behind the school, along the brick wall that protected the perimeter.

"So." The outside air chilled Sendai slowly, again… "What's the idea?" She let out a little shiver.

"The house is being listened in on." Keine stated plainly, now that they were a fair distance from it. "Scrys everywhere near the structure. The back of the school here is fairly safer, since there's nothing interesting here."

"So, you're having Marcus file 'em out, then?" Mokou had her hands in her own pockets, slouching casually. "Why's that?"

"People have been shifting around outside the house, of the non-human variety." Keine noted. "I have my own magic in place to sense them. I'm trusting Marcus will find a way to hide getting the girls out. If we're all being targeted, I don't want the girls to become bargaining chips in anything."

From the alley behind the school's back brick wall, Sendai looked back to see the front of Keine's house. ' _How's he planning on doing this alone…? He's not that versatile, surely-'_

 _fwoom._ From the open front door, Marcus sent out an orb which warped the light around it. Slowly, as it expanded out, it began to engulf everything.

 _fwoo- ooWAA~SH!_ It expanded out, becoming a transparent, warping, shimmering blotch of space and energy.

It washed past Sendai, leaving her body glowing. "Uu- uah…" She looked down, seeing how her forearms and legs gently shone, for a moment.

The magic wave did this for Keine and Mokou, but Mokou shone leagues brighter, and longer.

In the air, the architecture, and all along the homes surrounding Keine's, square masses of glowing magic were revealed by Marcus's spreading spell. There was almost a shell of blue, grid-like nodes dotting the air around Keine's home like stars, even amidst the bright, sunny day.

' _What-...?'_ Sendai beheld the square lights in the sky around Keine's house. ' _The hell are those?'_

"Those…" Keine saw the lights. "Those are scry positions. Marcus used his magic to spot them all."

' _He-... can just do that?'_

Even Keine's house glowed in a few places, marking a few exterior scrys, as well as some of its natural enchantments Keine herself had made.

Shuffling outside, Marcus gestured away from the door. "C'mon, c'mon…!"

Carrying their books, the girls all huddled together behind him, eyes wide as they beheld the blue, glowing flowers of square magic in the sky around them.

"Yeheha~h!" Once outside, he began to do a jaunt, jog-dancing away from the girls at a slightly faster speed than them. "We won the _football game!_ Can't believe we stole _all these thick stacks!_ S'time to buy _exactly ten pancakes!"_

...The girls looked awkward as they followed him, romping in his path, as he progressed towards Sendai and the rest of them.

"Huh." Sendai's stare was plain as he neared. "...Was-... that gibberish to throw off the scry magic, or something?"

"Yes!" He beamed at her. "Now let's get the hell outta here, 'fore the glowy shit wears off! Visual sensors're jammed and the jittery magnet shit's makin' the sound all staticy, but if we don't move quick, it'll all wear off!"

Therefore, the lot of them made an excursion of sorts out of visiting Marcus's place.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

"Um…" Asakura pouted in the cold, as they all moved along. "The cold-..."

Sarah let out a breath. "It was never a problem _before._ But now-..." She held herself. "It feels so bad. But-... it's not totally bad. It's weird, is what it is..."

They were crossing over the village's north road. Sendai caught sight of the Golden Grin again, as they passed directly past the towering five-story high rise. ' _That'll wait, again. Considering how Heaven Springs went-... I really don't want to get knee deep in bullshit this moment. I'll think about it later.'_

As they moved down the alley path, they gave the brick side of the Golden Grin a brief once-over...

"So!" Marcus rubbed his hands together. "Girls! Yer gonna be chillin' at my house fer awhile. All I ask's that ya don't break anything! Or- at least, try not ta!"

"When'd we decide on this?" Sendai felt like she missed something. "Weren't you going to give them to Akyuu, Keine?"

"I still am, but they need to be kept somewhere out of the way of my home." Keine decided. "I'd neglected the many scrys watching us. And, now that they know I care about these girls, I wouldn't be surprised if _someone_ came to, you know, interfere with them…"

' _...Ah. Keine doesn't want them to become targets, or to get buried in the shit we've started. This village…'_

"Wow." This was all news to Mokou. "...What a mess. Where's he shacked up, anyway. Let's go fight him now."

...It took a moment, but when she realized what Mokou meant, Keine snorted. "This isn't Dieter's fault, I'm pretty sure. We've attracted the ire of youkai, as I said."

"Let's go fight him anyway." Mokou was indiscriminate. "I wanna kick someone's teeth in now."

...Meeting her grin, Keine wagged her finger back casually. "No~."

Moving through the alley system behind the Golden Grin, Sendai took solace in the calm, breezy nature of them. Even in the midst of day, darkness dimmed these passes. Times like this, they seemed peaceful, and symbolized respite from the busy village.

' _Other times, these alleys are veins of rot.'_ Sendai became oddly poetic, briefly. ' _...A lot of shit can go down in this village, outside of sight.'_

Eventually, after taking a few turns, they stopped at a house amidst the north-east sector. It was a two-story home, with a porch protected by support beams, the house itself acting as an awning for it. ' _Ooo.'_

The building was unique from the more eastern homes around it, this one square and western, betraying when it was made. It was already a two-story house, as well.

"So many _things…_ " Uni-chan took in the walls of houses all around them. "This-... place is so _big._ All of these rooms, and-..."

"Do you mean the village?" Keine smiled. "...Compared to how you four used to live, I would bet it's big."

"Aw~right, let's see~..." Coming up to the door, ignoring the manual lock on it, Marcus pressed a hand onto it-

 _Fwi~sh._ Green magic ran along it, drawing a mint-colored diamond pattern. Once it faded, the door swung open on its own.

"Got like _ten_ opening mechanisms on this thing, an' they're all super finicky." He grinned back at everyone. "I should check how many boys tried ta pick the dummy lock while I was out this time…"

"...Good." Sendai was thrilled, that he'd begun to keep tally at some point.

When he meandered inside, the four colorful girls all romped in after him immediately, eager to get out of the cold again and into somewhere warmer. ' _They're sure learning to hate the cold pretty fast, despite practically living in it. Guess just tasting warmth made them not wanna go back.'_

...Now that Sendai was inside too, the house was nothing she recognized. ' _Woah. Roomy. And-... like I expected, plain. Aside from how big it is, at least.'_

Some sedate, faded green chairs and couches sat to the right, and the stairs were to the left, similar to Keine's house. There was also a fireplace in the middle, still burning and warm.

' _Why is this on fire.'_ Plainly, Sendai came up to the fireplace. She had to push past the other four black-haired girls, so she could hold her hands out to warm up. ' _...Not that I mind.'_

They all gingerly stared down at the glowing warmth. "Aa-..." Uni-chan reached forward, to touch it, before faltering as her hand got closer. "That- hurts, actually…"

Sarah and Asakura neared their own hands, Sarah pushing her own the farthest. "Ah- _ow!"_ They pulled them back, eyes wide and breath sharp. "What…?"

...Sendai stared at them blankly. "It's fire."

The girls stared back at her in plain vexation.

' _Oh my god.'_

"...It's-..." Sendai had no idea how to just describe _fire._ She never thought she'd have to describe what _fire_ was. "Just don't touch it, okay…? Things that are _too_ warm, or _hot,_ will hurt you."

"Just like lights…" Kumiyo's yellow eyes blinked, wincing a little at the intensity of the fire.

Sendai shook her head. "Worse than lights. If you put your hand into fire, or items, it may also begin to burn. It's a horrible, indescribable pain you should _never_ let happen to you. The fire spreads to whatever it can burn, until everything flammable is gone. It can kill you."

"...Wo- wow." Sarah was intimidated. The girls began to back away from the fire...

Mokou walked forward, brushing past them, and bent down, sticking her hands directly into the fire, touching the red surface which spawned it.

"Wh- _ah…!"_ Sarah bristled, and moved closer again. "Nn- no- _get out-"_

 _fwoof._ Mokou decided to sit inside the fire, letting the flames lick up her skin. "Mmh…" She looked pleased, too. "He- heheh…"

...Sarah furrowed her brows, turning to Sendai.

Sendai stared at her, for a moment, before replying. "...Mokou here happens to use fire magic. She can create it, and not only that, she's immune to it. It won't hurt her or kill her."

"...Alright." Sarah stood closer to the fire again, where her 'sisters' didn't dare. "If you say so… but, being near it feels good. She seems to feel good, too."

"Trust me. Y'don't wanna join me." Mokou spoke simply, staring down into the licking amber and intense light. "Fireplace ain't a club. Scram."

"I-..." Sarah pouted down at her. "I don't believe you."

' _Really, now…'_

...Gazing up from the fire, looking relaxed, Mokou raised a hand out of it.

Her hand was suddenly searing red, and hot. Sendai could feel the new heat from where she stood. "Well, fine. I'll help you in, then. My hand here's as hot as the bottom of this fireplace."

...Unblinking, Sarah brought her hand closer to Mokou's. The heat was so unbearable, that just nearing her pale hand closer began to hurt, and make her sweat.

 _sss._ The tip of her index finger met Mokou's.

" _Nnh- ah, ow, ow!"_ Immediately, she doubled back, eyes wide. "St- stop…! _Stop!"_ She stared at the red tip of her finger with wide eyes, seething her teeth. "... _Nn."_ A moment later, the searing pain stopped, as she held her finger, becoming a tender, blistering sensation.

...Smiling, Mokou let her hand lower, as she leaned back in the flames.

"Never play with fire." Keine stated simply, from behind them. "...On that note-... Marcus, has this fire been going the _entire time?"_

"Fwoo- fwoo…" Sarah blew on the tip of her own finger, trying to cool it down as it healed.

Hands in his robe pockets, Marcus grinned behind them. "Aw, yeah. Hellstone-lit stove! Never goes out unless ya want it to."

' _That… sounds like a fire hazard, but okay. A lot of the housework around this seems to be stone, for obvious reasons.'_

Over the fireplace, common stones and plain shiny rocks sat where they would be worn into by the constant, unending heat sent up by the fireplace, not that it probably mattered.

However, angled away from where the heat would billow up to, there were trinkets laid on the fireplace top's far sides.

To the very right, Sendai's eyes stopped on a framed picture stood up there. ' _...Ooh.'_ In it, Marcus was happily stationed next to his wife Michelle, and Marisa was between them.

She quickly drew her gaze away from it. ' _I don't need to think about that right now. No good to dwell on something like that.'_

"So." Sendai began to look Marcus over… "What could you have possibly needed all this room for. You have _two levels_ to this place."

He met her gaze, and grinned. "Aw, y'oughta come see! C'mon, let's get on upstairs…"

...When he shuffled for the stairs, Sendai followed. Idly, Keine moved for one of the seats on the room's right, passing them.

"Hey, you." Sendai stopped her, however. "You gonna come along, or just lounge?"

"I've already been here, before." Keine smiled back. "...At the moment, I feel like relaxing. That, and-... I should probably explain the specifics of fire to the girls. The science behind it, and such."

' _Not a bad plan.'_ Sendai was vaguely afraid they'd immolate themselves, otherwise. So, she moved to catch up with Marcus. ' _Hey, wait for me.'_

Sliding her sandals off, so that they'd rest near the door, Sendai shuffled up to the stairs, and began to stomp up...

On the top landing, Sendai turned, to see Marcus already before a door.

"Here's the bathroom!" He reached ahead, and twisted the knob.

 _Crea~k._ With that, the door panned open…

It was indeed a bathroom. It was surprisingly clean, with a mint-and-white aesthetic, but that was everything significant about it. ' _...Looks really, really nice, for a bathroom. It's still just a bathroom.'_

Unnaturally overcast light came from this room's particular window. ' _...Hmm?'_ She didn't remember the light being so grey outside, so she approached it.

 _Fwish._ She cast back the curtains which concealed the whole window.

' _...Oo- oh.'_ It was the curtains which glowed with overcast-grey light, not the window. In fact, the window was sealed, with red bricks and cement. ' _What.'_ She looked back at Marcus.

Grinning, he read her incredulous expression… "Kids with ladders are _scary,_ Tsukiko! An' I only spent so much money on catalysts to make the _infini-mines_ on the windows I actually like…"

' _...Infini-mines._ 'Sendai registered this idea… ' _I wish I had infini-mines, when I was younger.'_

"Those curtains are pretty, I guess." Sendai was intimidated by the bathroom's confusing aesthetic, so she left it, returning to the hall outside.

Now able to get a good visual on the upstairs hall, she found it similar to Keine's as well. ' _Is this a common architecture theme? 'Single hallway leading to branching rooms on the top floor', that is. It makes sense.'_

"If Keine ever kicks ya out, ya can crash here too." Marcus offered her. "Especially 'cause it's got the rooms fer it! And, ya can pick any room that's _open._ "

"I will find all your secrets." Sendai jested plainly. "...Anything else interesting, up here?"

"...There's a room where I store all my landmines!" He jested. "Well, my room an' Marisa's. S'about it. A guest room, too."

' _Wonder which one he stores all the landmines.'_

Moving down the halls, Sendai hung to the right. ' _There's not much for rooms along this right wall. So…'_

 _Crea~k._ Sendai flung open the rightmost door, stepping inside.

' _...Ah.'_ The room in here was a mess. Blankets laid half-strewn across a relatively thin western mattress ahead, colored navy blue, and speckled with big, yellow stars.

Past the short cropping of hardwood floor before the doorway, a thin layer of dust was visible along the floor, and atop some scattered, odd toys. Little wooden figures lied around, and some collapsed block structures lied everywhere. The walls were painted navy blue.

Sendai ventured past the minefield of small plastic blocks, colorful wood blocks, jacks, dolls, and small paper cut-outs. ' _What the fuck…'_

...Soon, she came up to a desk, on the room's lefthand side. There was a small wand on the desk here, an empty cup, and some crayon scribbles on various yellowing sheets of paper.

' _That wand…'_ Sendai recognized it. ' _That's Marisa's.'_

"Marc…" Looking around, Sendai searched for him. He hadn't stepped into here with her. "Hmh."

...She began to shift the dusty paper on the desk, looking over the drawings. ' _Uuh… oh?'_

There was one drawing of a wand of some kind, and some of progressively larger orange and yellow swivels. ' _...Hmm.'_ Sendai took a look back at the floor. ' _There's cut-out shapes of wands and shapes on the floor, too.'_

On the next page, there were some blue oval-like shapes. ' _...Looks like she was trying to draw teardrops, but fucked it up and settled for the next best thing.'_

Considering how the wand cut-outs were placed near figures, and between figures there were those shapes, Sendai put two and two together. ' _...Taking playing pretend to the next level, huh. She made wands to give to her toys, and spells for them to use.'_

On the third, last sheet on the desk, there was a very rough figure. It had a red body of some kind, and two big shapes that could seem like arms, as well as long, black hair.

...After some staring, making out what should have been her hakama and sandals, Sendai realized who this was supposed to be. ' _That's-... huh. Never looked better.'_

Sendai flipped the page over. There were some unintelligible scribbles there. ' _Good.'_

Giving the floor another once-over, she saw a similar figure. It was arranged next to one with a strange blue outfit and blonde hair, and another figure with blonde hair and a brown outfit of sorts. ' _Hard to tell what any of these are supposed to be.'_

Light was cast in by two plain windows on either side of the room. One was wide open, but no breeze came through, and the room wasn't cold.

 _Ti~ng._ When Sendai stepped up to it, and tried to look out, her hand met a gold barrier that materialized upon touching the airspace inside the window. ' _Oh, hey.'_ The gold barrier was oddly cold. ' _Couldn't even feel that barrier there, magic-wise.'_

On the right, there was a dresser, with various vague villager-like garments on it. ' _Kimonos, yukatas, a robe… also, some western-esque shirts.'_

Crouching down, next to the dresser, Sendai saw something shiny next to it. ' _What's this…? It doesn't look like just a toy. This is more like jewelry.'_ It was a bracelet, with three colorful stars; one yellow, one red, and one blue.

 _Sendai obtained Three Stars._

Stepping outside of Marisa's old bedroom, Sendai looked around for Marcus. ' _Wonder why he didn't feel like following me in. I mean-... I can imagine, but you know…'_

The door to the rightmost room on the left wall was open, so she moved into that one.

This room had a blue, brown and green color scheme going on, and was quite more orderly than the last room. Dim, green-white magi-lights were turned on, and Marcus stood next to the big bed.

"Oh!" Smiling, he turned to Sendai. "There ya are!"

"I found this." Sendai held up the silver band. "...What is it?"

...Upon seeing it, Marcus blinked. "...Aah. Yeah. Uuh. Y'see, Michelle made that, awhile ago. Where'd _you_ find it? Actually- it was in _there_ , wasn't it. We gave it ta Marisa together, yeah."

' _...I see.'_ Sendai stared down at it.

"It's pretty." She complimented it. "There's also a ward on it."

"...Mmm." Marcus nodded. "Twenty percent resistance ta fire, ice, and thunder. Also boosts yer luck, a little, an' the effect a' non-elemental spells. Was t'keep her safe around the magic we did."

' _Huh.'_ Examining it again, Sendai held it up closer. ' _Damn. For protection items, this thing is no joke. He must've poured some money into this thing.'_

Stepping closer, she held it out. "Here."

"Ah?" He smiled at the offer. "Why's that? I mean- y'can _take it,_ I don't really-"

"Nah." She refused it. "It's not for me."

...Smiling wider, he shrugged, and accepted it. "Awh. Figured the quartz on the silver would be too gaudy."

"Uh huh." She ignored his excuse. "Take good care of things like that, yeah? Don't just... let it collect dust, in the corner of some room."

He pocketed it. "Pft, alright…"

' _I can't really tell what he's thinking. If he and his wife broke their backs to make this for her-... I mean, their situation's not my business, but he should show he still cares, at least. He's definitely some kind of awkward about this.'_

' _...I also won't press him on it anymore than this. He's older than me, at this point, so he should be able to make his own decisions about this sorta thing.'_

Venturing back out of his room, Sendai moved for the last, rightmost door. ' _This should be the guest room. Let's see what it's like.'_

 _Crea~k._ Twisting the knob, she cast the door open with abandon, romping right inside.

 _Beep- beep- beep!_ She looked down, and a pale, magic circle lit up beneath her. ' _Wait- he wasn't joking-'_

 _Fwash!_ It let out a blinding light. ' _Oh shit!'_

...All it did was blind her, so she had to stand there for a few moments, as her vision returned. ' _Why~.'_

"Oo- oh!" Marcus grinned from the doorway. "I fergot about that! I wasn't kiddin' 'bout the landmines, Tsukiko!"

"Why- the fucking _guest room…!"_ Rubbing her eyes, she grinned back at him. "I feel like every other room would be more important to fortify…"

"Exactly!" He beamed. "So I fortified the one that shouldn't be fortified, so when people come in expectin' it to be fortified everywhere 'cept there, it turns out t'be the only place that _is_ fortified!"

' _What kind of mental gymnastics lead to that decision…!?'_

 _Fwi- Shi~ng!_ Suddenly, the ceiling was gone, vanishing in a flash of magic. Sendai looked up, and saw the roof of the attic. ' _Oh…?'_

 _whi~sh._ Marcus raised an arm, and suddenly, small, glass-like discs lit up with blue energy along the hardwood floor, floating up.

Sendai watched the crystalline discs get stored into the attic. Once they were high up enough, Marcus held up his other arm.

 _Fwi- Shi~ng._ The ceiling came back, plain and plaster.

"...You know." Sendai turned around in the plain, green-styled room, facing Marcus again. "You could make an offensive attack out of that."

...Marcus pursed his lips. "Perhaps…! I'd hafta use cheaper discs… and, y'know, they're _mines."_

"So?" Sendai snorted. "Think outside the box. Shoot 'em at people."

Making a hard grin, he nodded. "Y'know-... _sure,_ actually! Wait-... that _does_ gimme an idea. Oh _shit…!"_

Turning around, he brought a hand to his chin. "If I use a cheap quartz- an' outline the outside wit' some kinda cheap metal- or maybe a hard one- maybe~..."

...As he left, Sendai moved after him, since there was nothing of interest in the guest room here. ' _Nice place he's got here. Big upgrade from his shoebox lifestyle that I knew. Not that it seems like he even lives here.'_

 _Marcus learned Mine Square!_

 _Marcus learned Mana Pelleter._

 _Marcus learned Rudder Pelleter!_

Back on the ground floor, the girls were all seated on Marcus's mixed chairs and couches, reading books…

Mokou was still sitting peacefully inside the fireplace, her eyes closed. ' _Wonder how it feels to get flames up your ass.'_ Sendai had an impulsive thought, all of a sudden… ' _Oh, geez. Talk about blowing smoke up your own ass, huh. I gotta use that as a joke around her at some point.'_

Keine was simply biding her time on a couch, in the meanwhile. Some of the Dieter scry supplies from her house were now here, on the main coffee table.

Marcus was still moving, into the dining room, which was right and back from the living room, with no walls or doorways between the two. ' _Where's he going, now…'_

Moving into the decently-sized dining room, Sendai kept on his trail, until they took a left into the kitchen. ' _Oh, wait. Uh oh.'_

There was a mess, but it was a controlled mess, only along one corner of the room. The rest of the kitchen was actually ordered and pretty. '... _Huh. I wonder if this is how his brain works.'_

The messy corner obviously had alchemical reagents dotted about, some bottles of herbs and some potions of varying levels of completeness.

…Seeing Sendai follow him into the room, Marcus perked up. Before him, one of the reagent stones was glowing, held by two odd metal props. "Aah, dang. The azure ragnite's decayed."

Plainly, he picked up the plain, albeit glowing rock, and tossed it at the floor-

 _Boom._ It became a miniature, controlled, electrical-esque explosion of blue and white. Then, the stone was gone from reality, even the floor left unmarred. ' _What.'_

...Marcus smiled up at her. "Ragnite's damn cheap, but that decay rate's somethin'...!"

Behind him, she eyed some tints she'd never seen much of before. A deep crimson one, some discolored reddish ones, then the obvious suspects like health potions and ethers…

...Looking over his selection, he grinned at the deep crimson one. "Aw. This one here cures _magic blindness._ " He tapped on it...

"Oddly specific and very situational." Sendai criticized its existence.

He snorted. "Aw, yeah. Buncha mages can get real paranoid, thinkin' up how to fight other mages… they forget normal people can still kill 'em!"

...Sendai looked down at her own hands, for a moment. ' _Reminds me of two-three days ago.'_

As he continued, he looked over his more conventional selection. "I dunno why anyone'd buy a specific status cure over a panacea, but it happens. Some kinda specific anti-panacea spell pro'lly exists, which is why they're _antsy._ But honestly, who the hell'd keep that kinda shit memorized…"

' _I have yet to meet someone who disarms you of your health potions.'_ She smiled, coming up to the red potions he was looking over… _'Wouldn't doubt something like that is out there, however.'_

"Which of these… are normal health potions?" She wondered.

Marcus tapped on two of the little bottles. "Here ya are. Aw- how about a potion that keeps ya from getting wet…!?"

' _...He jokes about it, but that might be handy when it rains. That's still a very mundane potion...!'_

Next, he held up a very neutral, grey paste in a bottle. "...This one's _real weird._ I dunno if I could even explain it."

"Maybe for the best." She supposed aloud. "What was it supposed to _do."_

...He grinned wider. "Waddaya mean _was?_ I didn't kill it! Y'see, this one's like… it's not _non-elemental,_ but I think… _some texts_ have recorded bein' able to channel the essence of _nothingness._ "

"Does the potion do _nothing?"_ Sendai felt proud of this guess.

He shook his head. "...Y'see- now here's the _hard part._ It makes ya immune… to _nothing._ "

...She felt her lips curl. "What the hell's the point?"

"Y'see- normally, there _is_ none." He held up a finger… "But, if ya've ever seen _weaponized_ nothingness…"

She gave him a little nod. "I'm looking at it right now."

"Heheh! Aw…" He shook his head. "It _is_ a kinda _recent_ anomaly. Something in nature, I think."

"Nature does have a whole lot of nothing in it, sometimes." Sendai still didn't follow. "You've ever walked the very rims of the barrier? Spooky shit."

He rolled his eyes. "Aw, ask _Keine_ about it. I'm sure she's even got a recent book on it!"

' _...Well shit.'_ Sendai found herself outside means to counter that. ' _I still don't know what the hell he's talking about.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

" _Nnh."_ Back in the living room, Sendai sat next to Keine, letting out a huff… "So~... we got any plans, or are we just gonna be lying around here, for now?"

Keine slowly faced her, looking gentle. "...Well. We could do something, if you wanted. There _is_ some daytime left, after all."

...Sendai considered that. ' _Maybe we could go somewhere. I'm not sure what to do, though.'_

Idly, she cast her gaze around the nice-looking, comfy living room. ' _There was something weird and cool, about bumming out in some loner hangout we'd made in a clearing. Sitting in a big house like this, feels extremely luxurious by comparison…_ '

"We could kick that one guy's ass." Mokou wanted blood, still. She came up to everyone, while they stood or sat around the coffee table. "Why aren't we."

Keine snorted. "He'll still be there _later._ I mean-... I did get my own logistical problem settled. But, we should be relaxing today as well."

...At this, Mokou nodded a little. "Guess so. You have any better ideas, at least?"

Smiling, Keine made a suggestion. "We could read books?"

This suggestion didn't immediately impress Sendai. ' _I'm willing to do that to pass the time, but I don't feel like a freaking… group reading. No.'_

Mokou's stare was flat. "Not really in the mood."

"We should… at least go somewhere. Or, like… do something." Keine furrowed her brows. "Maybe walk around?"

"Karaoke!" Marcus exclaimed loud and clear.

...Sendai blinked. " _Karaoke."_

Almost hesitant, Keine began to shift from her seat… "I think that could be fun."

"Oh, god." Mokou looked worried, somehow. "Karaoke…?"

"Karaoke." Suddenly, Keine was more onboard with this idea, smiling wider. "That would actually be really fun, now that I think about it."

"...Sure." Against her better judgment, Sendai agreed readily enough…

"Wh- what do you mean, _sure._ " Mokou stared at Sendai in flat disbelief. "This'll either be embarrassing, or pathetic… or both."

Beaming, Marcus moved for the door. "That's the fun part! Ooh…!"

As he got closer to the door, he began to get more excited. "Man- Karaoke parlors in the village have these cool new microphone things we got from the kappa! S'actually really neat!"

' _On my mental list of time-killing activities, singing karaoke wasn't one of them… but, it doesn't hurt to try new things. Does the village really have a place so convenient, though? Usually that's a bigger group activity, for when a performing band is around and the singers are all on break… wait- Marcus said something about kappa tech. Uh oh.'_

Keine moved for the door once she was up, following behind Marcus.

...Sendai met Mokou's jaded stare. "I mean, it can't hurt."

"Actually…" As Marcus opened the door, Keine paused. "Girls. Would you like to come to-... _singing,_ with us?"

 _fwoosh._ Abruptly, all four girls put down the books they could barely read, and joined them. Sarah held her head high, smiling big. "We _love_ to sing!"

"Singing's fun!" Asakura held her arms up, giddy-like. "...Back when we were in separate rooms- we could hear each other when we sang! We couldn't do it- when mistress was there, but- we could do it any other time!"

"Oh…!" Keine was excited to hear this. "What did you sing…?"

...Asakura beamed. "Whatever came to mind! Sometimes we just yelled."

' _Huh.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode _-+-_

Like most notable commercial residences, the karaoke parlor was somewhere just in the alleys near main street. ' _This is an awkward place for it… but, I guess there's not a lot of real estate.'_

More specifically, it was awkwardly at a behind angle to the big medicine stall that was in the village square. ' _How fortunate Reisen must feel, working three doors down from the karaoke parlor.'_

"Why must air be _cold._ " Kumiyo held herself, smiling pitifully. "I wish fire was everywhere…"

Mokou snorted. "No, you really don't."

 _Crea~k._ Plainly, they pushed ahead into the very tiny karaoke parlor as a family unit. The main room was a small area with a counter, and the doors behind seemed to separate into three different rooms…

None of the doors were for the clerk girl who manned the counter, which even lacked proper exits. "Hello~." She looked plain and unassuming. "Welcome to Grand Karaoke!" She was also kind of fluffy.

' _...It's anything but grand!'_ Sendai gave her a pitying smile.

"Big place ya got here." Marcus hit the clerk right in the building size. "How much fer a room…!?"

She seemed entirely unfazed. "Four hundred yen, per thirty minu~tes. Are, um, you all together?"

"Mhm." Keine nodded, looking happy. "We're having a day party."

...Sendai decided to fork up the cash this time, seeing as she had two hundred thousand yen. ' _Yeah, that's cheap now…'_

 _Cli- clack._ When she sat down the yen, the brown-haired girl handed her the keys. "This one's for room three…"

"Thanks." With that, Sendai checked the rooms for their numbers. Three was on the very right.

 _Click._ It took a moment, but Keine shut the door to the room once everyone was inside.

' _We've got… a jukebox in here, a tiny window, a couch, and a…'_

The microphone and speaker system really caught her attention. ' _What the hell's this stuff?'_

She also didn't really recognize the jukebox type, either. ' _...What a bright screen!_ _Is this new technology?'_

"...I came by here myself earlier!" Marcus looked over the shiny jukebox… "Actually helped hook up the electric mana doodads, too. Wit' some _kappa help_ , 'cause accurate outsider tech voltage an' shit is uu~h, _not ideal_ to figure out wit' trial and error."

' _Huh.'_ Advanced electrical concepts weren't really her forte at all. ' _Sounds good, I guess. I was about to go 'you came here alone?', but working a job's a different story entirely. Phooie.'_

"How's this work, then…?" She leaned over the jukebox to get a better look at it. "I see a screen, some buttons…"

 _Bo- bo~ng._ Marcus patted the top of it. "This baby can fit twelve thousand high quality ripped outsider songs in it!"

"...Wow." She wasn't sure what that kind of scale meant really, so she was vague about it.

"Songs!" Sarah insisted, beaming amidst her sisters.

"When do we start singing…?" Uni-chan was confused.

Kumiyo began singing. " _Hello~, my sisters!"_

"Ho- hold on…!" Mokou stopped her, before she could keep going. "We didn't even pick a song yet, you chucklefucks…!"

...Seated on the soft red couch nearby, Keine had her lips pursed innocently. Seeing her, Sendai decided to heckle her…

"Now that I think about it… I don't think I ever heard you sing." She began to smirk. "At least, not seriously."

Pouting at her on a delay, Keine let out a huff. "I'm no performer, you know."

"Y'talk everyday in front of a class…" Marcus helped with the heckling, looking over. "Mean ta tell me that ain't stretchin' yer vocal cords?"

"It's sure not practicing music, if that's what you're saying…!" Grinning, she shook her head back… "In fact, I'd like to hear _you_ try singing."

"If we're going to be _singing,_ " Mokou strolled up towards the jukebox. "We're _all gonna suffer._ Miko, girls, we're _all gonna sing._ "

"What, why." Sendai was intimidated, all of a sudden. "Wh- that's _six people._ "

"So?" Grinning, Mokou began pressing buttons. "Yo, Kirisame- how many players does this support at once?"

"Twenty four!" Marcus announced proudly, as he moved to sit down. "...Even more if ya link up more machines!"

" _Why."_ Sendai was baffled. "I thought these machines would eliminate the need for groups that big…!"

...His grin began to widen, but he didn't say anything. ' _Marc!'_

"How'd you get us here, anyway..." Sendai was suddenly apprehensive of the jukebox... "Keine- why'd you let him drag us here?"

...Making a cute face, she held her hands before her mouth, so she could call out with slightly more volume. " _Go~, Tsukiko~."_

' _Oh my god…'_

At this point, Sendai decided to stop delaying the inevitable. ' _Oh well. Last time I sang, it was nursery rhymes for Reimu. Life is so weird.'_

 _Beep!_ Mokou pressed the box one last time. "Alright… miko- get your big hands on a mic, and get ready t'sing. Y'see that screen?" She pointed above where Keine and Marcus sat. "That's where the lyrics'll be."

"...How do _you_ know this." Sendai wondered.

"Shut up." Mokou had her secrets. "Song's starting in thirty seconds." Quickly, she began passing out microphones to the befuddled color girls...

' _What's a mic…'_ Reading Mokou's movements, Sendai moved for one of the many black things on the machine's side. ' _This is going to be such a huge fucking mess.'_

-+- _JUDGEMENT -+-_

Immediately, a flourish of rock began to play from the speakers around the room, filling it with noise. ' _What-... is this!'_ Sendai felt herself fluff up, microphone held up.

 _Clap, clap._ Marcus gave a short clap before she even began singing. "Go, Tsukiko~."

' _I'm right here, you lunatic.'_ She was literally just on the other side of the table, since the room was so small.

Mokou met Sendai's gaze, speaking so quiet only her lips could be read. "You kick off first verse."

' _Why me..!?'_

"Woah…!" Kumiyo was overwhelmed, immediately. "So _loud!"_

Asakura spoke into the microphone, talking over some of the instrumental. "Oo- _ooh…!_ This makes us really loud!"

" _Hello sisters!"_ Sarah boomed into the microphone, shaking Sendai.

' _Oh shit- here we go…!'_

Sendai began attempting to sing the first verse. Uni-chan immediately joined her, merely reading the lyrics instead of singing with her. "I'm a defective stray do~g…"

' _We did it.'_ Sendai let her brows raise at that first line. ' _We hit the bottom…!'_

"That's broken off, from, the rails!" This line caught Sendai's interest more, however.

She held her microphone up higher. "But I won't wag my damn tail… like nothi~ng!"

"Um…" Uni-chan had her brows raised, looking between Sendai and the lyrics.

The next lyrics came out slowly, Sendai enunciating them loudly. "I have failed… to be a yes-ma~n."

"Oo- ooh…!" Asakura blinked, eyes wide as she stuttered into the microphone.

" _Oo~h, woo~h, oo~h!"_ Mokou suddenly yelled the accompaniment, blushing. "Oo~h, woo~h-"

She and Sarah sang the next lyric together, since it was in English. " _We 'ah bahd boys!"_

"Left beh~ind by the delinque~nts," Sendai adjusted her posture, grip on the microphone tightening. "...is a 'no', giving name to their _ju-sti-su!"_ The last word was in English.

Sendai, Mokou, Sarah and Uni-chan all yelled in English at once. " _Wow, breakin' za la~w! Breakin' ze wo~rld!"_

"Destroy i~t!" Sendai began getting into it, grinning at the lyrics.

She and Mokou sang together again. "We won't be bound by the Six Co~des!"

Both jumping back, Mokou and Sendai pressed their backs against one another's. "We're part of an uprising!"

Beaming, Sendai held an arm up. "Raised, clenched fists make…" She drew her thumb across her neck, at the lyrics screen. "Our _Jud-ge-me~nt!"_

-+- _JUDGEMENT -+-_

Forgetting where she was, Sendai let herself re-imagine the situation in her mind's eye.

Mokou stood shoulder-to-shoulder with her, as they stared out into the forest clearing around them, atop a stage.

"I don't even know lo~ve…" She began the next verse, letting Sendai relax. "I'm a defective, stray do~g."

In this imaginary space, Mokou's outfit was black, her anti-fire talismans now stickers of flames. Sendai's cloth apron and hakama were now black, a cheesy, bright flame decal on the front of her own outfit.

"But they can't fucking feed and _tame me~..."_ Mokou glared ahead at the clearing. "With money, or a social sta~nding."

A brief instrumental solo kicked in. Standing around them, Asakura beamed, her hair long, messy and blue, as she strummed her guitar. Kumiyo was playing on the opposite side of the stage, her golden yellow hair flowing.

Sarah's elegant, crimson locks flowed as she stood with her arms folded, behind Sendai and Mokou. Uni-chan had an absolute grin, as she stood to Sarah's back.

Slowly, the music lowered, letting Mokou sing through the calm. "Hurting like hell…"

Everyone hunched down, while Mokou stood tall. "Hurting like _hell…"_

"Even if I end up losing everything…" Mokou began to beam brilliantly, as the rock built back up. "...I can't be _tainte~d!"_

"A~nd, that'll bri~ng…" Mokou glared ahead, eyes wide.

" _Jus-ti-su!"_ Everyone yelled. " _Jus-ti-su!"_

" _Wow, breakin' ze la~w!"_ Six voices united, billowing across the forest clearing. " _Breakin' ze wo~rld!"_

"Destroy i~t!" Sendai yelled, now back to back with Mokou, as they faced the clearing side-first.

" _Destroy i~t!"_ The other girls united, yelling with her.

Mokou pumped her arm to the sky. "Cut apart the _ten-der-ness!"_

"We won't warm up to the big sho~ts!" She and Sendai sang. "We're part of an _uprisi~ng!"_

Sarah, Asakura, Uni-chan and Kumiyo moved, positioning themselves behind the two.

"Raise you~r, clenched fists…" Sendai brought her free fist up again, ready to draw it across her own neck. "It is _us…"_

"Yeah-" Whole body tense, Sendai beamed ahead, facing forward. Mokou shifted behind her, standing against her back and facing away from the clearing. An aura of white poured from her, akin to her hair.

Asakura, Sarah, Kumiyo and Uni-chan all formed a diamond above Sendai, their bodies glowing azure, amethyst, amber and emerald respectively.

"-we're the ones who'll make-..."

Everyone glared ahead. "A _jud-ge-ment!"_

" _Jud-ge-ment!"_

Mokou's white aura flared behind Sendai, making it look like it was Sendai's.

The six girls were a pinnacle of potential, overwhelming light and power which stood like a shrine amidst the land, inspiring fear and awe.

' _Hell yea~h!'_

-+- _JUDGEMENT -+-_

Sendai stood in the cramped karaoke room, which was now a comfortable warmth compared to a few minutes ago. The music was over.

She looked over at Asakura and Kumiyo, at her left and right. The black-haired women held their microphones upside down, looking really pumped. "Yeah, yeah…!"

"Break the la~w!" Sarah jogged in place to their right, awkwardly behind Sendai and Mokou.

" _Jud-ge-ment!"_ Uni-chan exclaimed again. " _Jud-ge-ment!"_

...Mokou and Sendai had their arms folded, standing back to back with one another. ' _That-... was way more fun than I imagined.'_

On the couch before them, Keine and Marcus simply stared up with small, bewildered smiles, and raised brows.

Sendai let out a breath. ' _We-... really got into that, huh.'_

"...A- aah." Keine had nothing to say, at first.

Suddenly, a cute little drum roll came loudly from behind them. ' _Wh- woah.'_

"Ooh! Let's see yer score…!" Getting up, Marcus rolled his fists together. "Ya can see it- oh!" He noticed it was up where the lyrics screen was.

 _patat._ The drum roll stopped. The score was ninety-seven, and the screen displayed the rank 'Karaoke Kappa', and a blue-haired girl in green clothing winked at them on repeat.

' _...Huh.'_ Sendai blinked. ' _I guess we got a good score.'_

"How'd ya get _ninety seven…!?"_ He staggered back from the board… "Three points more, and ya woulda been a _Karaoke Maiden!"_

"I don't think we need to go that far." Sendai began to grin. "...But, that-... was somehow a lot of fun."

"Ye- yeah…" Mokou awkwardly scratched her own cheek. "Mmh. It- wasn't bad, I guess."

"...You both got more into it than I thought you would." Keine had to admit. "But, that was pretty cool."

Mokou looked away. "Was it, now..."

' _Today's had a bunch of fun experiences, so far. I'm really glad we just decided to take today. Maybe we can work on those ten thousand bottles of beer Reisen bought on impulse. Hopefully some of it's halfway decent.'_

Getting up, Marcus grinned as he moved for the industry-grade jukebox. "Lemme set up the next song! Who wants ta sing next- you girls?"

"That would be nice…!" Sarah looked eager. "I think we'll have the hang of it, sort of! And- even if not, it should be fun. Mistre- ah-... her and her," she gestured to Sendai and Mokou vaguely, "they were so strong!"

"Strong, ya say?" Marcus shuffled past them, to get at the jukebox. "There's other words fer bein' impressed, y'know. Like 'cool'! Or-..."

"We- well, yes…" Sarah acknowledged, becoming slightly more awkward. "I just- wanted to express-... how powerful, I thought they were."

' _These girls…'_ Sendai had a small smile. ' _They've got some distance to go. Come to think of it, if they keep thinking like this, being Akyuu's maids would probably click with them really easily. Maybe that was Keine's idea after all.'_

"Well, yer not exactly wrong!" Grinning, he began to work the blue, luminescent jukebox screen. "Let's see he~re. I've spent too much time starin' at this darn blue screen, when I was workin' on it…"

' _Wonder what song they could even possibly sing. One of them can read English, and one of them can read but not understand… and the other can only partially read.'_

"...Fer all a' you _blind and illiterate_ people out there, there _is_ a voice-over function!" Marcus faced everyone, as he informed them of this feature. "Was meant fer _kids,_ but y'know…!"

"There are kids among us." Sendai justified it, as she strolled towards the couch. "...It might help them learn, or something."

"That-... should _probably_ be on." Asakura intuited what he meant. "This seems hard enough, without being able to _read…_ "

...When Mokou and Sendai sat around Keine, she started to look around. "Um…" The manner she chose to do so was very fluffy…

This caught Sendai's attention quickly, so she slowly panned to face Keine.

"I should do something to support them." Keine decided. "But- I don't want to sing _for_ them."

Stepping back from the karaoke jukebox machine, Marcus looked for his seat, only to find that the girls took over the couch. "...Ya _could_ just interject, an' stuff! Me an' the kappa had some fun wit' that! Y'see- the machine's able ta separate everyone's voices, so ya can't even bias the score, if that was a worry."

"...Interject?" Keine smiled awkwardly. "Isn't that-... kind of weird?"

Marcus snorted, bringing his hands together. "Well, yes! That's almost the point! An' don't let me hearin' you pussy out now, Mokou and Tsukiko here busted their balls!"

' _I have a ballbuster.'_ Sendai suddenly remembered.

"You know what." Mokou was in a good mood, now. "Let's _all_ interject. That'll go well."

"At that rate, the girls couldn't even hear themselves _sing._ No~." Keine shut down that idea. "Loo- look, _I'll_ -... interject, I guess."

"...We should do that in the future, though." Mokou still wanted a massive screaming karaoke contest. "It's a completely retarded idea, which is why it's also a good one."

"Also, music starts in like thirty seconds!" Marcus suddenly announced. "Ya better get ready!"

"Oo- oh!" Sarah stood in the center now. Asakura was to her left, while Kumiyo and Uni-chan stood to her right. "Um…"

Keine sat on the edge of her couch cushion, while Marcus moved to sit on one of the couch's arms. ' _Why would you interject during a song, anyway…'_

"Are we all ready?" Sarah looked between all her friends…

"As we'll ever be!" Kumiyo had her microphone held up. "But- I can't read…!"

"Effectively-... well, none of us can read well enough." Asakura smiled over at her. "Sing along with the new voice that comes up! I think that's what'll happen!"

"At least I don't have to read it like I'm dead." Uni-chan was aware of how she couldn't put inflection onto words the first time around. "Nnh."

' _...Now that I think about it, Uni-chan could probably sing anyway, if she actually knew the inflection of things, and didn't just drone out whatever she read.'_

-+- _So Much More! -+-_

The music bloomed into existence, loud and cheerful. ' _Woah…'_ Sendai was instantly taken aback by the different genre. ' _What kinda genre is this? I've never heard anything like this before…'_

...While the girls ahead looked cute and sheepish, Keine did the cute thing where she held her hands up to her face, and called out between them. " _Go~... gi~rls!"_

At her gentle encouragement, the girls began idly doing half-hearted dances, before anything really began to happen. ' _It worked a little, I think...'_

" _Fia~!"_ Keine began to yell with the beginning instrumental beats. " _Fire! Fira! Fia~! Fire! Go, go~!"_

' _Holy shit.'_ Sendai suppressed grinning too much at her… ' _Cool down, Keine…!'_

Then, after she stopped, the lyrics came. A girl sang through the speakers, albeit quieter than the instruments, to give the girls pronunciation to work with.

"Those dreams, those aspirations…" The vocals began. At first, the girls perked up, barely muttering in the wake of the stereos. "No more than scribbles, almost faded awa~y…"

 _Clap! Clap!_ Keine clapped along loudly to the music's beats. "Let's go- _girls!"_

"Is this what you want? Is this who you are?" Looking more rambunctious, the girls became louder. Uni-chan and Asakura almost kept up with the vocalist on the speaker, since they could somewhat read, while the other two slightly lagged behind. "I a~sked, the grumpy mirror so many times…"

"Gotta get ove~r, tho~se... da~ys that make me sa~d!" They all began to smile, growing more gentle-looking as the lyrics continued.

"Days that make me sa~d!" Keine emphasized.

Beaming, the girls held their microphones closer. "The flowe~r of my drea~ms… needs a lo~t, of hope to bloom!"

" _Let's go~!"_ Keine shot out of her seat.

' _Holy shit, Keine!'_

-+- _So Much More! | Sarah's Perspective -+-_

"Are you ready? _Go!"_ Sarah sang the English lyric before anyone else could. "Just start _running!"_

She and her sisters stood unafraid, before the sea of girls with colorful hair like theirs. Keine was there in the audience, doing air-traffic control signals for some dubious but assuredly intelligent reason. ' _She's so smart!'_

"Come on! _Start!_ On the do-u-ble!" The girls, their hair all the color of their eyes, stood together side-by-side on stage.

"Keep your chin _up!_ Don't look _back!"_ Dancing in sync, their long hair fluffed up around them, as they beamed at the audience of girls, and Keine.

"I'll shine even more tomorrow!"

All smiles, they spun in sync. "It's up to me, to _grab_ my future! Press the _start button_ right away!"

Stopping, they began to flourish their arms into the air.

"I can be so much, so much _mo~re!"_

" _La la, lala…!"_ The audience- and _Keine-_ began to amateurishly sing along with the instrumental. "La- lalalalala! La la, lala! La- lalalalala!"

"Three- two- one- _go!"_ Keine called to the audience. "Aaa~h…! _Yeah!"_ She even leapt in place. "Ow!" She bumped her knee on something invisible…

' _I never knew singing could be so much fun!'_ It wasn't just the act of singing, but the meaning behind it, for Sarah. ' _It's like when me and my sisters yelled at each other, but it actually sounds good!'_

Quickly, the music built back up after the brief intermission. Bouncing with energy, the girls cast their arms ahead together.

"Giving up? Excuses? Let me _start_ ov-er!" They propped their arms on their hips, staring the audience down. "Too young to mull over- what I did, or didn't do!"

"Life is _full-_ " They all leapt, "of ups and downs! I can retry as many times, as it takes!"

Sarah felt elated. ' _I wanna be this amazing all the time…!'_

"Wha~teve~r, the drea~m is… it's not impossible!"

"I~, gotta believe…" They all came together, leaning towards one another. "I can be so, so much _more!"_

They thrust their arms out, their hands overlaying one another. Azure, amethyst, amber and green combined, forming a rainbow that conjoined and became white.

During the musical outtro, they broke away, dancing together in no particular order, spinning around, jumping, or bouncing back and forth.

" _Yea~h!"_ Keine yelled out during the last of the parting instrumental. " _You did i~t!"_

 _Clack!_ All stopping at once, their shoes clicked on the ground, and they beamed out at the audience, and Keine, hyped up and raring to go.

' _...There- really is, so much more!'_

-+- _So Much More! | Tsukiko's Perspective -+-_

...Sendai was ducking a little, so that Keine didn't boop her while she was doing air traffic control signals.

Mokou had an expression. She didn't really know what to think, so it was simply an expression...

' _Is this what we were like.'_ Sendai felt her cheeks redden, a little. ' _...I mean, whatever, but wow.'_

...Keine stopped signalling the room's limited air space, and felt at her knee, where she bumped it on the coffee table. "Eh- eheh…" Her face was also slightly red.

"Now I wanna do everyone interjecting at once even more." Mokou began to grin. "We can ram our arms into each other passive aggressively. Keine- what the hell was that. You signalling space shuttles, or something?"

' _I know we got hyped too, but holy shit.'_

"Oh, hush." Keine smirked back at her. "No better than you two, acting like you both came straight out of an action movie."

' _An action what.'_ Sendai had not yet experienced the world of film. ' _Move? Move-... e? E.'_

"E." Sendai said.

...Keine gave her a ginger look, and Sendai wordlessly stared back.

"Singing-... is awesome!" Sarah leapt again, while her sisters kept dancing to the sound of silence. "...There's so much stuff to _do~!"_

' _Those girls are hyped.'_ Sendai began to smile. ' _Taking today to relax has been a good idea, after all.'_

"...Mmm~." Mokou leaned back, stretching a little. "So~... we goin' for one more, or are we done here…?"

...Marcus had his lips pursed. " _Hmm._ "

"No." Sendai denied him. "...As in- uh, we could probably afford moving on."

...He began to grin. "Aw! When we get back, we could play _board games!"_

' _Uh oh.'_

"Does your house have any real food, Marcus?" Keine wondered. "...If it doesn't, I might have to pop back by my own house, for food. I can circumvent the visual scrys outside the house, because there's a teleporter gate between a room on the upper level, and the school."

' _...Wait- what.'_ This was news to Sendai. ' _...I mean, it's not a long walking distance, but you do have to go around that wall. I guess it's good she only uses a passage like that sparingly.'_

"We _could_ just get takoyaki." Mokou supposed. "...In-village stuff, at least. I could get my lamprey cart's stock, but… that's still spending money in the end, isn't it."

' _...She runs a lamprey cart? Huh.'_ Sendai didn't think she had a job… ' _When?'_

"I can get a few things, it's no big deal." Keine waved them off. "...Tsukiko, you could probably go with me, when I go. I'm always sort of antsy, leaving the house alone, even if I have a simple warning scry on it myself."

"Ah. Sure thing." Sendai nodded.

She stood up, still holding the microphone she was left with after her song.

' _I wonder…'_ Sendai stared back down at her microphone.

Channeling her mana, she felt a sudden rush. She was getting ready to cast again, her body becoming almost dizzy for a moment as she engaged all of her mana. The holy and dark magic sputtered from her soul-

" _Audio Pulse!"_ She let go of the microphone on instinct.

It floated up into the air before her, glowing white, then blue, then purple…

 _boomp._ A purple pulse came from it, spreading through the entire room. ' _Oh?'_

 _Crea- creak._ The pulse made Mokou bounce on the couch, as Marcus got off of it. "Aa- oh…"

 _boo- boomp!_ Two blue waves came from the microphone, traveling along the floor.

 _Cra- creak!_ This time, it pulled Mokou down into the couch as it expanded. "What- the fuck…" Slowly, she pushed herself up from the cushion, brows raised...

 _BOOMP!_ The microphone turned white, another one last shockwave spreading across the room's floor.

 _CREAK!_ Mokou was ejected from the couch. " _Hw- woa-"_

 _Bam!_ Her head hit the ceiling, denting the wood.

 _Creak._ When she landed splayed out on the couch, Sendai whipped around to face her gingerly. ' _Woah. What happened to her…?'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Mokou now had a fluffy bandage on her forehead. Keine had her arms on her own hips. "You could've broken the room, Tsukiko. Be glad they didn't notice the dent."

' _...I don't feel as tired as usual, but… ugh.'_ Using item crashes at all made Sendai lazy. ' _Maybe board games will be a good idea, after all.'_

They were now all outside, on their way back to Keine's place. The Human Village had a warm tint to it, the sun later in the day's sky, but it was still noon-ish, as a whole.

"We need to do that again!" Uni-chan beamed at everyone, running ahead a little. "Singing is so much _cooler now!"_

"I wanna be strong like Tsukiko…!"

"We need a box like that at one of the houses… we could sing _all the time!"_

"Ooh…!"

...Smiling, Keine marched ahead with Marcus, taking in the village at mid-day.

Gaining a little smile, he turned to her. "Back ta the grind tomorrow, ah?"

...Keine gave him a blunt smile back. "Shouldn't you have been working on the weekend, as it is?"

He snorted. "Y'say that like I ain't already filthy rich! And, considerin' the _re-financin'_ that's gonna be goin' on 'cause of the shit goin' down wit' the village underground, I'm bettin' profits'll be on the up as a whole!"

' _...Today's been fun.'_ Sendai reflected on the day, so far. ' _We ate, got books, and I sang a dumb song. Oh- Marisa hit me, and I hit her back. Then, I one-upped her by visiting her room and giving her dad a momento to give to her. Good stuff today.'_

As for how she'd eventually approach her daughter, she wasn't sure. ' _...I've really got to get my shit together and start training, or something. My movements are still slower than they should be, and I'm not as numb to pain as I once was. My skirmish with Marisa showed that I came a long way in just a few days, though.'_

"Where's that Dieter guy hiding?" Despite the fun and games, Mokou was still hungry for blood. "...Not that we'll lynch him today, I mean. Outta curiosity."

...After a moment, Marcus faced back to her. "Aah. He's outta town, a little ways, actually. Shelled up wit' his last assets. He had some offshore saved up, just fer a moment like this. That, and Reimu's actually been in town today, so he's been a little scared a' pokin' his head out. Say what'cha will 'bout her, Reimu stomps problems flat."

' _Guess tomorrow really will be the busy day.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

-+- Chapter 8-3 Marker -+-

 _Crea~k._ The door to Marcus's home swung open, and he meandered on inside. Mokou and Keine followed, then the four girls, then Sendai. ' _We really have become a family unit, goddamn.'_

 _Click!_ Instantly, magi-lights turned on around the house. The color girls rambled back up to the fire, holding their hands out before the comfy, luminescent warmth.

"Lemme dig out that ol' Monopoly board!" Marcus grinned, rubbing his hands together as he meandered off…

' _Oh, god.'_ Sendai didn't want to play Monopoly, though. ' _Never again. That game always bores the shit out of me.'_

"Nnh." Mokou looked offset, too.

...Looking gentle, Sendai moved for the couches. There were two chairs along the rightmost wall, a couch along the front wall, and one more couch standing between the front door and the coffee table.

 _Creak._ Sendai took the midst of the front wall's couch. Warm light came in through the window, slowly baking her.

Keine and Mokou moved up alongside her, taking spots on the warm couch. The ever-burning hellstone fireplace kept the home comfortable, its atmosphere of heat well-maintained by months of being left on its own.

Sendai saw where the heat began to warp the wall above the fireplace. ' _Why, Marc, why. Provided, you can probably just cheat and do carpentry with magic. Fucking magic.'_

...The girls moved to hog the three seats on the leftmost couch together, despite there being four of them.

"Actually-..." Keine perked up. "This would be a good time to teach some basic math."

"Basic ma~th." Mokou expressed her disdain… "Can we not."

...Keine gave her and Sendai some knowing smiles. "Well. You and Tsukiko could play _cards_ , or something."

Sendai pondered on her options. "...I might read a book."

"I wanna sit in the fire." Mokou wanted to loaf out. "You do whatever."

' _...Well, cool.'_ That left Sendai to her own devices. ' _Guess I can do that reading. It'll be more fun hearing the girls get destroyed in Monopoly, than actually playing it. I'd rather something like, I don't know, Shogi, or that dummied down Chess thing that Marcus knows about.'_

 _fwoom._ In the distance, Mokou plopped down into the fire again, closing her eyes and letting the warmth take her. "Mmh…"

' _I brought my books here, right? Uuh…'_ She got up, and looked over the table. ' _Ah, yeah. The girls accidentally brought my stuff over here, too. I should start with that youkai book, just because I doubt I'm going to be able to focus heavily soon, and-... maybe something written by an oni won't require much focus.'_

'... _Or, maybe it'll require more focus.'_

Reaching down, she picked up the dark purple text with a vague spine-

"Ow." She cut her finger on the floral design along the first third of it. "Fuck."

' _Stupid-... flower thing.'_

Moving for a nearby, fluffy green chair, Sendai wiped some of her finger's blood off on her hakama, and began to fold the text open.

' _Guess the oni wouldn't care about that sharp ass design the same way I do, but goddamn it. If I was too happy with rubbing it, I'd shave a whole layer off my finger. This thing'll turn to a youkai someday, with how many times I'm gonna nick myself on it.'_

 _Fwi- fwish._ She flicked the cover open. The front page immediately displayed the title. ' _Fight and drink guide. That's… straight forward.'_

The page directly after that was the index. ' _...Huh. No pages are actually labeled with page numbers, this is just... a guide to when sections appear vaguely chronologically. It's… a way of doing it.'_

First was fighting, then drinking. There was even a label for when apparently empty pages began, the author having not been willing to rend extra unused pages from the copy. ' _How'd they even make this? I kinda wanna make a crappy D.I.Y. book. What would I write, though? My life? That'd… hmm. It might be an action book, but when it's not, it'd be kinda boring, I'd guess.'_

She flipped forward into the 'fight' section, and began reading.

...Looking up for a moment, she realized the room's lights were strategically oriented above the chairs, so as to cast light onto text. ' _Marc, you nerd.'_

The text's sentences were brief. ' _Fighting is strength. Strength is fighting. To fight, use strength. To use strength, fight.'_

Smiling, she looked away for a moment. ' _You know, this thing is… pretty to the point. Is everything going to be a tiny or fragmented sentence? There's something admirable, yet shortsighted, about that…'_

The next passage read smoothly.

' _I see through sword and fist._

 _Deceit may lie in technique, yet… it is through such that we grow._

 _Dull of fist and mind render truth and ease, yet strip greater power._

 _Think on that. Truly._

 _Discomfort is my devotion to the sword. Sharper, greater power, and progress._

 _Dishonest?'_

The passages were easy to digest, if a little jarring for how much page there was to work with being wasted. ' _This feels like it was written by someone of few words.'_

Each kanji was big, bold and wasteful, simplified yet obvious in intent; or, at least, general intent. It was all really true to her expectations and predictions, aside from its general consistency. Each glyph was sloppy in almost the same way, a strange modicum of discipline prevailing.

' _This is vague.'_ Sendai was finding it hard to draw more than appreciable brutality from the text. ' _Straightforward and resolute, but…'_

She turned the page. ' _Hmm…?'_ Before reading the page, she scanned it. ' _Hmm.'_

' _Fists do not need recount. Tales and use are known, wide and far. It is not how they are used, but why they are used._

 _The sword is different. To swing is not to slice. To thrust is not to cleave. To receive is not to divert._

 _General knowledge, of the sword, is power. More knowledge, more power. Such, is the diversion of deceit. Power may be used like the fist._

 _Magic is not compared to the sword. The knowledge is different. What they are, different. A sword is physical, magic not._

 _Sword knowledge may be stored not only in mind, but body. Akin to a simple sleight, but removed in distinction and boldness.'_

As a whole, it seemed awfully defensive of swordsmanship being an honest practice. ' _I guess oni would be opposed to anything that isn't a fist or a club. Anything not widely understood, probably. I'm sure skillful sword use might look like cheating to at least some of them.'_

Another page was folded by. Sendai stared intently at the next two pages under it. ' _Something's… strange? It might just be the energies the book was exposed to. God knows what kind of materials it was stored around, miles underground…'_

Out of curiosity, she flipped another page, and the feeling intensified. ' _What is this? It better not have some kinda dumb trap in it.'_

Fli- fli- flick. She turned a few more pages in-

 _Fwa~sh._ From the center of the book, a purple light shone out. ' _Woah…?'_

"Using our innate natures, we may naturally apply force to our practice." Suddenly, she was able to hear a female voice, as if it came from the book.

She looked around, brows furrowed. ' _Can- anyone else hear that?'_ ...No one seemed to react, if they could.

"This technique resembles magical force. Do not be discouraged. It is a natural reaction, through our body's force. Through sheer strength, force is commanded. Now-"

 _FWASH!_ The light flashed white, and expanded, blinding Sendai. ' _Ah…!'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode _-+-_

When the light faded, Sendai found herself somewhere darker. ' _What… the fuck…?'_

She tried to move, but felt no response. ' _Re- really, what-'_

"Now…"

Her eyes- and this body she looked through- were not her own. Around her, Hell's dim, amber sky was visible, a constant glow permeating down on the barren scape of rock and char.

Whoever she was embodying too had red-white clothing. ' _Who… is this? What exactly is going on here?'_

This woman stared down at the katana she held, the dark steel glimmering with a blue, otherworldly light.

She whipped forward, sliding into a run. Her sandals stomped with greater force than Sendai could ever remember applying. ' _Ah…!?'_

In the darkness ahead, there was a large, brown boulder, carved into an almost appealing dough shape.

 _KRA~CK!_ She swung her cobalt-steel blade into it. This incision cleaved down the midst, rawly rending rock, chips flying off and brushing past her form.

 _KRO- KRACK!_ She pulled her blade back, then thrusted. It was almost ironic, how the blade guard and her hand met the crumpling rock exterior, doing more impact and visible damage than the actual blade's incision.

 _KROOM._ Pulling the blade up and out of the rock, serrating stone and compromising its entire front face, she tensed her arm. She channeled what felt vaguely like mana up the sword, before flinging it back down akin to a club-

 _BAM- Fwoa~sh!_ Her blade came down, and sent a black, purple wave out. This magic rolled over the recoiling rock, encapsulating all of it, then-

 _KRA- KROO- BOOM- BAM- BOOM!_ All of it was crushed into the ground below in an instant, the magic pulling every grain down, flattening it against the hard plain below. The big, plate-like boulder the oni stood upon rumbled for a second or two after, the force stronger than perceptible, especially through the woman's dulled senses.

...The oni gave a nod, and Sendai caught a brief glimpse of the red horn that protruded from what seemed like her own forehead. "I think… that will do."

Then, Sendai got dizzy. ' _Wh- hey- ah-'_

 _Sendai obtained Gravity Flash._

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

 _Fwam._ Sendai leaned back in her seat, as if recoiling from a shot she took from the book. ' _Oof. What the hell just happened...'_

...Keine and Marcus quickly turned to her, while the latter sat up a Monopoly board. The girls with the colorful eyes gave her ginger stares...

"Tsukiko…?" Worried, Keine began moving to stand. "Are- you okay?"

"Nn-... yeah." Taking a normal seating posture again, Sendai felt at her own head a little-

' _its new'_ She felt her head pulse, unevenly, as if hit by a sudden, hard headache. ' _i see it'_

' _What- fuck off…'_ Quickly, the headache began to recede. ' _...Ah. It fucked off.'_ She hadn't expected whatever was happening to go that easily. ' _That's the same sort of thing I hear, when I use Fantasy Heaven. What made it crawl out of the hole it died in? I didn't ask for it, that time. I thought I was over that bullshit.'_

"Tsukiko?" Keine had her brows raised. "Are you _sure_ , you're alright?"

"...Yeah." Sendai nodded at her, smiling. "Book was wilder than I expected."

"Looked like it had a real kick ta it!" Marcus grinned. "...Which is interestin', 'cause I can't even feel anything comin' off it."

' _...What the fuck, then.'_ Sendai distinctly remembered something lashing out from it, into her face. ' _What even was that whole exchange.'_

Slowly, the girls continued to look down at the colorful play money, and the pieces. Keine let herself relax, and Marcus held up a finger. "No eatin' the pieces, now…! They don't do nothin' other than get stuck in ya!"

...Closing the book, Sendai let her brows raise, checking over herself. ' _What even happened? I kind of want to know…! It's a little weird!'_

' _I don't feel different, at least. I don't really want to slip into Fantasy Heaven just so the others can check my differences. Provided-... Marcus and Keine have already seen me like that, Marcus moreso. I probably wouldn't do anything weird, but even still-... let's not.'_

Standing from the Monopoly board at the table, Marcus smiled at Sendai. "Alright! An' 'fore we start the game, let's give you a once-over so we make sure the book didn't give ya super dick-suckin' disease!"

"You totally taught your daughter what the word 'dick' meant, didn't you." Sendai compared his phrase to how Marisa spoke three weeks ago.

His grin intensified. "I don't see what that has ta _do wit' anythin', Tsukiko…!"_

Moving around her side, he propped his arms onto his own hips. "Anyway! I felt a big surge a' dark shit in ya, so I'm thinkin' ya should do yer edgy switchy-flippy transformation thing. Fantasy Hell or whatever ya called it."

"Fa- Fantasy Heaven…" Sendai gave him a flat look. "And- I already just used it _yesterday._ I don't feel like it'd be a good idea."

"Ah, nonsense. Ya got nothin' ta go apeshit on." Marcus waved off her concern. "An' maybe it'll wanna play Monopoly!"

...Sendai stood, letting out a breath. "Well-... only for a few moments. Just so you can check for problems."

Moving into the room's midst, she drew a yin yang orb from one sleeve, and held it forward. ' _Alright…'_

She felt her body's energy begin to kick up, at her own will. " _Fantasy Heaven!"_ Arching her limbs back, she suspended centimeters off the floor, an aura of holy light flaring across her body.

 _fwoa~m._ The inky, bubbling black rocketed out, running over her arms from the orb, and along her chest, from her core. ' _Hope this goes well…'_

Unsure, she let her eyes close, as she waited for the dark energy to take her.

' _dark'_ This time, its orbs were glowing white, pinpricks which stood stark in contrast to the sun's warm beams. ' _me'_

-+- _It's Perspective -+-_

...It looked around. A wealth of unholy energy rested around it, but it felt dormant, not all uniform. Keine, Mokou, the four girls, all of them emanated a comforting, distinctly non-human feeling. ' _them'_

The rush of combat wasn't here, either. Nothing about it glowed, or fogged, smoked or leaked. The grey-black, shrine maiden-like form simply leered around, with decided delicacy. Even pivoting to look around, its movements were mechanical, sometimes stiff.

Like a poorly oiled machine, it took multiple, almost cute attempts to turn and look at Marcus. No light came from the white pinpricks, as it gazed straight into him.

He grinned, placing a hand on its shoulder.

' _Hey, sport!'_ He spoke to it plainly. ' _S'been awhile since I seen you, of all people!'_

' _hi'_ It returned casually.

...Looking down, it held up a black hand, taking in how it ate the sun's light which caught it. ' _i'm-...'_

it couldn't place it, but something was different this time. ' _i'm different'_ It wasn't what it'd received from that archive earlier, this it knew.

That's when it realized. There was nothing to fight, or spook, or jolt, or scare. Nothing to approach, and nothing worth encroaching upon.

This left it with an uncomfortable amount of time to think. ' _marcus'_ It turned to him. ' _holy shit'_ It looked down again, articulating its black fingers.

Marcus grinned big. ' _This's a new reaction! You seein' somethin' new, there!?'_

' _so many voices'_ It faced him, its pinprick eyes now alight with some kind of holy flare. ' _what am i'_

It did feel fear flow in from around the room, but like this, it really didn't do more than passively receive and bathe in it. ' _they're scared'_ It turned to them. ' _of me'_

The four women on the couch nearby gazed up at her, pressing back into their seats together, wordlessly. Keine's eyes were widened a little, as she met its diamond-like white dot eyes.

"...Tsu- Tsukiko?" Keine stood up, her arms propped before herself. "Can you hear me?"

' _yes'_ It returned. Then, it realized it had no mouth, at the moment. ' _uhm'_

It nodded, instead.

"...She's normally way less in control, like this, even if she'd normally mean well." Marcus's gaze was sharp, contemplative. "S'wei~rd. I dunno what ta make 'a it."

...It stared down at the board game. Bending down, it folded the game board up, and neatly put it back inside its box, ignoring the play money and other pieces.

' _no'_ It didn't want to play Monopoly, still.

Turning, it walked with a strangely regal gait, before facing the burning hellstone in the room, mounted against a wall.

Mokou stared up at the dark thing plainly, more interested in the fire she sat in at the moment.

"You-..." Sarah moved, beginning to stand, while all of her sisters moved to keep close to one another.

It turned, facing her as she raised, its head tilted back.

Sarah was shaking, as she stared the light-eating form down, her body tense. "...You-... don't feel right."

It faced Sarah fully. In the next moment, when it leaned forward, it cleared the distance with her, wrapping its limbs around her.

Sarah's eyes widened, as it embraced her. Its arms felt like they crawled along her back, through her clothes, the touch cold and somehow numbing.

' _little'_ It called her small. ' _we are dark'_ Reaching forward, it booped noses with Sarah.

...Sarah's nose had a little blue-black residue on it, for a moment, which faded away a moment later. "Aa- ah?"

' _What is this?'_ Sarah's body began becoming overstimulated with magic. She felt like she was floating, despite standing. ' _I've-... um…'_

Sarah remembered the dark days spent over the last five years. Days with nothing short of a few strands of grey light which shone in through the bars on her metal door. ' _Nn- nnh…'_ Those days, when she and her sisters slowed, and the ground's stones grew colder, and at some points, she couldn't even speak anymore.

' _I- nnh- a- a-'_ Her mind reeled, rewinding through memories at someone else's discretion.

Those were the days where it almost felt like she'd stopped thinking. She couldn't tell if they were days, or months, but always, this period eventually ended, letting her and her sisters talk again, or do work for their mistress.

' _The cold-...'_ Being forced to remember, she drew a conclusion with her new learning. ' _It was cold. That's what it was…'_

Everything before the cycle of freezing and thawing, forgetting and feeling, was a blur in Sarah's mind. But, it'd begun at some point, that was for certain. There was _something_ before that, but she couldn't place the first thing about what.

The youkai which embraced Sarah jumped to its own conclusions. ' _you died'_ It determined. ' _you went dark'_

' _Died…?'_ Sarah blinked, staring into the black along its neck. ' _I'm not dead!'_

' _not you'_ It clarified itself. ' _the old you'_

' _she is gone'_

...Sarah knew what she meant. ' _Well-... yeah. I let myself forget. I couldn't hold onto her. I gave her a goodbye, and everything.'_

It let its forehead rest against Sarah's. The white of its eyes had become obscured in this moment, letting Sarah stare straight into shifting black and grey.

' _live for her'_ Sarah felt its grip tighten around her. ' _grow more'_

' _grow smarter'_ Sarah felt it begin to breathe. ' _evolve'_

Sarah's eyes were filled with black. The youkai's face had congealed, melting into hers, covering her face with its own, in this moment.

' _...I- I will. I will!'_

 _Sendai obtained Army Within._

Over the hem of the couch, the other three sisters stared transfixed on their conversation, no longer shaking. They blinked unevenly, somehow disoriented.

"What-..." Keine's mouth was agape.

 _fwish._ It removed its face from Sarah's, facial structure becoming smooth and perfect again.

...Sarah smiled back at her. "Uu- um-... thank you. I think…"

Its core began to shake. ' _they all died'_ It looked over the sisters with different colored eyes. ' _and only they live on'_

...But, time flowed on. ' _im sorry'_ It too feared death, and to see confirmation of living husks such as these made it sad and afraid again, if only a little.

With nothing left to do, it stood idly. Looking around restlessly, it sighted the underside of one of the couches. ' _too small'_ It wanted to crawl into a small space and loaf.

 _CRA~CK!_ The window just over the staircase's bottom landing shattered, along with a green-white barrier that housed it.

It snapped its head to the noise. ' _loud'_ Outside, there was something also inhuman.

" _Au-..."_ Keine flopped back onto the couch she stood near. It pivoted to look back at her.

There was now a small hole in Keine's lower abdomen, a long fleck of red on the couch cushions under her. " _Nn- nnh…!"_ She held her wound, gritting her teeth. " _Wh-..."_

" _Keine!"_ Mokou shot up from her seat, eyes wide.

While all the girls had frozen from the noise and Keine's writhing, ringing began to fill the being's ears.

' _keine'_ Its eyes were now big, yellow orbs.

Mokou sprinted towards the couch to help her, while Marcus glared, casting his gaze towards the cracked window.

The dark being saw the other youkai atop a neighboring roof, dug into the shingles.

' _KEINE'_

 _BAM!_ Its head and side met the wall segment beneath the window, denting it. ' _ow'_ It'd tripped on the landing, and forgot that there was walling which held the window.

 _whish._ In the next moment, it sprang up, casting itself through the broken window, breaking loose fragments along the edges on the way out.

-+- _Vs. Renegade Sniper HJ-23 -+-_

A lunar rabbit stood atop red shingles in midday. "Nngh…" She grit her teeth, tearing the scope off her rifle's top-

 _CRANG!_ Sparks flew from the removal, and awkwardly, she reached her cheek forward to flip the sight up with her teeth. She hadn't expected retaliation this quickly, so she switched to a makeshift mid-range build by tearing off useless accessories.

 _CLACK!_ Meanwhile, the dark, maiden-like being leapt from the window, to the roof-

 _WHACLACK!_ It leaned back upon landing, a metal chunk meeting its face, making it lean back. The bunny had tossed her scope, and it met its face within a second.

 _KAPOW!_ The bunny recoiled, firing a non-silent, ballistic stopper round this time, feeling the gun's force ripple across her whole body.

 _woosh._ The dark youkai flicked its body back, barely hanging onto the roof by its forelegs, as it let itself dangle to avoid being hurt.

 _BAM!_ The bullet struck the side of Marcus's house, blowing a big hole in the woodwork, cracking some of the siding along the side face of the house.

 _Woosh!_ Swinging itself up, the youkai somehow leapt up the roof's side off of its forelegs, launching itself along the slanted surface.

 _KAPOW!_ When it landed, it slid to the left nearly instantly, avoiding another impulsive, deciduously aimed sniper round.

In the next instant, it caught up with the bunny-

 _BAM!_ She chucked her whole sniper rifle down, bouncing it off the shingles, intent on tripping the youkai by bowling its legs out from under it. "Eat- _shit!"_

 _Clack!_ The youkai folded down and scooped up the gun with its arms, with velocity which just about rivaled the bunny's.

 _WOOSH!_ Azure echoed off of the youkai's arms, blue afterimages defining the peak force it put into hurling the rifle up over itself like a big club.

' _die'_

 _BAMKLACK- FWISH!_ In nearly an instant, the sniper rifle was bludgeoned down on the sniper bunny's head. It'd happened so fast, and with so much force, the sniper rifle exploded into two. Metal plates and chunks splayed into the air, raining down around them.

 _Bam- thud- clack!_ The blow had cast the bunny back, onto the arch of the roof, and sent her tumbling down the opposite side.

 _Woa- woash._ The youkai cast its arm out, and caught the sniper rifle fragments mid-air, azure energy rolling across the tumbling pieces and freezing them. ' _move move move'_

 _Fwish!_ Azure light expanded out from the youkai, meeting the parts-

 _BAM- BOOM- BAM!_ They came down like bullets, as if gravity had flashed across them in an instant. Their impacts against the roof blew off shingles, sending them spiralling hilariously away into the daytime sky.

The bunny's descent down the roof's side could be traced by yellow smouldering- from her broken shield- and from the few specks of blood left from her head along the rough tiles. She was nearing the very edge, about to fall into the alleys between.

 _THU- THUNK!_ The butt of the sniper rifle met her gut, at terminal velocity. " _Huu~...!"_

 _BAM!_ The impact had spiked her down, below the roof's lip.

' _now'_ The bunny was afraid, it could feel it. ' _so much fear'_

Stepping down the rooftop, it cast its body back. ' _so much, so much more fear'_

 _VII- WOO- WOOSH._ The howling and whistling of wind shook the house it stood upon, the wood vibrating from the strange force.

' _they'_ It had realized one of a youkai's strengths. ' _i will carry them with me'_

From the youkai's body, grey, black, and maroon washed off of it. It took a vague form nearest it, at first appearing to be a cloud of azure and crimson.

Lurching over, the youkai stumbled for the roof's bottom. Stopping, it cast a look back at the cloud of colorful murkiness, and held its hand up towards it. ' _come down sister'_

 _Fwish!_ Gravity flashed across the black, red gas, and it took form.

It was a long, relatively featureless woman with long, flowing hair. Its entire body was ink black and maroon, its eyes white pinpricks.

 _Thu- thud, thud._ The black-grey youkai began to roll down the roof, going limp, for a moment. It'd became sluggish, drained by this whole process… ' _my life'_

 _Clack, clack, clack!_ The black-maroon thing which had come from it ran down the roof in pursuit, as it tumbled.

 _Woosh._ Soon, both were past the roof's lip, the maroon one leaping while the grey one simply fell clumsily.

 _BAM- BAM- BAM!_ The bunny grinned, at the bottom. Leaned against the next house, she had a steel pistol held up. She'd unloaded three rounds into the maroon youkai, practically trapping it in the air. "He- heheh…!"

 _THUD!_ The black-grey youkai landed on its stomach, and crawled forward, its arms snapping to thrust itself up with untraceable speed.

The bunny snapped her pistol to it, as it came closer.

It was already in her face, its searing yellow orbs blinding her own pink eyes. " _Wh-"_

 _CRACK._ It pulled back on the bunny's gun arm by the hand, dislocating it from its shoulder-

 _BAM!_ It let out a shot, piercing the youkai's hand.

 _Thud!_ The maroon youkai landed nearby, form vague, but still moving.

' _When were there so many!'_ The bunny reached for her electric knife-

 _WHAM!_ The maroon youkai hooked an arm into her head, with surprising force. " _Ngh-"_

 _Shink._ The grey-black youkai met the bunny's fleshy midsection with its fingers, poking past the suit, into its flesh. ' _welcome inside me'_

' _What!? Fuck off! No!'_ She felt the incisions, and began trying to crawl back, but the maroon youkai was there to grab her shoulders.

Like this, the two dark beings quickly pinned down the wounded bunny girl. ' _you deserve to die'_

Beneath the skin, the youkai's fingers began to expand, spreading through the bunny's inner flesh, at first too gently to cause confusion.

' _Oh, damn…'_ Slowly, the pink-eyed bunny girl began to smile, resigning. ' _I'm gonna die. Fu~ck…'_

"Hey. Uuh."

Four solid lights peered down the alleyway.

Reisen sauntered up, a sniper rifle of her own slung over her right shoulder. Her yellow, crescent-shaped badge shimmered on her navy colored suit. "...Hope I'm not interrupting something. Hate to say it, but we need her alive."

That's when a deafening, high-pitched noise came from the two shadow youkai, as they stared Reisen down in animosity.

Reisen simply winced a little. "...Don't _do_ that. You'll scare the villagers."

They stopped.

"Hh-..." The sniper bunny lying on the ground beneath the black-grey youkai unevenly looked up at Reisen. Her forehead was bleeding, and a pool of blood was forming under her torso now, too. "He- hey… _chief…_ he- here t'see me off? _"_

"Yeah." Reisen nodded. "Well, not to death. To the interrogation room, I mean. I know you know something about your collective... 'rabbit hole'."

"...Gh- gonna hafta ghet me outta this bind, first." She smiled up at Reisen, a little. "Ghood luck wit' that…"

...Reisen stared the dark-grey youkai in the eyes.

' _it hurt keine'_ It was a maelstrom of vague anger and infectious killing intent. ' _it hurt keine'_

Reisen blinked, and her eyes flashed red.

 _Thud._ The youkai maiden flopped backwards like a bug, its limbs seizing up.

 _Sendai obtained 10,300 Yen._

-+- _Tsukiko Hakurei's Perspective -+-_

' _...Oo- oh, man…'_ Sendai woke up like she had a killer hangover. ' _Did Marcus have to take a fucking two-ton boulder to my head, to snap me out of it? God, damn it...'_

She was laid down on a couch, now.

...She moved to sit up, a little. ' _Somehow-... I was actually kind of aware of what the hell was happening, while I was out. My hands were fucking pitch black… and- I couldn't talk. But-... Sarah talked to me, and I just…'_ She felt weird, about thinking of Sarah, for some reason...

 _Crea~k._ Leaning up, ignoring now only taking up one cushion, Sendai looked around…

To her right, on the other couch, Keine had a bandage along her waist, reddening on the right side. ' _Wa- wait, what…'_

To the left, through the open divide into the warmly-lit dining room, the four girls sat plainly. There were some small meals placed out for them, but they were staring back shyly…

...A blue-haired bunny girl sat on one of the chairs, her gaze transfixed into the void. ' _Uh.'_

Reisen was on the next chair, gazing at Sendai plainly, and neutrally. Her gaze seemed oddly fixated, as well.

"What-... the fuck." Sendai gave the situation before herself a vague look, her brows raised. "How long was I _out?_ I-..." She looked over Keine's dirty bandage again. "Did I- do that?"

"Aa-..." Keine blinked, not expecting Sendai to jump to such a conclusion. "Nn- heavens, no. This bunny…" She gestured to the long-haired, pink-eyed bunny who stared into space nearby. "She shot me from long range. You were still-... in _Fantasy Heaven_ , and-... Reisen said, if she hadn't stopped by, you'd have killed her."

' _Oh…?'_ Sendai didn't remember that at all. ' _The hell…'_

Reisen spoke next, crossing her legs. "She shot you in the hand. You also fell off the roof, and really depleted your mana pool. And, while you were out, i gave you some basic first-aid. You're, um, welcome."

' _Ah.'_ Sendai looked over both her hands. ' _I don't even feel anything different about either. I fell off a- fucking roof? What'd I do…!?'_

"Someone- shot you, Keine?" Sendai was more worried about her friend, at the moment. "You good? I mean-... I always remember you bein' tough, but-"

"Just fine." Keine airily smiled back at her. "It'll heal, soon."

' _...I guess it will, but-...'_

Reisen wanted to sate her concern right away. "She's fine. When I started hearing shots, I ran over as soon as I could. I figured the sniper I was trying to tail all day would be here."

"...I see." Sendai was starting to get a grasp, of the situation. "So-... mmh. We were attacked, then."

Mokou walked out from somewhere behind the couch Sendai sat on. "No shit."

...After giving her a flat look, Sendai kept her recounting to herself. ' _We were attacked, and apparently I dealt with the assassin. This bitch targeted Keine directly.'_

Brows furrowing, Sendai gazed the vacant-looking bunny soldier down. "What's _your_ story?"

...The blue-haired bunny didn't answer, staring vacantly into the distance still.

"I've got her locked in trance." Reisen provided. "...Which, if you didn't know I could do that-... I can. It's more efficient than cuffs or binding spells. We haven't actually _questioned_ her, yet."

"Release her." Sendai requested. "I wanna talk directly."

...Lips pursed, Reisen's red eyes shifted visibly. Sendai stared into them as they glimmered. ' _Hmm?'_

...A moment after, the somewhat frazzled bunny girl began to look around, blinking. "Mm- mmh…" She smacked her lips a little, looking tired.

Sendai immediately got in her face, glaring her down. "Why did you shoot Keine."

The bunny leaned back, for a moment, before smiling ahead at Sendai. "...Aa- ain't it obvious? You and that bitch need to go."

"Is this about what we've been doing?" Keine began to frown. "Because, we won't back down just from your threats. The village doesn't appreciate your interference, and neither does Eientei."

"Threats?" The bunny smiled, despite her situation. "We don't do _threats,_ 'least, not on idiots with a hero disorder, like _you._ You wouldn't listen. Easiest way this'll all go down, is if we put you 'n' your own personal shrine maiden under."

"Really." Sendai wasn't particularly impressed. "Who sent you, then? You willing to spill who's funding this?"

"Hmm~?" The blue-haired bunny began to smile widely. "Isn't it obvious? Oh, man. What're you all, _stu~pid?_ "

"Funny thing to say." Sendai was somewhat irritated by how annoying she was being. "I bet you think we're not going to hurt you."

"Obviously." She smiled. "I don't think _Keine_ here has the heart to hurt me just 'cause I tried to _kill her._ I mean, what kind of _asshole_ would seek comeuppance for something like tha~t? And, whatever you do, s'not like you'll _kill me._ That'd just be _wrong._ "

Reisen leaned towards her, in her chair. "Hey. Rika-chan."

...Pausing, she faced Reisen, blinking. "Aah-..." She'd forgotten about Reisen.

"Be nice, now." Reisen gave her a smile. "You're gonna have a hell of a day, when I get back to base. And, you're comin' with me."

"...Um." Rika had her brows raised. "...We- well. Sorry."

"Sorry's not gonna fucking cut it." Sendai loomed closer to her, staring down at her seat. "Gimme names, or I'll run the chair you're sitting on over your skull."

"...Kowai Dieter." The bunny pensively stared up at Sendai. "He wanted me t'give you a message. He gave me a bet, an' said I couldn't off you two."

Fists clenched, Sendai let out a breath. "Hu~. He was right. You couldn't."

"Basically-..." Leaning back into her seat, the bunny frowned up, as Sendai slowly encroached on her. "He wants yer asses to go fight him."

' _Of course.'_ Closing her eyes, Sendai leaned back a little. ' _Of course this motherfucker would move the moment we rested for a fucking second. Paying some bitch to come shoot Keine, goddamnit-"_

"Consider it done." Mokou moved for the door. "Who wants to come with. We're leaving."

"Mokou-..." Keine got up. "Hold on-"

 _Creak._ Casting Marcus's front door open, Mokou almost stepped out, but had to stop.

"...Hey." Reimu was there. "...Awfully loud tea party going on, over here. With guns, and yelling."

Sendai froze, eyes locking on Reimu's form. ' _Aah-...'_

-+- _Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode_ -+-

==x==

x / Sendai Hakurei No Miko, the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

 _X Inventory:_

Ballbuster - Neon red nutcracker. Does nearly no damage, but can really send people flying.

 _X Technique_

 _x Normal Style:_

Flying Kick - When running, Sendai can throw herself into a double-legged kick that smashes through defenses, and is not interrupted by minor sources of pain or knockback.

==x==Ω==x==

 _Ω Marcus Kirisame, the Middle-Aged Magician_

 _Ω Magic:_

Mine Square - Marcus creates a circle of mines around himself, which he can't accidentally trigger by traversing. When an enemy walks over them, they're struck by a high-knockback charge and non-lethally launched. Famously mis-named. Non-elemental.

Mine Pellets - Marcus creates blinding and launching mines, floats their discs into the air, and fires them. Costly, but easily offsets hordes of enemies. Non-elemental.

Rudder Pelletier - Marcus creates a frisbee from metal and a single magic mine, and chucks it. By charging it with many mines inside one metal container, it bounces between many targets, dealing incredible knockback and striking many targets many different times. Non-elemental.

==x==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

aw hello

this chapter got really long but some really new things happen

o for one thing NEW KARAOKE SONGS that are altogether more cheerful with more people and also more bro mokou

o also the songs _JUDGEMENT_ and _So Much More!_ are from the yakuza series

here have youtube suffixes, you can copy them in mobile or just write them manually (or google the song names)

 _So Much More! (Yakuza 5):_ SV8Zn_ot7Nw

 _JUDGEMENT (Yakuza 0):_ 97zXh7DBQ3A

o also we see more color girls because they're cool now and some interesting things can be done with them

o uh oh more lunar rabbit _BULLSHIT_ / later events alluded to better again

o lunar rabbit encounter probably handled way, way different in later chapters…

oh man i'm gonna have to assblast to get this shit done before yakuza kiwami comes out

oh boy oh BOY

as always, see you all next time!

-+- Index -+-

CHAPTER INDEX: CTRL and F on the keyboard, type [marker] in the box (no brackets).

8-1 Chapter Start

8-2 Post-Marisa Battle 3

8-3 End of Rest

i decided to add this at the last minute just because this one chapter's the size of like three (again)! not as many checkpoints because y'know it's mostly entertainment so it should flow a little smoother in one take than the fighting


	9. Reigns on the Village's Veins

Sauntering inside, Reimu looked around. She saw the broken glass and walling on the left, and then saw Sendai on the right, letting her gaze linger for a moment.

' _Aa- ah…'_ Sendai wasn't sure what to do, at first. ' _Reimu…'_

' _I haven't-... seen her since that evening.'_

The captured bunny Rika's pink eyes were wide. Keine and Mokou stood still, blankly following Reimu with their gazes as she casually stepped further into the house.

"Um. Hey, Reimu." Reisen gave her a friendly wave.

"I'm kinda curious." Reimu nodded idly, looking around the varied pool of people here... "What's _actually_ going on here."

Strafing around the couch Sendai was on earlier, Keine approached this tactfully. "...Would you mind if I explained?" She offered, smiling a little.

"You're good at that, so sure." Reimu gave two good nods. "What is any of this." She gestured in the vague direction of everything else.

Keine did her best. "...People of the human village have conspired to destroy the school, so me, _this woman,_ Marcus and Mokou have all been working together to stop them. Meanwhile-... we've uncovered some of their intentions of what they plan to do with my students, and have found out that renegade lunar-..."

Stopping, she took a breath. "You see, renegades from Eientei have taken hold in the village, too. Allying with the human conspirators, they mass-produce volatile drugs. The more honorable sects of the town guard and I have taken to preventing this spread, since there actually is village code that bars the transfer of youkai toxin among regular villagers."

"...So, um-... me and some of these people were going to fix the problem." Keine finished, letting her eyes close as she let her breath run out. "Ge- geez…"

...Reimu exhaled. "Had to be more of this stupid village crap, huh. First I heard of it being _this_ bad. Why didn't you say something a few days ago?"

...Keine met her gaze again. Then, she gestured to Sendai. "Because-... well, I couldn't have. Politically, that could have gone… bad, for everyone. Instead-... _she_ helped out."

"Her?" Reimu's brows twitched. "...Why her?"

"She's-... a good, strong person." Keine smiled resolutely. "I would say-... that you should get to know her."

"Yeah, I already do." Reimu met Sendai with a level stare. "She came by the shrine, a few days ago. She pretended to be mom. Strong and good didn't immediately come to mind."

...Her brows folding up, Keine tried to mediate her reaction. "Now, Reimu-..."

"Whatever." Reimu shook her head, before walking deeper into the house. "We have bigger fish to fry, it sounds like. Where's these people you talked about?"

"We already dealt with most of them." Sendai moved after her, as she stopped before the multi-colored youkai girls. "And... honestly, we've already got this."

Reimu furrowed her brows at her. "Who're _you?_ I think I'll be the judge of that, thanks. Especially since those youkai bunnies are getting involved. Pretty sure _you_ can't do anything about them, no matter how strong or good or whatever you think you are."

' _Mmh.'_ Sendai didn't really care for that assessment, especially because it partially rang true now. ' _Although- my own strength doesn't matter as much now, with all of this backup.'_

"I can do more than you'd think." Sendai argued. "I know you must like to solve every problem you get your hands on, but altogether, we're fully capable of doing this on our own."

"...No?" Reimu raised a brow. "...I mean, to all of that. I only solve big problems. And-..."

Moving in the spacious midst between the dining room and living room, Reimu began stalking a circle around Sendai. "I _have_ been hearing about you. That Heaven Springs place, and a few people on the street-... you don't act like you're part of that dumb shrine maiden fanclub thing. You've been goin' around, making a name for yourself."

"Anything wrong with that?" Sendai began to stalk in a circular motion too, gazing down Reimu, who frowned up at her.

"Yeah." Reimu nodded. "People're saying you're my _mom._ Funny enough, they don't say that half as strongly about any of the other fangirls. Just _you."_

Sendai snorted, and let the truth slip. "Maybe they're not wrong."

...Reimu glared. "You're _not_ my mother."

They both stopped.

"I hardly even remember the time I spent with my mother. But-... I know she loved me, and I loved her. If you think a shoddy impression like you has any right to make fun of her, you've got another thing coming."

' _...How bold, of her.'_ Meanwhile, Sendai semi-admired the way Reimu phrased that.

Still, she soon frowned down at Reimu in turn. "I busted my _ass_ for you, Reimu. I wired the shrine up in traps every _night._ Whenever I left, I made _damn sure_ nothing could go wrong while I was gone, or I just _wouldn't leave._ Do you remember your dad? Keisuke?"

Her glare becoming wider, Reimu seethed back. "Why the _hell_ are you speaking so _seriously?_ "

...After looking away for a moment, she glared back again, calmer. "This isn't funny. Even if this is some kind of joke-... I'm really close to _not_ forgiving you for this, whoever you are. I feel like-... you're trying to take advantage of me, and I _really_ don't like that."

Standing rigid, Sendai stared her straight in the eyes. "You're going to have to not like it, then. You remember that morning, right? The morning I wasn't myself, anymore?"

"...How the hell do you know about that." Reimu never told anyone.

"Before I wandered off, I gave you that one last hug." Sendai spoke. A wave of emotion crept into her expression, all of a sudden.

' _Oh, god. Thinking back on that-... I'm sorry, Reimu.'_

"How the _hell_ do you know about _that."_ Reimu began furrowing her brows.

...Sendai composed herself. "Well-... how do you _think?"_

"For all I know, you were sent by someone to manipulate me." Reimu defended herself. "I've never trusted dishonest things... like doppelgangers, or imitations. Anything relating to my mom's time, I'm really careful of."

"...As you should be." Sendai admitted. "...If you don't want to accept that I'm your mother-... you don't have to."

...Leaning to the side, Reimu raised a brow.

"Because-..." Sendai glared back at her, and smiled. "I'll find my strength again. And when I do, you'll recognize it, and-... at the very least, I'll see how my daughter has grown while I was away. I can understand if you resent me, for leaving you alone when you needed me the most."

Reimu held her level gaze. "Your strength? Also…" It became less level as she spoke. "I'd never hate mom, for having to leave me alone. I just hope-... I hope she's happy where she is now. She seemed like she had it hard, you know?"

...Sendai took pause. ' _Reimu…'_

"Thank you." Sendai smiled. "I'm happy you thought of me like that."

"All the more reason, for _you_ to stop talking." Reimu's drained look became one of anger again. "Even after I said all of that, you're _still_ going on with this-... _whatever_ this is?"

"Yeah." Sendai nodded, her stare resolute. "I am. It's because I love you, Reimu. I-... I already miss watching you grow up. I wish I could have been there. For me, it's only been a couple days since that evening, but I _still_ already miss you-... I- I miss you so, so much."

"Just-..." Reimu shut her eyes. "Stop."

"No." Sendai shook her head. "No matter what you think, or do… I will always love you, Reimu."

"You're-... you're not my _mom."_ Reimu's eyes became wet. "Stop screwing with my emotions…"

Now with a simple, peaceful smile, Sendai put effort into keeping composure. ' _...She's still hurting. I'm so sorry.'_

"I'm sorry." Sendai apologized. "I'm sorry, Reimu."

" _Stop…"_ Reimu began breathing more raggedly, becoming more upset. "St- stop-"

"Please-..." Sendai couldn't take it anymore. "Don't cry." She moved to hug her-

That did it. " _Shut u~p!"_ Reimu bolted for Sendai.

' _Ah…'_ Sendai froze. Reimu had almost blindsided her with a gohei swipe, her holy implement seemingly coming from nowhere.

Keine held onto her arm. Reimu's expression flared, looking back at her. "Whh- _Keine-"_

Mokou stood before her. "Cool it."

" _Rrgh!"_ Reimu was really not taking this well. "Wh-..." She met Sendai's gaze again. "What do you _know?_ What do you know about Mom…!? _"_

Sendai remained still.

"You-..." Reimu tried to fight from Keine's grasp, but eventually let herself slow. "You- know how mom _died._ You know more than _anyone else._ "

...Sendai took in a breath, for a moment. "...Yeah. Ironic."

' _I don't know if someone like Reimu will ever accept that I'm her mother. But… at least I got to see her again. Damn it…'_ She closed her eyes. ' _I wish I got to see her grow up… '_

Feeling wronged even further by Sendai's audacity to look emotional, Reimu panned to Keine with an extremely foul look. "You better let go of me. You're not going to like what happens, if you don't let go of me."

"...I'm sorry, Reimu." Keine shook her head. "But-... I- I believe her. I think that's your mother."

 _Slap!_ She slapped Keine in the face. Keine took it pretty well, only wincing a little.

Looking around the room, Reimu saw Marcus stare at her from across the dining room. She saw Reisen giving her a plain look, and she saw Mokou giving her a casual look of her own.

She saw Sendai, who was struggling to withhold her own emotions. To Reimu, that was almost an open insult; to think that someone could replicate her mother's care in such a way was staggering, and also frightening.

With that, Reimu was gone.

"Ff-... fine." She was now in the door, having teleported up to it, waving everyone off. _"Fine!_ If- you want to follow that _clown_ -... whatever…"

 _Bam!_ She slammed the door.

...Keine exhaled. "The problems just have to keep stacking up, don't they."

' _God-... goddamn-...'_ Sendai held her hands before her own face. ' _Do- don't-... don't cry, dammit-... don't cry…'_

...Turning to her, Keine saw her fighting her emotions. "...Tsu- Tsukiko? Oh-..."

"Ye- yeah…?" Almost hesitating to bring the hands away from her face, Sendai grit her teeth as she met Keine's gaze, trying to contain her own emotions.

Keine came closer, and hugged her from the side. "It's alright."

...Sendai froze completely. This was fairly unprecedented, in her history with Keine. ' _...To-... to think, this little forest hobo of a youkai girl would be comforting me, now. A few days ago, I'd be waiting on the next time I'd have to pat her on the back for getting sad about fairies screwing with her.'_

...Some moments of this, and the other girls looking around and away, Sendai truly found her composure again. Mokou had gone to sit down, and Reisen stared at the ceiling, minding her own business. The youkai girls in the dining room were somewhat puzzled, by the emotional display.

"Alright." She exhaled. "I'm cool. ...Thanks, Keine."

"Anytime." Keine let go of her. "I know these past few days… haven't given you any time to chill out. If you need a break, for awhile, or something-... you know, just tell me, okay? Now that _I_ think about it-... you've spent more days back doing work for me than you have been situating yourself. I shouldn't have-"

"Now _you_ stop that." Sendai retorted sharply. "If it wasn't for me- your school-... I me- mean, you could have handled it yourself, but-"

"No." Keine shook her head. "I have this feeling that, without you, the school would have shut down summarily. Probably not forever, once the right people got wind of it-... but I'd have doubtlessly lost materials, property and standing, surely. As well as students..."

' _...Didn't wanna say it, but-... I know she's right. I was a crucial part of a lot of the recent shit. Provided, once Mokou came into the picture, I could've stopped, but-...'_

"I don't regret any of what has happened." Sendai announced. "I can relax when this is all over, and I'd accept nothing less. I could have stopped once Mokou came into the picture, but I'm seeing this through to the end. Not only because I'm your friend, but because-... I agree with what you want done, and because it's something to do."

"...Something to do?" Keine smiled. "How apt. If you had something else to do… would you have not bothered?"

Sendai snorted. "Wrong. I'd still have bothered, because there was still potential for me to grow from it. Right now, I'm very concerned with getting my proficiency in combat back... and, one way to help fuel that, at the end of the day, is combat. Already, my skills have advanced further than what they were, and it was all only possible because of what I've done."

...Keine really had nothing else to say, to that. "...As long as I'm not bothering you."

Giving her a nod and a smile, Sendai moved for the dining room, where the technicolor girls silently ate their snacks.

She started a topic decidedly more dramatic than anything that had just transpired. "Marc, do you have _any_ food."

...He grinned. "If poptarts and rehydratable magi-calorie stuffs count!"

' _Of course not.'_ That was the real crying shame, here.

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

9

Reigns on the Village's Veins

The sky above was a fading azure. Where the sun set was still a cotton candy pink, but the rest was full and empty.

' _So much…'_ Staring up at it, Sendai could never get over it. ' _Makes me think about why the world… is. Then I stop thinking about it, because I'll never get an answer to a question like that.'_

Sendai, Keine, Mokou and Reisen had all left Marcus's house.

In fact, they'd just left the western village gate, now treading the late-day path to Dieter's hideout of choice for the evening.

' _Reimu didn't sound like she was enjoying these past few days.'_ Her motherly senses ate at her like a wildfire. ' _...I really wish I was strong enough, to show her who I am. Maybe I am-... but, at the rate things are going, I don't think-... I don't know what would be enough.'_

Marcus spoke over the sound stone network. " _The hideout's built inta one 'a them foothills ahead. He's got way less boys in total compared ta the crazy shebang at Heaven Springs, so walkin' in and sayin' hi should be a piece 'a cake._ "

They'd all unanimously agreed that it was time to stop Dieter's campaign of running away. ' _No one's getting shot over this horseshit again. This crime shit's gotten old.'_

"Should be quick and painless." Mokou supposed, hands in her pockets as they went. "Y'sure you wanna be on the ground wit' us, Keine?"

"We're not going to be inside the village." Keine reasoned. "So, whatever I do shouldn't matter. Dieter is nowhere near being on the law's agreeable side either, at this point. It should be as you say. In and out."

On the path ahead, there was a left divergence cast in shade, missed by the sunset's warmth.

While they took this path, Mokou panned her head towards Sendai, somewhat. "Alright, what _is_ the deal with that dark shit? I forget if I asked you already."

"It probably came from Tsukiko's early life." Keine answered before Sendai could, even. "She was quite very troubled, she says. It eventually bled into her magic proficiencies, which I would presume is due to her Hakurei heritage. The fact that she could so simply adapt dark magic from her sheer chaotic emotions and anger, that is."

' _...I'm pretty sure it was part because-... youkai scared the everloving shit out of me, and they had tons of dark shit going on, so I just kind of put two and two together. I wanted to just be like them strength-wise, when I was that young.'_

After weaving past some brush, the four girls were lead to a huge clearing, set before a small fort of some kind.

The fort itself wasn't really impressive, or worthy of being called a fort. It was a stone box built into the hill, and sitting on top was a second stone box. Ladders were visible, adorning the sides unevenly. ' _Is this a fucking tree fort?'_

Yet, the land around the fort was more impressive. ' _...Big, dirt lanes, stretching across an entire field's length. It… also looks like a lot of nearby forestry was cleared out.'_

There were two long dirt lanes, each twenty or so meters wide. A wood barn shack stood at the left end of the first one, and one at the right end of the second one.

In the middle of these two lanes, there were six or so men with katanas. One large man stood amidst them, a big sledgehammer over his right shoulder.

Behind him, two bunny soldiers stood. Their crescent moon pins on their suits were defaced, a piece of the shiny badge broken off from the top. ' _I haven't thought to look at those badges of theirs, before. It looks like a vandalized version of Reisen's badge.'_

"Look at them." Reisen spoke drolly. "What the hell kinda formation is this."

"They _do_ have a bunch of guys." Sendai figured, looking at the few villager men. "...If that's all of them, this'll still be really quick."

"They might as well not be here." Reisen declared, reaching behind herself…

 _WOOSH._ She drew a huge, megaphone-like bazooka from behind herself. "I'll tear through this line in _ten seconds._ "

In the midst of the field, the six foot tall, black-haired man with the huge sledgehammer yelled out. "We-... _We are not going to jail!"_

Next to him, the other two bunnies raised their chrome rifles.

Reisen took a breath, raising her own shoulder-mounted weapon.

' _How hard will this even be?'_ Sendai looked to Keine, Mokou and Reisen…

Mokou hardly looked engaged, and Keine kept between her and Sendai, looking pensive.

-+- _Vs. Dieter Family Gangsters, Broken Renegade Unit 1132 -+-_

 _FWI- FWI- CHOO- CHOOM!_ Instantly, Reisen's white-gold bazooka sent out quadruple, red tracing beams of danmaku energy. They ran in straight or forty-five degree angles through the air, shifting and turning rigidly and wildly.

Instantly, the men's eyes widened, and they scrambled-

 _FWA- FWA- FWAM!_ Each time a beam clipped a man, there was an explosion of red danmaku. Katanas went flying, three men already sprawled out flat. " _Hh- nngh…"_

 _PATATAT- TATATAT!_ Just as quickly, the two bunny women aside them unloaded their rifles, focusing solely on Reisen.

 _Woosh!_ " _Hup!"_ Leaping a story into the air, Reisen's red eyes glared with the intensity of stars. She aimed her bazooka down-

 _FWI- FWI- CHOO- CHOOM!_ Another quadruple spread shot of unpredictable danmaku payloads rocketed out, soaring for the offensive line.

 _FWA- FWA- FWAM!_ The last of the men were blown off their legs, including the man with the sledgehammer. " _Eegh- dh- dhamn it…"_

 _Fwi~sh!_ One pink-haired bunny recoiled, as her yellow energy shield shattered. "Aa-"

 _FWAM!_ Mokou casually lobbed a fireball from the sidelines, meeting her in the side right after her shield fell. " _Eeah! Aa- nnh-"_

 _bwa- bwamp._ Cyan bolts of plasma met Reisen as she fell through the spray of gunfire, rippling off of her own far more subtle and sleek blue energy shield.

Now, there was only a single bunny still ready to fight. She began to stagger back, intimidated. "Wh-... what the hell am I supposed to _do…"_ Her yellow hair billowed in the evening breeze, while the sun sat in the background.

"Oo- ow…" The bunny with short pink hair behind her patted the fire off of herself. "Kana- I- I think we oughta give up-"

 _Patatatat!_ Kana, the one with long yellow hair, kept firing. "Fuck _tha~t!_ Eat _shit- sa~rge!"_

Reisen broke away from the party, sprinting at a rate which rivaled horses. ' _Holy shit.'_ Sendai stared at her sudden acceleration, impressed…

 _Cla- clack!_ Lifting her gold-white bazooka over her head, Reisen leapt towards Kana. " _Hrra~h!"_

 _CRA- CRRAA~NG!_ In nearly an instant, she crushed the weapon into the earth, smashing the butt of it across Kana's body on the way.

" _Hu- ua~gh!"_ Kana went flying, her shield broken. The ground shook from the impact of Reisen's bazooka, a cloud of dirt billowing into the air around where she struck.

 _Thud!_ While Kana bounced away, off of her neck and shoulders, the pink-haired bunny began to get on her arms and legs. "I- I'm sorry…!"

...With that, Reisen gestured for everyone else. "C'mon!"

Keine and Mokou plainly strolled up. Sendai followed them, brows raised. ' _Gods. Everyone except that pink rabbit just got fucked. What were those lasers she shot?'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Now standing, the pink-haired bunny stood in place, arms folded as she looked around herself.

Keine marched straight past Reisen, walking right up to the bunny.

"Mmh-..." She whined a little, when Keine caught her by the chin, before she could look away.

"What's the _point_ of all this?" Keine questioned her directly. "Why would you _do_ this?"

...Her brows raising, the bunny let out a breath. "We- well-..." She looked over Reisen, then everyone else. "With-... with _no one_ as our commander- we get away with _anything._ No more scolding, no more discipline-"

"All this danger isn't _fun and games."_ Keine's grip tightened. "When this town is back to normal, do you _really_ want the _blame?"_

...The fluffy, pink-haired bunny glared back up at her. "Nn- not if no one stopped us! Which-... makes _me_ wonder- why you all _care._ "

"...If you don't _know,_ your friends are trying to ruin the lives of my students." Keine frowned down at her. "Unless you don't empathize with humans."

The pink, bobby-haired bunny raised her brows. "I- mean, I don't speak for all 'a us, but you know, shit happens."

"Shit happens?" Keine furrowed her brows more. "Of course-... you wouldn't _think_ about who is hurt, by this sort of thing. Do you care about family, at all?"

...She let out a breath. "T'be honest? No. Why do _you?_ "

"Why don't _you?"_ Keine returned. "Your mother? Father? Siblings?"

"I think us bein' _free's_ more important, than that shit." The bunny declared. "For all I care- every one a' them students can go to hell, if it means you all leave me alone…"

"I think you're all free enough." Reisen decided. "We give you food of choice, care, arms, entertainment, community and pleasure. What more could you possibly need?"

"I-... I want _privacy."_ The pink bunny decided. "I wanna start my own shit. Fuck the suits at Eientei- fuck your military bullshit- and fuck _you,_ chief. Everyone here's been tellin' me 'bout-... how you consider us."

Reisen looked confused. "How we-... _consider_ you?"

She nodded once, quickly. "We're _expendable._ We get a schedule- we get trained, and once it's all done, we still have to act according to all your shitty regulations. I'd rather you just-... put me down, if I can't be free. _"_

Reisen snorted. "Oh, come on. You're being unreasonable. We've intentionally lowered regulations almost _tenfold_ from the moon's standards, explicitly _so_ you could all be your own people. But, remaining able soldiers is still important-... and, if not that, you could file for a non-combat occupation. Were this the moon, they really would just put you down, and you wouldn't have a word of dissent before they did so. You'd already be dead."

...She faltered at this, looking around for a way out, before stopping, since she was surrounded.

"In fact…" Reisen began again. "If you defected normally, and went somewhere without humans, chances are, we wouldn't have cracked down on you at all.

"As it stands now-... we have one outsider and two villagers turned into youkai through a massively dangerous aphrodisiac _your_ faction has openly exposed to-... well, everywhere. If the shrine maiden knew the full extent of this, she'd likely see nearly half of you sealed completely, or straight up dead."

"Ss- so…" The pink bunny was holding herself. "Wh- what are you saying? That I'm fucked, now?"

"...Well, not _necessarily."_ Reisen admitted. "Mass punishment and reprimand will likely be part of human village dealings with the clinic. However, duration and further discipline will likely be reduced depending on intent and behavior. You're obviously-... like- you seem to mean well enough. Just-... people are gonna want you and your friends to account for what happened."

When the bunny opened her mouth, Reisen spoke over her. "I don't care if you're actually friends or not. You're effectively the same faction."

"...Fu~ck." The bunny moved to sit down. "Damn everything. I hate my life..."

Kana- the yellow-haired bunny- began to sit up, from where she was lying on her back. "Nn- ngh…"

"You." Reisen called out to her. "Remain still. Further action will be treated as hostility."

She flicked her gaze towards Reisen, and grinned. "Oo- oh, yeah…?"

 _Beep!_ She drew a controller from within her suit, and pressed on one of numerous square buttons.

 _CHU!_ Reisen fired a yellow bolt from two fingers, which met Kana clear between the eyes.

" _Uu- nn…"_ She slumped back, knocked out. Electric energy fizzled along the bridge of her nose, for a moment.

...Reisen began looking around. "That remote-..."

 _Cla- clack._ At either end of the large, two-lane clearing, barn doors whipped open. Illuminated mid-sunset by dim candle lights, a low hum began to rumble from either door.

Reisen's eyes widened, and she raised her gold-white bunny-eared bazooka towards one of the barns.

 _Vrrr~..._ Her weapon began to glow, particles of energy coming from the air around it, combining in its barrel.

"What did you see?" Sendai noticed how she seemed vaguely worried.

 _vrrr- VRRR- VRRRR~!_ The propellers of machines loudly whirred to life, quickly lighting the hillside alive with loud, incessant noise. ' _What…'_

The machines responsible for the noise emerged. They were only half a story tall, but they were wide, with huge wood-cloth wings. In the midst, a roaring, spinning propellor roared fast enough to give the illusion of being a disc.

"Oo- oh…!" The pink-haired bunny girl began moving, to get out of the dirt lanes. "The planes! _Ghk-_ " Keine grabbed her by the back of her collar, before she could flee.

' _What- the actual fuck…!?'_ Sendai wasn't sure what these were, but to her, giant blade machines of death were being sent at them from either side.

-+- _Vs. Human Village's First Airborne -+-_

Slowly, the great, wheeled machines with death blades began to accelerate, closing in on either side of the party.

 _Vuuu~...!_ Sendai saw Reisen's weapon charging. ' _Hope that has enough firepower. She probably wouldn't be standing still with us if it didn't.'_

"Nn- _nnh…!"_ The yellow-haired Kana began pushing herself up off the floor, fighting through her pain to try and tackle down Reisen. " _Fuck yh- yo~u!"_

Tensed, Reisen only slightly panned her head to the side. "Sh- shit-"

 _fwish!_ Sendai slid into the way, before Kana could reach Reisen-

 _Whunk._ Then, Sendai slid her arm into a thrusting jab, using her sudden momentum to make the blow possible. ' _Got her.'_

" _Nnh."_ Kana stepped back, only briefly brushing her gut where Sendai hit her. "Bitch-"

 _WOOSH!_ She spun around, unleashing a head-height crescent-esque kick towards Sendai's face-

 _PAP!_ Sendai winced an eye shut, taking the kick with her arms. ' _Ow- fuck.'_

Still holding onto the pink-haired bunny, Keine made herself and the bunny stumble closer to Kana. "Hn- nnh-..."

 _Pap!_ In the next moment, Kana had Sendai by the collar. "C'mere- _bitch-"_

Then, Keine grabbed onto the back of Kana's collar, pulling her, which pulled Sendai. ' _Wh- what the fuck-'_

 _Bam!_ Because of how awkward everything was, Sendai was able to hook Kana across the face with her left arm, and escape. "Get- _back."_

 _Thud._ Kana was pulled onto her back, by Keine. "Fu- _fucking…!"_

 _VRRRRR!_ The two planes began to near, slightly leaving the ground as they proceeded linearly ahead, to run over the entire party with their lower hulls, wings, and propellers.

 _FWOO~M!_ Mokou unleashed a roar of fire towards one, standing in its trail. " _Get- fuu~cked!"_

 _FVRAR._ Sendai felt the ground jolt, for just a moment. "Aah-..."

She looked back, seeing Reisen's gold-white bunnyzooka glowing now. ' _Holy shit…!'_

Red-white electrical-like danmaku power crackled from the device. It pulsed in Reisen's arms, barely stable-looking, and it seemed like the energy was licking into her too. "Al- alright…!" One eye shut, she aimed it forward at the right oncoming plane. " _It's set to stu~n!"_

 _Fwip!_ She pulled the trigger, and the weapon quickly became white-

 _FVRA- VRAA~SH!_ An absolutely massive, red spark-like beam of energy exploded out, carving through the dirt path below as it rumbled forward.

 _BOOM- KABOOM- BAM- BOOM!_ It met the plane ahead, and the wings were blown clean off. ' _Oo- oh… oh my god.'_ Sendai beheld the raw power.

 _BOOM- BAM- KABOOM!_ She whipped around at the sound of explosions, and saw Mokou focusing on the other plane. Geysers of heat and fire stretched to the sky, the last plane torn into by an overwhelming inferno, which began to stretch all along the shoddy metal hull, and the wood wings.

The pilot man got out. "Aa- _ff-_ what the _he~ll!"_ Flailing his arms, he leapt from the hull, dropping into a roll along the ground beside everything.

Slowly, the plane began to veer off course. Driving off the path and away from the party, it continued to burn and smoulder, now useless without a pilot-

 _KABOO~M!_ The hull exploded seconds later, and the plane slowed along the dirt path away from the air field.

' _...Damn!'_ Sendai felt a little displaced, after seeing the other girls tear into these huge, unknown blade machines. ' _Does everyone know how to shoot giant fuckoff death lasers, now!?'_

She looked back at Reisen's lane. ' _Uh- woah, shit.'_ She had to stumble out of the way. The remnants of the other plane drove by, now wingless, the pilot guy left as an unconscious storm of danmaku residue. The propellor spun pitifully slow, with only one bent blade remaining.

"Ho-..." The pink-haired bunny stared at the destruction in awe. "Holy _fu~ck…"_

...Kana fell onto her knees. "Wo-... wow. We're _fucked."_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

"Cool planes." Mokou gave nobody in particular a thumbs-up.

"That-... huh." Keine wasn't sure what to think about all of that.

"...Running over infantry with vehicles isn't usually an effective strategy." Reisen looked incredibly unenthused, as she panned back to Kana. "It was just kinda ineffective in _this_ scenario for the wrong reasons. We could've just _run away."_

"They-... they had firaga mortars on the bottoms." Kana confessed. "They were supposed to bomb the shit outta you."

"Oh." Reisen had an awkward smile. "...Guess you should've worked more on the defenses, huh."

Not willing to waste much more time, Sendai kept moving for the fortification ahead. "C'mon, let's keep going."

"Who'll stop these girls?" Keine felt at the pink-haired bunny she had an arm-lock with, still. "We can't just let them run off."

Reisen stepped up to them. Coming up to both Kana and the pink-haired bunny, she let her eyes flash.

...Knowing what she did, Keine let go of the bunny girl she held. Now, both girls remained still, transfixed on nothing.

' _That eye shit she does…'_ Sendai was wary of the idea. ' _There has to be some way around that, right? If it's just wearing sunglasses, I'm gonna be pissed off.'_

"Also, those pilots ran away." Reisen noted, facing Keine. "You care about that, or…?"

Keine huffed. "Well-... yes, but we also have a main goal, here. If they have second thoughts about teaming up with someone like Dieter again, I won't mind that they managed to get away."

...Reisen nodded, following after Sendai. ' _Considering how badly those-... machines just got fucked up, I don't think I care about whoever drove them.'_

Soon, all four of them came up to the base's door. It was large, painted red, which didn't really fit the crappy brick walls around it. They weren't like the Golden Grin's bricks; they were old, huge grey bricks, of cobblestone, with minimal effort put into making them even.

"Hey." Mokou spoke up. "Reisen. Use your big dick energy laser on the door."

"It's not _anti-structure."_ Somewhat amused, Reisen gave her a smile back… "And, the one I do have that's anti-structure-... I mean, we're not trying to _homicide people._ As far as I'm aware, at least."

 _Cli- click._ Sendai tried to open the front door, but it was locked. ' _...Well, of course.'_

Moving back from it, she hunched away, so that she could charge a leg with dark energy. ' _Let's get this open.'_

Mokou came up to her side, and made a similar motion, despite not really needing to. "I'll get the other half open."

Sendai snorted. "...Sure thing."

Azure light shone from Sendai's left leg, which she'd positioned behind herself. If her skin wasn't obscured by her red hakama, it'd be pitch back.

Searing, red light shone from Mokou's right leg, a hurricane of fire building around it, as she began to grin.

 _WOOSH!_ They both snapped forward, Mokou doing so after Sendai.

 _KABAM!_ The door slammed open violently, the big bar lock in the inner-middle exploding open. Wood grains rained down, before the two women.

...No one was waiting for them on the bottom floor.

The four rolled into the fort, looking around cautiously for a moment.

The whole first floor was visible in this room. Chrome guns were hung up on the back wall. There seemed to be some kind of production line to the right, fit with some kind of dough.

"...They're making clay bowls, here." Reisen deduced.

"Clay bowls…" Mokou looked offset. "The fuck."

...Stepping towards the end of the counter setup, Keine stared down into a basket, where completed bowls were placed. "...These are the farmer baron's brand. Okane- he's having some of his non-food merchandise made here."

' _Guess they use the kids for more than sex and goon-work. Not that this isn't goon-work, but shrine maiden attacking comes to mind.'_

" _If anyone dies…"_ Suddenly, a radio-projected voice came from somewhere.

' _What the hell…'_ Sendai looked around for it, tracing the noise. ' _This box?'_ She'd heard radios a few times before, so she came up to the radio box…

" _Move the body to another room, or conceal it if possible."_ The radio spoke. It distinctly had Reisen's voice, although it was a little distorted. " _The radio will advise you what to do with the body."_

"What the heck." Reisen stared the radio over… "Why do they have _this?_ I recorded that a while ago, when we were first setting things up… as in- in Gensokyo."

" _Cover the body as tightly as possible, in polythene plastic."_ The radio continued to drone out instructions. " _If you have had the body inside for more than five days, and, if it is safe to go outside, find a trench, and bury the body there. Cover it lightly, and mark the spot for later autopsy. Medical teams will be arranged to treat the wounded and ill when available. Stay where you are, and keep listening to the radio."_

"What-..." Keine had her brows raised. "What was this _for?"_

"Before we'd settled down, even before coming to Gensokyo, we planned for difficult expansion events." Reisen revealed. "This was for really remote fortifications. Sort of like-..." She looked around at this fort's walls. "Yeah. Ideally, it's for when population is low and the front is thinly strewn."

" _The longer you stay in refuge, the better it will be for you."_ The Reisen over the radio droned out. " _Keep listening to your radio. This message will repeat in thirty minutes. If anyone dies, keep listening to your radio."_

' _Fucking weird.'_ Sendai shook her head, only a little weirded out by it. ' _Guess there's nothing on this floor for us.'_

On either end of the room, there were small, somewhat ghetto ramps up instead of actual stairs. ' _When was this place built? This architecture sucks.'_

She began to stumble up the rightmost ramp, but Mokou pushed against her, moving up first instead. "Lemme check for traps an' shit. For all you know, they've got guns waitin' at the top."

"They don't." Reisen already knew, however. "...Don't sense anyone up there. There _are_ people on the top floor, however. They expect us, but they're not ready to fight."

"...The fuck." Mokou had a brow raised.

" _Yeah."_ Marcus spoke up over the sound stones they held, coming from three of the four girls. " _I take it yer all on the floor just beneath Dieter boy. Everything's smooth over here. He's actually just recently taken a seat at the top, and he does have some men around 'em, but uh… nothin' ta write home about, really! I think one 'a the faces there'll surprise ya, though!"_

' _Oh, boy.'_ Sendai snorted at his words. ' _A surprising face…'_

"...Still goin' up first." Mokou decided, already climbing the clumsy ramp with her arms and knees.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

At the top, the four women stared ahead, at the oddly ornate, long table which sat ahead. To them, it appeared wide and broad, but didn't come close to them.

Dieter stood ahead of them. He was facing away, his black coat actually on now, as he leaned against the back of a chair.

"Ooh!" Okane stood up, next to him. "Kowai, boy! Here they are!" He was smiling. "Y'really done it this time! I knew I could count on you!"

Around them, there were both men in tacky crimson suits, as well as some of Dieter's beige-suited men. The men in beige suits had bandages across their faces, and they seemed to sink back into their chairs upon sighting Sendai and Mokou…

...Keine was suspect. "What-... is going on, here?"

...Grinning, Okane leaned back, talking quieter. "Wow, y'really _didn't_ tell 'em anything." He faced the girls, and clapped his hands together. "Alright, so! I was told-... that you'd all be interested, in a _deal!"_

...Even after a few seconds, Keine remained unimpressed. "Really."

"Why- yes, yes." Okane nodded, holding onto his chair, as well as his smile. "Y'see-... _Dieter_ here told me- that you'd all take a _lump sum_ , to aid me in my pursuit of more quality, hard-working _craftsmen."_

Reaching down, he picked up a briefcase on the desk.

 _Click._ He folded it open, showing off stacks of hundred yen bills. "Ten million yen."

 _Cli- click, click, click._ Around the table, the other men began to fold open briefcases of their own, pointing them at the party.

"...Ah?" Keine was confused.

"Where the hell'd this come from." Sendai was immensely suspicious of this. "...Why? What would you have us _do?_ "

He smiled wider. "...Well- the first condition, is you turn over ownership of your school to _me._ So that I get my farmhands-... and he gets his own farmhands, or whatever he does." He waved vaguely at Dieter. "And I'll tell ya, that boy works right, he does."

...At the party's collective silence, he continued. "The next- is that Fujiwara and the miko here help out on the farm! Or-... actually, Dieter asked for the miko- so, Fujiwara, you'd sign up with me. And-... we also request discount medicine." He only briefly glanced Reisen over, taking care not to stare into her eyes.

At first, no one said anything, because the situation was that staggering. ' _...Really, what the fuck.'_

"No." Keine spoke up first. "I would never do that. No matter how much _money_ you think you can pay me off with. It'd be too steep a price to pay, for those children's lives."

Okane snorted. "Hah? They come to work for me in the _end,_ anyway. What's the big deal?"

"That's not true." Keine refused him. "...And, a child's learning- a _person's character-_ is worth far more than a paycheck, Okane. I tell you this all the time, at our council meetings."

"And I tell you, you're just-... wrong!" He chuckled. "Aa- as in-... you're just-... you don't know how the world _works,_ Keine."

"Call me Kamishirasawa." Keine requested. "And-... I highly doubt _you_ understand how this village works."

"Oh, _really."_ He slouched, a little. "Gimme examples, _Kamishara._ "

...After letting her brows twitch, she found some. "You haven't been doing anything about the underground crime scene which has adversely affected our children, let alone just students, and has harmed other citizens. An example being the women who were _turned into youkai_ by a drug they'd consumed for five years."

...Okane frowned hard. "That's _bullshit."_

"I also know how you treat your farmhands." Keine remarked. "Only men could put up with the kind of work you make people do, and yet, you hurt children, just because you're so desperate to cut higher profits."

...At that, he didn't frown as hard. "Eeh-... well- _fuck,_ yeah it does! It cuts good profit! Alright, look-... how about I push for tighter kid regulations then, or some shit? Eer, how about more pay for them?"

"You're lying." Keine shot him down instantly. "I won't settle on half-hearted terms."

...He shrugged. "Guess we'll split the ten million among the other three! But, I'm just sayin', Keine-... you'll be sorry."

"Fuck you." Mokou was glaring at him. "Really."

"Might as well toss it in a fire." Sendai was frowning. "I'm not taking anything from you."

"No~t interested." Reisen leaned back idly.

... _Clack._ His expression blunt, he dropped the lid on the briefcase, letting it close.

"Well." He began to look more upset. "What. _Wha~t?_ You think this is all-... a _joke!?"_

"Hey. Bossman."

Letting his head tilt idly, Dieter turned to face them all. He never retrieved his sunglasses, so his grey eyes were exposed, expression hard. The left side of his face was all red, scarring left over from when his face was bit just last night. "Let _me_ try smoothin' 'em over."

...Pouting, Okane stood aside. "Well, alright. You _brought them here,_ after all. You work with them. That's not my job."

...Looking around, Okane found his seat, and used it.

His hands in his pockets, Dieter nodded at the girls, before smiling.

"Start talking." Keine smiled back.

"Now…" He took in a breath. "Now, I know y'all don't like me very much. 'Parently enough ta jus' casually turn down _ten million yen._ An' that's all fine."

"Because we care about more than _money._ " Sendai began to smile, too. "You stupid, _fucking_ idiot."

Smiling wider, he slid his chair out, and did nothing with it at first. "Heh- heheh. Yeah, I know, y'all think I'm stupid. Retarded, even. Scum 'a the goddamn earth. Fuck Dieter."

"Get to the point, asshole." Mokou held her hand up.

 _Fwoom._ A small handful of fire bloomed between her fingers, and all the suited men in the room began to fret, sliding back in their chairs…

"...Fine." He let his eyes flick up. "You." He pointed at Sendai.

"...Me." Sendai continued to look vaguely amused.

"Tsukiko Hakurei, was it?" He grinned again. "If that's even yer real name. You were put on this earth to fuck with me."

...Sendai smiled wider. "I mean-... you're technically not wrong, I suppose? I'd say so."

 _Clap!_ He clapped his hands together. "Hoo, _boy!_ Ooh. Lemme set this shit straight. Yer on the Yama's fuckin' _spiritual payroll,_ ain't'cha?"

"...What." Sendai was lost in the span of half a second.

"Jus' fuckin' tell me!" He pointed at her. "Were ya sent here ta _fuck_ wit' ol' Kowai Dieter!? Did the reaper give ya a kiss an' a ticket!? A fuckin', wanted poster!?"

...As funny as it would have been to say yes, Sendai shook her head. "If you want a serious answer… no. I'm only after you 'cause you piss me off, and you're trying to hurt my friend. Among others. Altogether, that shit doesn't fly."

"Heh." He snorted. "Doesn't fly… anyways- you just don't _know_ then, I guess. An' that's all fair. My time on this earth was fuckin' borrowed, anyways."

"...Meaning?" Sendai wasn't sure where he was going with this.

"No matter what'cha say, this'll end two ways." Dieter began to glare at her. "You drag my ass back to hell… or I off your bitch ass, and fly on t'another day."

"This doesn't have to end in _violence."_ Keine stepped closer to the table. "Just listen to people for once, Kowai."

...He exhaled. "Fuck _no._ Look-... you wanna know how I know this _bitch_ is here on business?"

Keine stopped before the rich mahogany table. "Alright. Impress me."

' _This guy…'_ Sendai was half-tempted to not listen, but she exhaled. ' _Since Keine seems to be listening, I guess I'll bear with it.'_

Gesturing to Sendai again, he stomped his boot up onto his own chair. "Nh- ah, let's see… oh, right. It all started back when I almost fuckin' died. Or, I think I _did_ die. Doesn't matter."

While he continued, Sendai stepped closer, listening. "I was flyin' a plane fer the German air force. Doin' regulation exercises, all that shit. My fuckass of a crewfag fucked up the fuel engine. So, halfway through, I crashed. Poor old Dieter, didn't give his plane a rectal lobotomy 'fore take off."

"An' that's when the funny shit happened." He tilted his head back. "...I woke up in fuckin' court. So, I was sure I went ta fuckin' hell. Not that I doubted it. But, nah. I dunno- I guess god and the devil were fuckin' gambling over my soul, and this attorney showed up, and it was all kinds of fucked. But, good news! Attorney guy said I got to walk the earth again. Bad news, he said I couldn't set foot outside this 'Gensucker' place ever again."

Reaching into his black, leather coat, Dieter took out a paper. "Here's my contra~ct. Don't bother rippin' it up, I tried. Basically says, I'm supposed ta 'be an active member-... of the human village'."He slowed, reading the text on it, struggling a little. "I'm also not s'post to kill anyone without _rea~l good reason._ So, I don't kill. Big no-no. Forced labor, though? Contract said nothin' 'bout that."

' _This outsider was relocated into Gensokyo, then.'_ Sendai deduced… ' _He even has things he's not allowed to do, like it's some kind of parole. He'd be killing people, if the contract allowed that; and since he couldn't... the next best thing was pretty much second best: using drugs to break them.'_

"An', you know what bein' dead for a little bit taught me?" Lowering the contract, he smiled at Sendai and Keine. "Nothing _fucking_ matters."

"What's important-..." Keine spoke up, looking off-put. "It's not what comes after. It's your experiences in life-"

" _Exactly!"_ He beamed at her. "So there shouldn't be no damn problem, if I crack a few eggs 'long the way! Now that I _know_ how pointless bein' a fuckin' goodie goodie is. That day forward, Dieter never kissed up to anyone, if he could get away with it."

"Why can't other people have good lives, though?" Keine objected to this line of thinking. "You're hurting others!"

...At that, he shrugged. "Ask them, not _me._ S'not their fuckin' fault they get in my way. I was this fuckin' close to havin' this village under ma' _boots,_ too. But, as I _suspected,_ the reaper people ain't down to clown with my little conquest here. Fuckin' bumfuck village."

...Seeing Keine's deepening frown, he smiled wider. "Ooh, wha~t? It's _true._ ...Y'do look _cute_ when ya frown."

"Don't make me fucking kill you." Mokou monotoned, stalking up behind Keine. "You talk enough stupid shit."

Dieter pointed at Sendai again, and brought his boot off the chair. "Nnh… you. Yer the _single_ goddamn thing standin' between me an' Dieterville. Er, maybe 'Dietertroit', 'er somethin' like that."

"You conceited piece of shit." Sendai was hardly actually frowning; she was just in simple disbelief. "Does human garbage like you really fucking exist."

"Conceited?" He jerked his head back. "It ain't conceit if I actually get 'er done! Which I will, once I deal wit' yer bitch ass."

"As if we won't fucking kill you, if you somehow managed that." Mokou was now dangerously close to the wood table. "Newsflash, metalhead. You've made more enemies than just _her_ in the past forty-eight hours."

Folding his arms, he smiled at her too. "Heh. Y'very well might off me, girl. But I don't care 'bout what happens next. 'Cause, jus' recently, I realized somethin' 'bout myself."

"What could you have possibly realized." Sendai asked to get it over with.

"I realized I'd love ta do nothin' more, than live through one shitty event like _this."_ He grinned, brightly. "If I even give _one_ _more_ middle finger ta the reaper 'fore it's lights out, I'll die laughin' my ass off. I was never one ta love a _challenge,_ but _hooie,_ I dunno no more!"

"Dieter…" Okane spoke up, looking a little perturbed. "What's this about, Dieter?"

...Dieter gave him a little smile. "Aw, don't worry 'bout it, ol' timer. You just keep doin' whatever the fuck it is you do. Don't worry yer ug- _pretty_ little head."

"Dieter…!" He began to stand. "I demand you explain this to me, this instant…!"

 _Fwish._ Dieter tossed off his coat, abandoning the contract with it.

He'd turned around, facing away from the girls, seemingly showing off his bare back. "...Heh."

 _fwump._ The coat landed on Okane's face, and he tore it off. " _Dieter!"_

"An' let's just say…" Dieter smirked back at everyone. "If it wasn't obvious… the judge left me a parting gift. Said she'd shove a big gold dildo up my ass if I misused it. Well, oops."

 _BOOM- BAM- KABOOM- BLAM!_ Explosions began to ring out across the second story of the fort, blowing open walls around the girls.

' _What…!?'_ At the sudden, lightning-quick rumbles, Sendai looked around, fire and amber lining the walls around her. The room was cast alive with bright red, for one moment.

 _Vrrr~._ While the walls rumbled, crumbling to nothing but rubble, the ceiling lifted, not actually attached to the stonework. It was built into hinges that were embedded in the hillside outside. ' _What the fuck…!'_

 _Cra- crack- thud- kroo~m._ The walls were now all gone, the deafening rumble of explosives fading out.

" _Is everyone alright!?"_ Marcus was heard over the soundstone. " _All that dust ain't lettin' me see shit!"_

"I'm fine!" Sendai yelled back, arms up and guarding her face from the billowing dust.

' _The floor seems to be totally fine, for some reason-'_

She bumped into Mokou and Keine, who were now closer to her. ' _Oh, hey.'_

 _FZZT- SSS~!_ In the dust ahead, the girls all look ahead at a shimmering, fizzling light.

The dust parted, revealing Dieter standing ahead of them. He was facing the wall which lead into the hillside, which was now gone, revealing a huge, rectangular entrance into the hill.

 _SSS- SSS~!_ His back sizzled. Down his flesh, a hexagram-shape emblem was being drawn in searing heat.

In the midst, there was a single Japanese symbol, reading 'vow'.

 _SS- SSS- Sss._ After some brief moments, the sigil was fully drawn.

"Yer not the only one…" He smirked back at them again, "who has a few tricks up their sleeve, Tsukiko."

 _Vrrrr~._ The hum of an oncoming airplane came from the tunnel.

"The Yama didn't want to see a simple, misguided boy like me waste away in some youkai's belly in here." He spoke, still facing away. "An' after enough beggin'... she gave me some wings."

 _WOOSH._ Dieter leapt ahead, for the oncoming plane, before it was near them. Afterimages of amber echoed behind him, outlining his leap onto it.

The cave itself was massive, the slit in the hillside stretching seemingly farther than Sendai had thought. ' _It's even bigger than this room, threefold!'_

However, the plane itself was a sight to behold. It was impractically long for what it was, fit with three hulls, a propellor fitted onto each, and a long, wooden deck between all of them, as well as on a layer above them. It was a massive, triple-hull 'biplane'.

 _VRRRR- VRRRR- VRRRR!_ The deafening roar of airplane propellers came closer, and quickly, the girls all scrambled for their own ways to get onboard.

All of the men from earlier had fled, Okane included, having slipped out during the blasts with the money. ' _Probably a good thing- or they'd have gotten fuckin' run the hell over!'_

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Mokou, Keine and Reisen all simply floated up, and towards the plane, hovering too high for the propellers to snag them.

Sendai moved to the side, in the safe area between two roaring blades, and sighted the deck. ' _Guess I'm just gonna have to-...'_

" _Hup!"_ As it sped up, drawing closer, she leapt for the raised wooden floor-

 _Thu- thud!_ She rolled along the top of it, managing to get her whole body up there. "Nn- nnh…"

-+- _Vs. Flight of the Coward, Kowai Dieter -+-_

Atop the plane, Sendai, Keine, Mokou and Reisen all stood.

Dieter faced them, now. "...He~h. Figured you'd all have a harder time, wit' that shit."

The whole deck amidst the three hulls had a design similar to the one on his back ingrained on it; the hexagonal oath of an enma.

"...What the fuck." Mokou spoke over the roar of engines, upon looking down at it. "You bettin' on this day happening, or what…?" She was kind of suspicious of why Dieter just _had_ an arena-plane prepared.

 _VRRRRR~._ Leaving the fort's broad, semi-uneven top, the airplane unevenly bobbed into the air. Sendai stared off the edges, into the boundless, dark sea of woods, as it sank beneath the deck.

Soon, she was able to sight distant mountains, and mysterious plains of land beyond her reach. ' _Holy… shit…'_

A full moon bathed the land in pale blue light, which met the giga-biplane's deck.

"How-..." Reisen was sort of astounded in a different way. "This shouldn't be able to _fly…"_

Sendai rapidly blinked her eyes as she adjusted to the heavy wind. ' _How the fuck did I get myself into this situation. We're-... we're flying! These things can really fly! Holy crap!'_

" _Oh, boy!"_ Marcus yelled through the sound stone over the roar of the wind and the engine. " _What a nice day for flyi~ng, huh, Tsukiko~!?"_

Sendai snorted, despite the wind whipping through her hair. "Shut u~p. _"_

 _Fwish._ Explosive, amber-orange energy ran up Dieter's muscles, making his arms and legs glow. It shimmered, like a constant flush of sparks or muzzle flashes.

Keine began to stand, her form glowing as well, in the pale moonlight. " _Nn- nnh…"_

' _Wait-...'_ There was one thing, that Sendai knew of Keine. ' _The moon- it's full!'_

From Keine's head, two large horns began to extend, her hair changing tint, to a mint green color.

 _FWISH!_ Great, bluish-azure energy lit up across her own form, plain and full. " _Rrgh…"_

...Dieter let his eyes widen a little, grinning as he saw Keine's horns grow. "No _shit,_ huh… so she _is_ youkai."

She arched back, howling her anger. "What a-... _waste,_ of a Yama's _ca~re!"_ The were-hakutaku had awoken, because the moon was full.

...Sendai looked back for the craft's pilots, only to find solid metal where pilot hubs should have been. ' _Is no one driving this, then?'_

In the night sky over all of Gensokyo, the plane began to lock onto an unending, endless figure-eight over the Human Village, patrolling the premise from way up above.

"I dunno _what_ that Yama was thinkin'!" Dieter grinned back at her, despite her anger, and horns. "Purdy sure she don't _give a shit,_ either! But 'a course even _she's_ gotta pretend she does, an' she's _dead!"_

Keine arched herself back, eyes flaring, her irises now red. " _Damn yo~u!"_

 _WOOSH!_ She rushed towards him, horns first, intent on ramming him into submission-

 _Fwish!_ He slid back on his boots, reeling an arm clad in amber back-

 _BAM!_ His fist met the top of Keine's head, right between the horns. He'd thrown it with such force, that he sent himself sliding forward again.

" _Nngh…"_ She took a few steps back. That full-force punch was enough to parry the charge.

"Shit's just like my first night here…" Standing back from her again, he beamed. "Up alone against four fuckin' _youkai whores!"_

Mokou spun around and raised her leg to kick, now at his side-

 _WOOSH!_ He slid out of the way of her thrusting kick, fists raised boxer-style, his eyes wide and intense.

After he moved, knowing he couldn't stop her, he looked to his right again-

 _WOOSH!_ He slid back once more, Reisen's crescent kick kissing the tip of his skin, just barely grazing him.

 _WOOSH!_ Next, guessing a blow was incoming, he weaved under a roundhouse kick from behind, Mokou just barely missing.

 _WHAP- PAP!_ With extreme speed, as he stood again he roared up to Reisen with a left hook that began near her knee and stretched towards her chest-

 _THOOM._ Reisen met him in the stomach with an instant hook of her own, faster than he could even land his, or react. " _Hgh- uu-"_

He flew back from her force, flipping around-

 _Click!_ After one flip, the tip of his boots met the floor before he could really go sailing, and he roared forward. He let out a massive, orange overhead thrust which flared in the evening light. " _Hra~h-"_

 _WHUNK!_ Before he could use it, Sendai met his side with a dark, charged kick. " _Huhk!"_

 _Thud!_ This time, he ate shit, rolling along the ground on his sides to get away from the girls.

 _BAM- BAM- BAM- BAM!_ Thrusting up, all four girls stomped him in different places at the same time. " _Hhk- rrgh!"_

' _This is hardly fair.'_ Sendai smiled, a little.

...They all stepped back, standing around him as he got up. "Nngh-... fu- fuck-"

 _WHABAM!_ Reisen's crescent kick met him in the ass, sending him sailing ahead. " _Huoh-"_

 _WHAKRACK!_ Mokou flicked her leg straight up along her own body, meeting Dieter in the jaw as he soared towards her.

" _Nnh- huoo-..."_ He flipped around mid-air-

 _Pap._ Keine grabbed onto his waist, catching him as he was upside-down. "Nnn- ngh…"

Seething, her body shaking in built, pent-up anger, she rotated him as she held him over herself, and leapt off the ground. " _Hrr~h…!"_

At the apex of her leap, she reeled her arms back behind herself, his body flopping around in her vice grip. "Hh- he- hey-" His eyes were wide, and he tried to speak-

Keine whipped both arms straight forward as she descended. Dieter yelled before the impact. " _Aaa-"_

 _CR- CRACK._ Dieter was smashed head-first against the hardwood floor, a grisly splatter of blood splaying out all around the point of collision. She'd let gravity decide the ferocity of the impact, and if the blood splatter was any indication, it wasn't feeling kind.

' _Holy… crap.'_ Sendai wasn't even sure if he'd survive an impact like that.

" _Ghk-..."_ His limbs contorted weirdly, as he slowly fell off of his head, and onto his back.

 _Thud._ He flopped, everything about him limp. The girls all stood around, watching to see if he was dead yet.

"Nn-..." By some strange miracle, he began to sit up. "Not-... yet…"

Once he was up on his legs, Mokou's boot came for his face again, thrusted dead-on-

 _fwish._ He slid aside the incoming blow nearly instantly-

 _WHABAM!_ Amber echoed off of his sudden uppercut, as he met Mokou's jaw with it. " _Nnh…!"_

 _WOOSH!_ Keine thrusted towards him head-first again, to capitalize on the time he had to spend bringing his arm back-

 _fwish!_ Sliding aside the charge, he ran for Sendai, who was further away from the other girls. "Hh- _hey, slut…!"_

Her eyes flared, and she bared her teeth. ' _This fucker-'_

 _BAM!_ She threw a hook, but he was faster, a grand, explosive hook powering up Sendai's side. " _Ooh-"_

 _Pap!_ She blocked the next great hook he sent out easily, stopping the obvious but quick upward motion with her left arm.

 _WOOSH._ He weaved under a crescent kick from Reisen behind him, meant for the back of his head-

 _PAP!_ He stomped on Sendai's sandal with his boot. "Ff-" She winced-

 _BAM- WHAM!_ " _Hru~h!"_ He drove his elbow across her gut, and an overarm thrust into her face, like a hurricane of force.

 _Thud!_ Sendai fell back, and he stepped off of her sandal. ' _Da- damn it…'_

 _BAM!_ He pivoted around to try and stop anything new, but Mokou's thrusting kick met his arms, blowing them out of guarding. " _Aa-"_

 _Fwish!_ Before she could get another kick in, or before a different crescent kick from Reisen could meet him, he slid back, moving past Sendai as she tried to get up.

 _Click._ As he stood over the fallen Sendai, he held out a heavy revolver pulled from his jeans, aimed down at her head, primed in an instant. ' _Ah-...'_ Before she could get up, she saw it. ' _Fu- fuck.'_

" _Tsukiko-..."_ Keine looked like her heart had stopped where she stood, many meters away.

"Rrh-..." Mokou's expression flared. "You-..."

' _This-... asshole.'_ Sendai glared up, from the floor. ' _After all the shit he's pulled… he gets off on fighting this shitty, cowardly last stand...'_

"Ha~h…" Letting out a breath, he leaned forward, grinning across the laid-out Sendai at the three other pissed off women. "Fuckin' _amateurs,_ yeah? Said I was after _her,_ not y'all. Heheh..."

 _Wham!_ Kneeling down, he thrust the barrel against the side of Sendai's head when she looked back at her friends. " _Anh-..."_

"Bitch." He sneered victoriously, as he rigidly snapped back into standing, eying the other three carefully.

' _To think that he'd just thoughtlessly use his second chance at life to throw away people's happiness; that he'd try to throw away my second chance with him, too. The guy's hardly even happy himself…'_

She thought back to Keisuke, and the opportunities to grow someone caring like him had given her. She thought back to being alive again, and how this second chance had let her help Keine. She remembered the care she gave Reimu, and the care her own mother had given her.

' _I can't imagine, being so fucking retarded, to abuse precious things like that.'_

"So…!" Calling out, Dieter took in a deep breath. "Y'all really don't want me shootin' her, huh!? Awh, look at y'all-..." He experimentally jerked his hand, and saw how Keine flinched. "Hehah!"

' _I can't imagine- letting some fucking thoughtless piece of shit get away with being this much of a fucking letdown!'_

Before the other girls could devise a plan and act, Sendai did. Her limbs flared with violent, azure light, coming off of her form like smoke.

 _Cla- CLACK!_ She shot up the floor with explosive velocity, and since his eyes were on the other three, he couldn't react.

She leapt at him, as he began to flick his gun arm back, spooked. " _Hrr~h…!"_

' _You had the same fucking situation as me!'_ She glared straight into his grey eyes. ' _You had a second chance! You could've-... did so much.'_

 _PA- PAP!_ Her arms caught him by the shoulders, and his eyes widened.

Unable to sustain her weight, he slipped back on his heels, revolver abandoned as he tried to come up with a plan to not eat shit when he met the floor. "Sh- shit-"

The blue-white light coming from her body was blinding. ' _You could have found love-... you could have made friends, or adventured- or just, fucking anything… but you threw it all away.'_

Dieter fell back, Sendai's form dropping with him. She thrusted her head forward as they took the fall together.

' _Fuck you for abusing people's kindness!'_

She'd replicated what Keine did to him in her office, before they'd started tailing him.

 _WHAKRA- CRI- CRA- CRACK!_ She landed her head against his, the moment his head fell back and met the floor. Blood flared across Sendai's face, as well as Dieter's, his nose splashing open.

...Wiping her own face off, Sendai got up, pushing herself off of him. "Hh-..." He lied there with a blown away look on his face, almost grinning. Blood had come from the wound Keine made on his head earlier, pooling along the back of his head against the wood ground.

Standing, Sendai saw the fallen revolver nearby, and moved to kick it. ' _Fuck your shitty guns.'_

 _CLACK!_ Her sandal met it, and the gun was punted away. It skidded across the deck, before falling off the plane and into oblivion. ' _Hope someone has roof insurance.'_

...Then, moments later, he began to move. He started sitting up again, despite his face being caked in blood. "Hh- hehe-... nn- not… yet-..."

' _Holy fuck. What is this dumbass made of.'_

"Just _give u~p!"_ Keine was now behind him, hollering, her red eyes leaving trails in the midnight air. "Take your _selfish pride_ and _fucking di~e!"_

...He flicked his hand along his jeans again, as he got up.

 _BAM- BAM!_ Before he stood fully, he shot Keine twice in the chest, with a new gun he pulled. " _Hghk-_ aa…!"

This took a moment to catch up with Sendai, whose eyes widened. ' _Wh- Keine! No! Fuck!'_

 _Fwish!_ She moved for him, but he slid aside her, pointing his gun at Mokou as she sprinted up.

 _BAM- CRACK!_ He capped her, a bullet blowing straight through her skull.

 _BAM!_ He whipped the gun to finally cap Sendai too, but she weaved her head just past the barrel, passing through her hair. The bullet lit up Reisen's shield since she'd strafed just behind Sendai, receiving it.

Bringing up her right arm, Sendai grabbed the gun, and moved her left arm up-

 _WHAM!_ She hooked it over his head, and he grit his teeth. " _Nghk…"_

 _Bap._ He tried to knee her, but his legs had nowhere near the force of his arms, letting Sendai rake her azure-clad arm back across his neck-

 _BAM!_ The outward slam of her arm sent him stumbling away, and left her with his pistol. ' _Heha! Mine now, fuckhead!'_

Now that he was some steps away, his eyes widened, and he looked up at Sendai.

 _BANG!_ She took the shot, but he'd moved to slide away before she even pulled the trigger. ' _Fuck!'_

"Reisen!" Sendai yelled out. "Help!"

Nodding, Reisen kneeled down, and held a hand to one of her ears. "Support team A-oh-three! Need a lock-on, against bomb-elemental human, to the order of red-white. Make sure not to collide with our aircraft!"

' _Wait, what…'_

 _Vrrrr~!_ Suddenly, in the airspace next to the plane they all stood on, a sleek white craft came from the darkness. Through the lit, cobalt-tinted cockpit, Sendai could see a bunny girl was inside it…

 _Fwi- fwi- fwi, click!_ Around Sendai, a golden reticle began to form, and suddenly, she could see a line traced along the gun she held, like an ethereal laser pointer. ' _Woah…!'_

...She held up the pistol. There was now a grid along the floor, the wind seemed to avoid her eyes, a line was drawn from the gun to Dieter, his evasion paths were plotted in real-time, there were subtle lines that calculated alternate bullet trajectories, and Sendai now saw a small plus symbol that seemed fixed to her eyes, and stayed in the center no matter where she looked.

' _I-... I feel like this is kind of overkill, but I'll take it!'_

 _BANG._ She fired the shot-

 _Thwick!_ It met his gut. " _Hrgh!"_

 _click._ The gun was empty, so she couldn't shoot again. ' _...I'm glad I got one supremely accurate shot, at least.'_

She held up her gun, to throw it. As she did so, she got to see the exact trajectories it'd travel at if she tossed it. ' _What-... wow!'_ She could see how the flying craft's air currents would mess with it, too.

 _WOOSH._ She chucked it way to the right, and it flew forward with bullet-like velocity. The air caught it, and delivered it just the way Sendai expected.

 _Clack!_ It beaned him in the forehead. " _Ngh…"_

While he stumbled back, feeling at the new hole in his gut, Keine marched towards him, her eyes aflare again. ' _Aa- she's better, already…?'_

She came up to him, stumbling for an awkward moment as well, before reeling an arm back to flail forward-

 _Fwi- BAM!_ He'd tried to slide, but chose the wrong direction, her arm meeting his head and sending him to the ground.

" _Hrraa~h!"_ Arching back, Keine howled, and then she pounced onto him.

Now that she straddled him, she had free reign to go absolutely insane.

 _CRACK… CRACK…_ She began slamming each arm on his head, one at a time, crushing each fist into his face, compressing his nose and features. " _Rrgh-_ "

 _CRACK… CRACK…_ Again, she slammed arm after arm down like she was beating a big drum, as he tried to bring his own arms up to fight back.

 _CRACK… CRACK…_ She grit her teeth, as she rammed his head against the hard floor again and again, blood pooling along the back of his head, spreading out with every hard hit.

 _Squech._ He thrust an arm up, gripping her by the eyes.

" _Hraaoo~h!"_ Keine roared-

 _BAM- CRACK!_ He leaned to the right, avoiding a single full-force thrust of her arm, which busted through the wood floor. The fragment she punched out fell to the village below.

 _Thu- thud._ " _Aa- nhe…"_ She rolled off, feeling at her own eyes, while he crawled to the side, blood also having pooled behind his back.

"Sh- shiht…" Slowly, Dieter fought into standing, streams of red pouring down his face and head. " _Nnh-... I- aihnh loosh…"_

 _Whunk!_ She met his stomach with a hook. ' _Alright-'_

 _Bam!_ As he brought up an arm to thrust back, she hooked the opposite arm across his chest, making him lean back-

 _WHAM!_ She hooked him again, now in the face.

 _PAP!_ He stomped her sandal with his boot's heel, and moved in to ram her to the ground again-

 _WHAM!_ But, Sendai was faster, whipping the same azure-clad arm she used to hook him down along his side with a great stroke.

 _Thud!_ He landed back-first against the floor, now disadvantaged. "Rrh-"

 _Fwish!_ Before she could stomp his groin, he slid back by thrusting his arms against the ground, getting away-

"Nn- _no- you do~n't!"_ Roaring with her whole body, she sprinted ahead at him. She leapt off her feet, reeling an arm back overhead. " _Hra~h!"_

 _WHAM- CRACK!_ Falling, she thrusted her left arm into his face, smashing his head against the floor.

 _Thu- thud!_ Landing behind him, she rolled off her arm and side, landing on her back three meters behind him. ' _Eat shi~t!'_

...For a few seconds, he simply lied there, as she moved to get back up-

 _Fwish!_ Rolling over, his face caked in crimson, red and amber, Dieter jetted forward and onto his boots with surreal velocity, bringing his arm overhead, explosive energy roaring up it. ' _What- oh-'_

He leapt, and Sendai saw the overhead thrust roar down into her own face. ' _Aa-'_

 _WHAM- BAM!_ He'd copied the blow Sendai just used on him, his knuckles smashing her nose, driving the back of her head into the floor. " _Nnkh!"_

Clumsily, he rolled off of his arm and side, onto his back. "Hh- heheh…"

" _Nn- anh…!"_ Sendai mind recoiled, from how her head met the hardwood floor. Her vision dimmed for just a moment, and her body jolted to keep herself alert.

' _Does-... is this what he keeps fucking coming back from? Fuck…!'_

Body tingling, brows furrowed, Sendai rolled over onto her stomach. Her nose was now bloody, as she moved to get back up off of her arms and knees. "Nnh-... ha~h…"

"Hfuu~..." Dieter heaved, pushing himself up off his own stomach with his arms. "He-... hehe-..."

Reisen stood up from the mint-haired Keine, sliding away a medkit and painkillers, as Keine fought back onto her legs. "Fu- fuckin', thank you…"

 _FWOOM- BOO~M!_ Mokou was back. A pillar of fire erupted in the center of the plane, igniting everything.

Eyes lighting up at the flames, Dieter beamed. "Yhe- yea~h!" He reached into his jeans, too.

Sendai ran up, to stop him-

 _Woosh!_ He chucked an alcohol flask forward, into the inferno.

 _KABOO~M!_ It exploded.

A huge, gaping hole was left in the middle of the plane deck. Caught surprised by the blast, Mokou fell straight down.

' _Are you fucking kidding me…!'_ Sendai stepped back from the widening, burning gap. ' _You stupid motherfucker! This thing's not gonna be flying much longer!'_

She slid up to him, and threw another hook-

 _Fwish!_ He slid back, before throwing one of his own.

 _BAM!_ It met Sendai's stomach, but she took it.

 _BAM- BAM- Fwi- fwish- BAM- BAM- Fwish- BAM!_ Rapidly, his arms exploding with power, hers flourishing with dark, they traded blow after blow, neither allowing themselves to relent. Hook and jab chained into hook after jab, neither allowing their body to yield.

Keine and Reisen neared the exchange, watching pensively as Sendai and Dieter railed one another, in a lightning-fast exchange of dark and ballistics.

 _WHABAM!_ After three seconds, and twenty traded punches, Dieter got around Sendai's side, and landed a single, Keine headbutt-parrying blow to the side of her head.

Sendai stood stock still, eyes hard, blood oozing down her lips. Azure and black flaked away from where his thrust met her skull.

' _You're not the only hardass, shithead!'_

 _WHABAM!_ She reeled right back around, returning the momentum with a thrusting punch of her own, her knuckles digging into his nose. ' _Fucking di~e already!'_

 _Thud!_ As he flopped back, she pounced on him.

Her arms now jet black, Sendai lifted one, straddling his form-

 _CRACK- CRACK!_ Copying Keine's motions, Sendai crushed one fist into him at a time, hitting hard enough to make her knuckles burn. ' _Let's crack his fucking face in-'_

 _CRACK- CRACK!_ Bringing down her arms twice more, she crushed his face further, his head limply going with the momentum of each slam down onto him-

' _He won't have- fuckin', bones, when I'm done-'_

 _CRACK- CRACK!_ Ignoring the coming flames, Sendai ruined his face twice more. Serrations marred it, blood flowing from multiple wounds. It was like someone had painted him red; almost all of it was raw, or bloody.

 _CRACK- CRACK!_ She noted his bloody tears, and kept going, intent on breaking his jaw and cheekbones next. Each pass of her knuckles scraped deep, red marking her fists.

 _CRACK- CRACK!_ Her arms hurt from digging into him, the posture wearing on her whole body. It wasn't skillful, and it wasn't a smart attack, by any means, but it did what she knew best: raw destruction and power.

 _CRACK! CRACK!_ Slower now, she slammed the sides of her fists into his face again. ' _Fu- fuck…'_

Keine grabbed onto her. " _We're gonna crash- dammit!"_

This snapped Sendai out of her will to destroy quickly. ' _Oh- shit!'_

She looked back through the flames and smoke.

The hole in the plane had expanded hilariously fast, through the wood, cheap metal and fabric that comprised the giga-biplane. The entire farthest hull was gone, and the central hull was red with flames. Only this leftmost plane halve was remaining.

 _KABOO- BOOM!_ The central hull piece broke off, and spiralled to the ground below, meant for the village. ' _I- I wonder if that's what Mokou's working on, right now.'_ Sendai didn't want those pieces to hit homes.

Watching the part fall, Reisen moved back. "Aah-... north west sector-..." She noted where it was falling, too.

The piece they were on was careening to the ground. Sendai looked ahead, at where the ember-waked plane hull swung.

Reisen looked around, and her eyes widened, realizing how long the plane had left. "E.T.A- _five seconds!_ Everyone- get- _go!"_ She began to run, too.

But, Sendai wasn't fully listening, blood rushing through her head. Her eyes widened at the field they saw; this was Okane's land, and it was about to be torn into any second now.

Keine grappled her, and Sendai practically bounced into her arms, limbs shaky and jittery with adrenal power. ' _Oo- oh, holy…'_

Keine pulled, and flew off with her. They parted from the descending, amber star that was the falling biplane halve.

 _ **KRIKRAKRAKRACK!**_ The shuttle bounced off a crop, floating ahead towards the large manor, making ungodly noises in the process. ' _O- ooh…'_

 _KABOO~M!_ As it sailed ahead, the engine finally went, the plane becoming a complete, searing red blaze-

 _ **KRA- KROOM-OOM-THOOM…**_ Ultimately, it powered into the manor, exploding into a bomb of great fire. Within seconds, the entire side of the manor facing Sendai was up in smoke.

' _Oh, wo~w.'_ She took in the spectacle, the massive blaze filling her gaze. ' _Ooh. Um… I, don't think we're going to be questioning anybody after this…_ '

...As Keine held in the air, holding Sendai, Reisen came up to them, grabbing onto Keine's shoulder. "Holy-... holy _shit."_ She beheld the black plume which rose from the manor.

 _Sendai learned Essence of Steadfast Counter._

 _Sendai learned Essence of Finishing Blows._

 _Sendai learned Essence of Wreckage._

 _Sendai obtained FN Model 1903 (one use remaining)._

Keine and Sendai landed, in the midst of the farmland. A plume of searing red and billowing black stood ahead, the mansion upon it burning.

Dieter laid in the bloody heap before them. "Hh… hh~." He was still breathing, by some miracle, but all the amber energy along his body was gone.

"Here- lemme…" Keine moved to hold up Sendai, by sliding herself under one of Sendai's arms.

' _Not-... necessary, but alright.'_

"Hh- heh- kaugh…" Dieter coughed, as he lied on the ground. "Kauf- kaugh- _kau~gh…"_

Reisen came up to them, having retrieved one of his pistols from the floor. "Hey. He had another spare, and dropped it in the cra-... ah." She looked ahead, seeing him.

"Yh-... yhou…" He spoke roughly, hardly telligible. "Kh-... Tsuh- kik-... yher a- damn _monster…_ "

...Sendai leered down at him, as he lied with a broken arm and a broken leg. "Dhamn- shtraight." Her nose was broken too, but she wasn't nearly as beat as he was. "Dumb- ahssh."

For awhile, they simply stood there, the red of rising flames glimmering upon their encounter…

"He- here-... I thouh- I wa' hot- _shit…_ " He was staring up at the night sky, which was being obscured by smoke. "Bu'... yhou jus' kheep ghettin'- _shtron'her…"_

Snorting, Sendai felt Keine wrap an arm around her back, stopping beneath her left breast. "...Yhou, fhucking, _ihdiot._ If yhou weren't sho- _shtupid,_ punches like tha' koulda- done sho much _ghood…_ "

' _Or- at least, not fucked up other people's lives. Fucking retard.'_

"...I- I'd rhather fhuckin' _die."_ Dieter seethed through his bloody teeth. "Dhie'her… no' pusshy…"

...With his one good arm, he somehow managed to push himself into sitting up. " _Hh- aa…"_ The motion made his body reel, the piercingly cold night air cutting into his wounds. "...Nh-." He felt at his face, and held the hand back out, looking over the red.

"Aah-..." Looking back up at the girls, he smiled. "Al- alsho-... tha _bunny fucks-_... Kheine- Tsu-... _keek,_ they comin' fo' yhou."

Sendai furrowed her brows. "Whah?"

" _Bhunnies!"_ Dieter yelled back. "I hahd 'em run ouh'... s'post ta rail all 'a ya, ahfter I whon. No point in 'em nowh… so keep- _kaugh-..._ eyesh opehn…"

...Sendai brought her other arm up to wipe her nose on impulse, only to wipe up a bunch of blood. ' _Ugh…'_

"Wh- why're-..." She let her gaze lower, frowning hard. "Why tellh- ush…"

"Yhou fucker-... y'nailed ol' Die'her." He grinned back, but the motion quickly gave way to a pained scowl. "Be real damn shtupid- if y'got killed _now_ , bhy fuckin' _youkhai…_ "

" _Nngh…"_ Grunting, he rolled onto his stomach. With his one good arm, he began trying to crawl away, leaving red on the soil and crushed crop plants.

...Sendai looked unevenly at Keine, as her hand adjusted to sink into Sendai's left breast. "Aa-.. shoul' whe le' 'em-..."

"No matter where he goes…" Keine began to turn away, bringing Sendai with her. "Putting 'em in jail after this should be easy. The guard will be on this fire soon, too."

Okane's farmland, and his manor, were isolated enough from the nearby village that the fire would probably burn itself out, unable to spread.

' _You imply he'll survive those wounds.'_ Sendai was pretty sure if they left Dieter here, he'd just die. ' _...Wouldn't mind if he didn't.'_

They began to hobble off. Reisen gave an idle stare back at Dieter as he left, before moving to follow the other girls.

' _Looks like-... we did it.'_ Sendai took in the dim amber glow along the ground, radiating off of the burning mansion in the background. ' _Let's see the village get crime after a fuckin' stunt like that…'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Sendai, Reisen and Keine shambled out of the gate to Okane's land. Behind them, a blaze raged, his mansion burning.

' _...Reisen gave that gun she stole to me, for some reason. Holding it still gives me a line to help aim, but the grid and shit is all gone, for some reason… wait, the line is fading too. Wha~t.'_

"...Wo- wow." Sendai breathed out, sliding the pistol into her pocket. "What-... a _fhucking_ show thah ehnded up bheing…" Her broken nose didn't help her talk. "Fhuck…"

"Right?" Keine still had Sendai held, with Sendai's right arm cast over her shoulders. It was sort of ironic, since Keine had taken more damage in that fight. "Just glad we all came out okay, after that. Tsukiko- this is why I fuckin'-... don't wanna send you off on shit like this. I don't wanna see you hurt."

' _I haven't even taken any gut blows. Actually- come to think it, why'd Keine help me walk anyway… I just kinda accepted her help without thinking.'_

"Keine…" Sendai closed her eyes, her adrenaline finally running low. "Don't feel bad. I've been through worse."

"...Easy for _you_ to say." Keine began to grin wider at her. "I don't think it'd be fair if ya counted _that_. We oughta get you back to my place..."

' _...What, why.'_ Sendai wasn't sure she followed her logic on that last one. ' _Unless she means Marcus's place.'_

 _whish._ Evening breeze roared past them, chilling all the blood along Sendai's face. ' _Ho- holy shit, it's kinda cold…'_

"Uh. Hey." Reisen spoke up, nearing them. "I know you're both-... wiped, and all, but…"

Keine turned to her. "Wha~t."

As Keine's head turned, Sendai looked up at her big, perfect horns. ' _Ooh. Cool horns. They go well with her hair, somehow...'_

"He wasn't wrong. Renegade activity is _all over_ the village." Reisen gave the two a worried look. "What the hell. Alright- come on, we gotta move. Let's go stop that fire in the north west, while we're at it."

" _Ho~ld on, I've got it."_ Marcus spoke up from the sound stone, instead. " _None 'a you have water magic, either. Not only am I closer, but I can actually put it out wit'out blowing up things instead! Figure I didn't hafta tell ya guys, but yeah, that's what I'm doin'."_

"Didn't hafta tell us?" Keine furrowed her brows. "What if you got clocked on the head, dumbass?"

' _Ooh. Full moon Keine doesn't pussyfoot around, apparently…'_

" _Oh, trust me, ya'd hear it! Pro'lly the fire, too."_ Marcus's bewildered grin could be felt across the sound waves...

"...Al- alright, sure." Reisen conceded this to him. "That just leaves all these renegades. I don't know why- but they're just running around everywhere now. I don't know if the blasts spooked them, or-... or what."

...Keine grimaced. "Dieter fuckin' did it, 'member? Guy gave us a heads-up. They're tryin'a finish us off."

"But- Reimu's running around." Reisen contested… "She'll chew through those renegades like a knife through butter."

' _If they were just supposed to finish off Reisen and Keine- and capture Mokou since that'd be the next best thing- well-... they wouldn't have to fuck with Reimu to get that done. Pop out, gank, and get back.'_

Wincing, Sendai felt at her bleeding nose… "Mhaybe-... it'sh thime 'o fhind out- where th' _fuck_ they cohming from." Parting from Keine's arms, she began to walk forward, ready to keep going. "Yhou think they dhoing anything wheird?"

"Not-... that it looks like?" Reisen felt at her own suit. It was kind of hard to understand Sendai, through her broken nose. "They're just moving around."

' _...Weird.'_

...Despite all of this, Keine let herself breathe, for a moment. "Well…"

Keine's red eyes met Reisen's own. "We're already this far. For all we know, they're running because they're trying to get out of town."

"...If only." Reisen shook her head.

Regardless, Keine let herself smile. "Still… you've all done great, so far. Uuh… Tsukiko." She looked at Sendai, who was in her grasp still. "Your nose…"

Sendai's nose was still plenty bloody. Both her and Keine had remained roughed up from the last fight.

' _...Yeah. It sucks.'_ The adrenaline was beginning to wear off, and the pain was setting in. ' _Oh, god- damn…'_

Reisen came up, with a cookie and some solvent, again. "Hey, open up."

' _Aah- hell yeah…'_

"Omh." Sendai angrily bit into the cookie, and got ready.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

...Still bloody, albeit now patched up, the three girls walked onto the southern main street. Here, some villagers stood tightly along the sides of the road, for some reason shaken into staying still.

The sky was dark with night, and warm lights shone upon this main village road, from the street lamps and from the nearby buildings.

' _Must be out to check out the action. Not sure why, but sure.'_ There weren't many villagers out, and they kept scarce, packed to the very sides of the roads, but they were around. ' _There'd probably be more gawkers, if it wasn't like two in the morning, and cold as shit. A storm might be blowing in, from all this wind…'_

"They're all spooked." Keine noticed. "Might be the buns."

"Maybe." Reisen nodded… "Wait-... some are coming this way."

Sendai snapped her gaze north, along the road leading towards the square. In the full moon, she could see black smoke from where the other plane hulls landed. ' _Damn…'_

She also saw bunny soldiers. Upon sighting the three, they moved closer, raising assault rifles. ' _Ah, damn it, more fuckers. They're carrying the larger guns…'_

Reisen stepped forward, holding an arm out. " _Halt!"_

The bunnies weren't in the traditional, off-brand brown suits of the other renegades. These were of a crimson color, fit with odd black braces on the elbows and knees.

"Found 'em!" A bunny with long, black hair raised her gun. "Be here in two minutes! We found the marks!"

"Marks…?" Moving closer to Keine and Sendai, Reisen had both her arms ready. "They're hunting us, alright..."

"What the _hell…"_ Keine rubbed the back of her own neck, grimacing forward. "Well, let 'em come to _us,_ then."

Sendai stared at their chrome guns, which reflected the moonlight. ' _We just got done with shit, too. These motherfuckers…'_

 _-+- Vs. Village Occupation Unit 007 -+-_

 _PATATAT- ATATAT- PATATAT!_ Instantly, salvos of teal plasma bolts roared for the three of them.

Reisen leapt before Sendai, keeping her defended. "Guys- _get back- now!"_

 _FWAP- ZAP- PAP!_ Some shots met Keine, blowing straight through her flesh, blood splattering along the stone road behind herself. " _Hugh- uuhn!"_

' _Aa-...'_ Sendai watched big splotches of Keine's insides land on the nearby stone.

" _Keine!"_ Lagging from disbelief, Sendai yelled out. She tried to move for her-

 _Fwi~sh!_ Reisen's shield broke from plasma impacts, as she returned fire with just her fingers. " _Mo~ve! Miko-"_ She turned for Sendai, and pulled on her arm, stopping her from moving towards Keine.

Behind the three assault bunnies, a fourth began to step out, her form shimmering in from nothing at all.

Her hair was neon cyan, and her suit was gold. In her hands, she held a gold-plated Desert Eagle, which shimmered under the village's lanterns.

Sendai and Reisen jolted for the alleys to the right of the southern road. ' _Oh- shit, shit-'_

They got past the corner of some cafe, which was on the cusp of the aristocratic road-

 _POW._ The new bunny's golden gun was shot at them.

 _PACHI~NG!_ A huge stone flew from the village road when it was struck by the ballistic round, spiraling hilariously into the air. ' _Oh-... what the fuck…'_

Sendai saw Keine across the road, now leaning against the alley they'd emerged from earlier. ' _Oh- damn, Keine really needs help! Fu~ck… I mean, at least she had enough sense to find cover- but-'_

"We've got 'em cornered!" Sendai began to hear the bunnies yelling. "Oh, hey!"

Along the opposite end of the street from them, four more bunnies ran up, one fit with a bazooka, and the other three with shotguns. "Where'd they go!?"

"That way!" One of them was heard near the alley they'd hid down…

' _Holy shit…'_ Sendai was staggered by the amount of weaponry they had… ' _Damn it. This is all because I didn't make a better deal with the kappa about stopping gun tech, isn't it. And- Keine...'_

 _fwi- fwi- fwish, fwi- fwi- fwish._ Then, a salvo of six light arrows came down from above.

 _pat- pat- pat._ The first three met the three rabbits with assault rifles, effortlessly gliding through their shields. But, the arrows didn't pierce their flesh like one would expect.

 _BOOM- KABOOM- BLAM!_ Instead, they exploded under the shield, becoming holy novas of light, sending the bunnies flying stories in the air. " _Aaa- aarh!"_

The others flinched, jolting back with their weapons raised. "Wh- what the fuck-..."

"What-... what was _that?"_

The golden gun-clad bunny cast her gaze around. "Hmm…?"

 _BOOM- BLAM- BLAM!_ The bazooka bunny, and two of the shotgunners, also exploded. " _Huaa~!"_ They'd never even felt the impact of the arrows, only realizing they were struck after being blown into the air.

' _Look at them fly…'_ Sendai stared up into the starry night sky. ' _What… the fuck.'_

Holding her pistol up, the gold-suited bunny looked around, her gaze hard. "...Come _out."_

Someone descended from above. They landed behind the last shotgunner, who had her janky weapon held forward, to watch the golden bunny's back.

This woman was clad in red and blue, her outfit featuring an odd parallel design. She had a red-blue nurse's hat, and long, silver hair done in a braid along her back.

 _pat._ Her palm brushed the back of the shotgunner's neck, bypassing the shield without trying.

 _thud._ The bunny fell onto her stomach, unconscious just from a stroke.

"Ma- master…!" Reisen blinked, staring down that road. "That's-... um- Tsukiko-... that's-... well, um, you wanted to meet the person who ran Eientei, right?"

"...Aa- ah." Sendai blinked.

 _POW._ The bunny agent fired the golden gun at the red-blue girl.

Sendai couldn't tell if it hit or not, because the woman didn't move. She began walking towards the bunny, with a relaxed pace.

 _POW- BANG!_ The bunny fired twice.

 _whish._ The red-blue woman snapped along the road, avoiding the shots. ' _What…?'_ Sendai blinked at the unreadable movement.

Running closer, the gold-cyan bunny had a glare of ice. "Yagokoro. If I land a shot of this gun-..." As she closed the distance, she held her pistol up again.

 _POW!_ She shot it as she ran, trying to get a good hit in.

'Yagokoro' caught the bullet between her fingers. She turned her hand around, and let go of it-

 _PACHOW!_ The bullet met the golden gun, and the front half of it was blown clean off. The rest of it flew from the bunny's hand. "Wh- ow…!"

She looked back up. Yagokoro stood before her, under a meter from her face.

 _WHISH!_ The bunny spun around like Reisen would, sending a crescent kick high with her right leg.

 _Thump._ It met Yagokoro in the side. But, it didn't interrupt her at all, as she casually sidestepped to the left-

 _Whish._ She slid her left ankle forward and back, stealing the bunny's right ankle with it.

 _THUD!_ The bunny bounced on her butt, landing on the ground hard. "Wha-"

 _Pap._ Yagokoro bent down, and thrusted her palm into the bunny's side.

"Hkh- _aaa-..."_ She let out all her breath, and her eyes fluttered. Gently, she leaned back, writhing, before her eyes snapped shut.

...Yagokoro stood up, pivoting away from the unconscious bunny.

 _Sendai obtained pocket lint._

Sendai and Reisen meandered from the house side they'd taken, and Keine limped out of the alley she hid within…

"Keine-..." Sendai hurried up to her. "You good?"

"I _will_ be…" She smiled back, her red eyes glimmering beneath her mint-tinted bangs. "My body heals real fast like this, so them holes were nothin'..."

"Um." Before they could get distracted, Reisen hurried to introduce her master. "This is Master Eirin Yagokoro."

...Breaking away from Keine and coming up neutrally, Sendai gave a strong nod towards her. "Hey. Uh, thanks. Here to clean up yer shit, yeah?" She wasn't even staring at Sendai, which made this feel weird.

"What if I told you…" Pivoting mechanically, Eirin faced Sendai with a vague expression. "I know where the heart of their base is?"

...Sendai blinked. "You do?"

"It's under the village." Eirin delivered plainly. "I am going to go destroy it."

' _...Wow. Straightforward. Also- it was just, down there…? They must be in the under-village tunnels.'_

Her wounds healing on their own, Keine began to stand up straighter. "...How long have you known 'bout this shit?"

"About thirty minutes." Eirin returned. "Regarding the base, at least. I learned there were renegades amassing here thirty or so hours ago. Regardless, this problem will be contained. I shouldn't necessarily be seen wandering the streets as I do this, so-... I will simply walk down into their depths, and dismantle everything."

"Don't you think some will just go ballistic?" Reisen wondered… "Like, attack the village?"

Eirin snorted. "If their plan was to wipe it out, they'd have done so by now. Their priority is retreat, and will only consider rebellion in amassed numbers."

Sendai frowned. "Yeah, I got the feeling they'll be amassing numbers real quick. Any plans on that?"

...Reaching behind herself, Eirin drew her great, wooden bow from her back.

"When the ground rumbles, you and others will encroach onto the town square." Eirin informed Sendai. "And, this is crucial. All of you must attend the town square shortly after or before the rumbling, or there will be marginal losses of both humans and youkai. You must all get ready now _._ "

"Wh-..." Sendai stepped closer. "What? How?"

"When I destroy the center of their operation, they will flock to the surface and converge at the town square." Eirin clarified. Reaching around her back, she drew odd, yellow-blue metal arrows, examining three that she held between her fingers.

"If you put an immediate stop on the combat there, they will turn tail and flee. Our military can then apprehend as many as possible, outside the village's confines."

' _...That-... sounds too good to be true.'_

"However." Eirin met specifically Sendai's gaze. "Should yourself or Kamishirasawa be killed or defeated at the square, the village will sustain unacceptable losses. Such is why you must all get ready now. I approximate you only have a few hours to prepare."

"In specifically the town square?" Sendai wanted to know more. "Why there? How do you know this?"

"I know how they act." Eirin answered simply. "I've done this sort of thing longer than your ancestors have walked the earth, Hakurei. Please, find it in yourself to trust me on this."

"Thank you, master." Reisen nodded to these words instantly. "...Shall I go with you, to help you?"

"Indeed." Eirin nodded, and began to drift forward, down the road. "Let us move, Udongein."

She held her seemingly wooden greatbow at a precise, unchanging angle, as she hovered down the village road, half a meter off the ground. Reisen jogged to keep up with her, before stopping and stealing a chrome rifle from the floor.

' _...What?'_ Sendai was left out of sorts, from the whole exchange.

 _...Thu- thu- thud, thud._ Airborn bunnies began to rain down around Keine and Sendai, flopping hard enough against the floor around them to create a symphony of sickening cracks.

 _BAM- crack._ "Ev- everything hurts…"

 _Cra- crack!_ " _Ghk- gh-..."_

 _SNAP!_ " _Aa-..."_

' _Oh-... oh okay. That's, huh.'_

"That Eirin-..." Staring around at the tumbling bunnies, Keine began to speak. "Can never tell the fuck she's thinkin'. Not sure if I trust her ta fuck with-... whatever's going on. But, s'whatever. I'll know if there're problems."

' _Kind of hard to trust someone who can effortlessly make it rain bodies, yeah… and, from how it feels, whatever she did also sealed all these rabbits falling around us. Damn.'_

"You _do_ make her sound snakey." Sendai admitted… "Well, it's whatever. I'm not complaining. I think we can trust Reisen. At least, enough for me to not think she'll immediately backstab us."

' _...I'd like to spar with that Eirin chick, at some point. She seems fucking strong. I'd also like to know just what the hell her situation is-... but, since she's helping us out, it wouldn't make sense to start a scene.'_

Keine snorted. "...If she _did,_ Reimu would probably turn Eientei upside-down. Again."

' _Again, huh.'_ Sendai was curious… ' _Just how fucking powerful is she supposed to be, now? You're telling me she has no problems with that Eirin chick?'_

"Reimu's that strong?" Sendai immediately wondered.

...Keine looked ahead, and just kept moving. "I'll-... I'll tell ya 'bout all the weird bullshit wit' _danmaku_ some other time. Let's go find Mokou."

' _Wait- what's danmaku got to do with this. Hey- Keine, wait up!'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Now that the fire just on the border of the south-west sector was put out, Mokou stepped onto the main road just next to the village square.

"Ah. Hey." Sendai waved an arm out to her.

"Mokou must've just put out one of the fires." Keine deduced, glancing at the smoke plumes in the sky. The one in the north-west, near where her house would be, was almost extinguished now as well.

Casually, Mokou came up to them, smiling. "Not how you thought you'd be spending your full moon, huh Keine?"

"Y'can say _that_ again." Shaking her head, Keine kept moving forward. "We're gonna stop at my place and _eat,_ 'fore we do anything else. 'Cause _fuck_ , that all made me hungry, an' I hardly ate shit 'fore even _starting_ all of this."

"...Sounds good." Sendai had no complaints. If there was one thing that she found it hard to work with, it was an empty stomach.

The village was bright, under the stars and the full moon.

"What the hell's all that _noise…"_ Villagers were heard around them, moving cautiously around the sides of the square to stay out of the way of Keine and Mokou. "Danmaku shit?"

"I heard explosions…"

"There was a fire, in the sky. Mighta been danmaku…"

"You see those freaks with the rabbit ears? Someone should get the guard-... we might actually be getting invaded."

' _...We're not the only ones unrestful from all this shit.'_ Sendai figured. ' _Now we won't know when the bunnies are near, without Reisen here. Hmmh.'_

 _Clack, clack, clack!_ That's when they saw a crimson-clad bunny running past them, at car-rivalling speed.

" _Fucking Yagokoro~!"_ She yelled, her black limb braces glowing with teal magic, as she powered down the road, blowing across the square in moments.

' _...Guess they have bigger problems than us, for now.'_

 _FWI- FWISH._ Sendai tossed a three-talisman salvo in the direction of the fleeing bunny, only for the yellow shield she had on to stop it. ' _Ah, darn.'_

...Mokou gave her a vague look. "I forgot ya could do more than punch things. Why didn't ya just _master spark_ Dieter."

...Sendai gave her a small smile back. "The plane would've broke. Also, I have no idea if that spinny tome part of it would have worked, since we were moving, and there was a ceiling, and everything."

Keine began to look sardonic. "Spinny tome thing. I _swear_ you had a better name fer that shit."

Flicking her gaze up, Sendai clarified. "Well- if you _need one,_ it's a holy octagram."

' _...Still kinda remember how I made it. I mean, Marcus made it, but he had to walk me through some steps, to make the tome replicate itself mid-air, and then combine my power to make a huge fuckoff laser.'_

"I guess that _did_ end as good as it coulda." Mokou supposed. "If we broke that plane another way, it coulda done way more damage than it did."

' _Also, I figured everyone else could handle the actually difficult parts. There were four of us, and Reisen and Mokou didn't really hold back most of the time… so, I didn't have to bust my ass, 'till we got to Dieter.'_

Keine moved for the west main street, now that they were in the square. "Let's get offa' the main roads. S'not good fer me ta be seen a whole lot, like this."

' _Ah, yeah. You do look- and act- more youkai-like than usual.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Coming up to her house, Keine marched up the porch, and moved to open the door.

 _Crea~k._ "Alri~ght. Y'need anything, guys?" She turned back to them, midway inside...

"Just a steak would be fine, tonight." Sendai felt herself begin to relax, a little. "Something filling, before my stomach eats itself."

"Same, actually." Mokou was also fine with this…

' _Damn, I'm hungry. I didn't realize it until we slowed down, but holy shit…'_

With that, Keine marched in, taking big, comfortable steps. ' _She even walks different, now. From what I remember of full moon Keine when she was younger, she was-... well, she got more horny, and angrier, which wasn't saying much at the time. More horny in both senses of the word.'_

With no one but them in the house, it felt marginally more lonely, now. ' _Hmm…'_

Sendai and Mokou followed Keine into the kitchen, watching her.

 _Clack._ Keine flipped her preserve box open, reached in, and plucked a raw steak out.

" _Omh."_ Then, she instantly tore into it. " _Nnh…"_ Turning around, she sat onto the counter nearby, closing her eyes as the bloody meat's fluids dripped down her chin.

 _Ri~p!_ She tore a chunk asunder, chewing the huge bite. "Mm- mmh…"

"Wow." Sendai began to grin. "What a difference, from how you usually act."

...Keine gave her a flat look, swallowing her bite. "Mm- gh. Well, yeah. Lot less _patient_ now."

"Like with-... utensils?" Mokou smiled, reaching into the preserve box herself. "I haven't see ya use any, like this."

...Keine shook her head. "Yeah, fuck utensils. Chopsticks, forks, you name it. What's the fucking point. I'm youkai, my teeth and fingers almost do just fine. And, you always gotta _angle your hand_ \- when you use both a fork and knife, or the chopsticks- and I know there's a like-... _strategy_ behind it, and that's cool and all, but I really can't give a shit when I just wanna _eat._ "

"...Is that how you really feel?" Sendai began to grin wider… "You might still be the old Keine after all."

"...It's how I feel _right now,_ at least." Keine didn't quite answer her question. "Omh." She bit into her bloody meat again.

Not trusting Keine to actually cook the steaks this time, Mokou sauntered up to the stove herself, and placed down the two steaks she took out.

...Sendai wondered, about that. "Hey, Mokou. Should we wait for Keine to cook?"

Lowering her ready, flaming hands, Mokou snorted. "She can't cook for shit unless she feels like it."

"Ahh- kan thoo." Keine rolled her eyes, still chewing that last piece. "...Mmgh. Aa- well… I ain't as OCD about it as I normally am. 'Sides, yer fine with mostly anything, Mouk. Pro'lly you too, Tsukiko. So it shouldn't be like, _hard._ "

' _...I mean, you do cook pretty good normally, it feels like. How bad could you be, right now?'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

The steak Sendai received from Keine was very rare. ' _Wow. She wasted no time cooking this. Still looks good… probably. Also- where's the seasoning...'_

In the living room, they all sat around the coffee table. Keine literally had a plate of three raw steaks. "Rrh- mmh…" She dug into the side of one, savoring the raw flavor. "Mmm- _mmm."_

Sendai was on the central couch, while Mokou was on the right one, and Keine was on the chair Marcus usually used.

...Somewhat receptively, Sendai bit into her weirdly undone steak. ' _I mean, still tastes like steak, so it's pretty alright. Hard to go wrong. Still, not as… well-orchestrated as it usually is, I guess. It's subtle enough that I can't care about it.'_

"Still pretty good." She admitted.

Looking up from her food, Keine smiled. "...Ooh- yeah. I didn't really say it, earlier-... but I just wanted ta say, you all did a fan-fuckin'-tastic job today. We kicked that dumbass-... in the _ass,_ shat on Okane's place, _and_... _supposedly_ someone's takin' care of the bunnies, which'll mean no more drug shit."

...Taking in Sendai and Mokou's faces again, she began to smile wider. "And-... I really mean it, thank both 'a you so much. We-... we've gotten so far, since we started. T'think I was really so cornered, a few days ago-... an' now, it almost feels like shit's just 'bout back to normal. Y'know, as normal as the village can be."

...Sendai smiled, and nodded. "It's really no problem, Keine. I feel like I've learned a lot, just-... hanging out with you, and Mokou. About myself, and about what I should be doing."

' _I really feel-... like I have a stronger grasp on fighting, now. Not a perfect one, but as a whole-... I just feel more capable.'_

"You can hang out with us anytime, Tsukiko." Letting her eyes drift shut, Keine became relaxed. "...You're always welcome here."

Her friendliness made Sendai feel odd. "Thanks, Keine."

' _I'm not used to people being nice to me, like this. What do I do other than smile and nod and stuff… I mean, Keisuke was nice to me, but that was different. I'm not used to Keine being excessively nice, especially like this.'_

"So." Leaning back in her seat, Mokou folded her arms… "I heard over the sound stone things, we're gonna hafta head over to the town square at some point."

"Yea~h." Keine nodded… "But, not _right now."_

Sendai had a question, now. "Hey. You ever tried to grade papers, like this?"

Keine snorted. "Pft. _No._ I mean, pro'lly, but I don't remember it endin' well. Some a' those kids are fuckin'-... _dumb._ I get the urge ta rip shit up, or just give them a _big ass zero._ Or somethin' funny… like a _two._ "

...Sendai didn't react, so Keine clarified. "Outta one hundred, I mean. It- it means they did real bad."

"Forgive me, but that still doesn't mean anything to me." Sendai was not familiar with grading, at all.

Keine smiled awkwardly. "Aah..."

It wasn't too long after tha, that they finished their meals. Except for Keine, she was now working on her third raw steak. ' _Man, she can eat, now!'_

...Sendai realized something she'd known before, too. ' _Oh, yeah. Keine's got a fluffy tail now, too. It was so much smaller, earlier.'_

"I'm pretty sure I asked you when you were a kid, but ya didn't have an answer…" Sendai smiled, watching the tail move. "What's with the tail?"

...Keine grinned, looking mischievous. "Oh? You wanna touch it?"

"That's the same thing you said back then, too." Sendai monotoned. "...Since it's actually _fluffy_ now, sure."

Getting out of her seat, Keine moved towards her. "...How many times didja see me like this as a kid, again…?"

"Some." Sendai remembered that it wasn't terribly rare, but… "Couldn't really count how often. Probably half the time that I could, once you trusted me enough."

 _Creak._ Keine sat down next to her, her tail moving to flop into Sendai's lap.

...She looked smug, as Sendai began to feel at its texture. ' _It sure is fluffy.'_

 _whap, whap._ When Sendai tried to catch it, it playfully whapped at her red apron. ' _Hey…'_

Keine scooted closer, her butt pressing against Sendai's thigh. "Well?"

"Fluffy indeed." Sendai confessed, finally catching onto it. "You ever have to wash it, or…?"

"No." Keine shook her head. "It only grows out once a month, so it always comes back fresh and clean."

' _Fresh and clean, huh.'_

Mokou moved to sit next to Sendai, now. "Keep yer clothes on now, Keine. Wouldn't wanna go, y'know…"

"Mmh?" Keine twisted to look back at her partially, and smirked. "Awh, what? You 'fraid I might embarrass ya, Mouk…?"

Leaning on the right couch arm, Mokou looked amused in turn. "I'm afraid you might embarrass yourself, more like."

"Is this Keine still intensely sexual." Sendai wondered idly.

"I wouldn't call it 'intensely'." Mokou supplied, sinking into her cushion now… "But, it's a slippery slope, alright."

 _whump._ Leaning back, Keine flopped back into both Sendai and Mokou's laps. " _Mmh._ Y'say that like you're not down fer fun once in awhile, Mokou…"

Mokou huffed. "Fuckin'- shut _up._ Last person you need to air that out to is _miko, here."_

' _...Huh. It'd make sense that someone would humor her- but the thought of someone letting their guard down enough for that is kind of staggering…!'_

"What would you two even _do_ together." Sendai let a brow slowly raise… "I mean, better question: what's Keine even got in _mind_."

Smiling up, looking down along her own breasts, Keine met Sendai's gaze. "Nothin' in _particular._ But, scissoring's-"

"I _thought…!"_ Mokou's gaze down at her began to intensify. "That the _idea_ -... was that we wouldn't _tell anyone…!"_

Keine snorted. "Ooh? Well, I'm fine with _Tsukiko_ knowing. Actually, now that I think about it-... Mokou, what do you think of Tsukiko?"

"...Uh." Mokou looked somewhat dry, for a moment. "You're not implyin' that we-"

"I mean, in the _event…"_ Keine wiggled in their laps, forcing everyone to shift. "Don't you think she's kind of cute?"

"Keine." Shifting both arms behind her own head, Sendai leaned back… "I'm not gonna have a threesome with you and Mokou. Especially not _right now._ "

...Keine sat up, ending up primarily in Sendai's lap, pouting. "Awwh. But…"

Shifting around, she pressed either leg into Sendai's sides, and brought her face closer to hers.

Sendai could see her red eyes dimly glowing in the house's gloom, which accented her smooth, pale face. "Wouldn't you love to be _eaten up,_ by a _grown woman,_ now…?" Her arms caressed Sendai's exposed shoulders, making her jump a little at the sudden contact.

Like this, Keine was practically all over her. Sendai began to understand why Mokou would have faltered. ' _Oo- oh.'_

...She tried to retreat back into the cushions, but she was already as deep as possible. "...How about them bullet holes." It was overall easier to just change the topic…

"Ah." Keine blinked, her face still close to Sendai's. "The bullets passed right through me. So, they're all healed. An' if you mean the ones the rabbits shot, skin's all healed up, too."

...Still trapped, Sendai began to squirm a little-

Keine came in to hug her, her breasts pressing against Sendai's. "C'mon…" She spoke lowly, into Sendai's right ear. "The night's hardly _begun."_ Now, Sendai's body was being fully pressed into by Keine's, from many angles.

"Ye- yeah, how about-..." Lowering her own arms from behind her head, Sendai had two options…

If she did nothing, Keine's face would get closer, and their lips would meet. ' _She's-... really pretty, now, actually.'_ Keine's soft features and red eyes were enticing. ' _She's practically holding onto all of me at once-'_

Keine began to lock her legs around Sendai's back, which was Sendai's clue that she should probably break out of this right now.

"Nn." She put her arms between herself and Keine. "Not _now."_

"Not now, hmm?" Keine relented surprisingly quickly, unwrapping herself from Sendai and returning to just sitting in her lap. "...Well. Okay. I suppose I am being _clingy..._ "

' _Huh. I didn't have to fight her over it.'_ Sendai let her brows raise. ' _She really has grown.'_

"Y'know…" Suddenly apprehensive, Keine looked away. "That _does_ remind me. There's something about this form, that I've never let you see."

"If it's your pussy, I'd like to decline." Sendai took a breath, smelling dew and night air. "...And, technically, I did see that once. Perhaps more than once."

Grinning, Keine shook her head. "We- well, _no._ But… well. I don't think you'll freak out."

...Sendai wasn't sure what to think, from how she was acting. ' _I guess I'll see.'_

Turning around in her lap, Keine brought her hands to her waist, and began to raise her shirt.

Pensively, Mokou watched Sendai's expression.

' _...Ah.'_ Sendai was briefly surprised.

Along Keine's back, there were six shifting red eyes. The top two were vertical, as were the bottom two, but the middle two were horizontal. Down the middle of her back, her spine segments jutted out into her flesh just a little, marking the beginnings of spikes or horns.

The two middle eyes stared at Sendai, while the other four shifted around, looking at different things.

' _I thought it was strange, that she didn't have any hakutaku parts. Sort of reassuring to see that she's actually got some.'_

...Sendai brought her face closer. Once she got over the initial shock, they weren't anything strange to her. "Y'know, they're kind of cute, if you bring your face close enough."

' _Especially these middle two.'_ Making a small face, she brought her face up against Keine's back. ' _So much space between them.'_

Mokou relaxed, sinking back again…

"...Of course." Keine was smiling. "Of course you'd say something like that."

"I've seen worse, y'know." Sendai returned plainly. "This is pretty innocent, and harmless. Do they hurt?"

' _Keine smells good, for some reason…'_

"Not really." Keine shook her head. She was holding her long hair, so that it wouldn't fall along her back. "The eyelids are stronger, sort of like the back's natural skin. And, I'm youkai, so whatever abrasion they do sustain heals very quickly."

"Huh." Sendai supposed that was very neat.

"...Is the rest of me cute?" Keine faced her again, rotating in her lap. "I _know_ you're a little wet, from all of this. I can smell it."

"I'll tell you what I tell succubi." Sendai gave her an enduring grin. "The body and mind, they don't always agree. And the body's not where the smarts are stored for a _reason._ "

...Keine snorted, and let her shirt drop. "Oh, _alright._ "

 _Creak._ She sat in the next cushion over, now. "Still-... when all this shit's over, and if the moon's still full, I'd like ta maybe, y'know…"

' _...She's-... really pretty, and friendly, but-...'_ She thought of Keisuke. ' _I'm not one for fooling around, in the first place.'_

"We'll see about that." Sendai gave her a non-answer. "...So, Mokou, how do you feel about Keine lezzing out on you."

Closing her eyes, Mokou let her head fall back. " _Fuck._ "

' _Heh.'_

"I know this kinda thing pokes a hole in your 'gloomy and aloof' persona, but screw it." Sendai began to grin. "How do you think I feel, having Keine rub herself all over me. Bye, unapproachable atmosphere."

...At that, Mokou had to raise her brows. "I mean-... well, _t'be honest,_ I don't really _mind it._ I just think-... Keine really not ought to get too attached to me."

"Y'mean _you_ ought to not get attached to _me."_ Keine smirked back. "You being immortal, and everything. But, I think bein' able to deal with this sorta thing-... it'd be healthy fer ya."

"Stop-... don't _worry_ about me." Mokou seemed to drop her usual aloofness, looking more tired as she stared at Keine. "I can take care of myself, Keine."

"...Every time ya say things like that, I just remember the times I've found ya lying in the woods, starving to death repeatedly."

"I can take that shit." Mokou shook her head. "That was my own damn fault. You didn't-"

"Didn't hafta help ya, but I _did."_ Keine returned. "Man. Every time y'get whiny like this, I just wanna-..."

Moving forward, she crawled onto Sendai's legs, getting closer to her. "Calm you down."

"Hold on, now…" Not in the mood, Mokou held a hand up. "Keine- we got shit ta do."

 _fwump._ Keine sat back into her own seat. "Joki~ng. Sort of. Still, Mokou, stop beatin' the shit outta yourself. I know I ain't seen the shit you see, but goddamn it, we're like a broken record at this point. My thing for doing things fer people I care about starts tingling, and you start feelin' sorry for _me,_ an' I start feelin' sorry for you feelin' sorry for me, an' sometimes _yourself_ , an'-"

"Al- alright…" Mokou was a little amused, at that. "Sorry. I know we repeat this talk a lot… but, y'know, I-..."

"Y'really don't wanna get hurt." Keine summarized. "...An' I'm sorry, Mouk- but it'd hurt me even more to just let you mull about alone. I'm sure y'already lost people, and I'm sure you're-... not down for losing more, but-... you're _gonna._ "

"I'll deal with that shit when it comes." Mokou shot back on impulse, accidentally conceding her initial argument. "...Wait- I mean-... damn. Fucking immortality. Fucking-... _Kaguya-_ "

"Stop." Keine became serious. "She can't hurt you, here."

Mokou gazed plainly into the distance. "...Yeah, I know. Sorry. I'm just-... trying to find an easy way around like-... coping with other people dying, and I really shouldn't be. Thousand years, and only now am I half-brained enough t'even think about that kinda thing seriously. 'Cause, so many years-... fer example, a few hundred years ago, I just ran around randomly fuckin' killing people until I got trapped under a rock. Took me so long just ta feel like _someone_ again."

Sendai spoke up. "It sucks."

...Both girls remembered she was there. Sendai continued. "To me, it was two years ago that my husband died. If I had my way in that moment, there would be a lot of dead people. Not that there wasn't a lot of dead youkai, after that. I kind of-... once Reimu was safe, I just went killing."

' _I'm still not even really over it. I just-...'_ She closed her eyes. ' _If I keep thinking like this, I'm just gonna hurt myself. And, I know I killed youkai who didn't totally deserve it, back then. I was just so angry- I wanted everything to be dead, and I had the power to back it up. If I'd lost Reimu, there wouldn't be forests or a village anymore. I'd fucking kill myself trying to kill everything.'_

"...I've pro'lly had friends that I don't even remember now." Mokou added onto that.

Getting off of the couch, Sendai stared ahead at one of Keine's plain walls. "But, you know what. We all did what we damn well could, with what we had, I'm sure. So, let's stop havin' a fuckin' sad circlejerk, and start doin' some shit, yeah?"

...Mokou got up, too. "Yeah, yer right. Buncha fuckin' pussies, we are."

Grinning, Keine stood up, too. "Yeah. This isn't the kind of moment, for that sort of thing-... 'cause in the end, it's just feelin' sorry for ourselves."

' _...Still.'_

 _Shoof._ The coffee table was slid back, by Sendai's knee. Distancing herself from the couch, she turned, facing her friends.

"You two." Sendai smiled. "Don't forget the experiences an' shit that made you. I was an idiot. I was a fuckin' _waste of life,_ an' the Hakurei clan was _basically dead_ in the ten or so years I was a total fuckass. Compared to me, you two are fucking legends."

"Tsukiko…" Keine looked bothered at first, but Sendai's smile soothed her worry. "You're the legend, here."

"Almost literally." Mokou slid her hands back into her own pockets. "...Well, I guess I'm technically a legend 'a sorts, too. Hourai immortal, and all."

 _froo~m._ The house rumbled, strategic pieces tumbling off Keine's coffee table, and their half-full glasses of water shaking.

' _Ah, shit…'_

Keine blinked, before whipping around. "We've gotta get to the-"

 _BAM!_ She ran straight into the couch, and it fell backward, taking her with it. " _Squa-"_

 _WHAM!_ She hit the hardwood floor horns-first. Her head never touched the surface, but… "Aa- aah…" Casting her legs up, Keine revealed that she had gotten herself stuck.

...Mokou and Sendai leaned forward, disbelieving. As her dress fell over herself, Keine pressed her arms against the floor and kicked her legs, trying to break free without damaging the floor any further. "Aa-... wha- what the _fuck..._ "

"Uuh." Mokou slowly moved closer, taking her hands out of her pockets. "Keine- lemme- make it easier, fer ya…"

' _Wow.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Keine, Sendai and Mokou strolled towards the village square.

 _froo~m._ The village rumbled again, and it could be felt even out on the road. ' _What the fuck is going on under us…'_

"...What?" Keine blinked, looking ahead at the well-lit square.

It was a mess.

 _Clank- clang, clang!_ Men in beige suits waved katanas around, tangling with the old village guard who wielded the huge lance.

 _KAWHAM!_ A crimson-suited bunny unleashed a crescent kick on one of the beige-suited men, sending him flying-

 _PACHUNK!_ From atop a nearby stall, the old, bald guardsman named Cobe- who'm Sendai met some days ago- unloaded his wood repeater at the crimson-suited bunny.

"Aaa- _aaa~h!"_ Akihito spun around, flailing his broadsword towards a group of stocky bunny girls with those makeshift stun pistols that Sendai had to tangle with the other day.

" _Bubble Burst!"_ Marcus was behind him, and he thrust his arm up-

 _BWUP- POP- BWU- POPOP!_ Beneath the shorter bunnies, a surge of bubbles blew out from the stone ground around them, their shields flickering-

 _KAZAP- ZAP- ZAP- ZAP!_ Their stun guns exploded in their hands, taking their shields, and shocking some of them. " _Ebububu- ebhu- aah!"_

' _This is just fucking chaos! Oh, shit!'_

She cast a look back at Keine, but she was already running into the crowd.

" _What the fuck is going o~n!?"_ Keine hollered into the complete mayhem, as she sprinted into its midst.

...Sendai faced Mokou, and found her beginning to grin. Then, she began to beam.

"Tsukiko." She turned to Sendai. "This's our chance to break some big egos. C'mon, keep with me."

-+- _Vs. Human Village Minor Adversary Finale -+-_

" _There you guys are!"_ Marcus called out into his sound stone. _"Was wonderin' when you'd run into this buncha shit!"_

' _Coulda told us a riot was sparking! Holy shit!'_

Mokou and Sendai caught up to the greying guardsman with the giant anti-youkai lance.

 _CLANG!_ He disarmed one of the beige-suited men with a lance swipe, only for a different man to meet the side of his armor with a blade. "You- inexperienced little _shits…!"_

" _Hey!"_ Sendai yelled out, nearing him. "We're here!"

He blinked, moving back from them, trying to push away the beige-suited man nearest him-

 _WHACRACK!_ Mokou thrust across the ground, snapping ahead of Sendai. She met the beige-clad man with her boot. " _Hu- uu…!"_

 _Thud!_ He was sent rolling across their section of the town square, and the other beige-suited men around them widened their eyes, backing away. "Nn- no! Get the fuck away from me…!"

"Hfuh…" The greying guard faced Sendai. "Thanks- miko. Things've gone to hell real quick, first we cornered some of those gangsters who were running off- and then-..."

 _Clack, clack, clack._ Some of the lower-ranking guards suddenly ran out from the south road, from near the job board and the booths there. "Alright…!" Guard sergeant Takuro snapped his gaze around, before sighting Sendai. "...Men! Follow me! I've spotted the youkai!"

' _Wait-...'_ Sendai blinked, eyes widening. ' _They're coming for us!'_

"...Hey!" The old guard called out to them, throwing his arm up. "About time you lazy assholes got he~re!"

Six armored young men, plus Takuro, waltzed up. Takuro himself felt at his own, now healed neck, leering at them. "Hey, _Charles._ I don't think this's the kinda job you guys're regulated for, yeah?"

Charles frowned, his grey moustache bending. "But- it took you young assholes this long to even _get here!_ I bet only _two_ of you will fight- and the rest of you'll just bloody stand there! This isn't any time for you expendables to muddy things!"

 _Shi~ng._ Takuro drew a katana, and the men around him began to draw their own. "Conceited old _man._ This'll be the only time we can teach a stiff like you a lesson."

Facing back, he called out for his men. "Right, me~n!? Let's open a spot on tha' Honor Gua~rd!"

" _Yea~h!"_ The few men behind him, friends of his, cheered.

"You-... _idiots!"_ Charles grimaced, backing up.

Sendai and Mokou stepped up before him. ' _We're not about to let this shit just go down!'_

 _FWA- BOO~M!_ A geyser of flames immediately erupted under two of the six men behind Takuro.

"Aa- _what the…!"_ Two other of the men faltered, awed by the flame geyser.

This left Takuro and two other armored guards, all with katanas, moving up for Sendai-

 _CLACK!_ Charles thrust his lance forward. Takuro skirted back from the attack, and the great lance tore into the armor of one of the other black-haired men. " _Uuh-...!"_

 _KA- KRACK!_ Up above, Cobe shot down, one of his repeater's bolt arrows embedding inside another armored man's arm, leaving him to falter. " _Uu- ngh…"_

 _WHAM!_ Another, red-clad member of the honor guard was here. He met a lower-ranked guard ahead, sending him flying with a single swing of his great sledgehammer. " _Unh- ooh…"_

 _Thu- thud._ Two men crumpled, coated in flames from Mokou's geysers, their armor searing red. " _Uu- aaa- aaa~h!"_

 _WHAKRACK!_ Mokou's boot met the nose of the last generic, regular village guard. " _Khk-..."_

Sendai and Takuro faced off in the midst of the chaos, her arms raised, and his katana held ready.

' _I know a lot more, now…'_ She glared into his eyes. ' _A man with a katana- shouldn't be as much of a problem, for me!'_

Beaming, Takuro came up to her. "This's fer _last Thursda~y!"_

 _Fwish!_ Under the energizing starlight above, he thrust his katana for her. Sendai slid along his left, her sandals scraping against the uneven village square stones.

 _Clack!_ She thrust her palm into his stomach, making him recoil despite the plating, because of the strike's great momentum.

 _Whack- clack!_ As he turned, she hooked him with a left across the face, then a right to his plated stomach, sending him reeling back.

 _Bam!_ As he drew his katana up to whip it down, she thrust her arm into his face along his jaw, forcing him to shut his eyes. " _Rrgh-"_

' _I won't even let you fucking cut me!'_

 _WHAM!_ Galloping into him, she roared that same arm down. The will to annihilate him shined through the azure light which flared from the impact of her arm against his entire upper body.

 _Thud!_ He landed on his ass, holding his katana up. "Fu- _the fuck-"_

Sendai stepped back a few paces, before sprinting for him. ' _Time to break that neck again…!'_

 _Woosh._ " _Hra~h!"_ Sendai leapt, putting her running momentum, gravity, all her weight, and everything into an overhead thrust.

 _WHA- KRACK- BAM!_ Blood exploded out, staining Sendai's hand. Her arm plowed down into his nose, and the back of his head met the stone of the village square; followed by gravity helping her knuckles find his nose a second time.

 _thump._ Rolling clumsily off of the arm she used to strike him, Sendai ended up on her back. " _Nnh…"_

' _What a finishing blow…! Goddamn!'_

As she sat up, Mokou swooped down, and lifted her by the sides. "Wh- _ah…"_

Placing Sendai onto her feet, Mokou began to move. "C'mon, that little shit needs help next."

' _She must mean Akihito…'_

"Thank you~!" Raising his hand to call out at them, Charles thanked Sendai and Mokou, as they jogged ahead.

" _Nshk- nnh…"_ Takuro sobbed, feeling at his broken, openly flowing nose.

 _WHAM!_ On impact with the braces that guarded a lunar bunny's limbs, Akihito's broadsword flew out of his arms, coasting into the evening.

An unarmed, crimson-suited bunny with a big fluffy pink pigtail cracked her knuckles, glaring him down. "Nn- hehehe…"

"Wh- _ah…"_ He brought his fists up, his dirty brown gloves looking pale compared to her black, cobalt-aura enhanced joint braces. "Aa-"

 _FWISH!_ She whipped right up to him, her right leg becoming a streak of lunar light, the bent limb about to absolutely demolish his skull.

 _BOOM!_ Sendai slid before him, stopping the whipping kick with her arms. "Nngh- ahh…!" The blow was otherworldly, all of Sendai's arm muscles screaming out from the impact, her limbs blown out of her cross-guard posture-

 _Whap!_ The bunny reacted to this like a shark to blood. But, her lightning-fast, weaker thrust kick met Sendai's arms, which had snapped back into guarding in almost an instant.

 _WHAKRACK!_ Mokou's boot met the bunny's gut, as she slid in from the side, blindsiding the bunny. Her yellow lunar shield variant instantly exploded from the melee blow.

" _Hup!"_ Her form blurring momentarily, the bunny cartwheeled out of the blow, barely traveling at all, despite the way her petite belly rippled in response.

Sendai moved to capitalize. But, the bunny ripped around, sending out a lightning fast kick that appeared to be a streak of light.

 _BAM._ The blow smashed Sendai in the side of her head, sweeping her clean off her feet. "Aa-"

 _THUD!_ She landed hard on her side. "Aa- anh…"

' _Fu- fuck… that- was really different, from the human guy-...'_ The world spun, the absolute might of the kick rendering her helpless for the time being...

Mokou ran ahead, and her boots glowed red, flames and red heat trailing her as she went to launch a great kick up the fluffy bunny's whole body.

 _BOOM!_ When she began her kick, however, the bunny was faster, meeting her gut with a fierce counter-hook that sent her flying. " _Hu- aah…!"_

"Hehehe~!" Giggling, the bunny held her own pink lips with her soft-looking hands. "Fuck _o~ff,_ Fujiwara~! We're not gonna _fuck_ your civvies, _too much._ "

' _After all of this bullshit- I'm not letting these shitty youkai crawl up and take over the town! I'm the goddamn Hakurei Shrine Maide~n!'_

"Rrgh-...!" Sendai shot up off the floor like a bullet, and sprinted ahead.

 _Fwap!_ A talisman met the bunny between the eyes. "Aa-"

" _Hroa~h!"_ Sendai leapt at her, soaring off the ground, and the bunny almost caught her in her arms. Sendai's hands gripped the bunny's biceps, intent on forcing the bunny to catch her.

They fell back, the bunny's eyes wide, legs unable to save her balance-

 _CR- WHACRACK!_ Sendai's forehead met the bunny's nose, as her pink scalp met the cold stone road. Blood exploded out, down Sendai's already blood-caked face from the previous fight against Dieter.

" _Aa- ua-..."_ The bunny's eyes were uneven, and her jaw hung open in disbelief, that a human could do this much damage in an instant just by jumping on her…

 _FWA- ZAP- ZAZAP!_ The Hakurei talisman on her face initialized, as Sendai stood, leaving the bunny writhing. " _Huu- aaa~!"_

Looking around, Sendai saw Akihito was now too close for comfort. "Tsu- Tsukiko~! Wow…!"

"Get the fuck outta here, kid!" Sendai waved him off. "This ain't a place for a guy- who can't even swing his sword!"

 _WOOSH!_ Keine roared past them with impossible speed, and Sendai cast her gaze in her direction. ' _Oh- hey-'_

 _BOOM._ Keine rammed her shoulder into a nearby bunny as she moved, shattering its shield and completely bowling it over. " _Uua-"_

 _BOOM- BOOM- BOOM!_ She dashed about the village square, using her shoulders to completely topple bunny after bunny, as they tried to take numerical dominance over the fountain in the dead center of the square.

 _Fwa- fwap! Fwa- fwa- fwap!_ Sendai began tossing talismans in her wake, to clean up all the recovering bunnies. ' _We'll have this shit cleaned up in no time!'_

 _Whump!_ Coming up to the sixth or seventh bunny, Keine scooped her arms out, grabbing the bunny by a thigh and her collar-

 _WOOSH!_ She simply flicked both arms up, and the bunny flew straight into the air, like Keine was some sort of superhuman of ungodly proportions.

 _...WHUNK._ When the bunny fell back down, Keine held up her arm, and caught her stomach-first with an open palm, stopping her from being impaled on her horns. " _Huu~..."_ Saliva rocketed out from the bunny soldier's mouth. A gravity-based impact like this still would have killed a human, impaling or not.

Leaning back, Keine let the bunny fall, sliding down her hand-

 _PAP._ But, as the hand traced up the bunny's face, she gripped, grabbing the bunny by the roof of her mouth. " _Uuo- aa-"_ Her eyes wide, the bunny tried to struggle-

 _WOOSH._ Keine spun around on her heel, whipping the bunny around.

 _BAM- WHAM- BAM- WHAM!_ Men, bunnies, generic guardsmen, and odd women clad in red-white miko outfits began to get flung away with frightening velocity, each one smashed away by the black-haired bunny's body after it was slapped into them, while Keine spun.

" _Thousand Talismans!"_ Sendai roared, her arms lighting up with prismatic light.

 _Fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwa- fwap!_ Talismans roared uncontrollably across the clearing, marking bunnies, random humans, and many, many rocks. ' _Yea~h!'_

 _Fwish!_ Sendai cast one last talisman into the fountain-

 _FWA- FWA~SH!_ It lit up with diamond-colored light, the nova of holy magic making the water shimmer like diamonds, and the whole town square beamed with pretty, soul-filling light.

Under this light, guardsmen, beige-clad men, and bunnies lied defeated.

 _WHAKRACK!_ Someone clad in red-white who wasn't Sendai landed a hook into a generic guard's stomach, making him crumple. " _Nnh…"_

 _thud._ As he fell to the ground, the woman stood, staring at Sendai in wonder.

Across the clearing, Sendai locked eyes with the red-white clad woman. She had a traditional miko outfit on, and grey eyes.

 _FWAM- FWAM- FWAM!_ Sendai began to walk towards her, while magical blasts went off in the background.

" _Woo~, hehehe!"_ Marcus chuckled over the sound stone. " _My mines're doin' work, I tell ya! Holy shit!"_ Elsewhere, bunnies were being repeatedly juggled into the air…

Sendai strolled up to the red-white clad woman. "Hey. The hell's someone like _you_ doing here."

...She looked Sendai up and down. "You're-... Tsukiko."

...Sendai blinked. "Yeah?"

"Ya~h…!" Another girl, this one a look-alike of Reimu, ran up. She came up to Sendai, lashing her gohei out overhead. "Got ya!"

 _pap._ Sendai blocked the swing easily with her forearm. "What-... Reimu?"

"Hell no!" The fluffy girl barked back at Sendai. "I'm Ado-chan!"

"...What the hell're you doing in Reimu's outfit." Sendai really wanted to know.

Ado pouted back, glaring. "The hell're you doing in _that_ slutty getup? That's not _regulation_ attire!"

' _...What, there's regulations on what I can wear, now? Fuck that. Says who, actually…!?'_

"Please…" The other red-white clad girl went up to her, trying to calm her down. "Don't-"

"Shut _up."_ The girl faced the more traditional-looking one. "Don't make me get Takeno-chan to fuck your ass, again. How'd you like getting locked in the toilets for a month?"

...Looking somber, the first shrine maiden looked down, shying back.

' _What…?'_ Sendai was really put-off by this exchange. ' _Whatever- I have bigger shit to worry about, there's practically a war going on-...'_

As she looked around, she realized that everything was mostly done. ' _Well, not quite so much now.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Most of the applicable parties fled when things got serious. The right half of the town square was now occupied by well-armored, expert honor guards, and the left of the square had Keine.

 _thu- thud._ Nearby, Keine discarded her weaponized rabbit, letting it flop uselessly aside herself. " _Hraa~h!"_ Arching back, she let out a roar, for some reason.

' _Geez, Keine. Might wanna tone it down before the guards mistake you for an invader, there...'_

The two-heads-shorter Ado grabbed Sendai by the side, and began pulling. "You're coming with me, Takeno oughta see yer fat ass-"

"You-..." Suddenly, the first shrine maiden came up to her. "You're _not_ taking her!"

"What? Try me, Tsu-bitch!" Ado beamed back at her. "You- stupid, sock-sniffing-"

 _PAP!_ 'Tsu-bitch' hooked her in the face. Then, she pulled Ado by the arm.

"Wh- _ah!"_ Ado tried to pull back, but put up no resistance, getting tossed to the ground on her back beside the bigger 'Tsu-bitch'. "Lemme- _Takeno will- ah-"_

 _WHAM!_ Straddling her, 'Tsu-bitch' began pummeling her with her right arm, keeping her body down with her left arm.

 _WHAM! WHAM… WHAM…_ Slowly, she kept pummeling her, smashing the younger girl's head into the stones again and again. "Nnh-..." She began crying right away, weakly pushing back.

Sendai blinked at the force, and kneeled down next to them. "Wh- hey, hold on, you'll kill her."

"So she _dies…"_ 'Tsu-bitch' decided. "A fitting end!"

 _WHAM- BAM!_ She kept going-

 _CRACK._ She spilled the younger girls blood on the floor, a streak of red splashing out on the stoney ground after her last strike.

" _Hey!"_ Sendai yelled at her, and pushed her off.

 _thump._ 'Tsu-bitch' rolled onto her back from the push, and began to stand…

Standing across the girl from her, Sendai frowned. "Hey, what the fuck. What're you doing."

"Aren't-... aren't you grateful?" She seemed perplexed by Sendai's behavior. "I'd kill her for _you."_

"You don't gotta go killing anyone for me." Sendai was a little weirded out… "Just get the hell out of here. I'll take care of the rest."

"...No." The girl decided. "You're coming with me."

...Sendai blinked. "What-"

 _Pap._ Reaching up, she tried to grab Sendai by the face.

Sendai replicated her motion, except quicker now, pressing her hand into the other woman's face.

" _Nnh- nnrgh…"_ They applied their force, fiercely pressing against one another, trying to push one another back face-first…

' _Damn. She's strong, but… I'm not gonna just get tipped over like this.'_

Sendai's arms flared with azure, her muscles tensing with ink-black magic. " _Rrh- hnn!"_

She casted 'Tsu-bitch' back with her push. If she kept going, she could plant the girl down into the road, which would crush the back of her skull against the rocks.

' _That might kill her…'_

So, Sendai didn't keep going. Instead, she catched the woman by her collar before she could take a dire, brain-scrambling spill.

 _thump._ Now that the fall would be less intense, Sendai let go, calmly letting the girl rest on the ground. "...You're pretty strong. But, I've got shit to do."

She turned to the right, to see the injured Ado. ' _Speaking of brain-scrambling-'_

Akihito was there, with a potion. ' _What-... man, this kid can't keep away.'_

...He looked up at Sendai, and smiled. "Aa-... hey."

' _...Guess he's warranted.'_ No one was left aside from them, and the forces allied with Sendai. ' _If this doesn't give the underground wet feet, I'd-... I don't even know. Eat a sandal.'_

Keine came up to them, bloody and winded. "He- hey. Tsukiko…"

"Aah…" Sendai watched her walk up. "Keine. Hey."

"I think-... we got the riot here, under control." Keine huffed. "Is- is everyone alright? Somehow-... no humans are dead, I think…"

"I kept some people safe on the west, here." Sendai remarked. "Looks like most 'a the buns came from the east. Are the shitty gangsters fine, too?"

"I-... I think so!" Akihito piped up, while kneeled down and feeding the potion to the fallen girl. "Um-... the guard's been apprehending who they could- so I've been keeping out… well, sort of. They've also been apprehending _each other._ "

' _Good.'_ Sendai rolled her eyes. ' _It's a guard-eat-guard world, it seems.'_

"He~y!" Marcus came up, too. "Check it out!"

...Sendai leaned, to look around him. He had a line of different types of men and bunnies rounded up behind himself. Each person was fixed into place with one gold, binding ring of pure magic, keeping them from doing much more than walking in a one meter radius. ' _What the hell…'_

All around them, men in armor moved to pull men and sealed bunnies off the ground, cuffing the men and tying the arms of the bunnies they helped up.

' _This should make a big difference.'_ Sendai beheld the flush of activity in the square. ' _What a night.'_

Akihito stood. "She's good, I think! She, um- took a nasty hit to her head, but… she's good, now."

...Looking around, Keine took a deep breath, and spoke. "Nn- now…"

She paused, took a deeper breath, and roared. " _Everyo~ne!"_

...All the activity slowed.

"...This-... this does not stop _here!"_ Keine spoke to everyone, this time. "There are more of these youkai! They seek to flee, and some to destroy, but you will not let them! Travel in large groups- find them!"

...Sendai looked over at her again. She had a guard's helmet placed atop her horns, very obviously only held there because of her horns, but they did do the job of obscuring them. ' _Clever. If they didn't know there were horns, they'd probably have no idea.'_

"I oughta start helpin' scoot the prisoners 'a war along…" Marcus slowly began to meander off, giving the girls a wave. "I'll drop a holler if I need ya!"

Standing up, Akihito took one last glance at the not-Reimu on the ground, before jogging ahead after Marcus. "I'll, um-... treat the wounded- I guess…"

"So…" Sendai turned.

The red-white woman in traditional miko garb stood aside her, looking like she wanted to strafe away, but stopped upon meeting Sendai's gaze.

"The hell was the big idea." Since Sendai now had a moment, she could quiz the girl. "What the hell's with these shrine maiden-like girls I keep seein'?"

Keine stared at the exchange between the two with a vague look.

...The kimono-clad maiden turned away, and sprinted off. Sendai wasn't going to stop her, since it was what she should have been doing to begin with.

' _Weirdo.'_

...Keine sighed, turning to Sendai. "We'll-... we'll take a break now, I think. We'll make sure no one comes to free those apprehended, both here in the square, and on the way to the guard HQ, where they hold captives."

...Smiling, Sendai let herself slouch, a little. "Mmh. Sounds-... sounds good."

' _This-... this all might finally be over. Finally.'_

"...Keine." Sendai turned to her. "Let's grab a drink."

Mokou sauntered up to them, brushing herself off, her clothes torn in many places. "Make it three."

...Sendai finally shivered, due to a cold passing breeze. ' _Ugh. Why is it so cold…'_ It was somewhere around four in the morning, after all.

==x==

x / Sendai Hakurei No Miko, the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

INVENTORY:

 _X Sub-weapons:_

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

X Pocket items:

[Elementary Backpack] - Young student's backpack. Really tiny, and looks cute on Sendai. Uses no inventory space- being inventory itself- and provides four item slots.

(2x) Potion - A potion used to restore health. Basic, but the best choice for human users. Provides heavy health regeneration for some seconds.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evolution - Heals the entire party, as if they were all given a potion. Equal to a Mega Potion, but consumes an item crash use to produce these effects.

Tauriner - Experimental medicinal restoration item. Restores 'spirit energy'. In Sendai's case, it restores a single item crash use upon consumption.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Yukkuri Production Kit - A kit used for creating yukkuri, which obey the user. Consumable with ten uses. Comes with DNA kits for Reimu, Marisa, and Alice types. Life catalyst is bundled with this item.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

High-Quality Bottled Water - Refreshing and pure.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

(x3) Pocket Lint - Dust friends. Uses no inventory space. Can be combined with nine hundred ninety six other Pocket Lints to create something cataclysmic...

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Ragnarok Theorem - Inflicts a random status effect on a random target. Cannot instantly kill or doom. Cannot cast Auto-Life.

218,250 Yen - Money used to purchase goods. Takes up no inventory space.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards…

Blue Flexi-suit - One-piece swimsuit with removable parts, for easy access to bodily regions. Offers no protection. Made of a mysterious, ticklish material…

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Oni Fight & Drink Guide - Brutal text that archives some oni traditions, as well as one's personal bias to the sword. Teaches Sendai Gravity Flash and-

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

FN Model 1903 - One use remaining - Outsider hand pistol with scary accuracy and fire rate, compared to all current era weapons. Able to hold six bullets, but almost all are used, and Sendai doesn't know how to refill it. Shoots straight through a target, staggers, and has a chance to knock them down. Makes the target bleed.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

(no slots remaining)

 _X Armor:_

 _x Body:_ Hakurei Maiden Combat Outfit: DP - The shrine maiden outfit of the miko who came before. Made for a large bust, and bolsters both martial offense and blunt defense. Features a hakama bottom for easy leg movement, and a black leotard so the upper body can move easily.

 _x Misc:_

Reinforced Apron - A royal red, reinforced cloth apron. Defends Sendai a little against incoming magic and blunt physical attacks.

Nothing.

Nothing.

 _x Weapon:_ Cheap Katana - Twelve use remaining until it breaks - An average-sized blade, made from folded iron and molded into… relative practicality, rather than perfection. Cheap and disposable.

==x==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

 _X Body_

Endured III - Sendai has forged her body through a long cycle of training and combat. She's still not much stronger, but she knows what immense pain feels like.

Powerful III - With constant, repeated motions and strength training, Sendai has built up her body to strike fear into the land's youkai. Hits are becoming closer to her former strength...

Dark Affinity - Inherently, Sendai has channeled inner, dark feelings for most of her life. Grants 50% dark resistance.

 _X Soul_

Heated Spirit III - A building fragment of the resolve she used to wield. Allows Sendai to use three item crashes. At the end of every fight, she regains one use. Recharged by sleeping, or gaining new resolve.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Magic is ingrained into her body to allow her to replicate certain objects as long as she has enough mana. Becomes unusable when all item crashes are used up.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

Rebellious Soul - Able to channel her magic to her limbs, which takes on the form of dark enchantments. Reduces damage where she applies it, by strengthening the body itself.

Terrain Essence - Sendai can use the environment to deal devastating damage to her enemies. Executable off of walls, the ground, big objects; by lifting tables or chairs, etcetera. Boosts in power the less item crashes Sendai has used.

Weapon Essence - Melee weapons gain decisive maneuvers which deal immense damage. Allows Sendai to use swords semi-properly.

Essence of Finishing - Downed enemies are very vulnerable to extreme attacks, as Sendai's discovered. Follow-ups on downed enemies can now be critical hits, as long as Sendai's spirit remains full. Works with weapons, too.

Essence of Wreckage - When enraged or pushed to the edge, Sendai's follow-up on downed enemies becomes a lethal, relentless onslaught of fists and power. Heavily demanding on her body, and leaves her expended for awhile after use. Wasteful, unskillful, powerful technique. Learned by observing Ex-Keine perform a similar attack...

Essence of Assimilation - When in Fantasy Nature style, Sendai attempts to consume the body of dark-elemental beings. Kills the target. Refills health, item crashes, and Fantasy Nature duration. Sendai inherits target's life force as a result. Bonus power deteriorates over time unless kept fed.

 _X Technique_

 _x Normal Style:_

Normal Style - Sendai's default post-revival style. Has a mixture of youkai techniques and handy things she's learned.

Dark Power - Sendai accents her body with dark magic, reducing incoming damage and heightening outgoing damage when she wills it.

Quick Step - Sendai slides on her sandals to avoid an attack, jolting her muscles to evade. Pretty much muscle memory to her, at this point.

Dodge Retaliation - A technique remembered through battle against Marisa Kirisame. After quick stepping, Sendai can instantly retaliate with a thrusting punch. _Only_ effective when spirit energy is high.

Charged Kick - Sendai accents her stock kick attack with extra preparation, making it super predictable but more powerful. Takes a second for basic extra power, but takes about two or three to become very powerful.

Charge Weapon - Sendai builds dark energy into her arms, giving her a stupid amount of power the next time she swings an object around.

Flying Kick - When running, Sendai can throw herself into a double-legged kick that smashes through defenses, and is not interrupted by minor sources of pain or knockback.

Youkai Buster Combo - A series of punches aided by quick kicks, which gives most foes little time to recover. Includes a series of disorienting jabs and hooks, and finishes with a dark-accented kick that sends launches most enemies.

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Konpaku Shot Stopper - An ancient Konpaku defense technique, first used against matchlock rifles, now adapted to be effective against handguns and shotguns. Allows Sendai to execute a decisive maneuver when near firearms users, as well as disarm them. _Only_ effective when spirit energy is high.

Essence of Finishing Blows - Whenever Sendai grounds an enemy by lashing her arm down on them, she may use a more critical version of her overhead-thrust combo finisher, leaping and putting everything into the attack. When it strikes, she eats shit, but her fist breaks the enemy's nose, and rams the back of their head into the floor. Does extreme damage.

Essence of Steadfast Counter - When Sendai is knocked down, she hypes herself up, and recovers immediately, throwing herself straight into an enemy, knocking them over, and headbutting their skull against the ground, striking both their nose and the back of their head at the same time. Does extreme damage.

Faze Step - Lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward some distance. Makes her highly knockback resistant while it executes.

x Fast Style:

Fast Style - A general category for all of Sendai's non-normal, quick techniques. Moves are inherited by Normal Style.

Secret of Swing * Pendulum Push - When bound by an enemy by the arms, Sendai uses their grip to slink around their body, attacking nearby enemies with big, rushing thrusts of her legs. Works on up to three generally unaware enemies. Sendai kind of just accidentally pulled it off, the first time.

==x==Ω==x==

 _Ω Marcus Kirisame, the Middle-Aged Magician_

INVENTORY:

Ω Pocket items:

(2x)Hi-Ether - Restores enough mana for even high-tiered youkai to be able to appreciate.

Paddleball - Here comes the paddleball!

(2 slots remaining)

Ω Armor:

-o- Body: Comfy Robes - Familiar, aged robes. Comfy and easy to move around in.

STATS:

50% fire resistance.

50% electric resistance.

50% ice resistance.

-o- Misc:

Enchanted Dreamcatcher - A trinket that halves the effectiveness of debuffs on the user.

Nothing.

Nothing.

-o- Weapon: Magic Bazooka - Collapsible magic bazooka. Can fire lasers in a variety of elemental flavors, but works best with non-elemental magic. Uses currently mastered elements.

==x==

SKILLS:

-o- Items

Replicable Packaged Bomb - No one's certain how many he has. Tosses a cardboard package, which detonates into danmaku, with the potential to launch and stagger targets.

-o- Ice Magic

Glacier - Erect a tall ice blade. Heavy physical ice attack.

Ice Shard - Spawn ice in an enemy's form. Moderate ice magic. May freeze targets.

-o- Fire Magic

Firaga - Lob a short-range fireball mortar. Heavy fire magic that ignites. Preceding tiers are homing fireballs that have a chance to ignite.

Fireball - Generate a fireball in an opponent's form. Moderate fire magic that ignites. Not to be confused with Fira or Fire, mechanically weaker spells that precede Firaga.

-o- Water Magic

Bubbles - Summon bubbles under an opponent. Gets them wet and stuff. Might lower their physical attack…! Good setup for electric moves, too…!

Bubble Burst - Expert water magic. Summons a lot of bubbles under a lot of opponents. Still gets them wet. Also still might lower their physical attack…!

-o- Other Elemental

Quake - Disrupt the earth, and create a not-so-sharp spike of rock. Moderate physical earth attack.

Thunderbolt - Summon a myriad of thunder strikes to converge on a single target. Advanced electric magic. May stun foes. Hits three times.

Mana Drain - When able to access the opponent's mana, Marcus is able to pull it away. Magnet elemental magic. Usually initiated by a non-elemental orb.

-o- Non Elemental

Non-elemental Orb - A flexible non-elemental orb that may explode or simply dissipate. When dissipated, the mana may infuse with enemies and intertwine with their mana pool, allowing for Marcus to follow up.

Magic Resistance - Buffs an ally against magic. Starts at forty percent resistance, but tapers off to nothing over time.

Magic Shield - A non-elemental shield which absorbs all magical attacks, as long as they're not draining, death, or magnet related.

Mine Square - Marcus creates a circle of mines around himself, which he can't accidentally trigger by traversing. When an enemy walks over them, they're struck by a high-knockback charge and non-lethally launched. Famously mis-named. Non-elemental.

Mine Pellets - Marcus creates blinding and launching mines, floats their discs into the air, and fires them. Costly, but easily offsets hordes of enemies. Non-elemental.

Rudder Pelletier - Marcus creates a frisbee from metal and a single magic mine, and chucks it. By charging it with many mines inside one metal container, it bounces between many targets, dealing incredible knockback and striking many targets many different times. Non-elemental.

Lucky Star - Non-elemental star that bonks people on the head. Very random damage.

Star Shower - A rain of non-elemental stars which hit a crowd of foes for very random damage.

Cold and Gold - A danmaku non-spell which Marcus can create from an influx of magical energy.

-o- Ability

Elemental Control - Marcus has general mastery and control over non-elemental and elemental mana manipulation, allowing him to do some freeform manipulation for whatever he feels. Mastery and flexibility of freeform control depends on how many spells of that elemental branch are known.

Telekinesis - Semi-decent magical control of objects and matter; more specifically, spending mana to move objects. Works on clothes, too!

Magical Mastery - Marcus has access to any lower tier of attack he's currently mastered, if he needs to use such for whatever reason. As in, he knows Firaga therefore the preceding levels come innately, etcetera.

==x==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

hello welcome to new chapter nine

big changes:

o total dieter fight redo with different context, dieter given some good backstory, good turning point stuff

o bunny stuff; not sure if it's that much better than what it used to be, but it's certainly not quite as jarring post-dieter fight

o we talk with dieter after everything - w -

o we get a brief moment of low-time after the everything again! but it feels a little better-paced because of the moments the girls have before the RIOT

o i feel like the riot is also a lot stronger as a whole because eirin doesn't have to monologue for ten years to explain what's going on so hoh

o we also get to one-up old noobs

o my mind is drawing a blank yakuza kiwami comes out in two hours we've been up ALL NIGHT

o this whole series of scenes might need another once-over but you know what i feel like the arc as a whole is just-... more articulated, more consistent, more tonally solid, and overall has more interesting connections drawn within itself

o sendai gets a bunch of new attacks for normal style

hoh...

as always, see you all next time!


	10. Hakurei Lament

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Reimu Hakurei's Thoughts -+-_

Why does winter have to be so _cold?_

This was the theme behind Reimu's current mindset. ' _I really, really should've taken that scarf Marisa offered me…'_

She was trying to keep her mind off the look-alike of her mother. ' _Things always gotta go from bad to worse, don't they. I can't fucking stand- that Keine and Mokou and Marisa's dad- them of all people- are buying that village chick's getup.'_

Reimu knew that woman was a human. In fact, the night that Reimu had knocked her out some days ago, she'd noted the woman had an uneven wealth of dark and holy in her body. She was also oddly pure, somehow. ' _One hell of a copy… she really does have physical properties kinda like mine, but just-... a little more dark-oriented.'_

"Hmm~." Marisa wrinkled her nose a little, staring down. "Reimu-ze~..."

They were standing before a black, smouldering piece of rubble. It was distinctly an airplane part, Marisa had said, so Reimu trusted her on that. ' _Where the heck'd it come from.'_

' _There was a hum over the village, and then an explosion… and then, we had to screw with those stupid rabbits. I would've flown up to see what was going on- but, nngh… if only all these stupid bunnies would get out of the village. What do they even want here…!?'_

That's when another crimson-suited bunny girl ran out from an alley near them.

"Aah-..." She sized up the black, smouldering pile of char, fabric, wood and metal, before her gaze met Marisa and Reimu.

"Hey." Reimu strolled towards her. "You want this the easy way, or…"

...Eyes widening, the teal-haired bunny blinked her yellow eyes, and brought her arms up. Black, metal-plastic braces were along her elbows and legs. "You're-... you didn't see me! Yer not takin'-"

The bunny cut and ran, moving at an inhuman speed, already practically gone. It had sprinted down an alley within half a second, getting away with all it had.

' _Seriously- what's with all these youkai in the village!?'_

Reimu shut her eyes, and floated. The night's air was cold, but for a moment, she was unable to feel it.

' _Anyway… tracing its magic, I can see where it's going. This is the twentieth stupid one tonight. Not sure if they're Reisen's girls, or what, but it's not okay for them to just run around causing panic like this.'_

Reimu's form floated back in, standing before the lunar bunny.

' _Time to take out some aggression.'_ She was tired of a lot of things, right now.

"Aa- aah…" Bringing up her fists, her blue nails glittering in the moonlight, the teal-haired bunny glared ahead at Reimu. "There's only _one of you_ now, so-"

 _Fwap._ A talisman met the outside of the bunny's yellow energy shield-

 _Whish!_ The shield instantly flickered out, the talisman now aglow with its energy. The bunny watched it flutter before herself. "Wha-"

 _WHACK!_ Reimu grandly thrusted her body ahead, stroking her gohei inward, down the bunny's chest. " _Nnh-"_ The bunny recoiled a little, bringing her brace-addled elbows up to defend-

 _WHUNK!_ Sliding ahead on her sandals, Reimu met the bunny's stomach with a wide gohei stroke.

" _Unh..."_ Cringing from the force, the bunny hooked her arm forward to blow Reimu back-

That's when Reimu snapped from the floor. She'd shot up, one leg extended as she backflipped up into the air, doing an entire three-sixty back into an upright position within a second.

 _CRACK…!_ Her sandal perfectly roared up and into the bunny's jaw. " _Hu- nnnk-"_ The bunny flew back, limbs splayed after she was launched.

 _Thud!_ Somewhat accidentally, the bunny rolled off her own back and onto her legs, recovering from the might of Reimu's Ascension Kick. "Ah-"

 _WHAM!_ Before she could think of moving, Reimu thrust her sandal down, into the bunny's forehead and bouncing off of her.

 _Fwa- fwap!_ Along with her descending kick came two talismans, planted onto either of the bunny's shoulders.

The exact moment the papers landed, the bunny flung herself, trying to sprint away-

 _FWAZAP- KRRK- ZAP!_ The holy seal effect was unleashed, like lightning through the bunny's veins. " _Aa-"_

 _WHAM!_ Her body rammed against a village house, now that she was unable to control herself. " _Ooh-..._ aa-"

Reimu appeared from behind her, and whipped her gohei out horizontally again as she slid all her weight onto one leg.

 _BAM!_ The bunny was blown forward by the spine-centered blow-

 _WOOSH!_ A magic gale came from the air off Reimu's swing, spinning the bunny around as she tumbled. " _Whu- aah-"_

 _Thud._ She landed in a jittery, holy energy-riddled mess before Reimu. " _Aa-..."_

...Reimu could have simply slapped an excessive amount of danmaku, talismans, or both onto the bunny and have been done with it, but this felt better to her. ' _Good excuse to let loose, at least. Idiots aren't using the freaking spell card rules.'_

"...Awh." Strolling up to her again, Marisa twirled her mini-hakkero on one finger. "Ya didn't save any 'a her fer _me…"_

' _I bet that damn clone of my mom is behind this.'_ Reimu had a hunch. ' _Shows up, feeds on everyone's emotions, and then starts shitting on the village. Things like this make me hate people.'_

Speaking of people she didn't like, Reimu began to look around. ' _Where's Yukari. Not that she'd tell me if that stupid fake was one of hers.'_

"...Yo, Reimu~." Marisa waved her hand in her friend's face. "What's eatin' ya, ze. Ya've been awfully quiet, an' not in a fluffy way."

...Stirred back into reality, Reimu met her gaze. "Ah. Sorry. It's just..." She wasn't sure how much Marisa knew already, actually. "You know that-... ripoff of my mom we saw, the other day?"

Marisa pursed her lips together. "Ooh? Who? I was half-drunk, ze."

Reimu rolled her eyes. "You know _who._ I had you help check her mana and stuff. You weren't _that_ drunk."

"Oh, yeah, her!" Marisa tilted her head back, smiling… "Didn't ya decide she was like, pro'lly a village girl? Whole 'cosplay as yer mom' thing eatin' at ya?"

"Well, _yeah."_ Leaving the sealed bunny where she was, Reimu turned around, and began to meander towards that smouldering, extinguished plane part. "Marisa-... your _dad_ even buys her getup. She's going to seriously hurt a lot of people's feelings, when she eventually drops the act. I'm worried."

...Marisa had a strange reaction, as she followed along. "That so?"

Reimu furrowed her brows, looking back at her. "...What do you mean, 'that so'. She could seriously do some damage, and it doesn't make _me_ feel good that someone's going around, pretending to be my-... _fucking_ dead mother."

Marisa seemed more attentive, now. "Ho~h! Yer swearin' now! That's how I _know_ yer serious!"

Her reaction made Reimu stop walking outright. "This isn't the time for jokes. I don't think you understand how serious this really is."

...At that, Marisa leaned back, giving Reimu a look of more thought, now. "Just takin' me a moment to switch gears, ze. An' sides-... I'm used ta you not givin' that much of a shit."

"Well-... I take my _family_ seriously, especially in cases like these." Reimu began to walk again. "If I was naive, and accepted any old shitty take on my mom, I could get hurt, or worse. Already, it seems like _someone's_ gonna get hurt-... and, if I let something like this become a precedent, I'm going to hate every second of it."

They shortly reached the big broken plane part again. It was a few houses down from Keine's, now that Reimu thought about it...

' _When we arrived, Marisa's dad was actually here, just leaving. I couldn't question him, because those damn bunnies came out and got in my face.'_

"You sure she ain't really yer mom?"

...Reimu froze at Marisa's words.

' _Are-... are you-... serious.'_

Panning back, she gave Marisa a scowl. "Don't even think of joking about that. I can't take chances like those."

"Considerin' how Gensokyo is, and how incidents go…" Marisa leaned back. "Why not be like-... chill about it?"

" _Because,_ it sets a _precedent."_ Reimu felt like she was repeating herself. "I let one half-hearted take go, and then all the other idiots will get the same idea, and suddenly I'll be up to my knees in 'well-meaning' idiots who try to do this exact- _fucking_ \- thing. Convince people, pressure me into being lenient, and then ride off that. That's why I'm going to be honest about how much this pisses me off."

...Marisa had a brow raised, now. "Y'think it'd really get _that_ bad? This happen before?"

Reimu thought back to her childhood. "...Once or twice. Of course, while I was young, one came by for awhile. Nothing big happened from it, and thinking back now, she was obviously super fake, but she _did_ steal all my food and money. That sucked."

Reading Marisa's increasingly jaded look, she continued. "I've also heard stories, of doppelganger youkai trying to socially manipulate families and people. When I didn't know many people, it didn't really matter-... but, the other night, I was thinking about how many people I knew, and how something shi-... _stupid_ like this, could spiral out of control."

She gestured back to nothing in particular, she was just that fed-up. "Now look. I was _right._ It's spiralling out of control as we _speak._ The fact you were so lenient yourself just now-... that pretty much proves my point. And, she might not be a doppelganger youkai, but the idea is the same."

"So ya _say…_ " Marisa didn't entirely agree. "Well. Even supposin' all 'a that could go down as dramatic as ya say, _I_ say, why not tangle wit' 'em a bit? Get ta know 'em, see how they act, an' shit?"

"That's just a bad idea." Reimu shook her head. "I thought you were smart, Marisa."

"Ow." Marisa grinned back at her. "Me, smart? Yer bein' too kind, Reimu! When'd I earn that?"

...Reimu had to fight a grin in return. "St- stop that. I'm serious in saying, I expect social crap like that to go _really, really poorly._ I know you're a little better with people than me and stuff, Marisa, but I really don't want you to go sticking your feet in something like this. In fact-... _especially_ you, even. You're the one person they'd want to shack up with, next to just-... _me_."

Marisa rolled her eyes. "Yeah, an' I'm just a walkin' damsel who bends over backwards fer everyone. Feel like I could smell a phony a mile away. Even if not-... I dunno, bein' fake around me just seems stupid!" She began to grin for a different reason. "I'm already generally freakin' useless most 'a the time!"

"Well-..." Reimu got tired of talking about this, and it began to show. "You're not _that_ useless-... and- you know, get close to _you_ to get close to _me,_ that kinda thing…"

"Oh, trust me!" Marisa beamed. "A doppel-chan wouldn't wanna get near me! I'd be the one goin' ta her!"

...Her expression fluffy and plain, Reimu propped her arms onto her own hips, and shook her head. "You don't take things seriously enough sometimes, Marisa."

Marisa snorted, grinning back dangerously. "Pot calls the kettle black…"

' _Man.'_ Reimu felt like she got nowhere. ' _Marisa~...! Why're you so dense now, of all times!?'_

...Reimu gestured to the giant broken airplane part that they were talking before, which was partially embedded into someone's home. "By the way, when'd this happen."

"...Word down the street says that plane _exploded."_ Marisa smiled plainly. "An' by 'word down the street', I mean, _it looks like it exploded, so it pro'lly did…_ "

Perking up all of a sudden, Marisa reached behind herself, and took out a sugar cane. "Also! I was busy tryin'a rush makin' _sugar cane,_ 'fore all this happened _._ Hey, Reimu, y'want sugar cane."

...Reimu furrowed her brows. She really wanted to think this over, but it was too cold for that, so she really couldn't. "Well-... okay." She accepted the sugar cane.

' _Sugar cane.'_ She gave it a perplexed look. ' _Sounds tasty, at least.'_

She bit into it. "Mmh." It tasted sweet.

Shivering as she chewed, Reimu exhaled through her nose, and saw her breath as she did so. ' _There better not be that many more bunnies...'_

Also, all of a sudden, Marisa involuntarily draped a scarf over Reimu's face. "Also- freakin' take this already, yer gonna freeze yer freakin' nipples off."

"Yeah- fine…" She consented defeat, and began to wrap it around her neck… "So _cold._ Why's it gotta be _cold_ tonight. I hate winter. _"_

Marisa flaunted her own, fluffy plaid scarf. "It's the season of spooky, starless nights and northern lights, Reimu-ze. Don'cha enjoy this kinda look?"

"Well-... yeah." At this point, Reimu was riding out this conversation as an excuse to not keep looking for rabbits. "It'd be a lot better if I was just, room temperature the whole time. The cold sucks."

She hated thinking about obligations. ' _I wanna go home and sleep. Why's everyone gotta-... screw around and try to one-up me? I hate being the center of Gensokyo, sometimes.'_ She felt like that imitator of her mother was plotting against her, right now. ' _I need to do something other than mow down stupid ground troops. What's Keine even doing. What- ugh...'_

"All ya can do is get used ta it, I guess." Despite only speaking of the temperature, Marisa accidentally answered a whole lot more. "Or, cause Gensokyo-warming."

"We had Gensokyo-cooling one time." Reimu recalled a previous incident. "It was called an incident, and we had to solve it. It also sucked. Endless summer also sucks. You know what- weather sucks. No offense to weather gods."

"All the offense ta weather gods, y'mean!" Marisa grinned again. "Reimu, y'still _really_ need ta call on the goddess 'a some mundane shit at some point."

"That's- not quite how that works, but sure." The conversation had gone on so long that Reimu began to feel displaced more than anything else...

Wind whipped past the two, blowing their hair about and causing a collective shiver.

"Marisa…" Reimu let out a breath. "I guess... we're not finding any culprits near here. Should we just- go to the center of the village, then think it out?"

"Yeah, pro'lly." Looking a little tired, Marisa nodded, closing her eyes longer than she normally would. "...Before we become _ice statues_. Any lucky hunches?"

"No~." Reimu shook her head. "Well, your dad was here, so maybe him. Keine's also having some big problem with the guard and bunnies- or something, I wasn't super paying attention- and, that clone of my mom- and these rabbits- and that _exploded plane-..."_

Slouching, Reimu sighed. "I hate this part of my job. This is-... everything I hate about it at once."

Marisa snorted, grinning. "At least ya got-... me!" She'd hesitated for a moment, but it came off more like cute enunciation.

Most people would miss that, but Reimu's senses caught it immediately. ' _Weird.'_ She wasn't sure why Marisa would falter like that, though. ' _Maybe she had gas.'_

Reimu began to ascend up. Then, the cold night air met her, so she came back down between the houses. ' _Ah, dang it's cold…'_

"Marisa, you got a flashlight on that thing, right?" She turned to her friend. "We're probably gonna have to crawl through the alleys, here-on-out."

Becoming snuggly-looking, Marisa wryly smiled back. "Aaw, yeah! Let's wake up the whole damn village wit' it, ze!"

' _Wait- maybe I should-'_

 _Fwish._ The mini-hakkero glowed unbelievably bright, and Reimu shut her eyes. ' _Aah!'_

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

10

Hakurei Lament

They were on north main street now, where the cool midnight breeze pierced Reimu's seasonally inappropriate clothing quite easily.

 _WHACRACK!_ Reimu cleaved her gohei straight down onto the back of a frantic bunny's head with a flail-like motion. ' _Nailed it!'_

" _Nnh- nrgh…"_ The bunny's eyes screwed up, the impact making her whole form momentarily limp...

 _Thud._ The lunar bunny girl with two long red twintails dropped onto her knees, danmaku energy fizzling across her entire form, rainbow-tinted and bright. "Whu-... _why…"_

Reimu stood behind her still, while the bunny tried to twist around. Forming a half-smile, Reimu began to ready gohei like a baseball bat, pacing in place to get a good stance...

"You broke the _spell card rules,_ you freaking _idiot."_ Reimu slowly reeled it back, ready to absolutely clobber her.

The bunny glared forward, where Marisa was standing. "Who- who _cares…?_ Yo- _you'sh_ the- idiot…"

Having had enough, Reimu exhaled. ' _Alright, a~nd…'_ She practiced the swinging motion a little, sliding the gohei forward slowly to make sure she lined up her swing.

 _WHA- CRACK!_ She clobbered the bunny across the side of her skull with the hard, wood stick.

 _Thud!_ Softly, the bunny girl limply flopped onto her side, now unconscious.

"Wahah!" Marisa reeled just from watching the impact. "Fuckin' brutal…!"

' _She'll live.'_ Reimu knew none of her physical abuse really meant that much to a youkai; she was just working out some stress.

"Ya made her a _lump,_ ze!" Still excited, Marisa gestured down to the saddened bunny girl.

Reimu lost count of the amount of bunnies they walloped. They were on the north main street, illuminated under the neon lights of the Golden Grin which stood nearby. ' _They're all coming from the center of town. They really don't wanna screw with us, but-... what are they even doing here?'_

Since they were so fast and there was so many of them, Reimu couldn't mow down every bunny at once, but she made examples of the ones she could. ' _It doesn't even seem like they're doing anything, they're just running through the village like lunatics. What is going o~n.'_

 _pap- pap, pap!_ From an alley nearby, a brown-haired, short and stocky bunny girl began to sprint, blowing past Reimu. "Aah- hah, hah…" She huffed, trucking it hard to get away-

 _BAM- FWI~SH._ Her shield broke instantly, a yin yang orb dropping from the heavens to smash her in the head. " _Aa~h!"_ As it bounced off of her, she held her arms over her head, her hair floofing up as she ran.

' _She won't get away.'_

 _WHACK!_ Reimu was now before her, stopping her with a wide stroke of her gohei across the cheek.

 _thump- fwap._ The bunny slipped onto her knees, her brown twintails fluffing up. A talisman met her forehead. "Uah- _mmgh…"_

Reimu shoved her gohei into the bunny's mouth, hilt-first. ' _Gotcha.'_ Snapping back some centimeters on both sandals, Reimu kicked her leg up-

 _CRUNCH- CRACK._ Reimu kicked the gohei free from the bunny's mouth, struggling to hold onto it after feeling her own force with her hand. ' _Woah…'_

Eyes firmly shut, tearing up, the tubby bunny leaned to the side. A stream of fresh, red blood practically flushed out of her mouth, from unknown but probably painful damage inside. ' _Probably a tooth, or the side of her mouth, or something. Maybe her whole upper jaw.'_ It certainly wasn't something Reimu would ever dare to use on a human. ' _Not unless I pretty much wanted them dead. But, these fluffheads can take it.'_

"Eirin's sure got a fuckton 'a escapees!" Scratching her cheek, Marisa moved up to the fallen redhead, and began to flex her fingers… "'Least, I think they're Eirin's. Maybe the moon finally had enough, and started invadin'!"

' _Oh, gods.'_ Reimu wanted to sigh, thinking of the possibility. ' _Stupid moon people. Considering the bunnies here have different badges than Eientei's… I don't know. I don't think the lunarian girls would run around with dumb looking broken moon badges.'_

Hunching over, Marisa dug into the pockets of the writhing, brown-haired bunny, and stole one of the cloaking device pads inside. "Aw, man! After all a' this, I can make a _super cloaker!"_

"If you can figure out how all that junk works in the first place." Reimu doubted it, simply because the technology was so different.

' _Since they're all coming from the square now… we'll go there next. Nothing might get done if I don't talk to that stupid chick pretending to be mom, but… I really, really don't want to. Especially not tonight, when it's cold and bad out...'_

"You think Eirin's profiting off this, somehow?" Reimu wondered next. "I've got a feeling Eirin's at least _involved._ "

...Standing up from the shivering bunny, Marisa pursed her lips. "Aa~h… when it comes ta the village, I got this feelin' there ain't much worth profitin' offa, and Eirin should know that. And, y'know… someone like her's so freakin' smart, she's pro'lly just _printing money_."

' _...You know, I never thought of it like that.'_ Reimu felt weird about that idea. ' _Wait-... but- if everyone can just print money, what's the point…!?'_

"We should print money." She came to the next logical conclusion.

Marisa beamed at her. "That's a crime, y'know…!"

"Oh, shut up." Reimu really didn't think so. "You're one to talk."

Poking her hand outward, Marisa's broom came by from the sky to scoop her up. "Nnh. Like- really! 'Cause it makes money worth less in general! S'why only the- does the- _can_ the village even print money…?" She looked to the town square in the distance, perplexed.

"With how much money matters to people here, I'm gonna say yeah." Reimu decided. "Or, Yukari just does it. It's what, paper and coins? Coins might be hard, but the paper- it's just _paper._ And I know mages got metal magic and stuff, so coins wouldn't even really be like, hard at all."

...When their discussion faded into gazing at the cold, starry sky, Reimu moved for the square.

' _Let's hope there's not something exceedingly stupid going on there.'_

"Aa-..." Then, they heard a voice nearby.

A young villager man, wielding a broadsword, lumbered down the road. "Aa- aah..." Upon sighting Reimu and Marisa, he paused, looking pensive. "Um, do any of you two have paper? I need paper…"

...Reimu gave the short boy a flat look. "Why do you need paper."

"I'm trying to write stuff." He was at first very descriptive. "...I'm recording names- of people who-... um, of the people we're putting into jail, yeah. Also- medical problems and stuff, and- I just need a bunch of paper, okay?"

Drifting closer, Marisa passed him a few sheets. "Aw. You becomin' a healer boy, or a medic? 'Cause fuck, village needs more 'a those…!"

...He didn't look like he'd given it much thought. "Um. I… dunno? Thanks for the paper-... Marisa? Marisa."

"Glad you didn't forget, ya little shit…!" Marisa's grin at him intensified. "...Aw, Reimu. Meet Akihito."

"Akahato." Reimu immediately made fun of his name.

"It- it's Akihito." He withered a little, gingerly staring at Reimu now…

"Akahato." Reimu refused. "Why the heck do you need paper to keep up with people being jailed, _and_ medical stuff, at the _same time._ "

"...You don't know?" He let his brows raise. "There was a huge riot, in the square. Um-... the guard was fighting itself- and the bunnies were trying to kill villagers- and-... Dieter's gangsters kinda went crazy- and-..." He slowed, reading Reimu's expression.

...Marisa turned to Reimu's widening eyes, grinning wider. "Uh oh."

"What." Reimu was trying to comprehend this. "A- _riot._ A _riot…!?"_

"But- it's fine!" Akihito recoiled, holding his new paper out to placate her. "Um…" Slowly, he lowered it, realizing the paper wouldn't placate her. "Your mom- she helped teach-... Keine, take care of it."

' _...She really is behind it! Fuck! Fu~ck! I knew it!'_

"Please don't hurt me." He began to wither under Reimu's intensifying stare…

"...I won't." Reimu looked towards the square. "Is that _bitch_ still there right now? There might be another body you gotta record, tonight."

...Akihito's eyes widened. "Wh- wha- wait, you don't mean-... what do you mean, actually." Then, he was confused.

...Reimu gave him a flat look. "I mean I'm going to freaking kill her, you idiot. She started a _fu-_ she started a _riot_ , in the _village,_ and- she's practically tearing the place apart! I can't just let some idiot _do_ that!"

"What?" Akihito was even more confused, now. "No- she's _no~t…?_ She helped _stop it_. And-... I mean, I know-... it's hard to get along with your parents sometimes- but she's your mom."

...Reimu frowned, a little. "I take back what I said, I'm gonna hurt you."

"Well- I don't care." Akihito committed himself to the pain. "Tsukiko's a cool person-... and, she made Keine really happy, and helped out the village a lot. I-... not to jump on the bandwagon of people who hate you here, she did a lot more than you for the village in the past few days, than-... than I can remember."

...Reimu's narrowing look made the hairs on the back of his neck bristle.

"I've saved this village-... no, _Gensokyo_ itself on repeated occasions." Reimu began to step closer to him. "My spell card rules and my god's power let me stop the youkai from tearing this place apart with my _mere existence._ And I may get help from friends whenever an incident happens, but before there was anyone else, there was _me._ We wouldn't even have Marisa back here in Gensokyo were it not for me."

Akihito shivered, both from the cold and from her level voice, as he stepped back, while she stepped closer.

"I stopped the vampires from clouding the sky. I stopped winter from never ending, and-..." She thought it better not to mention the lunar incident. "Just recently, I corrected the seasons when they completely fell out of order."

Marisa floated up, for just a moment. "More like 'you an' some help', y'know…" Then, she floated back away from their scene.

...Reimu stared off in her direction, before meeting Akihito's gaze again. "We- well, yeah. But..."

She found her voice again. "It's ungratefulness like yours that convinces me that the village isn't worth _truly_ helping. Why should I do anything for stupid, hateful _wastes of space_ like you?"

"I-..." Akihito cringed back. "I- I'm sorry…"

' _...I probably come off more lonely than I actually am, between all the friends I've made. Still, when I actually was lonely, this piece of shit village sure wasn't there to help me with that. And, even now, sometimes my relationships get more complicated than I'd care for.'_

' _Everything's not so bad, though. Except for tonight. Tonight is really bad, and it really just fuels my weird paranoia...'_

"Mmh." Reimu wasn't in the mood to listen to him, anymore. "So, fake mom's in the square, right? Got it."

With that, she promptly began to march off, but Akihito held his arm out and grabbed her by an arm sleeve. "Re- Reimu…"

Stopping, Reimu looked back, and furrowed her brows. "... _What."_

"Tsukiko-... your mom." Looking worried, he tried to give her advice. "She's a really nice person, I think."

' _What a bother.'_ She glared back at him. ' _Stupid, impressionable-...'_

"She isn't my mom." Reimu doubled down. "Just, shut up."

"But- _why?"_ He began to furrow his own brows. "She's your mom. I know she is."

' _You-... you, of all people? You.'_

He tugged harder. "I'm-... if you're serious about that killing thing, I won't let you."

 _WHAKRACK!_ Before he could even see anything, Reimu's gohei came across his cheek, swung from within her free hand lightning fast.

 _Thud!_ He spun around, landing upon the hard, cold stone ground on his back after the swing threw him for a full rotation. " _Aa- aa…"_

"My mother died twelve years ago." Reimu had her gohei pointed at his face. "Don't forget that. Okay?"

"Nn- nnh…" Rubbing his cheek, he began to sit up. "...Nn- no. You- can't do this. Give her time, or something- she's your mom-"

 _THUNK._ Reimu stomped him in the gut, her sandal digging into him. " _Uuh- aa-..."_

"It's _gullible people like you_ \- who make me hate this _stupid village."_ Her eyes were wider now, her glare fiercer. "Please, just _shut up._ "

"I'll- stoph-..." Gritting his teeth through the pain, he reached for her leg, meekly pulling at it. " _Aa- ow, ow-..."_ The weight of her sandal in his gut intensified.

"You'll stop what." Reimu questioned him.

"...Yh- yhou." He shut his eyes.

She reeled her gohei back, bringing it over her head-

 _WHAKRACK._ It struck him in the head, making hit rebound off the stone floor. "Aa-..." His gaze became vacant, for some moments.

She reeled her gohei back again, readying to swing it down-

"Hey." Marisa grabbed onto her arm. "...Stop."

...Reimu furrowed her brows for a moment, before looking at Marisa.

"Don't _kill 'em,_ now." Marisa half a half-smile, looking awkward. "I um, know this stuff about your mom means a lot to you, and all-... but, if ya just go offin' villagers that aren't even her, eheh…"

Reimu looked back down at Akihito. ' _...I'm such a bitch.'_

"Sor-... sorry…" Shutting her eyes, Reimu turned, and began to power walk away.

"Aw- hey, Reimu…" Marisa began to move, but lagged behind, for a moment. "Lemme just- drop a potion for the boy here-... 'er maybe help 'em drink it- yo Reimu, hold up!"

Reimu didn't wait, marching ahead into the pale evening.

' _This has to end tonight. I can't keep going like this. Never before, have I let my emotions make me such an idiot like this...'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

' _...It's actually warming up, just a little. If it snows, that's gonna be… alright, I guess.'_ She knew she'd regret it, but she actually sort of wanted to see snow. It'd be the first snowfall this season, so she wouldn't be sick of it yet. ' _Not unless I was caught in it.'_

Reimu progressed through the bleak cold, along the dimly lit village road, coming towards the town square.

Blurry whites gleamed across the cold-cracked land, filling her with a strange kind of energy.

Despite her shivering, the wind and the darkness, she glared ahead, rubbing her nose. ' _For some reason… the white stars above, and all of the dim village lights look pale. It really is nice.'_ She remembered what Marisa said earlier. ' _I do love how winter looks, at least…'_

The town square had clear signs of struggle present on nearby stalls, and in the recent scrapes left along the stone floor.

Along the job board, there were prisoners positioned there.

Men, bunnies and guards were being lead off the premises by other guards, towards the council center where the jail is. ' _What-...'_

Marcus was there, standing atop a wood box, surveying the guards as they moved the prisoners. Idly, he panned his gaze towards Reimu.

Reimu found who she was looking for, in the dull grey ahead. In the town center's stone midst stood the shrine maiden-like figure, the horned Keine, and Mokou.

' _Keine, Mokou, and… her.'_ She saw the woman who looked like her mother.

Strafing around, she kept a cautious initial distance, so as to eavesdrop on the convergence.

' _What're they doing…'_

The fake maiden had a cup. Keine held a bottle of sake, and Mokou also had just a cup, all of them sipping the rough blend.

"Mmm." Her horns in full blossom, concealed by a doofy looking helmet, Keine stood tall, her mint-green hair flowing. Reimu didn't at first realize it, on a night like tonight, but the moon must have been full. "When we get home, Tsukiko-... we should just all _cuddle,_ an' be _warm._ An' eat _steaks._ "

Mokou exhaled. "...I wouldn't mind that, I guess. How about you, miko. I-... not ta _impose_ anything, but I wouldn't be against sleepin' in a pile, 'er somethin'... if- y'know, that's not a weird thing to say. Nah, it's a weird thing to say. Fuck."

...The fake maiden seemed to grin over that. "Well, yeah… but, that could be _okay._ I don't know." She'd never done something that strange with people that weren't her husband before. "You two are weird."

"Yeah." Mokou looked awkward. "...Maybe I should get a fire goin'. It's damn cold…"

"The sake'll warm us up." The fake maiden deduced...

"I think snow is coming." Keine declared, next… "So-... keepin' warm wouldn't be a bad _idea._ "

"That's probably why it's so dark right now, too. Sun should have begun to rise, but…" The fake maiden shifted, looking like she wanted to sit down…

'... _Woah.'_ Reimu realized she was right. ' _Storm weather is weird. Is it really that late? I've been up all freaking night, being torn up about this...'_

"Sounds like a good excuse ta cuddle up and waste tomorrow…" Keine stomped ahead, her worn demeanor after the evening betrayed by her posture. "'Specially since it's still the weekend, but snow'd mean no class anyway. Aah…"

"Tomorrow's Monday." Mokou caught her mistake. "...But, yeah, snow should knock out class."

' _Why're they perverted, too. I mean-... guess 'cause Keine's in full moon form. Yeah, she's being a bad influence. Wait- I'm getting sidetracked.'_

Gingerly, the imitator continued to take in the dismal, gloomy twilight surroundings. ' _What is this bimbo even doing.'_

Reimu began to walk up to them. ' _That's enough screwing around. I'm ending everything right now.'_

"Nn-..." On the floor near Reimu, as she moved, a look-alike of her began to sit up. "Ta-... mistress Takeno-...?"

Reimu looked down at the shrine maiden who was dressed exactly like herself. She looked up at Reimu…

"Who're-... you?" The maiden asked.

Reimu leered down at her. "Reimu. Mind telling me who _you_ are?"

...The girl blinked. "Wh-... se- seriously? Are you-... really?"

Once she blinked again, Reimu was behind her, her gohei's tip meeting the back of the girl's head, gently poking it. "Aa-..."

...Springing up off her feet, shivering from the cold, the girl began to run away, not looking back. "Ha- aah, aah…"

' _Stupid, fake village maidens. Hard to hate that the village is practically making fun of me, by making them a thing.'_

...Turning, Reimu saw the figure of her mother there again, and the others. Marching ahead, she felt the goosebumps along her own skin, another evening breeze chilling her.

When she got close, Mokou was the first to speak to her. "Hey."

"...Hey, Reimu." Keine spoke next. "What's up?"

' _What do you mean, 'what's up'.'_

...At Reimu's frown, Keine gave her a bittersweet sort of smile. "Are you still upset?"

"How would I not be." Reimu gave her and Mokou a weathered look. "Some random bimbo is running around pretending to be my mom-... and I'm just _supposed_ to be okay with that."

"I don't think she's just anyone." Mokou delivered plainly.

Keine let her smile fall. "...Reimu. After how your mother has acted, and the skills she's shown-... she's more real than any doppelganger I've ever even seen before. And, with my ability to read history-... I'm confident she's the real deal."

"And what the _hell_ do you two know." Reimu frowned harder. "Suddenly, you're both experts on my family history. Cool."

"Well-..." Mokou didn't have a lot to say.

Keine did, however. "Reimu-... I was friends with yer mother before you were _born._ I know you and Tsukiko were very close-... but, I also grew up with her, in my own way."

"...I'm takin' Keine's side on this." Suddenly, Mokou found new resolve. "She feels real ta me… an' I know what _not real_ feels like."

' _...What the hell.'_ Reimu wasn't really sure what to say.

"If you two've really tricked yourselves into believing that… fine." Reimu's grip on her gohei tightened. "But-... y'know what they say. Seeing is believing."

She met the gaze of the fake maiden behind Keine and Mokou. She looked a little sad.

' _If she were really my mom, she wouldn't be letting these two bozos argue this out for her.'_

"Then, give 'er a chance." Keine's red eyes met Reimu's brown ones. "Let her show you."

"I'm not allowing anyone that vulnerability." Reimu announced. "I know the game that's being played here. I'm the Hakurei shrine maiden, and people wanna get on my good side, 'cause I might ignore the ways they might defy the balance, if they were someone dear to me."

The fake maiden pensively met Reimu's gaze, pondering that.

"And, I'm afraid they wouldn't be wrong." Reimu closed her eyes. "...So, even if this fake has good intentions-... even if she were really like a mom to me, she wouldn't ever be _my_ mom, and it'd hurt even more, if I had to throw away what I built for Gensokyo-... just because I wanted to indulge."

Keine didn't have much to say to this, in turn. "Reimu-..." She did look worried, however…

Now it was Mokou's turn. "Wow _._ Didn't know the Hakurei maiden was a huge _bitch."_

...Reimu blinked, somewhat taken back by that.

"You know how it feels?" Stepping closer, Mokou began to gain momentum… "I've lost more cool people I liked than you've ever fuckin' _known._ How old're you, _twenty?"_

"Ei- eighteen." Reimu supplied-

Mokou tilted her head back. "Let's round it up to a hundred. That's a _tenth_ of my current life. And I might get wet feet 'bout being social, 'cause it always ends up shitty in the end… but, I just can't leave people alone, 'cause it's that kinda shit that really makes me feel like I'm still livin'. Whenever I _did_ shut myself off-... I just, fuckin' _hated_ myself, and the _world-..._ and everything. Don't be like me."

...For a moment, Reimu couldn't comment on that. ' _I'm not really sociable, myself… but-...'_

"My problems aren't yours." Reimu refused to back down to that. "I won't have nine hundred more years to regret past mistakes. And, I feel like I have a good amount of friends."

"But-..." Mokou wouldn't back down, either. "You don't have nine hundred more years to make up for 'em, either."

"I'm not anti-social." Reimu shook her head. "What's your point."

"My point is, it's like yer not even trying to understand this shit." Mokou began to look tired. "Like yer afraid."

Reimu let out a breath. "'Cause I _am._ Surprising, I know. I don't let myself get bothered by some things… but, family stuff like this-... I just _won't_ let go. Even now, I'm being pressured into accepting that some bimbo I don't even _know_ is my mother. What'm I gonna do, then? Let her live in the shrine, next to me? Let her start demanding things of me, or controlling me?"

"If you think I'll accept that, you've got another thing coming." Reimu held her gohei ready, taking an aggressive stance. "I won't let the idea of my mom get fucked with like this. She wouldn't want me to fall prey to some bitch."

Keine let her eyes close. "...I'm sorry you feel that way." Then, she opened them. "We're not just gonna let ya fuck up your own mother."

"She's not my _freaking_ mother, you dense fuck-..." Reimu tried to stop herself from swearing at her, but let it slip anyway. "Nn- nnh." She grinned off her mistake. "Se- seriously, though."

"There's no way she isn't." Keine held her ground, too.

Taking Mokou's side, she brought her arms up, striking an almost martial posture with both arms. "I'll stake my life on protecting Tsukiko. Because, she's practically saved mine, times over. This is the least I can do for her."

Rotating a little where she stood, Mokou pursed her lips. "...There's no way _I'm_ gonna convince ya, of anything. But, yer not hurtin' this miko here. Whoever she is, she's no pussy. Unlike you."

' _These two…'_ Reimu never thought poorly of Mokou or Keine, but… ' _Can't believe I'll have to use this on them. Days like these make me hate this job with my whole body.'_

"You two're gonna stop me?" Reimu frowned. "...This won't be a spell card exchange, you know. This problem threatens the very nature of Gensokyo. If she's going to be my mother, after this… then, this is almost a direct attempt to control the way Gensokyo's peace is kept. I can't just let this slide."

Mokou snorted. "...You _really_ wanna take us on, without cards? Me an' Keine make a kickass team, you know."

"Reimu…" Keine was more wary, however. "Please. I know it sounds unreasonable, fer us to say this shit to you- but, we can't just-... back _down._ "

...At that, Reimu smiled. "I guess I get how you feel. You two won't have to be deciding anything, at least."

Mokou raised a brow. "Why's that."

Reimu floated into the air, holding both arms out. " _Omnidirectional Demon-Binding Circle!"_

 _FWIFWIFWIFWIFWISH!_ Immediately, talismans rocketed out from within her sleeves and skirt, roaring across the entire town square.

"Ah-..." Tsukiko had her guard up, as she watched the blindingly-fast spread of talismans roar out into the evening around her, outlining the actual entirety of the village square.

 _SLA- SLAPSLAPSLAP- SLAP- SLAP!_ Before Mokou or Keine could act, two aimed streams of glowing, red-gold talismans met their body.

 _Fwoom!_ Mokou's form lit up, her red energy searing the talismans that binded her. " _Ff- fucker-"_

 _Ri- rip!_ Keine started tearing at the talismans on herself, but quickly, the holy energy began to roar through her form. "Aa- _rrgh-... rrh-"_

 _SLASLASLASLASLAP!_ All around the three, and around the fountain in the village's midst, a huge, holy octagram was drawn around the floor.

The air was alive with a gradient of otherworldly gold and red, the light making the village as bright as day. Guards, villagers and prisoners hobbled away from the expanding radius of talisman lines and seals, beholding the great holy seal.

 _Sla- slap, slap, slap._ Tsukiko was nailed by a stream of talismans, but they didn't do anything to her, so she just let them brush off of herself.

When the entire, multi-planed polygon of talismans was formed around Tsukiko, Keine and Mokou, Reimu called out to them. " _I didn't wanna use something like this…"_

 _Fwoom!_ A small flame pillar erupted beneath Reimu, but she was contained by a barrier sphere, which lit up to repel the flames.

 _FWI- FWAASH- SHII~NG!_ That's when the entire polygon lit up, violent and bright.

...When the light faded, Tsukiko was left blinking. Mokou and Keine were trapped on the floor, ethereal, gold-white chains binding their limbs.

...Reimu floated down, exhaling. "Ha- aah…" The barrier around her body was gone, and she looked miserable. "...You." She centered her gaze on Tsukiko.

Tsukiko walked past the seemingly unaware Keine and Mokou, moving closer to her daughter.

"Of course… even my stronger seals wouldn't work." Reimu began to glare hard. "Who are you. Who do you work for? Why?"

"I am the miko who came before." Tsukiko answered, the temptation to use that response too great. "You've come a long way, Reimu. I couldn't dream of using a sealing spell like this."

"Shut it, with that act." Reimu landed on her sandals again, stepping closer. "People don't just come back from death."

All around them, the ground was layered heavily with huge, furniture-sized talismans which stuck to the stones of the village square. An elaborate, arcane pattern was drawn out from the fountain, and all the talismans in the air had seemingly retreated, sticking along the edge of the huge circle.

"Reimu." Tsukiko began to strafe to the right, maintaining constant eye contact with her daughter. "I'm sorry. I left you to handle all this shit alone."

Reimu began strafing to her own right, which was Tsukiko's left. "You _sure_ did. You know-... I'm kind of glad something like this is happening now."

"Why's that?" Tsukiko wondered.

"It'll be good experience, if I ever have to deal with a really good doppelganger like you again." Reimu let herself give a hollow smile. "Normally, this job's obligations aren't _this_ overbearing. It's nights like these which really make me wish I could just change careers."

Tsukiko snorted. "Pft. What, you haven't been up to your knees in controversy and fear before?"

"Not like you'd know." Reimu's fake smile quickly fell, as they strafed around one another. "As if you have any experience. If you were my mom, you would, bu~t…"

...Tsukiko looked restless, as she strafed. "Look."

They both paused, standing with the fountain just to the side of them.

"I can't turn time back twelve years." Tsukiko brought her arms up, wrapping her fist in her own palm. "Even if I wanted to _._ That's just how life can be."

"This'll decide, then." Reimu's knuckles were white from cold and pressure, as she gripped her gohei with one fist. "Whether or not I'm too weak to protect Gensokyo, anymore."

"...I'm too old for that job." Tsukiko refused that prize. "You can keep it. The only thing I want to do, is prove to you that I'm your mother. I love you, Reimu."

"Shut-... shut _up._ " Reimu began glaring again. "Don't make me feel sorry for you. We're settling this-... this _shit,_ for good. Maybe then it won't ever happen again."

...Tsukiko took in a breath.

 _Fwish._ She cast off her royal red apron, leaving her in her arm sleeves and black leotard.

 _Fwish._ Since it'd fly off anyway, Reimu abandoned the scarf Marisa had given her earlier this evening.

-+- _Vs. The Miko who Came Before, Shrine Maiden of Pugilism, Tsukiko Hakurei -+-_

 _Cra- crack._ Tsukiko cracked her neck, then her knuckles.

Reimu considered her strategy. ' _Seals won't work on her. I'll need to take it carefully, and get in critical blows when I can. But, if she's just human, this should be stupid-easy.'_

Immediately, Reimu glided closer. ' _Let's see how she responds to my gohei.'_

 _Woosh._ Reeling her gohei back as she neared, Reimu readied to club Tsukiko in passing.

 _Fwish!_ But, as she flew closer, Tsukiko slid on her sandals, gliding immediately into Reimu's way. ' _Wha- she's quick-'_

 _BAM!_ She thrust her fist immediately into Reimu's face, before she could swing her gohei. ' _Fuck!'_

 _Woo- woosh!_ Barrel-rolling right in the air, distancing herself from Tsukiko, Reimu rubbed her cheek where she got clipped. ' _Damn- that-... ow! That hurt…!'_

Shifting her body upright, pivoting to face Tsukiko, Reimu reached into her own sleeves as she drifted. ' _Let's make an opening, then. If she's pretending to be mom, she's gotta have some basic martial skills- so I'll have to get around that…'_

Immediately, Reimu drew a yin yang orb, and held it overhead, as it expanded to chair size. ' _Let's see you parry this!'_

 _WOOSH!_ It roared towards Tsukiko, spiralling through the air.

 _BAM!_ Tsukiko outright blocked the oncoming, solid orb with her arms. They'd became pitch black, as they forced the orb to rebound away. "Nnh…"

That's when Reimu appeared beside her, her sandals skidding on the stone of the village square.

 _WHACK!_ She stroked Tsukiko along the back hard, the force great enough to make her own arm recoil. ' _Yeah!'_

" _Unh!"_ Tsukiko stumbled forward, turning to fight back-

 _WHUNK._ As Tsukiko turned, Reimu put all her weight into a downward, diagonal stroke, embedding her gohei into Tsukiko's side. ' _There we go-'_

 _WHAKRACK!_ When Tsukiko moved her arm to lash out, Reimu unleashed a great, rising swing of her gohei into Tsukiko's chest. " _Hyah!"_

" _Uu- unh…!"_ Tsukiko went flying off of her legs-

 _WOOSH!_ A gale picked up off the wake of Reimu's ascending swing, spinning Tsukiko around as she fell.

 _Thud!_ Meters away, she landed on her back, hard enough for her to bounce a little. " _Nnn- ahn..."_

 _Cla- clack!_ Reimu landed hard on her sandals, standing directly over Tsukiko. _"Got you!"_

She reeled her gohei overhead, ready to club it down. Tsukiko brought one of her legs up, and used it to push against Reimu's pelvis as she stood over her, but Reimu began using her own legs to push her own body against it.

 _THUNK! WHAM!_ She beat her gohei down on Tsukiko's face, making her head whip with each strike. " _Enh- uhn-"_

 _BAM! THUNK!_ She cleaved her gohei into Tsukiko's face twice more. Tsukiko had to use her arms to help push Reimu back with her leg, leaving her unable to block the cleaving gohei blows.

 _WHAM!_ She hit Tsukiko once more, in the cheek-

" _Nnh!"_ Tsukiko won the war of force, her leg pushing Reimu away.

"Ha~h…" Reimu was panting, after the pummeling she'd unleashed. "Ha- had enough?"

Tsukiko was already moving to get back onto her own legs. "Nn-..." Her face was bloodier now. It was already bloody when the fight began, but now it had fresh serrations and bruises.

 _Fwish._ The moment Tsukiko stood, she slid to the left on her sandals.

 _WOOSH._ Reimu passed by, doing a nearly instant backflip, intent on cleaving the tip of her sandal into the back of Tsukiko's skull as she ascended. She'd only missed because Tsukiko evaded the moment she was able to.

' _What the hell is that slide thing she does…'_

Immediately, Tsukiko began running away, moving for the stalls on the edge of the village square.

"Hey!" Reimu flew after her. "Get back here!" Around her, a whole salvo of big yin yang orbs maximized into being, rolling ahead in the air.

 _WOOSH._ A big yin yang passed by Tsukiko's right, its arc forcing it to miss her.

Pivoting around on her sandal, Tsukiko had maximized a big yin yang of her own, holding it up to defend herself.

 _CLACK!_ The orb she held defensively deflected an incoming one. Tsukiko's body recoiled from the force, but she was kept safe.

' _What…!?'_ Reimu blinked. ' _Did she just catch one- or did she actually just-...!?'_

 _CLACK!_ The one Tsukiko made was knocked from her arms by another yin yang's homing impact, so she reached into her sleeve, and drew another one-

 _CLACK!_ She maximized it just in time to meet the last oncoming yin yang, as it spiralled directly towards her. "Nnh!" Its collision forced her to stumble back, almost falling.

' _She really did just make a yin yang! And-...'_ Reimu flew near the one that Tsukiko was forced to discard, as it rolled past her on the floor. ' _These are Hakurei yin yangs. There's no doubt about it.'_ She could feel the holy energy they emanated...

Tsukiko neared a barren stall, moving around the countertop.

 _BAM!_ She crouched beneath the counter, when a yin yang met the front of it, denting it. Reimu had sent the abandoned orb Tsukiko made forward to attack her as an experiment, and it responded to her commands just as well as her own orbs. ' _What…'_

...Floating around the countertop, Reimu had her gohei raised to parry any oncoming fists or orbs.

" _Rra~h!"_ Tsukiko roared, leaping out from behind the counter, a wood chair held overhead.

' _What-'_ Reimu's eyes widened, and the grip on her gohei tightened-

 _WHACRACK!_ But, her guard was improper, meant for something coming from ahead, not above. Tsukiko smashed the chair over Reimu's head, and it broke apart on impact. " _Anh-"_

 _WHAM- BAM!_ While Reimu reeled in agony, Tsukiko jabbed her left arm forward, then her right, pounding her in the gut. " _Ufhu-"_

 _WHAM- BAM!_ Reimu tried to fly back, but Tsukiko kept up, her jabs making Reimu's ribs feel like they were being pummeled by rocks. ' _Wh- what-'_

 _PAP!_ Just as Reimu turned away to avoid the damage, Tsukiko sprinted closer, hooking her across the face. ' _Aa-...'_

Reimu landed, her whole body hurting as she ran on the ground next to the stalls. ' _Fuck fuck fuck- it hurts-'_

 _WHAKRACK!_ When Reimu slowed, trying to weave past a stall that was placed inconveniently before her, Tsukiko met her spine with a dark-addled thrusting kick.

 _BAM- Clack- clatter- clack!_ Reimu's waist rebounded against the edge of the stall, and the entire thing fell in on itself as she rolled through the space between the small roof and the counter.

' _Ow- oow… fu~ck…'_ She did at least get past the tiny roof as it fell, and didn't get smushed. ' _My-... body hurts.'_

' _I'm- not being careful enough. Whoever this is- she has serious strength.'_

When Reimu turned back around, Tsukiko had another chair held overhead with both arms, stomping closer menacingly. ' _She's freaking whacking me with chairs! That strength isn't human…!'_

 _fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish._ That's when Reimu's form blurred out.

' _Let's get smart about this.'_

Around Tsukiko, there were now ten Reimus. She looked around, eyes widening.

...As the Reimu copies floated around her, only one Reimu acted after some moments. She was the Reimu directly behind her, and she was reeling her gohei back slowly as she drifted up. ' _She can't sense me. What an idiot.'_

That's when Tsukiko whipped around, facing her-

 _WHAKRACK!_ Reimu still blindsided her, the gohei roaring across Tsukiko's face. ' _Woah! She's gonna attack!'_

"Cautionary Barrier!" Reimu held out her free arm-

 _Fwish!_ Four talismans whirred to create a square barrier before Reimu, fit with a yin-yang pattern amidst its messy details.

 _Ti~ng!_ Tsukiko had cleaved her chair down, but it bounced off of the barrier just as it formed.

 _Whack- clack- clack!_ Coasting forward, through her own barrier, Reimu spun three-sixty three times, a gohei stroke meeting Tsukiko's face each time.

" _Onh- nnh…!"_ Tsukiko fell onto her back, forced to discard her chair.

Reimu was a little dizzy, after her spinning counterattack. "St- stay _down…"_

' _Everything still hurts…'_ Reimu may've been able to take pain, but she wasn't going to take it without some internal complaining. ' _Ugh…'_

When she found her senses again, Tsukiko was already standing, face hard as she readied to try and approach Reimu again. ' _Alright, this should go well...'_

Tsukiko blinked, and then, there were ten Reimu copies around her again.

...Closing her eyes, Tsukiko cast her arm into the air. " _Hydro Storm!"_

' _Ah…?'_ Reimu blinked, as she neared her back again. ' _...Her body- it's getting really holy, really fast! What is this!?'_

 _Ti~ng!_ She swung her gohei to interrupt whatever Tsukiko's body was doing, meant for the back of her head, but a prismatic aura around Tsukiko deflected the strike's momentum. ' _What!'_

 _Fwii~sh._ Slowly, it began to rain, freezing droplets roaring down in the already ice cold evening. ' _Oo- oh, gods, oh no-'_

 _FWII~SH!_ Then, it really began to pour, all of a sudden. ' _Aaa~h!'_ Reimu was soaked to the bone. ' _This su~cks! Wh- why does she know rain!? It's all holy rain, too- this night- rrgh! I bet this was on purpo~se!'_

Around her, the clones of herself began to melt. They were made of talismans, so when the roaring rain poured down, it sagged down their paper. ' _...She- made it rain holy water- just to melt my clones!?'_

While Reimu beheld the rain, Tsukiko ran up to her. ' _Oh- gods!'_

" _Cautionary Barrier!"_ Reimu tossed the talismans for her guarding magic again. But, the barrier couldn't form instantly like before.

 _Whunk!_ Tsukiko thrusted a hook into her gut. " _Uuh-"_

 _WHACK!_ Reimu immediately countered, ramming her gohei clumsily across Tsukiko's face. "Sc- screw off-"

 _SLAP!_ Tsukiko reeled from the stroke from the holy wood, but thrust her arm forward anyway, meeting Reimu's face with a clumsy palm. ' _Ow- fuck!'_

" _Rrgh…!"_ Stepping back, Reimu held up her gohei, now with both arms. "I'm not _giving u~p!"_

 _WHAKRACK!_ Reimu flailed her gohei down with one arm, meeting Tsukiko in the forehead with it. ' _Stay do~wn!'_

 _Thud!_ Tsukiko ended up on her knees, vision loose for a moment. "Nnh-..."

...Slowly raising her gohei again, Reimu called upon as much power as she could, in the numbing, cold night. The rain in the background had mostly ended, but the damage was done, both girls as stiff as ice. ' _This- better be it…'_

"Why-..." Reimu spoke to her, gohei held at its apex. "Why fight- so hard…"

Tsukiko smiled up at her, through the blood. "...'Cause-... I- I'll always keep gettin' back up."

"For what _reason…!"_ Reimu shut her eyes, her head throbbing from the pain and the cold. "Why won't you just _die already!?"_

...Tsukiko grinned through her breaths. "Nn- not the first time- someone's said that. Reimu-..."

"'Member when- you knocked me out, couple days ago?" Tsukiko asked. "...I woulda been happy if you killed me then."

Reimu looked hurt in return.

"But-... these past few days." Tsukiko smiled through her pain. "I re- realized… I wanted ta really try. T'use this second chance-... to give you the love I never could."

Tsukiko could feel that Reimu's heart ached, pulsing with raw, youthful depression. She was growing up too fast for her tastes.

"It's-... almost startin' to feel too good to be true." Tsukiko closed her eyes. "But-... I'm not givin' up, 'til this body breaks. The shittiest thing, 'bout when I died-... was that I couldn't be your mom- anymore…"

Because, the way Tsukiko saw it, Reimu be just like her. Mentally isolated, until she found someone she loved, and then potentially alone again, until she died unknowably, alone. Except for maybe, if she was lucky, she'd have the company of her own daughter, however brief it might be. That was the hunch Tsukiko had.

...Tears streamed down Reimu's cheeks. "You-... d- do you expect me- to believe a shitty reason like that?"

' _Well.'_ Tsukiko closed her eyes. ' _...I tried. I'm sorry, Reimu.'_

Reimu swung, ready to take another step closer to her potential as a Hakurei.

' _But, I can't let you walk alone, anymore.'_

 _CLACK!_ Tsukiko barred the gate, her arms stopping the gohei from cleaving down on her, the wood meeting two crossed limbs.

 _Sendai learned Youkai Cunning: Revenge Value_.

 _Sendai remembered Unknown Style._

 _Sendai learned Youkai Buster Combo * Forgotten._

From her kneeling posture she took, Tsukiko sweeped her lower leg out into a kick.

 _Pahp!_ It met Reimu's pelvis, making her stagger back. "Aa- _hnh!?"_ The mere push of this distancing move lit Reimu's anger. The gold light of her gohei dimmed, depowering in this moment.

 _Fwish!_ Tsukiko's spirit was aflame as she ascended back into standing, cracking her neck, then her knuckles, without words. For a moment, the azure energy licking across her limbs became red and white, before becoming blue again.

" _Why~!?"_ Roaring viscerally, Reimu stomped up to her, her gohei gold, infused with power. " _Just-_ stop…!"

Tsukiko sought to tough it out to the end. "Because- I'm _yer mothe~r!"_

" _Hra~gh!"_ Giving into her anger, Reimu swept the gold weapon up along the stone, flicking water away with terrifying velocity as the weapon skidded up to Tsukiko-

 _Fwish!_ With a jerk of her muscles, Tsukiko slipped along the wet stone next to her.

 _Whap- Pap!_ Tsukiko put her whole body into two palm thrusts, a left one, then a right one. They met Reimu's side with force, but seemed to fail to even make her flinch. There was an ironically low amount of driving force behind them, despite the rough motions that went into them.

' _Huh-'_ Reimu didn't even register the palm thrusts as an attack, when she turned to face Tsukiko.

 _Whack!_ Her aura azure again, Tsukiko whipped her left arm forward, a full-bodied thrust meeting Reimu's midsection. " _Ngh!"_ This simple technique held way more power than Tsukiko's attempts at palm thrusts, somehow.

 _Wham!_ She hooked her right arm in, meeting Reimu's soft flesh and ribcage, plowing her back in the air. " _Owh-"_

 _Whap!_ A left hook met Reimu's cheek as she tried to float back, stopping her. " _U- ugh-"_ She reeled from the blow-

 _WHACK!_ Tsukiko leapt closer and kneed her.

Water soaked their red-white dresses, under the blue world around them. The sun was rising in the background, and the water around the ground all around was beginning to freeze.

" _Ohn!"_ The blow made Reimu grit her teeth. "Damn _idiot-"_

 _WHAM!_ Sailing forward on her momentum, Tsukiko leapt over her own knee to attack, an overhead swing roaring into Reimu's collar.

"W _au~gh!"_ Eyes shut, Reimu rolled around on the momentum from the blow, sent many meters away, coasting through the air.

' _Gods- damn, those fists! Why is she so annoying to fight!?'_

This five hit combo was feral. Tsukiko realized the brutal, simple nature of this string of attacks better now.

 _Fwish!_ Suddenly snapping upright again, Reimu jetted towards Tsukiko. ' _I hit harder!'_

 _WHAM!_ Reimu punched, rather than swung her gohei. But, since she still had it held, the hilt met Tsukiko's eye. A line of red was left in the air, the grazing pass stealing the eye's blood.

" _Rrh- aaa~rh!"_ Tsukiko roared, pain blossoming across everything.

Her eye was shut, now bleeding from between the lids. Tears streamed down her other cheek, her mental and physical pain combining...

" _Nnh…"_ Reimu's adrenaline flared. " _Fa- fall!"_ She flicked her arm, as if tossing an ofuda.

 _Shink._ A single Hakurei needle met Tsukiko's gut, piercing the flesh. Reimu was now using her Hakurei needles.

Tsukiko felt dread, despite her rage. She had a hunch what these were, and the fact one pierced her flesh couldn't be good.

"Just _die, already~!"_ Reimu was done being half-hearted about her attempts at dealing with this single human.

 _KABOOM!_ Holy white exploded out, the needle becoming a pearl-white bomb.

 _SPLA- SPLACK, SPLACK!_ Red met the ground all around Tsukiko.

" _Aa- aaa~h!"_ She reeled back. A gaping hole was left in her stomach, red staining the stone beneath her.

' _Uu- uh-... uhm…'_ Reimu almost smiled from the sheer visceral impact, but her eyes were wide with regret. ' _I- I guess… good enough…'_

 _Thud._ Tsukiko fell onto her back. Reimu could see inside her, through the hole in her flesh and black leotard.

' _Um…'_ Reimu blinked, eyes wide and body shivering. ' _Did I-... get her?'_

On the ground, Tsukiko's mind raced.

She thought of Reimu. This was like before. She stared up, at the vague sky, colors mixing and blurring, her senses numb, as her body fell into the vaguest state of feeling.

Blood was pooling in the back of her throat. Her body churned and shuddered, like a poorly oiled machine, high on adrenaline.

 _FWISH!_ Her spirit flared with the essence of azure, thoughts floating into her mind as she lied there. She remembered how Dieter refused to die, Mokou's perseverance, and Keine's willingness to put up with the village's bullshit.

 _Thunk._ Thrusting her gohei into the stone nearby, Reimu leaned on it. "I- I thought you wouldn't _die,_ 'mo~m'. Wh- what was all that, again…?" She tried to tease the unmoving woman, but her smile quickly fell.

' _I-... I did it, huh.'_ Reimu exhaled. ' _...I killed her.'_ She closed her eyes. ' _...I- I hate killing people. I just… I just killed somebody.'_

Reimu looked down at her gohei. She saw the blood on the hilt, where she took Tsukiko's eye.

' _This… isn't who I want to be.'_ Reimu's eyes welled up with tears. ' _How-... how am I going to explain this to the others? Damn it… well-... at least you can rest easy, mom.'_

Tsukiko remembered the youkai she used to fight.

Youkai fought to win, and they fought to the end. They favored neither speed nor strength, opting for both, and for neither. It was the lonely middle road of the skilless, those who fought by feeling and soul, rather than any figment of power, speed, or true potential. To keep stupidly pushing on, despite better options.

Maybe this whole thing could've been talked over, or slowly worked towards over time. Tsukiko wasn't for something so indecisive, at this moment.

 _FWISH._ Black, blue and white tinted Tsukiko's flesh. She saw Reimu crying, and put monolithic effort into sitting back up.

She wasn't sure if it was just because the cold made her blood flow slow enough to let her refuse to die, or something else.

She rose from the wet floor. Blood flowed from her chest as she pushed herself into standing. "Kh- _kaugh…_ "

"Wh-... wait..." Reimu's eyes were wide. "What…"

 _Click- click- click!_ Gaze vague, Tsukiko sprinted up at her.

Reimu began to slide back, more than ready. _'How the hell-'_

 _WOOSH!_ Tsukiko evaded an person-height yin yang orb, which swung in from her left. Blood flecked from her wound as she grazed it. Her one eye Reimu clipped earlier was bloodier now, wind and cold having spread it all along her cheek.

From that bleeding eye, there was a trail of blue left in the air, piercing and bright.

This blue energy, her body's magic, represented her will to survive. It was time for resolve.

 _WOOSH- CRACK!_ Tsukiko was met in the right by the next yin yang, but it couldn't stop her. She wouldn't let it stop her.

More fluids splashed out from her insides. " _Ghk- kaukh…"_

 _WOOSH!_ One last orb came for her dead on, to finish her off.

 _Thud!_ Tsukiko fell onto the floor to slink under that orb, since she couldn't side-step it. " _Ghu- hh-..."_

"Wha- what the hell…!" Reimu brought up her arms, talismans in her offhand. " _Cautionary Barrier!"_

 _Fwishi~ng!_ She flicked the talismans forward, and a gold square of light lit up. ' _Safe!'_

" _Hra~h!"_ Coming up to it, Sendai leapt. Her pitch black legs sprang from the floor, and into the barrier.

 _CRA- CRA~CK!_ It exploded into shards of light, once her flying dropkick met it.

Reimu's jaw dropped, her eyes wide, the gold drops of light rounding her face. "What _are you!?"_

 _WHAM!_ Trails of azure, black energy were left in the air, Tsukiko's legs blowing her daughter away and leaving her to roll through the air. " _Agaa~h…!"_

Tsukiko's face was frozen in one posture, the tears, blood and adrenaline taking away control of her facial muscles, leaving her with a stiff, powerful grin.

Reimu began to sit up-

 _WHA- CRA- CRUNCH!_ Suddenly, Tsukiko had tackled her, a headbutt meeting her in the nose, forcing the back of her head against the stone floor.

' _Aa- aaa~h!'_ Reimu was sure her nose was broken, and the pain was otherworldly, comparable to the chair that clobbered her head earlier.

...Standing up, backing off, Tsukiko leered down at her.

"Yhou're- _re- reahlly prhedict- able,_ you know that…!?" She even had the nerve to taunt Reimu, at their mutual lowest moment. "He- heh-... ha- hahaha!"

Unevenly floating back onto her legs, Reimu wasn't sure what she was facing anymore. ' _Oh-... oh my god…'_

" _Hraa~h!"_ Suddenly, Tsukiko bolted like hell unleashed, body flaring entirely blue for a moment, as she brought an arm overhead to thrust. She leapt off the ground, and Reimu froze, body cold and her eyes drawn to the mess of light that came from the huge hole in her chest.

' _Oh my god.'_ Tears roared down Reimu's face within the instant before the overhead thrust met her nose-

 _WHA- KRACK- CRUNCH…!_ Tsukiko crushed Reimu's face with her fist.

 _Thud!_ Reimu fell back, bouncing off the floor, taken completely out of her senses for a few seconds. ' _So- so much magic…'_ She could feel Tsukiko's body churning herself, almost like she could feel her pain. She clutched her stomach. ' _So much light! Holy shi~t…!'_

She snapped back into standing by floating for a moment. Tsukiko was powering closer, as a revenant of rage, disappointment and pain.

' _I have to- hit her, my orbs won't work- and my needles…'_ She didn't want to use them. The mess from earlier left her queasy.

 _WHACK!_ Abruptly reeling her gohei back, Reimu caught Tsukiko in the jaw with a wide swing.

 _WHUNK._ As if sliding forward on the momentum of the hit she took, Tsukiko only doubled back for a split moment, before her palm met Reimu's gut.

" _Un- ungh…"_ For how Tsukiko was getting staggered half an hour earlier, Reimu didn't expect something of such intensity from her. It was like the strike made her stomach stop, for a moment, the impact blooming through her body.

' _My hits- aren't working-'_

 _WOOSH!_ Tsukiko thrust her left arm at her daughter's form, intent to plow into her numbly.

Reimu teleported, and was now behind her. ' _Not- not again! That combo attack- is dangerous…!'_

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Tsukiko hadn't even realized she missed, her thrust meeting a decoy of talismans that became confetti before her.

" _Just-... stop moving!"_ Thoroughly done with this evening, Reimu felt her holy energy charge through her gohei. ' _I want tonight to be over!'_

The light of the Hakurei, and a fraction of Reimu's own inner potential, poured from her own soul, and the Hakurei Barrier. She felt her body re-energize, her wounds soothing themselves. ' _I'm tougher than anythi~ng!'_ The Hakurei shrine maiden had to survive any youkai assault, if not with her wits or technique, with her holy body.

The two maidens were very similar situations. The fantastic, hardheaded and undying potential of the current Shrine Maiden of Paradise, against the azure, balanced pragmatism of an old soul willing to do anything to win.

' _Hakurei God, please hear me!'_ Reimu thought about nothing but not dying in this situation, afraid of the blue-black Tsukiko. ' _Give me the power- that I had, when I was younger! I need it all now!'_

 _FWOOSH!_ The gohei became thrice as big, now almost a blade of holy light, except still blunt in shape.

 _Woosh._ Seven non-interactable yin-yang orbs began to orbit Reimu. Once they were all granted energy through conflict, Reimu would be victorious. Shrine maidens lived through the intensity from which their soul flared.

 _WHAM!_ Reimu's ominously alight weapon roared up Tsukiko's side. " _Hya~h!"_ The blow passed into her form, touching her lifeforce itself.

 _WHUNK._ But, Tsukiko came back, her head thrusting forward and meeting Reimu's nose. " _Ackh- owh-..."_

 _BAM!_ Tearing her gohei down with the momentum of her pain and her previous swing, Reimu connected another, echoing blow of light with Tsukiko, right through her whole body-

 _WHUNK!_ Despite the blow meeting her gut, she sent a hook forward, cleaving into Reimu's cheek. ' _Why- why-...!? She wasn't-'_

 _FWASH!_ Roaring the gohei across Tsukiko's, her wood armament became partially immaterial, the magic splaying across the other body as a fanfare of holy sparks and light dust.

That's when Tsukiko's hand met her collar, almost with the force of a punch as it hoisted her up. ' _Wh- how, how!? No- no!'_

A palm met Reimu's face, Tsukiko's arm plowing into it. "Nn!?" Her gohei's magic began to flicker out-

 _WHAM._ Her push worked. Tsukiko planted Reimu into the floor, her skull's back meeting the stone.

' _Ow- ow, nnh- no…'_ The blow rattled her head. Blood speckled the stone, from Reimu's scalp, and her vision blurred. ' _Nn- no- this can't be-'_

She shut her eyes. ' _Let me- teleport away!'_

...She got her wish. She now stood behind Tsukiko.

" _Hh-..."_ Tsukiko was on her last legs, a thick pool of blood beneath her.

' _All this- for a-...'_

"You're… yhou're one _hell_ of a-... a human…" Reimu huffed out. Her head hurt, and her vision was a little dodgy…

Tsukiko let out a guttural sound at that. " _Hh- grgh…!"_

' _What kind of hell-bent monster is she…'_ Reimu was intimidated. Seals didn't work on her, getting her chest blown just barely didn't work, and unlike any other human, excessive raw force she simply seemed to shrug off.

Despite her fear, Reimu's gaze met her three of seven lit yin-yang orbs. If she connected four more blows, she would win flawlessly. All the pain and confusion would stop, and by now, she only wanted a quick way out.

So, she just went for quick hits.

 _Clack!_ Skidding through the space beside Tsukiko, Reimu whapped her once in the side with her gohei, barely making her flinch.

' _Again...'_ Vaguely pleased by the results, Reimu let herself drift from her place in space again.

 _Fwish._ As she blew past from a new angle incredibly fast, gaining momentum, Reimu saw Tsukiko slide aside her attempted kick. ' _Ah-'_

Tsukiko slapped a hand onto Reimu's sandal as she passed, grabbing the base of her thigh with her other arm-

 _Cra- CRACK._ She twisted it. With a great, screwing motion, black flourished up the miko's features. She bent Reimu's leg in a way she definitely couldn't bend herself.

" _Pftu- aa- aaugh!"_ Shutting her eyes, Reimu yelled out in anguish. In her adrenaline, she tossed herself to the side, rotating around to break free.

 _Whack._ Her gohei came down unhandled by much other than gravity, on Tsukiko's head. ' _Stop stop stop stop-'_

As she thrust another arm, intent on splaying out talismans as a distraction, the woman grabbed onto that limb, too. ' _Damn it- no! No~!'_ She only had two more hits- or _one_ more hit, until she couldn't be bested, and Fantasy Heaven would be unleashed.

 _Woosh!_ She swung desperately, but Tsukiko let go of her leg and grasped that arm now, too.

 _Cra- crack!_ Tsukiko twisted either arm. " _Aaga- aaa~h!"_ Reimu screamed loud enough for the whole village to hear.

It was the first time in awhile, that Reimu was afraid for her life.

 _WOOSH._ Reimu had tried to thrust her whole body away, intent on the woman not anticipating her retreating at all. But, what made sound was not her movement; it was the woman clasping Reimu's sore leg hard, pulling on it with both arms again.

Reimu wanted to teleport- but the pain was great, and flushed through her mind. ' _Ow- ow ow ow- oww-'_

 _WOOSH!_ Lugging the entirety of Reimu around herself, Tsukiko roared. " _Hnn~gh…!"_

Whipping her around like a doll, she flung her around for one rotation, before swinging her towards the ground.

 _WHAM._ Reimu's body met the stone. " _Aauh- uhu- he- kaugh! Help me…!"_ It was over. Reimu Hakurei had lost all ability to fight anymore. _"_ So- someone- he- _kaugh- kauf…!"_

" _Kgh-..."_ Tsukiko scrunched her face. " _Haghk!"_

 _Splack!_ She accidentally coughed a blotch of blood onto Reimu, staining her outfit again. "Re- really…" Crouching down, she began to tug Reimu's captive leg different ways. "Haven't you been through _worse?_ Wha' wa' all thah- before tha' fight…!? _"_

Tears streamed from Reimu's eyes, the constant application of pain from how her leg was toyed with flooding her mind. "Aa- aah, aa- nn- aauh…!" Her fingers clawed into the cold stone before her, her heart sinking...

 _WHAM!_ A yin-yang orb came from above, meeting Tsukiko in the side, but she kept her footing. "Egh-"

 _BAM!_ Another one came from another angle, Reimu summoning them forth to dissuade the torture from continuing-

 _Clack!_ With the momentum from the impact, Tsukiko somehow doubled back, and pushed the orb away. " _Kgh- kh- haha!_ Gh- ghood, orbsh- kaugh- _kauf-..."_

' _I- I can't be stuck here!'_ Pushing against the ground, Reimu envisioned teleporting away again, shutting her eyes once more.

The woman twisted her leg just a little, enough to break her thoughts. ' _Da- damn it! Marisa- are you really just gonna-... Keine- someone!? What the hell!'_

 _WHACRACK!_ Stepping around her side, Tsukiko kicked her in the chest.

" _Aaugh!"_ The blow had such ferocity, that Reimu was flung into the air, spinning one-eighty, before-

 _Thud._ She landed on her side, bloody, teary and finally settled, for now. ' _This-... isn't supposed to-... mo- mom...'_

She shut her eyes, twitching from her sobbing. ' _I- I can't believe-... I'm sorry, mom. I couldn't-...'_

Reimu's eyes slowly began to glaze over. ' _Wh- what is-... oh, oh no…'_ Her seven yin-yang orbs had fallen onto the ground around her, now interacting with reality. She couldn't find any of her magic.

' _I-...'_ She failed. ' _...N- no… everyone…'_ To her, this was like the very idea of peace had failed. Of human-youkai decency, co-existence. Of her friendships, and everything she fought for. ' _Damn-... damn it all…'_

" _Rhei- gh… Reimu."_ Tsukiko growled down at her. "There's _more_ t'bein' a _shrine maiden-..._ than bein' a _ha- hardass…"_

" _Kau- kaugh!"_

 _Thud._ She fell back onto her side. "Bh- but… don't- take it, from me…"

...The last of the Hakurei clan lied in defeated heaps in the village square.

' _I love you, Reimu.'_

' _I- I love you, mom.'_

 _Sendai learned Heated Spirit VI._

…

Reimu's eyes blinked open. ' _Wh-... ow.'_

She awoke in a rather comfortable position, but, as usual, something ached somewhere. ' _Always gotta ruin a good morning, huh. Maybe I'm just hungry. Hrm…'_ Idly, she ran her fingers across her ribs, just beneath her sarashi. ' _Wait-...'_

Outside the nearby window was a pleasant snowfall. It was white, peaceful and calming.

Her room didn't have windows. It didn't have a western bed, especially. ' _Where the-... what happened last night?'_ She was _certain_ she wasn't drunk again.

She sat up. She was just in her bindings, her soft skin revealed to the cold air. "Um…"

' _Wait.'_ She felt herself freeze, albeit not so much from the cold air. ' _I-... did someone save me, after all? I was… going to die.'_ The cold of the morning, mid-snow air wasn't comparable to last night's 'hell's frozen over'-tier weather.

That was the first time in awhile, that Reimu felt she'd grievously underestimated anything.

' _Normally, I'm a little dumb when it comes to things bigger and stronger than I am-... but, that was something else. I thought I was gonna die. Which-... also isn't totally irregular- but especially then. Usually, when things get that bad, there's… someone to help out.'_

She thought about Marisa. ' _Where the hell was Marisa? She must've gotten sidetracked. Damn… if she was there, that would've been different...'_

The room was bright, compared to last night, but also sort of dark. Blinding white came in through the room's sole window, illuminating the guest room. ' _I'm in Keine's place, it looks like. Nice of her, considering I nuked her and Mokou last night.'_

Then, she was reminded of Tsukiko, the woman who was literally unaffected by the demon binding seal ' _...Someone like her…'_ Reimu's eyes traced the window again.

' _I feel like-... that was a little far, for a faker. What were some of those techniques she used, even? She could make orbs, her body resisted holy… she made it rain, and when she did, her body became invulnerable.'_

Thinking made her more confused and conflicted, at the end of it. ' _Man…'_

 _Creak._ She bounced off the bed, leaving the covers abandoned and ravished. ' _It's warm in here… ah.'_

She saw her clothes across the room, on a dresser. ' _Keine must've even cleaned my stuff. Wait…'_ She saw a stack of clothes next to hers, which were also red and white.

She had enough of staring into space while naked. ' _That couldn't have been my mom. Especially now, that I-... tried so dang hard to kill her, and she just- wouldn't die…'_

' _Normally things that can't be whacked into submission are weak to sealing, and vice versa. Being both immune and super strong feels like cheating. I didn't have any unique charms prepared for that fight either, which didn't help…'_

Looking around the softly lit room, she saw a different guest bed. ' _Ah. It's filled. Is that Marisa…?'_

Romping up to the covers in just her bindings, Reimu casually half-peeled them. ' _Let's-...'_

It was the woman from last night. Before her, the naked body of Tsukiko lied peacefully.

Along her stomach were toned muscles, accented by patches of worn flesh, her body betraying the action it'd been put through.

The similarity to her mother made Reimu nostalgic, but also confused. ' _So, this-... she's just sleeping here? What…? They put us in the same room together?'_

For a copy, she'd be perfect. It seemed subtle and forgettable, but the nuances and details of her mother's form were just as she remembered; or even, filled in the blanks of what she'd forgotten. ' _Her skin…'_

Her form betrayed bruises of where Reimu struck last night, as well as a few new scuffs here or there. The giant gaping hole in her stomach from the other evening was gone. ' _Someone healed both of us.'_

Reaching forward, she poked at Tsukiko's skin. ' _Her aura-... it's still there. But-...'_

Placing a hand on the bigger miko's stomach, Reimu shut her eyes.

' _It's… there's some darkness like a youkai's, but, it's controlled. And-...'_ There was a holy energy there, too, but it was still.

The way the energies simply sat in the midst of one another was something else. ' _...I've, really only rarely ever seen anything like this. What the hell…'_ It was an oddly ecclesiac blend, like an oval of soapy white and oil, bonded like a stone or gem.

Then- "Uah!?" Reimu yelped.

"Mmh…" The loafish Tsukiko rolled over, and in doing so, caught Reimu and took her with her.

 _Creak._ Against her will, Reimu ended up awkwardly splayed on the bed next to her. "You- _oaf…"_ Both of Reimu's arms were stuck inside one of hers. She had to come along with the ride, to keep from just awkwardly splaying out over Tsukiko.

The body felt familiar, this close. ' _Really, what the hell…'_

From the energies in her body, the way she fought, and the way she _acted_ …

' _There has to be some kind of angle. Some kind of ploy- by someone…'_ Reimu couldn't just accept something so stupidly blunt… but, the more absurd the notion seemed, the more she felt like it'd be the likely scenario. ' _She can't just-... people don't come back! That's not how anything works! I feel like I'd be dumb for believing… especially after fighting so hard.'_

' _But…'_ This early in the day, thinking about this made her tired and sad. ' _I don't know if I wanna fight about this anymore. I didn't want to kill her last night. If I did, I'd have just loaded her up with needles and been done with it.'_

Between the morning's white glow, and the soft warmth of the house, Reimu felt herself sink into the bed again. ' _...Well.'_

After a blink, and a churning of her senses, she was in the air beside the bed. ' _Not letting myself get caught like that, at least.'_

Landing on her feet, she looked back over the bed. ' _I really don't know what to think, though. Just-... so much of her's the same, and, her spirit…'_

 _Creak._ In the bed ahead, Tsukiko turned again. "Nnh…"

' _I'm getting another look!'_ Stomping up to her, Reimu clasped at the air experimentally, before placing both hands onto her mother again.

...She closed her eyes, reading Tsukiko's magic. While she stared into the sedate energies through her spiritual senses, she exhaled.

' _I really can't decide. What do I even do if-... this, is somehow actually mom? What, just- 'surprise! She's back!'? This kind of thing doesn't happen in real life…! I'm being dumb...'_

Reimu opened her eyes.

Her mother stared up at her, expression plain.

' _Um- oh…!'_ Her gaze shocked Reimu into stepping back. ' _When'd she wake up…!?'_

...Rubbing an eye, Tsukiko began to sit up.

' _...Um.'_ Reimu gingerly stared into Tsukiko's eyes, both of them looking plain and gentle.

Tsukiko began to smile. "What? Were you, like-... curious about where you came from, or something?"

"Wha- _what…"_ Looking down, Reimu surprised herself, sizing up her own half-nakedness. "I was just… checking you."

"Checking me out, you mean." Winking an eye shut, Tsukiko raised her arms behind her own head, to accentuate her breasts. "I mean, your father couldn't help it…"

"Wh- du- ah…?" This mannerism left Reimu lost for words. "What- the hell do you know about him, anyway…?"

Smiling back, her mother countered that. "Like _you'd_ remember. You were four."

' _...Well, that's spot on, but…'_

"I do remember." Reimu returned. "You carried me. I was four when he died, right? And the shrine..."

"I carried you out past the lake." Tsukiko recalled. "When they went for us, after tearing apart the shrine, I found the perfect clearing."

"The one with that puddle that wouldn't dry up." Reimu nodded… "And the trees were tightly packed."

"I'd remembered it from patrolling." Tsukiko leaned back, against the head of the bed. "There was a youkai nest there, once. I killed them."

...Reimu blinked. "What kind were they?" She knew the answer, but-

"One was a wolf girl." Sendai recalled. "The other was this little fluffy squirrel girl, and some-... plant thing, that I hadn't seen before. I beat them all to death, so that we could stay there, and no one would come for us. You were too displaced and tired to be afraid after a certain point… and, the dead youkai masked our presence well."

' _It wasn't until some years later, that I realized what happened.'_ Reimu didn't fully remember that night, but she remembered watching her mom twisting the head of that brown-haired squirrel girl. ' _...It was seeing things like that, that made me want to make the danmaku system. You know, on top of my mom and dad getting mowed down.'_

"...Why'd you kill that squirrel youkai, anyway?" Reimu wondered. "She seemed-... well, innocent enough. I was four, so I wouldn't know, but-"

"I would've killed a human if it kept you safe for those nights, Reimu." Tsukiko answered immediately. "...I was also pissed. If it was youkai, and it was in my way, it'd be dead. My husband-... Keisuke was just murdered, after all. It felt fair to me."

'... _Maybe-...'_ Reimu's gaze began to wander the room. ' _Maybe this is mom.'_

"I only realized it was advantageous after I'd killed them." Tsukiko let her gaze fall to the plain blue bed covers. "That, we couldn't be smelt out by the youkai, if we used youkai corpses to mask ourselves."

There were a few awkward, quiet moments. ' _What do I even say, now. If this is really mom, somehow-... and, I just tried to mow her down-...'_

It only took a few moments of conversing, for Reimu's intuition to tilt her thinking in a totally different direction. ' _...I can't be too sure just yet.'_

' _What can I ask? What was dad like? How'd you raise- well, I knew how she raised me, kinda-... what killed her? How she died was-...'_ Reimu didn't want to remember that day.

' _What even happened to her. She was just-... confused, then she left. She died lying on some grass, next to the lake. Just-... just dead. Later- when I came back to her body, it was all torn up, too.'_

'... _A- and, that really sucked. I came back with some shitty little flowers I plucked, to put on her dead body, only to find some motherfucker tore her apart while I was gone.'_

...Dismissing her own frayed emotions, Reimu had an idea. _'Maybe, I should ask rough questions. Although, we already kinda skirted near the topic of the day dad died.'_

Casually, Reimu moved for the clothes, to the right...

"The day dad died…" She looked back to read her mother's reaction. "What was it like? For you, I mean. I was sad-... but, didn't really know _what_ was going on."

Her mother tilted her head back, a little. "Ah. Well… it was horrible. I don't think that needs to be said. It'd seemed like the youkai were more relaxed in those past few years than in previous ones, and I was kind of-... no, I _was_ retarded for not realizing, that eventually, the shrine would get rushed again. We weren't nearly ready. There were some types I hadn't seen before even. I wasn't remotely ready."

Smiling, she leaned back against the backboard. "And... Keisuke, he did his best. The most important thing was protecting you. You were our child, Reimu. But, he was never much of a fighter. In the end, a um- a… he was ripped apart. So, I got out with you. I'm really glad, that you don't fully remember…"

' _...Mmh.'_ Reimu looked over her tired expression. ' _...I can't imagine being her, and putting up with all of this shit.'_

' _...I kinda wanna be a jerk and ask, 'how'd you let him die', but I feel like that's a low blow even for me, at this point.'_

Slowly, Reimu's curiosity got the best of her. ' _Even so… maybe if I- phrase it right-'_

"How'd you let dad die?" Right after saying it, Reimu sort of regretted it.

' _Gods. I feel like a complete asshole.'_ From the way the spirit of her mother spiked, she could tell this was a bad idea. ' _I should of said 'how' or- fuck, I'm stupid-'_

Tsukiko forced herself to smile, and it was obvious. "Oh. You know, I-... I ask myself the same question, sometimes… hehe."

' _Ow~. I'm sorry…'_ The way her mother resisted it was almost physically painful. ' _Gods- I, alright, this might've been a bad idea…'_

"Keisuke-..." Tsukiko swallowed, collecting herself. "Do you know much, about him? I-..." She shut her eyes. "Da- damn it, give me a moment…"

"It- it's okay." Reimu's voice was small. "You don't have to-... go on, if you don't wanna."

...Quietly, Reimu watched Tsukiko stare at the blankets in some manner of abject misery. Already, Reimu wasn't sure what exactly kept feeding it, but Tsukiko began trying to conceal sobs.

' _She got so sad, so suddenly.'_ Reimu couldn't remember being sad like this at all, in recent years, outside of yesterday, basically. ' _Is-... that how painful it really is?'_

"It's fine…" Tsukiko took an uncomfortably long amount of time to find her own voice again. "It's always- the damn _mornings._ Mornings and nights. My mind gets active-... and- I just think about him… and-..." She shut her eyes again, gritting her teeth. "Da- damn-... damn it…"

"Um…" Reimu felt like this was all her fault. "Mo- mom-..." She didn't mean to call her that on purpose.

Then, she remembered.

' _She cried like this when I was younger, too-... but, she never really talked about what it was about. Then- she was-... she was crying about dad.'_

Tsukiko covered her eyes. "I- I'm sorry- Re- Reimu…"

Reimu moved up to the bed, and got closer to her. ' _I- I don't know what I'm doing- but I need to do something. I couldn't help when I was a kid-... but, I wanna help now. She's in so much pain…'_

 _Cr- creak._ Sitting on the bed next to her, still half-naked, Reimu embraced her mom.

"It's… it's gonna be okay, mom." Reimu felt herself tear up too, even if she didn't really remember her dad.

She felt Tsukiko's body heave, sobbing repeatedly.

' _How-... how'd I even get in this situation. Why's mom-... here. Why…?'_

...After some moments of Reimu's hold, Tsukiko embraced her back, once she was a little more composed. "Wh- what a way-... fer me to meet you again, huh." Her voice was nasally, her sinuses clogged. "Ma- making you so paranoid… ff- fuhcking-... _fighting_ you. I- I'm sorry, Reimu. I-... I shouldn't have- hit you back-"

"No." Reimu's embrace tightened. "No-... I needed that. I-... I was a huge bitch. I-..."

' _Could I really be blamed? Even so-... I'm really kicking myself, right now…'_

"Still…" Tsukiko exhaled. "I can't help but feel… this was my fault."

"Like hell it was." Reimu returned. "Here I am-... feeling like it was _my_ fault."

Tsukiko met Reimu's eyes. "You-... it wasn't your fault."

"It wasn't yours either."

…

Reimu felt awkward, snuggled up against another woman like this, but since it was her mother, she'd let it slide. ' _What-... what a morning. What a night, last night was. What a life.'_

"So." Tsukiko's left arm was wet with snot, after she'd unclogged her nose repeatedly. "Nnh. Um…"

"Tell me-..." Reimu knew this was going to stick to her mother's mind, so… "Tell me about dad. And _try not_ to make yourself cry. I don't wanna see you-... in so much pain, at once. There's a lotta good stuff, in the world-... and, like..."

...Tsukiko felt a smile run up her own features, despite her wet cheeks and eyes. "When Keisuke died-... I felt like the past fifteen years of my life went with him. The only thing that kept me from throwing everything away was you, Reimu."

...Reimu blinked a bunch, at that. "Wha- what do you mean, 'throwing everything away'...?"

"If both you and him were gone…" Tsukiko shook her head. "I would've made sure Gensokyo felt the same way I did. This-... this _shitty, fucking-..._ "She began to get worked up again-

"Calm down…" Reimu brought her face closer to hers. "You're-... you're gonna be okay."

"...Ha~h." Tsukiko shook, letting out a sigh. While they sat on the bed, she brought her legs in closer, curling up a little. "I had a plan."

"...A plan, huh." Reimu smiled a little at the blunt wording. "What kinda plan."

"...A shitty one." Tsukiko realized the bluntness herself. "But-... if I ever did lose both of you, I would have just gone killing things. If I can't even hold onto my loved ones, who I put so much love into-... then all of the shitty, shallow, no-good pieces of shit around me wouldn't deserve me being a peacekeeper. I fucking hated being a shrine maiden, anyway. All it did was paint a big fuckin' target on my back…"

' _...Wow.'_ Reimu felt that. ' _Are you me.'_

"Besides…" Tsukiko met Reimu's eyes. "Killing gets easier, the more you do it. What it actually means-... it starts to lose meaning. If you have the power, to kill others… you really gotta be careful."

...Reimu actually disagreed, a little. "I think it's more about how you think about it."

Tsukiko raised a brow. "Ah?"

"If you're not even thinking about what you're killing- like _ants_ \- then yeah, it's easy." Reimu acknowledged. "...But, if you stop, and you really think about what it means, and who you're killing, and what kind of life they can be living-... that's when it gets hard. The only way to balance that is with a personal conviction."

' _The way mom talks… if I ever died, or even got lost, she probably would have killed a lot of people. Myself… whenever I have to kill a villager turned youkai, or a particularly disagreeable youkai, I always use the logic of either their aggression, or what they mean relative to all the other humans in the village.'_

...After that, they just sat together, for an unknown amount of time. The room slowly got brighter, and Reimu wasn't sure when.

"We- well…" Tsukiko smiled at Reimu, more composed now. "Thank you, Reimu. You've grown up a lot…"

"Yeah?" Reimu smiled back. "...You're just like I remembered you."

Tsukiko paused.

Then, Reimu hugged her from the side again. "...I love you, mom. I missed you."

"I missed you too, Reimu."

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Slowly, still in the same bedroom, Reimu got her shrine maiden outfit on. The white-grey ambience of the snowfall accented how raw the morning had become.

Fastening her ribbon, Reimu thought back to their first encounter at the shrine. ' _...Geez. I must be pretty powerful compared to when I was six. I'm basically able to kill my mom, which is-... scary.'_

" _Aa~h…"_ Rising from the bed, and onto her legs, Tsukiko began to stretch. "Al~right…"

"What're you gonna do now?" Reimu wanted to know.

"...Wake up." Tsukiko smiled again. "I don't know. We just, um, solved a big village situation… so, I don't actually have any pressing matters today. Perhaps look for answers about my revival… but, considering the trend, I probably won't get anywhere today."

' _That so…'_

"Oh. I know what I'm gonna do, now." Tsukiko realized. "I'm gonna exercise…"

 _Thu- thunk._ Dropping onto the floor, she began doing pushups. "One… two… three…"

' _Ah…?'_ Reimu was at first confused, but then recalled this. ' _O- oh, right, her morning exercise. I, um, forgot about her routines and stuff she did. She was a real fitness freak. Geez…'_

Reimu looked over herself, making sure everything was on. ' _I can't believe my mom is back from the dead for literally no reason.'_

"Thirty one, thirty two, thirty three…" Allowed to focus, Tsukiko picked up the pace.

' _I've never really cared for pushups. Or, exercise.'_ Reimu supposed Tsukiko's strength was no wonder, at this rate… ' _Really, who the hell does one hundred pushups when they wake up. Well- maybe the gatekeeper at that one place…'_

"Fifty nine. Sixty, sixty one…" How fast the numbers added up caught Reimu off-guard.

"Do pushups like, actually help?" Reimu crouched near her, asking an innocent question.

...Tsukiko simply gave her a woesome look from the floor. "Wha- what, you mean you don't? Ah- shit… sixty five, maybe? Sixty six…" Reimu's comment made her lose count, for a moment.

"Yeah, no." Reimu shook her head. "I sleep and eat."

"...Seventy- _six._ " Tsukiko reached a good number to pause. "Also- I don't _believe_ that."

"Really…?" This surprised Reimu. "I mean, look at me…" Raising her shirt, she showed off her ribs and milky skin. "I'm cream and sweets."

The expression made Tsukiko unable to resist smiling. "Well, I guess that's another reason I'm damn sorry I left'cha when I did. Still-... fer cream and sweets- you still hit like a rock..."

' _...Man.'_ The ambience was beginning to tire Reimu out, and she just woke up. ' _I wanna curl up under a kotatsu…'_

"One- _hundred."_ Satisfied with her progress, Tsukiko took a deep breath-

" _Hup!"_ Then, she thrust herself into a handstand.

"Are- are you kidding me…!?" Reimu witnessed something she thought impossible.

-+- _Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode_ -+-

The kitchen was quiet.

Keine's face was buried in a half-smashed bowl of cereal. She had fell asleep on it, and it broke. The milk was spilled over the clean wood table, dripping of the edge and onto the tiled floor.

Reimu stared at her mourningly. ' _So much for breakfast.'_

Around Keine, there were four girls, two across the table from her and then one on the left and right sides. They all had long black hair, but eyes of different, bright colors. They were also very quiet, for some reason…

' _Who're they.'_ Reimu never saw them before. After briefly looking them over, she found a partial answer. ' _They're youkai… but, they seem peaceful.'_

"Ah…" Arriving just behind Reimu, Tsukiko gingerly looked the girls over. "Keine corralled you all here, huh."

The blue-eyed one nodded. "...Ye- yeah. She was really, really tired."

"Mistress-... I mean- Tsukiko." The pink-eyed one shook her own head. "Are you okay?"

' _Mistress…?'_

...Tsukiko smiled at her. "Just fine." Then, she turned to Reimu. "...Reimu. These are some… odd women, who I saved in the village, recently."

"Oh…? Saved?" Reimu's curiosity was piqued. "What happened?"

Tsukiko recanted what she knew. "They were locked in stone cells for five years. They weren't always youkai, either. They were being fed a drug, which eventually changed their body's properties. Me and Mokou broke them out."

' _...Wait-... but, if they were originally human-...'_

"One of them is a native villager." Tsukiko turned, meeting Reimu's gaze. "No one's gotta know that, however."

...Reimu furrowed her brows. "You-... say that, like you already knew my policy on this sort of thing…"

"I heard it from your bunny pal, Reisen." Tsukiko remembered. "She didn't want to tell you. She didn't want to put these girls in danger. But-... I'll be honest with you. There are humans more deserving of death than these girls are. If you decide in going forward with killing them-... then…"

"We- well…" Reimu stopped her there.

' _I don't want to kill anyone, right now. Especially-...'_

Reimu sighted the four girls. They were with Tsukiko the other evening too, at Marcus's home.

They were all staring at Reimu, with half-neglected bowls of cereal before them. Spoons from Marcus's place were on the table before them, although they seemed not to be using them totally correctly.

' _Only one of them would be the one. But-...'_

She recalled what she was told, time and time again, by Kasen, Yukari, the gods of the land, and a few others. Making examples of the villagers-turned-youkai was important, but…

' _It doesn't sound like their transformation was voluntary. Five years, too? Not a recent problem. And-'_

"Um." The blue-eyed one spoke up. Her eyes were on Reimu, tense but focused.

 _Shoof._ She pushed her own chair back, standing up. "I was the villager. Kill me."

"Nn- no!" The yellow-eyed one stood up, next. "It- it's me! Asa-chan, don't-"

"You're- not killing any of us…" The pink-eyed one got up next. "You're not killing my sisters."

The green-eyed one balled up in her seat, gaze hardening.

"I'm-..." Reimu had to relent, holding her arms up and stepping back. "Hey- _hey._ I haven't said anything about killing anyone, yet. Lemme explain _myself_ first. I'm not all blood and thunder."

...The black-haired, colorful-eyed girls kept close to the table, staring her down. Tsukiko had her lips pursed, looking experimentally between the two parties.

She took a breath. "For the balance of Gensokyo, the village can't disband, or flake apart into becoming youkai. If there aren't enough humans, Gensokyo will cease being. If the humans aren't around to produce fear, the youkai won't survive. Gensokyo in its entirety is to ensure the survival of youkai by bottling in their fear."

Tsukiko blinked, considering the whole notion.

Reimu's gaze met the colorful-eyed, black-haired girls. "Now… you four. You're not necessarily youkai 'cause you all wanted to be. So..."

...Since the girls began to look displaced and fluffy, Reimu dumbed down her terms. "Don't tell people you're youkai, and we won't have problems. And, even if they figure that out, don't tell them one of you used to be a villager."

' _I'm not supposed to make exceptions, but…'_ She sighted her mother's stare.

"Now…" Reimu met the girl's gazes again. "If you four… _misuse_ this trust I'm placing in you, it's gonna be bad, got it? No one can know that I'm sparing you."

"Honestly…" Tsukiko felt at her own neck with a hand. "I don't think you have to worry. You make it seem like making an exception here's a huge mistake..."

"Because-... it _is._ " Reimu admitted. "If you and Keine didn't have a problem, I-..."

"I mean…" Tsukiko took in a breath. "Let's say we weren't here, and you let them go anyway. What immediately would happen?"

Reimu folded her arms, stepping back. "...I mean, if they were idiots, someone would recognize who they were and realize they could become one too. Worst case scenario, there'd be a wave of people who realize there are magical means to change their existence."

"I don't think you have to worry about it." Tsukiko stated outright, expression flat.

"...Ah?" Reimu blinked. "You don't think these villagers would immediately jump on that chance?"

"I'd just kill whoever made a problem." Tsukiko stated plainly. "If they don't make problems, I wouldn't kill them. Simple. That'd make an example. Most villagers are too complacent for such conflict."

"...But-..." Reimu furrowed her brows. "What about Gensokyo's fear, then?"

Tsukiko shrugged. "Dunno. Sounds like a problem for the youkai, not us. Why do you care if they get the fear they need?"

"Because-... the youkai _do_ have a hand in the Hakurei barrier as well." Reimu felt weird, about this whole conversation… "I keep the peace and balance of Gensokyo-... and, in order for both of those things, I can't treat all youkai as just, 'the enemy'."

...Tsukiko looked mixed about that, staring at the sleeping Keine.

On that note, Keine began to stir, actually. "Mm-... nnh…"

 _pa- pat, pit._ Puffs of cereal fell from her face, as she raised her head. "Nn-... wha- what-..."

"Also…" Reimu turned to Tsukiko. "Why'd they call you _mistress."_

Tsukiko rolled her eyes. "Ask them, not me. I tried getting them to stop. In short, I beat up the lunar bunny that fed them."

' _...Ah.'_ Reimu could imagine herself in the same situation, somehow. ' _Things like that do happen, don't they…'_

"We- well…" The pink-eyed girl pouted. "In _fairness,_ you _look_ like a mistress."

"Is- is that supposed to be a compliment." Tsukiko looked a little displaced…

"Re- Reimu…!" Keine immediately stood up. "...Um. These- these girls-"

"Relax." Reimu waved her off. "...Considering _you're_ one of the people who nagged me about upholding the balance before, if you're gonna be a hypocrite about this, then I can be too. What's _your_ big-brain reason?"

...Keine blinked a few times, before smirking back. "Well-... don't _you_ have an attitude? I plan to have them serve under Akyuu-... so, the way I see it, it won't upset anything."

"Akyuu's in on this too?" Reimu began to grin. "Ma~n. You guys tried drilling me about this _hard,_ too."

"This is _different."_ Keine retorted. "You weren't there. This is less of meta-human ambitions, and more of-... an accident, really. And, I've been in communications with Eientei, since it _is_ a situation of their design. Eirin believes there _may_ be a way to reverse the effects, since it _was_ a drug that got them there."

"...Ah." Reimu wasn't sure how to deal with that situation, now that she thought about it. "Nnh. You're right, that is-... weird. Also-... there's just- drugs that turn you into youkai? How come no one told _me?_ That stuff's gotta go like, now. _"_

"Mmh." Keine didn't have too much to say about that. "In fairness… the drug that does this _is_ an aphrodisiac, which can apparently replace normal food."

"...Good." Having heard enough, Reimu began to move into the living room.

Snaking around the countertop divider between the kitchen and living room, Reimu poked her head out at Keine and the girls again. "We've gotta burn that stuff."

...Keine smiled. "That'd just make a very noxious gas."

"Toss it in a big hole, then." Reimu turned away, and into the living room proper...

' _Another day, another wacky, mildly disturbing problem.'_

Pale, airy light poured in from the windows, illuminating the cozy room. Reimu approached the front-most couch, beholding the snug lump upon it...

 _Fwish._ Lifting the covers draped over the couch, Reimu expected to see disorganized pillows. Instead, she saw Mokou all bundled up. ' _What- are you kidding me…'_

Scooting up to the windows in her socks, Reimu saw her sandals were left by the front door for her. Looking through the window outside, the bright white pierced her eyes. ' _Oh- aah… so bright…'_

Tsukiko plainly padded into the room, next. The two girls casually stared at one another, both looking somewhat lost as to what to do with themselves.

"So-..." Reimu began. "The bunnies-... are they still a problem?"

Tsukiko shook her head. "We literally kicked everything's ass last night. And then-... you came along, and, yeah."

' _Wow. Wait-...'_

"You used-... just your fists, then?" Reimu wondered. "The whole time?"

"I do have _some_ magic-like skills." Tsukiko admitted. "Hakurei talismans seem more effective now than they ever were, too. You used to need _specific anti-species wards_ to get the same kinda results. Not sure what changed. Maybe youkai are just… _weaker,_ now."

' _Maybe. Well…'_

Panning her gaze around the living room, Reimu sighted a filing cabinet along the right wall, near the room's front.

In the enclave under a filing cabinet, there was a tiny treasure chest. ' _...I wonder what's in it.'_

 _Fwi~sh._ Using her foot, she slid the tiny wood-and-iron chest out.

 _Tap- tap._ With her gohei, she tapped the wood, and the box's top folded open gently, revealing itself to be unlocked. ' _Ooh…!? I didn't think- it would be open...'_

...Looking inside, she saw a collection of hats. ' _Wait-... oh.'_

Bending down, she picked up one of the blue, squarish hats. ' _She just- has a box full of these? Why a treasure chest?'_

"Huh." Tsukiko wasn't sure where all of that was going, but the hat box was really adorable to her for some reason. "Wow…"

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Keine and the four girls watched gingerly, as Reimu and Tsukiko attempted to make this 'pancake' thing Marcus apparently had recommended, at some point.

"They're fluffy." Reimu gave her best explanation as to what pancakes were.

"Are they, now." Tsukiko stared at the circles of batter, as they cooked on the metal sheet atop the stove, placed above the burners on a stand.

' _...How'd I get in this situation.'_ Keine had convinced them to try cooking it, since it was 'really easy', and it'd be fun to show the girls.

Turning to her mother, Reimu had a question… "You know-... why'd you only fight hard last night? Why not the first time we met?"

 _Glug- glug!_ Pouring water into the batter bowl from a nearby jar, Tsukiko accidentally let half of it flow in as she pondered Reimu's question. "Ah- _oo~h…_ ah, it'll uh, be fine."

 _Clack._ Setting the jar aside, she met Reimu's expression. "Well… it's weird, but waking up again, my combat prowess-... it was nowhere near the level it used to be. I barely defeated you just the last evening-... using everything I learned in these past three or four days. All I'd learned was resolve, too."

She smiled. "The first thing I wanted to do, when I woke up-... was see you."

' _...And-... I beat her up, when she was at her weakest. Damn…'_

Reading her expression, Tsukiko's smile became carefree. "It's nothing. It gave me the push I needed to get my shit together."

"Still. I'm nowhere near as strong as I was back then." Leaning against the kitchen counter, Tsukiko let her gaze wander casually. "But, I feel things coming back to me. Truth be told, I didn't expect to level with you _this_ early."

' _...I guess I figured out what it'd be like to be on the receiving end of her beatdowns.'_ Reimu felt at her ribs, recalling the crushing pain from last night. ' _I felt like I was gonna die. I can't imagine being the youkai who had to screw with her, twelve years ago...'_

"You also fell faster than I thought." Tsukiko noted, her brow raising as she refocused on her daughter. "Why's that?"

"You're immune to seals." Reimu stated, first off. "You also just _refused_ to die. You had a _huge_ hole blown into your chest. Your body was _glowing._ Even after all that-... it was scary getting closer to connect blows, and I didn't wanna keep using my orbs and needles so often. I-... didn't want to just kill you. Something about you-... it felt like killing you would've been a mistake."

"...I see." Tsukiko nodded. "Reimu, you need to work out more."

...Reimu blinked at her plainly. "Whah?"

Stepping away from the counter, Tsukiko neared her. "Even with your holy tools, it's dangerous to rely on just anyone you're with and those alone to keep youkai at bay."

"...Be that as it _may…"_ Reimu paused after saying something she thought was impressively elegant, by her own standards. "Uh- fighting works different, now. Like… by a lot."

...Tsukiko's stare was unimpressed. "Fighting… works _different_ now. Does dying work different now, too."

"Wha- no." Smiling, Reimu gave her a hard look. "Like this." She held her hand forward.

 _ti- ti- ti- tick._ Danmaku ofuda fluttered forward, gently rushing into Tsukiko's face and detonating calmly there.

"Wh- ah…" She wiggled her nose, and leaned out of the way. "Danmaku…? Now's not the time for jokes like that. You're a little old to be playing pranks on me, you know…"

' _Oh, gods.'_ Reimu huffed. ' _This is gonna… take some explaining.'_

"Um." Keine stepped forward, before Tsukiko could do anything with the extremely watered down bowl of batter. "Tsukiko- maybe you should-... oh, dear."

' _Oh, yeah, we were cooking.'_ Reimu looked back at her pancakes on the stove.

 _fwoom._ They caught on fire. ' _Wh- ah, oh no! Oh crap!'_

Reacting to the flames quickly, Tsukiko brought up the bowl of mostly water, and began to pour it on the fire.

"Wh- _what, no!"_ Keine held her arms out, to pull Tsukiko's away. "Tsukiko- you _freaking-"_

 _Fwish- SSS- FWISH!_ The flames of the stove roared, water and batter splashing around haphazardly. Reimu shrank back, intimidated...

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode _-+-_

Seated at the main table in the living room, Tsukiko and Reimu were on the empty couch next to one another…

They stared down at the single plate, which had a giant, half-melted, molten souffle of a pancake.

"Mom." Reimu stared at it sadly. "You killed it."

"What do you mean." Tsukiko slowly grinned wider… "You contributed just as much."

"You put out the _stove._ " Reimu couldn't fight her own grin. "You _put out,_ the _stove."_

"...To _be fair."_ Raising a finger, Tsukiko began to beam at her. "To be fair…! I'm more used to open-flame cooking, and not-... gas powered stove things."

To the left of them, Mokou was still hogging the main couch, like a loaf.

' _Should we wake her…'_ Reimu pondered it less as a question, and more as a broad concept…

Keine stepped into the room, holding plates of actual pancakes. After the Hakurei clan had screwed it up completely, she redid it herself to show the girls how it was done.

 _fwi~sh._ Sliding aside the molten cake disaster, Keine placed the real pancakes down. "Here you two go. Tsukiko, have you ever used a gas stove before."

"Not really, no." Tsukiko confessed. "Open flame, like campfires and shit. You know me."

Keine's expression was drained, but somehow amused. "...That explains it, huh. For future reference, please don't pour water inside a stove."

"I'll try not to."

...This left the girls with their pancakes. ' _They're kinda cute.'_ Reimu liked them.

Tsukiko picked hers up, and just ate them sandwich style. A few bites in, and she gave them a dubious look. "There is really _nothing_ to these, is there."

"You make 'em in ten seconds on a stove top." Reimu noted. "They're just kinda to hold you over until lunch."

"If it weren't for all of this butter and syrup, this would probably not be as good." Tsukiko also criticized… "I mean-... say what you will of seasoning, this is pretty much an excuse to eat butter and syrup."

Reimu snorted. "Is that a bad thing?"

In return, Tsukiko grinned. "...I'm gonna say yeah."

' _What the heck would you call breakfast food, then. Although, yeah, pancakes are kinda-... nothing at all, compared to other good things.'_

Tsukiko finished her three pancakes in about five big bites. ' _You're- supposed to at least taste them!'_

Lips pursed, Reimu flared a hand towards Tsukiko.

 _ti- tick, tick._ Some red, danmaku talismans slowly drifted into her side. Small red particles splashed off from her shoulder and arm, and she turned to Reimu slowly…

 _tick- tick, tick._ Waving her hand in her direction, she sent out some slow, monochrome danmaku talismans of her own, which slowly drifted into Reimu's face.

' _Her version of danmaku's way less refined, and still only goes through her own magic reserves.'_ Reimu sensed how her mother put her cast of it together. ' _Kinda funny, considering she taught me about it…'_

Reimu saw the sleeping Mokou, again. ' _...Aah, idea.'_

 _tick, tick, tick tick._ She sent some danmaku Mokou's way, in a straight line. Soon, it met the sleeping girl's face, making gentle ticking noises.

"Mmh…" Mokou shook, a little.

 _tick- ti- ti- tick, tick tick tick._ Reimu sent a sustained stream at Mokou's face this time, the danmaku all at the lowest possible pain intensity; which is to say, it was set to 'kinda itches' mode.

"Nn- aah…" Slowly, Mokou blinked her eyes open. Everything below her eyes was concealed by the blankets, so when she twisted a little to gaze ahead at the table, she looked incredibly snug.

...Reimu and Tsukiko stared at her, while she stirred. ' _Looks like we woke her up…'_

That's when Keine returned. Stepping up to the big malformed pastry, which was further on the table and away from anybody, she poked the top of it-

 _fwi~sh._ The air was let out inside, and it died. Awkwardly, she had to lift the doughy mess in parts, folding it back onto the plate and dirtying her hands in the process. "This-... this is _really_ something else…"

While she carried away the sad pudge, Reimu decided to actually move forward with what she wanted to talk about. "So. Um-... _mom."_

"...There's something new, about that." Tsukiko gave her a blunt stare, before smiling. "Being called 'mom' by you, now that you're old. I still can't believe how much you've grown up…"

"He~y." This wasn't exactly what Reimu had in mind… "It still hasn't like-... fully sunk in for me yet, either."

Once the ginger moment had passed, Reimu wound herself back up again. "So. When I was younger-... I managed to cut a deal, with the residents of Gensokyo."

"A deal?" This immediately made Tsukiko skeptical… "What do you mean?"

"I wasn't happy with the way things were." Reimu decided to summarize how it went… "That's when someone came forward… and, helped me instate the spell card rules."

"The… spell card rules?" This was the first Tsukiko recalled hearing of this sort of thing. "I don't believe I follow…"

"To stop lethal combat at large in Gensokyo, I mandated that every resident resolve conflicts with danmaku." Reimu declared her order on the land. "...And-"

Tsukiko chuckled. "You- you did what, now?"

...Focusing on her fully, Reimu furrowed her brows. "No power of Gensokyo fights without using danmaku instead, and agreeing to non-lethal conditions on the fight."

"That's…" Tsukiko simply looked confused, with a mix of amusement. "That's not possible. That sounds like a fantasy. How come I-... the only time I heard about this, that I remember, is from that friend of yours, Marisa."

' _Wait- when'd she talk with Marisa. Whatever…'_

"I'm getting there." Her great skepticism annoyed Reimu… "I know there's faults to the system, but it's a lot better than it was."

"Faults?" Tsukiko wouldn't stop pressing something so silly sounding, though. "What's stopping _anyone_ who wants to act behind your back? Especially here, in the village, where everything's packed together."

"That's where my partner came in." Reimu took a deep breath… "Yukari Yakumo helped set it all up."

...That changed a lot. Tsukiko slowly turned back to her. "What was in it for her?"

"...Nothing?" Reimu guessed.

" _What_ was in it, for her?" Tsukiko didn't count that as an answer.

"Nothing, from _me."_ Reimu shook her head… "And, considering I can't see it, and it hasn't affected me- _I think-_... it seems to be worth the price."

Still, Tsukiko didn't look happy. "...Fuck. And- how do _you_ know this whole danmaku happy-crappy shit even goes down the way you think it does?"

This made Reimu more resolute, however. "Now- _that_ I actually know a lot about. It goes _well."_

"...How." Raising an arm, then spreading it out, Tsukiko challenged her.

Reimu began to stand. "Well, first, I know about the fact just about no one follows it in the village. It wasn't really targeted towards them in the first place, and there's nothing anyone can do about the nitty-gritty things. This town just needs to get better for that to matter at all."

' _Truth is, the spell card system was supposed to be so they can solve conflicts themselves without violence. It does work in the village… to an extent. People don't often raise mortaility-threatening disputes amongst one another. Until just recently, where it sounds like things have been going completely crazy...'_

"What the hell was the deal for, then?" That seemed contradictory, to Tsukiko. "The 'no-fighting' deal, except everyone still fights."

Someone who wasn't Reimu spoke. "Well…"

Keine stepped back into the room, looking pleasant. "I think the most important thing to regard about the instatement of the spell card system was the central political power it gave Reimu."

' _Oh, hey.'_

Tsukiko reeled back at her friend's presence, now more intimidated about pursuing this conversation…

 _Creak._ Sitting at the chair that Marcus frequently used, Keine crossed her legs. "Whatever Yakumo did, it stabilized the coming factions to Gensokyo's territories, and those that existed wouldn't risk stepping out of line. Those that _would_ dare, would likely meet not only Reimu, but after a certain point, the combined forces of rivalled territories. It'd be a certainty.

"That, and those allowed in post-spell card regulation are _typically_ sedate with their ambitions. While they all surely _have them_ , Gensokyo is such an infusion of great powers, that… it all sort of balances out. Certain territories- this village namely, and the shrine- are considered incontestable for any and all purposes."

She read Tsukiko's blinks, and kept going anyway. "Reimu's role in this era is a peace keeper, like yourself, but with the changed social and political climate, she's also a figure of balance for all of Gensokyo, and not a barrier to prevent the evil youkai from consuming the local humans. The entire tone of the era is different, essentially."

"...Y'just had to kick my ass, huh." Tsukiko leaned back in her seat on the couch… "Just making everyone throw pillows around did all that, huh?"

"The way you say that." Reimu, meanwhile, attacked her pancakes… "I could take anyone who took on the shrine, you know."

"...Well, there's no doubt about that." Keine smiled, sitting back down in her big chair. "I'd say it was less about the danmaku system in general… and, more about the tranquility such a move bestowed upon the land. No one entity has the drive to create real problems right now. Gensokyo is more peaceful now than it has ever been."

"Bullshi~t." Shaking her head, Tsukiko felt that was just wrong. "The village is still a huge deal."

"...Well, there's more _Gensokyo_ than the village." Keine couldn't help but smile back from her own phrasing. "Did you know, that no one's actually _died_ in the past few days?"

"Yeah, like miles of woods and mountains and youkai." Finally, Tsukiko engaged her own pancakes, leaning forward… "Let us think of the trees, and not of the people here."

' _Mom doesn't really know the scope of the place outside of here, surprisingly. Or, she just doesn't care. I know I don't, too much, but… at least they're not getting rowdy and screwing with the village. Or so I think. Damned rabbits…'_

"I honestly don't know what's wrong with the village." Reimu shook her own head… "And, after a lot of trying to find out what was… I realized I really didn't care. Too much, at least."

"...When I was twenty or so, the place was fucking intimidating." Tsukiko smiled, remembering. "You see, I very rarely stopped by there for a few years after my own mother died… I didn't know how to hunt yet, so I had to. Instead of helping me with the youkai who'd come by and force me into hiding, some villagers tried to attack my shrine, on a few occasions."

"Really…?" Reimu smirked, at that. "How bad did you punch them back?"

Tsukiko snorted. "I didn't gain a hold on combat until I was thirty, or so. Until then, all I could do was build things, or hide. Or, sometimes, if I had a knife or something, I could risk being found by one person, because I could just stab them to death. Looking back, I probably should've hid anywhere _but_ the shrine, because that place was a fuckin'... _king of the hill_ type situation."

' _...How old was she, again? That was when she was twenty?'_ It was hard for Reimu to picture- or relate- to a situation that dismal in premise. ' _The heck.'_

...Then, Tsukiko began to grin. "Now you've got fucking rapists running around like goddamn circus clowns, and magic youkai hookers are attacking people. This place is fucking upside down."

Reimu jerked her head back. "Wha- what do you mean, magic hookers. Also-... I can't really remember when a human villager tried to attack _me._ Probably some time before the mist incident..."

"You know the four girls?" Tsukiko gestured towards the kitchen. "That was their job in their cells."

"...Oo- oh." Reimu looked weirded out. "The hell. This ain't Makai, dang it."

"...Makai?" Tsukiko raised a brow. "Oh, right, the demon realm. I guess they would have a lot of sex and pain."

' _She doesn't know about my own fucking weird childhood. Now that I think about it, maybe I can imagine hers… but, if she was just in Gensokyo, it must've sucked. Makai was a shroom trip.'_

Easing into her own seat, Keine looked happy. "Regardless… things should be settled, now. I highly doubt the village will have much organized crime, now."

' _Mom must've done work, while I wasn't looking. She's just been back for a few days, and she's already manhandling the village-... as what, her first stepping stone? Gods.'_ Reimu smiled a little incredulously at that.

' _What the hell's she gonna be like in a month…? I've gotta get on my own game too, or something...'_

-+- _Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-_

Tsukiko neared the front door. Since they'd finished their foods and conversations, they wanted to experiment, and see how the outside was like on this snowy morning.

Standing at the front door, Tsukiko moved to open it-

"Wait- no, don't…!" Knowing better, Reimu stood up from the couch and held out her arms-

 _Shoo~f._ It was too late. Tsukiko swung the door open, and the snow came inside.

-+- _Vs. Snow -+-_

"Now you've done it…" Reimu looked down at the tiny slope of snow, which came in from the doorway. "Good luck closing the door now."

...Tsukiko cracked her neck, then her knuckles. The snow came up to her ankles, so it wasn't very impressive, but it still impeded the doorway.

"I could just, get a shovel…" Keine walked up to the scene. "Or, you know…"

 _Crea- creak._ Mokou's drowsy form rolled over on the couch behind them. "Mrhm…"

"No." Tsukiko reeled back her arm…

Reimu watched, as her mother's left arm changed from pale to a near pitch black, the grain of her skin visible through the inhuman-seeming change. ' _Woah-...! It's that thing again!'_

 _Clack._ Her arm clasped the door hard, and-

 _WHAM!_ She slammed it shut, chunks and droplets of melting snow splaying out of the way like diamond dust. " _Hro~uh!"_

 _Sendai obtained thirteen Snowballs._

 _Sendai obtained Cute Mittens._

 _Reimu obtained Cute Mittens._

Now outside in the snow, Tsukiko looked down at the mittens Keine gave her. "I'm gonna accidentally destroy these in like, five seconds."

"You're taking them anyway." Keine refused to take no for an answer. "Although, the heaviest of the snow's already done, it seems…"

Outside her house, there was a peaceful, quiet snowfall. Flakes sprinkled down from above, but not with any intensity. A holy, hollow light permeated over the land, and the distance was shrouded in endless white.

Reimu could see her own breath. ' _How pretty… and, it doesn't feel too bad out, either.'_

"So!" Turning to her mother, Reimu propped her own arms on her own hips. "I'm thinking of giving you a short tour of Gensokyo, at least to show you what's new around these parts. 'Cause I don't _think_ you know about the things that happened, in the last couple of years..."

"...Perhaps not." Tsukiko let herself admit, staring into the foggy distance… "I know of things like the Tengu Village, and the Kappa Valley."

"Yeah, you've got a lot to see." Reimu nodded at that…

' _I've gotta show her the ropes of danmaku at some point. And- looking back, that Yukari deal was weird, but there's no helping it now.'_

"Are you two planning on running off?" Keine wondered, stepping out after them.

"Ah…" Tsukiko turned back to her. "We might be. You were taking those girls to Akyuu's today, right?"

"Mmm." Keine nodded. "I'd have liked to talk to her more about it in the previous days-... but, you know."

"Mmm." Nodding, Tsukiko moved towards the porch a little. "Maybe I should say bye, for now."

' _...Say bye, to them?'_ Reimu wasn't sure why. ' _They did give off a kinda kid-like presence. Which-... was super weird, because they were like, very very grown women in appearance…'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Inside, Tsukiko stood just inside the kitchen, while Reimu stood behind her…

The four girls were all bundled up and ready to travel, with big fluffy scarves concealing their faces, which matched their eyes and outfits.

"Time to head out, huh?" Tsukiko strolled closer…

"Mmm." The pink-eyed one nodded gently.

...For some reason, Tsukiko seemed a little heistent. "Hope you guys end up liking the place Keine shows you. I probably won't see you four again soon, so-... take good care of yourselves, yeah? And, try to make the best of things."

"Mmm!" The pink-eyed one smiled, and nodded again. "We will!"

...With that, Tsukiko smiled herself, and turned away.

Keine looked smug near the door, where Tsukiko had begun to meander to. "Got a little used to them, huh?"

"Nnn~." Tsukiko let out a hum of questionable agreeance. "Honestly, I'm itchin' to hear how they do at Akyuu's, 'cause they're so _innocent,_ somehow. Maybe 'innocent' ain't the right word, but they're naive, an' seem to mean well."

"How _did_ you get attached." Reimu really wanted to know. "They're just-... youkai girls. I mean, you did _save them_ from some crazy dungeon, but..."

...Facing Reimu, Tsukiko smiled. "You wouldn't know. They're just, kind of precious. Mentally, they're kids… and, I feel the past few years have given me a serious appreciation for cute kids. _That_ you _would_ know. I don't know-... I did just go from being the mother of a six year old, to being a mother of an eighteen year old. I'm still in 'kid appreciation' mode."

' _...Guess you've got a point.'_ Reimu wasn't sure what else to say, now… ' _I bet she misses the time lost. But-... I mean, on the upside, we can be adults together longer now, without her being crippled so soon later. It was just an unintentional investment, then…'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

The snow crunched beneath Reimu's sandals. ' _I should've brought my boots! But, well…'_ She began floating, to circumvent the snow that'd soak her legs.

...She looked down at her mother, then nodded. "I've had enough fooling around in the snow, for now."

"I kind of forgot, that you could fly… somehow." Tsukiko had a curious expression. "By the way- how?"

"What- you _can't?"_ Reimu found that a surprise… "Can't you _teleport_ , even?"

"...Kind of. Sort of." Tsukiko gave her a weird look. "Not really. It's pretty useless once you figure out the secret to it. It's, like… limited to a set distance, and duration."

"...Yeah, that does sound dumb." Reimu agreed with her…

' _She's still kind of different than I remember… ability-wise, anyway. She used to be able to change positions no problem. I think she hit way faster, too. Not that I know much, since I was so young. She still hits plenty hard, at least.'_

Looking around, Tsukiko quickly centered on Reimu again. "Where'd your mage friend busy off to, anyway?"

' _...That's actually a good question. Whatever.'_ Reimu hadn't seen any of her, or her father, since that last evening. ' _Probably making potions or something. Or, sleeping. We were pretty much up all night.'_

"I dunno." Reimu gave her question an answer, technically. "Let's go run around."

"Ah- sure…" Not bothered by the snow in her sandals at this point, Tsukiko marched after her. "Hey- wait for me!"

As the two romped off, Keine was just marching out the door, getting the four colorful-eyed girls outside, with their new possessions; some basic essentials, little knick knacks they liked, and the books they got during Sunday's trip to the Suzunaan.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode _-+-_

In the middle of the village, only the most well-prepared villagers were out and about. The roads were obscured with white, but still well-marked by trodden footpaths, indicating today's traffic.

' _Not that the roads are hard to guess.'_ Reimu considered how there was basically no room between the houses next to the road and the road. ' _If you couldn't tell where the roads are, you'd probably just be slow, or really dumb when it comes to towns.'_

They were on the west road still, just outside Keine's school, moving towards the town square.

"It's noon, but it looks like morning." Reimu lamented on how long they'd slept in… "Must've snowed hard, for half the day."

...Her mother was silent, so Reimu turned to check on her.

This prompted Tsukiko to respond. "It's a good thing we slept in, then."

' _That's true. Ugh… it's gonna be awhile before anything opens up. If I run outta food, I'll have to bum off someone.'_

"I wonder, if anyone's selling hot snacks or drinks…" Tsukiko reflected on the weather. "It'd be a good time for a market like that."

' _I didn't actually think of that…'_ Reimu supposed it's something she would have _eventually_ thought of, but she also consented that it wouldn't have been until she was halfway across Gensokyo, at this rate.

...Reimu was being silent, so Tsukiko looked up to check on her.

"Wha- hey." This threw Reimu off, and she hovered a little lower. "...Yeah- it would be, wouldn't it?"

...Tsukiko smiled. "You'd think flying like that in the village would scare people."

"Ah, yeah, my audience of about ten guys." Reimu panned her gaze about, only seeing a handful of villagers. "They're all a lot more worried about keeping warm. Besides, I'm not a new thing here or anything. Neither is flying, really."

...Tsukiko panned her gaze around, too. "If you say so."

' _Actually-... we both just decided to move out at the same time, without considering an actual direction.'_

"Where are we going?" Tsukiko immediately followed Reimu's thought process, too.

"...Maybe we'll stop by the shrine, once we're done here in the village." Reimu considered. "I wanna take you on a Gensokyo tour, to show you some things that weren't there when I was even a teen."

"...That'll be interesting." Tsukiko was onboard with that idea. "I was planning to do something similar anyway… and, I've honestly spent too much time in this gods-be-damned village, for now."

' _Yeah, anything's generally better than this place if you aren't here for the eateries. I mean, there's a couple fun activities, bu~t…''_

 _Crunch, crunch._ The snow near them crunched, prompting both of them to turn…

"Hello~, hello~!"

Before them was a short, cute girl, with poofy blonde pigtails, a small tophat, and multiple pairs of sunglasses mounted to her forehead. "Hello Reimu! And hello to you too, fake-Reimu!"

' _Pft.'_ Reimu watched the way her mother gave the golden-haired girl a woesome look.

"May I interest the lot of you in, so~me…" She reached into her pockets, and drew a bottle. " _A-ha Water!?"_

"It's probably frozen." Reimu shot it down.

"...How much?" Tsukiko was curious, at the very least.

' _Ah, man…'_ Reimu let her brows raise. ' _She doesn't know about this goddess, does she.'_

"One hundred thousand yen!" The girl nodded gladly, and her sparkly cape bellowed in the calm wind. "That's a _ninety percent_ discount!"

"What the fuck." Tsukiko simply slouched… "You came out here in the _snow_ , to waste our time with something like this?"

She glared back. "I am _not_ wasting anyone's time! Why- the discount is _because_ of the snow! I am simply distributing _my brand_ to the people, when they need it most!"

" _A hundred grand,_ for _water._ " Tsukiko was simply taken aback. "And- you think you can call yourself generous…!?"

"Why, yes. Because this water, is the _best_ water you will ever drink." The blonde girl gave her a catty smile. "It will fix your body. It will strengthen your spirit!"

...While these keywords rang true to Tsukiko, she shook her head. "Fuck you."

"It'll fix your house." The other girl was beginning to seethe at her… "It'll revive your dead, mentally defunct cat."

At her attitude, Tsukiko let out a giggle. "Wha- what…? Who the hell _are_ you…?"

 _Woosh._ Tossing the water into the snow behind herself, the flashy girl whipped out something new from her pockets. " _Premium hand warmers!"_ They were mittens, except patchwork, fitted with gold and jewels.

"...Did-... you make those, yourself?" Tsukiko visibly recoiled at how expensive they looked.

' _Wow.'_ Reimu stared at them blankly… ' _They look, so useless...'_

"Why- _yes!"_ The girl smiled at her proudly. "Yorigami-brand designer gloves! Fit with _gem-encrusted knuckles,_ even! Now you can punch the _poor_ out of your enemies!"

"I thought you were selling mittens, not knuckle dusters…!" The idea intrigued Tsukiko, but the price was definitely not something she wanted to even consider. "Besides. We already _have_ mittens, con-artist." She held up her little mittens to demonstrate them.

...The hat-clad girl scowled at them. "What _common garbage._ Did you get your _granny_ to knit them for you? With strings clambered from a dumpster?"

Her insult was over the top enough for it to simply make Tsukiko give her a concerned look back. "You look like you were attacked by a disco ball and lost."

The girl cringed back visibly. "You- _filthy_ plebeian…"

' _Oh, boy…'_ Reimu could see where this was going.

The girl slipped on the jewel-encrusted, gold-woven net-style mittens herself. "Hmh. Allow me to _demonstrate_ their worth, then."

Tsukiko blinked. "...Wait. You want to fight? Really?"

Smiling back, the girl put up her fists. "Why, yes. We'll make it a duel, even!"

...Tsukiko gave Reimu a look, and Reimu drifted back in acceptance. ' _You know… I kinda wanna see what someone fistfighting Joon would even be like…'_

Looking back to the small girl, Tsukiko cracked her neck, then her knuckles. "Fine, then. Don't feel bad if you get hurt."

-+- _Vs. Jo'on Yorigami, The Most Despicable and Disastrous Younger Twin Sister, Pestilence God, Goddess of Shakedowns -+-_

"I'll beat the _poor_ out of you!" Joon threw a few practices punches at the air, a simple series of unimpressive looking quick jabs rolling out.

Smirking, Tsukiko faced her, posturing herself ready to throw out her signature hooks. "Beat the _poor_ out of me, huh-"

 _FWISH- FWISH._ Within an instant, Joon quick-stepped behind Tsukiko, with two huge motions. In her wake, a powerful trail of gold and platinum was left in the air, as bright as the sun.

"Aa-" Tsukiko spun around, guard up-

 _KAWHAM!_ Joon flailed her arm into Tsukiko's guard. The pain of guarding the blow was unreal, Tsukiko's arms rebounding off themselves and out of guarding in an instant.

 _WOOSH._ Bringing both arms back overhead, Joon roared them down hammer-style. " _Hya~h!"_

Tsukiko snapped her guard back into place within an instant, her azure aura flaring-

 _KABOO~M!_ It really wasn't enough. " _Huwao~h!"_ The force of the overhead blow was so mighty, that despite successfully guarding it, Tsukiko was thrown flat on her ass, rebounded off of said ass, and backflipped away from the encounter.

 _Fwish!_ Amidst the storm of yen bills which had rocketed into the air, Joon snapped up to Tsukiko as she flew, and grabbed her leg while she was facing up.

 _WHUMP._ She tugged on it, flipped Tsukiko over herself with her pull, and rammed Tsukiko stomach-first to the snowy floor. " _Ungh- hnh…"_

 _Cli- click, clack!_ Yen coins and bills rained down, marking the powder all around them.

...Slowly, Tsukiko was allowed to get up off of her legs, body shaking. "Wha- what-"

The moment she stood, Joon was in her face, and hugged her. "Go~t you- mmph…" Her face ended up between Tsukiko's breasts, as she pulled the larger body into her stout one.

"Um-" Tsukiko's arms flared black with her dark magic, pushing back-

 _KRA- CRA- CRACK._ Joon hugged with the force of a god out of mild A-cup angst. Tsukiko's eyes were wide, the bones of her back crying out as cast her gaze to the sky. " _Hu- uu-... kh..."_

 _FWISH!_ Tens of thousands of yen washed the street around them. Reimu looked around, money fluttering past her face. ' _Man, mom was carrying a lot… I think I won't let Joon take all of this.'_

 _thud._ Letting go, Joon let Tsukiko fall back onto her own butt. "Ngh…" Her body was shaking, every new twitch sending pain blooming up her spine and self.

 _WOOSH._ Joon reeled her leg up, gold and diamond-tinted glory accenting it, and she stomped down.

 _CRUNCH._ She embedded her platform shoe into Tsukiko's gut.

" _Kh- aa-... da- damn it…"_ The last of Tsukiko's pocket money bled out from her and into the winter air. She lied uselessly on the floor, defeated. Tears streamed down her face from the sheer pain. "Ho- how-... how could I-..."

 _Sendai lost 218,250 Yen._

 _Joon Yorigami found 218,250_ _Yen!_

' _...So, that's why.'_ Reimu got the answer to why she didn't see anyone try to fist fight the goddess...

...Rigidly, Tsukiko shakily pushed herself onto her legs again, not immediately able to stand up straight. "O- oww-... ho- how…"

"Fufufu!" Giggling victoriously, Joon unfurled a fluffy fan, holding it before her face in the light snowfall. "Thank you for your _generous_ donation to Yorigami Savings and Loan! I will be sure to keep your account on fi~le!"

"Wh- what do-..." Looking around at all the money on the ground, Tsukiko felt herself freeze. "What-...!? N- no!"

"Yes!" Stepping forward, Joon placed a leg on the ground weirdly.

 _Cli- click- clink…_ Slowly, the money began to all gravitate up, pushing itself towards her.

"Wh- what the hell- no!" Tsukiko half-considered going to grab it, but she wasn't in any condition to move herself quickly. "Damn it…!"

Reimu tapped Joon on the side of the head with her gohei. "Hey."

...Slowly, Joon turned to her, and the money on the floor paused. Then, she smirked. "Hello~, my rags-to-rags friend. Is that any way to greet a woman who just spared you the trouble of beating down an even poorer knock-off of you? Why, I'd charge for this kind of service, you know!"

"Give it back to her." Reimu slung her gohei over her shoulder… "Or, we're not the only people going back to the poor house tonight."

...Rolling her eyes, Joon moved her leg back into normal posture.

 _Cli- click- clack!_ All the money fell, stuck back in the snow and stone where it was.

" _Fine._ " Relenting, Joon took a few steps back. "I will let your _pet_ off the hook this time then, Hakurei. But, I expect payment down the line for this. Inconvenience fee, you know?"

"I don't care." Reimu would deal with her whenever. "You can come by the shrine and try."

"...Hmph." Pivoting around, she stomped off. "See if I'm _ever_ kind to that stunt-double of yours again…"

A few steps away, she looked back at them. "The next time I see her, Hakurei, it will be _every yen_ , down to the line! The Human Village is an expensive place to have a good time in- and, if _today_ has been _any_ indication… that woman of yours has _just_ the capital that would really make a day golden."

"Yeah- shoo." Reimu swung her gohei randomly and half-heartedly. "Don't make me come over there."

Joon stomped off. "Have fun picking up _my mone~y!_ Fufufu~!"

...Reimu looked back at her mother. Now standing properly, Tsukiko still held onto her stomach where she took a few hits. "Who- the hell… was _she?"_

"She was Joon Yorigami." Reimu explained to her. "She's a goddess. Goddess of pestilence, aptly…"

"...Just-... walking around, mugging people." Shaking her head, Tsukiko was confused by this new experience. "What the _fuck…"_

Reimu looked to a nearby snowbank, where Joon threw the A-Ha water.

Drifting over to it, she reclaimed it, and brought it back to her mother. "Here."

...Tsukiko furrowed her brows at it, accepting it. "Ah, good. Just what my _back_ needs now. Frozen water."

 _Cri- crack._ Snapping the plastic top open, she unscrewed the lid, and lifted it to drink it anyway. She took some slow sips, making sure it wasn't dirty or loaded in any way…

"Mmh." Then, she began to chug it.

 _FWI- FWIOU~SH!_ A violent flare of healing magic ran up her body. "Hoh- _holy shit!_ Woah!" Her lips snapped from the top of the drink, the magic running through not only herself, but the water, which now shined golden, for a moment.

Reimu had to blink her eyes a few times, from how blinding the healing aura was.

' _What can't be forgotten, is that Joon's still a god.'_ She reflected. ' _That's probably actually some kind of holy water…'_

"Mmh- mmgh- mmh…" Tilting her head back, Tsukiko downed the scam water brand. When she cast her lips from the bottle's rim, her eyes were wide, taking in the day's airy sky with a look of pure fulfillment. "Fwua~... wo- wow."

 _KRA- KRACK._ Doing a single stretch, she felt her joints become an earthquake, and she zoned out for a moment. " _Oo- ooh…"_

"Save some of that." Reimu recommended. "You're gonna break your back again, trying to pick up all these tiny coins."

...Tsukiko stared down at the holes in the snow around her. "Oh. Oh, _fuck_ me…"

 _Sendai recovered 218,250_ _Yen from the floor…_

 _Sendai found a Ruby!_

 _Creak._ After stomping through the village, Tsukiko found a food stall step up along one of the roads.

Taking in a breath, she coasted up to one of the red-brown wood stools before the rough counter. " _Aa~h._ That… was humiliating."

Reimu sat down under the stall's awning with her. "Didn't get your butt kicked like that often, I take it?"

"Not from some _random bimbo,_ not in a long time…" Leaning into the counter, Tsukiko shook her head… "And _never_ by a _little girl._ "

"You know what her weakness is?" Reimu found it hard to restrain her smug smile…

...Tsukiko tilted her head towards her. "Wha~t."

"Danmaku." Reimu's grin gained teeth.

"Ah, fuck off…" Tsukiko rested both her elbows on the counter…

"Hehehe~!" Reimu took pleasure in her pain. "But no, seriously- without danmaku, she'd probably be _actually_ unstoppable. She's a god, so… holy things don't do _anything_ to her. They _heal_ her."

"In my time, gods didn't go around fucking mugging people…" Tsukiko found herself grinning at her own lamentation… "What the hell. Goddess of pestilence, right? Pretty fitting she roams the streets here, then."

"She's supposed to be a buddhist monk now, too." Reimu considered… "Guess this is what she does on her off-time."

"A- a monk? What the hell…" Tsukiko was confused. "Wait- _buddhist?_ But- she's a _shinto god._ Nnh…" Tsukiko was _very_ confused.

"Yeah, uh, if you thought life was weird fifteen years ago…" Her smile now warm, Reimu tapped a hand on the counter. "Welcome back to Gensokyo."

Her mother simply took a breath. "Holy shit."

...The stand vendor finally approached them, and they began to perk up. ' _Oh- hey, food guy. Awfully nice of you to just sit on your hands until we were idle.'_

Tsukiko considered her options. "...I think I'll get a beef bowl."

' _Woah.'_

-+- _Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-_

x / Reimu Hakurei, Shrine Maiden of Paradise

INVENTORY:

(four slots remaining)

 _X Armor:_

 _x Body:_ Reimu's Shrine Maiden Outfit - Reimu's everyday clothes. Not suitable for winter. Gives Reimu no benefits, other than being comfy.

 _x Misc:_

Cute Mittens - Neat little mittens Keine had for her guests. Provides immunity to chilling and ice-related slowdown, but not freezing.

Marisa's Ugly Plaid Scarf - An orange and green plaid scarf. 50% Freezing resistance. -50% Burning resistance. Provides immunity to chilling and ice-related slowdown.

Reimu's Ribbon - Hakurei hair accessory. Really soft cloth, and comfortable to wear. People often say it looks cute, too.

 _x Weapon:_ Reimu's Gohei - Infinite uses remaining - Reimu's most balanced weapon, and easiest for her to use. Big, sturdy wood stick, reinforced with holy magic. Able to be used for cleansings and blessings, thanks to the holy papers attached to the tip of it. Sees more action as a weapon of mass destruction…

GROWTH ABILITIES:

X _Body_

Powerhouse XXV - Reimu's not easy to take down. Above human levels of pain endurance and bodily endurance.

Bruiser XXV - Years of swinging her gohei has built her strength. Sharply increases Reimu's power with gohei-type weapons.

Hakurei Maiden - Reimu is 75% Holy resistant, and 50% Dark resistant. She's also unable to be Weakened, a holy status, or Cursed, a dark status, or Syphoned. Hakurei charms have no negative effect on her.

X _Soul_

Hakurei God's Power IV - Dramatically boosts mana and faith-reliant abilities. Powers all her special abilities, and her mana pool.

Floating XVIII - Reimu can fly. Allows her to teleport. Allows control over wrapping-barriers. Allows her to use Fantasy Heaven.

Final Lifeline - Last surviving member of the Hakurei clan. When at critical health, Reimu won't die, as long as her spirit energy and mana is high. Getting hit in this state drains almost all of her energies, however, and this skill can't be used again for a long time.

X _Technique_

x _Smasher Style_

Gohei Combo - Reimu's standard, three-strike gohei combo. Weak, but reliable, with a finishing attack that specializes in launching foes.

Dancing Gohei - A four-strike gohei combo that makes Reimu look like she's dancing. Finishes with a thrust, which deals great damage. Excels in avoiding being interrupted when attacking.

Koi Smasher - Teleporting combo of powerful, lunging gohei swings that ends in a fierce gale that throws launched foes around.

Counter Hammer - When her gohei is parried or blocked, Reimu can keep swinging up to twenty times, each strike gaining more power the more her weapon is deflected. Ends when a hit actually lands, and renders Reimu immune to knockback or staggering while it's active.

Holy Slider - Teleporting around, Reimu thrusts into an enemy from multiple angles. Weak but accurate attacks.

SMAAAASH! - A single, really good gohei hit. Technically not a skill, but represents her often-critical wound-up hits.

Event Horizon - Wrapping her gohei in light, Reimu swings it around wildly, tying all her blows into each other. Hits up to nine times. Renders Reimu immune to knockback and staggering while it's active.

Ascension Kick - A powerful kick, which can be executed from many angles. Often used to penetrate defenses, or to surprise opponents.

x _Exterminator Style_

Talismans - Ofuda or talismans, made of paper. Syphons, weakens, and may indefinitely stun youkai. Sticks to dark-related beings, and deals holy damage and statuses over time.

Youkai Buster - Three really good talisman tosses, which roar into an enemy. Deals physical holy damage, and has high knockback potential.

Paper Clone - Reimu creates a clone of herself instantly and teleports out somewhere else. When the clone is struck, it explodes, the ofuda spreading out to catch the target.

Yin-Yang Orbs - Powerful orbs, for their physical impact potential. May be summoned from anywhere, as long as the user can focus on controlling them. May also be kicked.

Hakurei Persuasion Needles - A recent invention, made with some help from Marisa. Powerful needles which pierce foes, before exploding in their body, dealing great holy damage. Has lethal potential.

x _Danmaku Style_

Danmaku Imitation - Cheaper variants of attacks in other styles, now with a non-lethal twist. All attacks now do non-elemental, magical damage, and only apply Danmaku effects. Additional statuses may apply in danmaku flavors.

Spell Cards - A variety of crazy abilities and skills, with a wide variety of uses. Some have lethal alternatives for other styles, and others simply change the mechanical workings of the battlefield, making them useful in any situation.

Cautionary Barrier - A defensive technique, which blocks all attacks from ahead. Lasts until it's broken, or the user stops focusing on it, or the user runs out of either mana or faith energies.

x _Fantasy Heaven Style_

Fantasy Heaven - This style is activated when Reimu summons seven yin-yangs around herself, and charges them by landing _seven_ solid strikes. Multi-strike abilities only count for one orb. Only physical strikes count. When achieved, unlocks the rest of Fantasy Heaven Style for the rest of the fight.

Ofuda Nova - When Fantasy Heaven Style is activated, Reimu unleashes a complex, all-encompassing spread of ofuda on everything around herself.

Hakurei God's Presence - Holy energy pours from Reimu's form when Fantasy Heaven Style is activated, encompassing all around her. Greatly weakens, syphons and stuns youkai opponents, and moderately hampers human or other opponents.

Auto-Talismans - Reimu constantly summons five talisman streams around herself without thinking about it.

Fantasy - Reimu is immune to all damage in this plane of existence. Grants immunity to everything in this plane. Can only be reached through similar means…

Retainer of the Hakurei Barrier - Always active, as long as Reimu is alive. Gives Reimu the power to control the Hakurei Barrier, if not to a very cognizant level. Shared between all living members of the Hakurei clan. If all members die, the Hakurei Barrier will be no more.

Hakurei Barrier - Phantasmal barrier that surrounds Gensokyo. The ultimate defense magic. Diverts beings from its existence, and shrounds the land from the outside world. Very, very high durability. Immune to most forms of damage.

==x==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

hoh

hello world!

this reimu chapter was actually SUPER FUN

i kinda accepted to do it in the spur of the moment as a request by my editor and it turned out to be super impactful and gave a good reason to do the reimu throwdown kinda early

also new author's note!

after all the other plot added to life and things, not sure how strong the fight for this stands! but it had a lot of material that still worked

the after-fight banter is now as punchy as ai want it though, which is good

joon fight was made a little more consistent, and now sendai says goodbye to the cute fluff girls

this whole revision took way longer than ai anticipated (because yakuza kiwami came out and because i kept reproofing all of it) but at this point ai can now safely say

that it is all

 _finally done._

in total i rewrote… almost the entire first half of this story!

chapter 1 was doubled in size

chapter 2 saw meager changes

chapter 3 saw meager changes

chapter 4 saw big changes

this echoed, leading to a rewrite of chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 basically

and also 10 now that i think about it, because the leadup to the reimu fight now needed to make sense

pace-wise i still feel like 6-9 can be too intimidating and rushed for readers in certain places but it's a lot stronger than it was so i think i can just settle with being happy with how it is now; not gon

==== stuff not relating to sendai below ====

oh yeah i made this announcement in the old AN and i guess i'll leave it here to tell any old FG readers who still haven't realized the band arc in FG got totally redone once

to all ya boys readin' FG too: i just updated chapters 63-68, sans the matt chapter

i redid the band arc to be more good and less suck and also very different in many ways! that's why it looks like FG has been dead but it hasn't been actually - w - ff net just doesn't care about people revising, rip

==== POTENTIAL INCONSISTENCIES GOING FORWARD ====

o sendai's skill list won't be updated with these following skills for awhile:

 _Essence of Steadfast Counter_

 _Essence of Finishing Blows_

 _Unknown Style_

 _Youkai Buster Combo * Forgotten_

 _Charged Kick_

 _Charged Weapon_

this doesn't lead to many problems because truth be told there aren't too too many places for her to use them; but if there are a few good ones in passing edits i might add them when touching up certain fights

the following skills also need to be removed

 _Fantasy Heaven style tree; no longer representative of the new variant of Fantasy Heaven, which no longer requires a reader-revealed skill tree_

 _Holy Rage, which applied to the old Fantasy Heaven_

o marcus, keine and sendai might say some weird things relating to hookers / not mention sarah, asakura, unit 113 or kumiyo for awhile; this doesn't get in the way because sendai spends a lot of time out of town, and we may need to comb over more recent chapters to make sure nothing is super weird

o there might be some slightly weird dialogue relating to what happened with the plane and okane's place during the dieter finale, but if there's not much of it, it can be ignored

o reimu and tsukiko don't interact with a certain band of red-whites in the next chapter quite as you'd expect, but that should also be fine

otherwise readers should be good to go for the next few chapters

let me know if anything's super fucky!


	11. Silence of the Daylight

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Tsukiko's Thoughts_ -+-

Sendai stood, lumbering from the food stand. "Aah…" She stretched her arms, making girly noises. "Nn- nnh…"

"All better?" Reimu gave her a smug nod…

"Yeah." Sendai felt fat and happy. "That was delicious."

' _I was pretty hard on her last night, for her to be this… receptive. And-...'_ The way she acted actually made Sendai feel a little… weird. ' _She reminds me so much of myself. It's really jarring!'_

They proceeded peacefully into the midst of the human village, where some of the populace was just waking up to the snowy midday, in their own ways.

"Let's go make a _snow angel!"_ A kid was heard nearby.

"You better watch out for the _snow youka~i!"_ So was a friend of his; a sister maybe.

"What- _no~_ , those don't exist!" The kid's words made Sendai snort.

The fountain in the very center of the village was partially frozen. ' _Oh, no.'_

...Stepping up to it, Reimu tapped the ice with her gohei.

 _Cr- crack._ It gave way a little, wetting the tip of it. Everywhere that water flowed through was still running fine, and so were the under-surfaces of the water. Anywhere stagnant, however, had frozen.

"I'm sorry." Sendai apologized.

...Reimu furrowed her brows. "Why's that?"

"For last night." She left it at that.

...Reimu gave her an unexpectedly wry yet droll stare. "You know. I've kinda gotten to the point where I just brush off things like that. It may not look like it 'cause of healing potions and stuff, but I've gotten roughed up good a few times…"

' _Oh, okay.'_ Sendai was still sort of skeptical…

Nodding at her hesitantly, Sendai questioned this. "Right. That's why you were whimpering when I twisted your leg."

"As if anyone wouldn't." Reimu countered. "You ever fight an oni before?"

' _Hmm?'_ Brows furrowed, Sendai looked her daughter over fully. ' _Really, now…'_

"On occasion." Sendai never really had reason to go underground, aside from for the odd job that mandated it. In all her years, there was seldom reason to go so low, but she had seen the oni city from afar.

' _I can't really remember it well… but, some years back, I did have a scary run in with a big red one. They're monsters. But-... I dealt with it?'_ She really wasn't sure _how,_ and it irritated her. ' _Fuck.'_

"Well, I'd hope, anyway." Reimu decided to dismiss the topic. "Chances are, you've had way more spooky encounters than me. Anyway… is there anywhere else you think we should bother with, in the village?"

Her question immediately made Sendai think to all her current obligations she'd started.

' _Keine should be able to take care of all the logistics behind the girls, and resulting cleanup involving the things we busted. Knowing her, she wouldn't even want me to worry about it, especially when I can… be spending time with my daughter, now.'_ She focused on Reimu again…

While they were in the neighborhood, however, she had an idea.

"Hey, don't get old on me." Reimu waved a hand in her face.

Sendai furrowed her brows. "I was thinking. Don't make me come over there."

"Come over here." Reimu challenged her.

Sendai went over there, and stared down at her daughter.

"Hi." Reimu began to grin up at her, now that they were close…

Sendai raised her arm, and began to play with her daughter's bow. "Where'd you get this cute bow from, anyway…?"

"Ah. That's actually kind of a mundane story." Reimu looked to the side, displaced by the request. "I basically _found it,_ under the shrine, and had the village clothiers hook me up with some revisions. Until I met Alice, anyway."

' _Who.'_ Sendai had _no_ idea who that was.

"Anyway. Did you wanna go anywhere else in the village, or can I drag you around half of Gensokyo now?" Reimu was excited to get going, it seemed.

"There are a _few_ places I wanna check out." Sendai had a few ideas…

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

11

Silence of the Daylight

 _Crea~k._ The door to the house of the village guard swung open.

This three-floor structure, in the midst of the village's west road, across the street from Keine's school almost, was what the village guard called home. It was fit with blue shingles, and the weather on the exterior wood told Sendai what she needed to know about this building's age.

' _It was here before the… big renovation, or whatever happened to the rest of these houses.'_

Reimu gave the clerical desks inside a droll stare. "Of all the places, you had to pick the not-fun one."

"I wanted to see how these geniuses turned out, before I went running around again." Sendai told a half-truth.

' _I actually want to see if they'll uphold themselves to being not corrupt as shit, now.'_ She just chose not to convey this, more out of the fact it'd waste time than to be dishonest. Reimu would learn more if she needed to.

In any case, they'd get nothing done if she just stood here thinking. Pressing forward, she took in the clerical desks. ' _About as I remember it. No real reason for it to change.'_

Looking up from a desk, a middle-aged man gestured for them, his gaze disproportionately heavy.

He spoke when they approached. "You two. What'll it be, today?"

' _Ale.'_ Sendai felt inclined to jeer, but his expression dulled the idea.

"Just to ask around." She provided. "We'll be talking to some people, and checking around."

" _Which_ people?" His brows furrowed. "We can't just have people walking around."

"She's with me." Stepping up to them, Reimu calmly asserted herself.

He frowned at her. "This goes for _you,_ too. Hakurei."

' _Wha~t.'_ Sendai wasn't used to _this_ kind of disrespect, from the guard. ' _Hasn't been like this in awhile.'_

Letting out a huff, Reimu rolled her eyes. "Uu~gh. We _had_ to get one of these prudes. Look, we're not here to do anything _bad._ "

"How am I supposed to know?" He shook his head side to side… "I am sorry, Hakurei. You cannot so simply walk in here and demand attention. I can book you appointments, in the coming weeks, if you'd like that."

"We live in the same damn village just about." Sendai spoke out immediately. "Where the hell do they even go that they're _that_ busy? That old captain guy was just loafing about in that crappy church."

He frowned harder at her, offended. "You will _not_ take that kind of language with me in this establishment."

Sendai had the urge to rebel, but figured glaring him down would suffice, for now. "...What are you hiding, then? To not let us search?"

One of his brows rose. "...We're hiding our military secrets, our documents on the village people, and the privacy of the village. You are not welcome here."

"Listen." Sendai came right up to his desk. "We're the best goddamn youkai exterminators this town's gonna ever _have."_

" _And,"_ Reimu even built off of that, "every _other_ actually good exterminator that comes here, gets _looked down on_ by this place."

"I'm not having this discussion with you." Once cornered, he shook his head. "If you want to talk about the guard, you can schedule a community meeting with him, the captain. You will need-... you will need at least four other members of the village community- not including _you_ \- to come here and fill out some paperwork-"

"Suck a dick." Sendai flipped him off. In the background, Reimu's grin spiked in intensity.

...His frown also somehow intensified. "So be it, then. Is there anything else, I can help you with?"

' _While we're here, I guess…'_ Sendai had another thought.

"Can we at least see the exterminator direct room?" She stepped back for her next inquiry. "You know, the one where people can come in and sorta talk to them themselves?"

' _It's a room for the hiring of low-grade exterminators, mostly. Mostly because they don't live anywhere notable and don't really have a name, so if people really urgently want a job they can come here. They get treated well by the guard typically, so they have a hangout in a room near the front here.'_

He gave a brief flourish of his brows, but then gave them a nod. "Certainly. As long as you cause them no _trouble,_ you may use their room akin to any other youkai exterminator. Is business going well? We can hook you up with jobs, if need be."

"Swimming." Sendai turned away, towards the leftmost door. "Golden age. Bye."

' _What a two-faced, condescending douchebag.'_

 _Crea~k._ Pushing open the double-doored entrance, she came into the youkai exterminator congregation room.

...No one here was of significant note at a glance.

Then, she saw the right side of the room.

Girls were speaking warmly. "This sarashi's _annoying…"_

"Nomoki-chan. Do you think my boobs are bigger, now?"

"Fix my bow for me~."

"I- I broke another gohei thing…"

Before Sendai was a congregation of shrine maidens. They all had Hakurei-looking attire on, all down to semi-minute detail.

Except, all of them had a myriad of visual flaws. Some had orange-ish or deeper red cloth than Sendai and Reimu, and most- or all- of them didn't match in height, age, or appearance.

' _...Oh? Wh- what.'_ Sendai took a moment to adjust to this…

"Oh. Right." Reimu let out a huff. "Meet the fan club."

Sendai gave her an owlish look. "Fan-... club?"

Slowly, some girls began to turn towards them, maidens of vastly varying heights locking their eyes on them and becoming unable to ignore them.

"Hey- girls, it's um…"

"It's her."

"Why is _she_ here…?"

"Pft- really?"

Sendai began to notice most of their gazes weren't of an endeared variety, but she couldn't be sure.

'... _Really, what the hell is this?'_ It really took her a moment to process this. ' _Fan club, huh.'_

"So." Sendai turned to her daughter. "What?"

"This is… what was it again?" Taking a moment, Reimu considered how to best explain it. "The 'Shrine Maiden Replacement' project, or something."

"Artificial Hakurei Project!" One of the longer-haired, auburn-haired girls proceeded from the small crowd of not-Hakurei, approaching the two girls.

This plain room had some green fluffy chairs to the left, and a bar counter to the right, that they were all gathered around nearby. There was only a tiny window in a back that let some light in on this dim room, as well as a single paper wall.

"I think 'Shrine Maiden Replacement Project' would've fit better…" Reimu shook her head at them.

"I don't think that's the problem here…!" A grin creeping up her face, Sendai looked over all the girls.

Coming closer, the tall, auburn-haired maiden glared Reimu down. "So, what're you doing, bringing a recruit here _for_ us?"

It took Reimu a moment to follow her line of logic. "Recruit…?"

"Yeah." She strutted past her, up to Sendai. "Look at _you…"_

Sendai unimpressedly surveyed the not-Reimu herself. ' _Her dress is wrinkled. It's almost like someone just made it, or something…'_

"What's your name?" The girl asked of Sendai, her smile smug. "She wasn't telling you anything bad about us, was she? She's _deathly_ scared, you know…"

"My name is unimportant." Sendai's reply was curt.

"Pft-…" Reimu smirked at that.

...The tall, auburn-haired faux Hakurei crossed her arms, unimpressed herself. "Ooh? Well. I'm Ando. Kaneru Ando."

Frowning, Kaneru faced Reimu again. "And _she's_ not one of _us."_

"What _is_ -... _us?"_ Sendai elegantly questioned the premise of this entire situation.

"As I said, we are the Artificial Hakurei Project." Kaneru eagerly began to assert her identity. "I'm the division leader. Together, we're working to find the source of the Hakurei power, and _eventually_ replace the _youkai_ maiden."

' _Woah? Youkai maiden? Hasn't been long since I heard that insult, but…'_ Sendai took a brief glance of Reimu. ' _With me that's at least believable. Reimu's a lot more… shrine maiden-ly.'_

"Man." Sendai shook her head… "You don't even have darkness powers, and you still got that nickname."

Reimu grinned back. "Right?"

"A lunatic doesn't need darkness in them to sympathize with youkai." Kaneru clarified her beliefs.

A stout girl with dark, greenish hair came forward, smiling softly. "Why'd ya hafta' come here _anyway?_ Couldn't just be a pleasure visit!"

"You know- maybe she's gonna try to fight us!" Other girls began to get rowdy and speak up...

"Danmaku fight! Danmaku fight!"

"No~. You know what she said last time. We're 'not worth i~t'. Hehehe~!"

...Once they were given a moment to speak, Sendai took it. "It is actually a pleasure visit. We didn't expect to find _two_ cosplay conventions here."

The stout, short-haired girl was confused. "Aah? Whaddaya mean, two…? Cosplay?"

"The men in armor pretending to be guards, and the women here pretending to be shrine maidens." Sendai's gaze was plain…

Kaneru reacted instantly. "Wh- what do you mean, _pretending?_ We've trained to be here, you know!"

"Trained." Looking around, Sendai skeptically sized up these competing shrine maidens… "Sure thing. Well, don't let us bother you."

"Hold on…?" Quickly, Kaneru came up before her. "You're- not _seriously_ that miko's disciple, are you…?"

"Ehehehe…" The stout girl came up to Sendai next. "It'd suck to be you, if you were!"

Another girl, with black, short hair came up to them, along Sendai's left. "Kaneru-chan, Tomo-chan. You're gonna scare her away from _us_ if you keep goin' like that."

When Sendai looked to her right, and saw a different tall girl with long, black hair. She gave a smile and a fluffy wave, which Sendai just blinked at.

' _That's that shrine maiden from last night, who tried to jump me during the chaos before Reimu got there.'_

"We have to try and be a little scary, Take-chan." Kaneru flicked her gaze back to her. "We can't have this _bitch_ going around, undoing our efforts."

"I'm still here, y'know." Reimu had her arms on her own hips…

"Well, we don't want to see you anymore." Kaneru returned to her, and glared her down. "Leave us, or we'll exterminate you."

"I'd like to see you girls exterminate anything." Sendai remarked.

They all turned to her over the course of a second. ' _I don't feel anything noticeable coming from any of them. They're just… they're all just girls.'_

"We've successfully hunted _ten_ youkai." Kaneru smirked at her. "How about you? Alone, even?"

"Pft- hehe…" That made Sendai giggle. "Really? Wait-... were you all _together?"_

...The girls all looked to one another, before Kaneru replied. "No _duh._ Yeah, we all hunted together. Ten youkai. It takes a lot to take down a youkai, you know."

' _These girls.'_ Sendai began to see why Reimu didn't immediately disband them… ' _This is the dumbest thing.'_

...She was half-tempted to activate her dark affinities to freak them out, but decided against it, for now. "Very impressive. What kind of youkai?"

"Well- let's see…" Pausing, Kaneru looked away in thought. "Um… we got a _harpy._ There were some bad worm types around the walls, one time. Oh- that _spider bitch_ that almost killed Kaede-chan."

'Tomo-chan' piped in. "What about that ice fairy that froze all of us!?"

"I mean- _successful_ hunts, you idiot…" Kaneru shook her head vigorously. "We're lucky we all didn't die from that. Fairies can be powerful, sometimes."

' _You're having problems fighting fairies…'_ Sendai's expression began to become pitying.

...Taking one look at her daughter, Sendai jerked her head towards the door, and began to move.

"Wait- hey!" Kaneru moved for her, again. "You didn't really answer my questions!"

"I'm no one to you." Sendai chose to give them more non-answers, from the door. "You may as well have not seen me, today."

"The hell's _that_ supposed to mean?" Kaneru was left confused by this sentence… "Are you with us, or Reimu!?"

Sendai decided to be annoying, and just left. Reimu followed her, looking content.

" _Hey!"_ Kaneru yelled from the room's midst, but didn't pursue.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

The two were now back in the main lobby.

' _That was a riot.'_ Now Sendai _really_ wasn't sure what was going on here, anymore.

"A real hoot and a holler, huh." Reimu took the metaphor a step further, somehow.

Sendai snorted… "I'll say. It was kinda cute, though."

Now back at the main counter, Sendai stared down at the clerk.

The old man was gone. Now, it was a very aged lady, who seemed to be minding her own business with a cloth ball of some kind.

"Um." Sendai wasn't sure what happened to the last guy, but she didn't mind. "Hey."

The aged woman looked up at her, and smiled. "Oh, hello there."

"...I was wondering, if we could look around." Sendai tried to slide in an awkward request.

"Oh? Sure…" The woman reached under the counter… "Are you from the village?"

' _Wait are we actually just gonna…'_ This reception caught Sendai off-guard.

"Yeah." She gave Reimu a bewildered look in silence, and she gave an excited one back…

They were both acting natural once the woman came back up. "Here you go." She handed Sendai two passes, of some kind. "If anyone asks, just say you're here to check the place out. If anyone's got real problems, you can send 'em ta me."

' _What the fuck.'_ Sendai looked the guest passes over… ' _So- they have a thing for just random people to tour!? But, only some clerks let you? Wow!'_

Giving the woman a few sudden nods, Sendai handed the second pass to her daughter. "Well, uh… thank you."

"Mmm." The woman waved them off, and went back to inspecting that cloth ball…

' _I guess… this is fine.'_

Moving past the clerical desk, the two girls were able to access the inner village guard headquarters.

The rest of the first floor wasn't very interesting, however. Sendai immediately recognized the dividers of some desks, and the myriad tiny rooms that served as offices for some of the more important men.

Most central was a round desk, fit with benches around it. More staff were back here, and there were a myriad of guards simply here, not armor-clad at the moment.

There were a number of voices, here. "I need t'get this _sword_ fixed…"

"Put in an order for aa~h… I could use a _pike."_

"Has anyone heard anything about Hakurei-somethin' recently? Like- wasn't there- ah…?"

 _Tap._ Behind the girls, a man clad in simple brown clothes came in. "Hey! We need some guys at north gate! Got some _worms._ "

 _Cli- click, clack._ Instantly, the sounds of men gathering their things were heard.

' _Busy as always.'_ Even when nothing was going on, this office was a mess, if only because she was sure the guard needed an actual barracks, and not a glorified break room. ' _So crowded…'_

This first floor was where the mundane operations took place, and where all the common guards were left to roam.

When Sendai and Reimu neared the middle desk, a tall, scruffy-haired man focused his gaze on them. "Wh- what the _hell…?_ Are- are _you_ supposed to be back here!?"

Sendai held up a guest pass, carefree. "We're on tou~r."

...He shrugged, turning away. "Wh' kinda _shit…"_ He was a little displeased, but quickly stopped caring.

' _This is good.'_ Sendai was surprised that actually worked, all things considered.

The staircase in the back, however, was unused. It was especially striking, since there were at least twenty men on this lower floor.

Sendai moved to stomp up it, and Reimu trailed behind her quietly.

Very quickly, they were out of the hot lower floor. Despite being higher, this second floor was at least a few degrees cooler. ' _Wow. Few people up here, by comparison.'_

The floor had a blue carpet up here, and some plainly-clad men were doing business at some tables around the area. The architecture was also tighter, disallowing the possibility of fitting the lower floor's guards up here at all.

One of this level's armed guards came up to them. "Hakurei. You are _not_ supposed to-..." Then, he stopped, Sendai holding up a pass before herself wordlessly.

...He made a compromising expression, and stepped away. "U~h. Yeah- I _need_ to-…" As he left, he spoke to himself.

' _The fact this thing works up here.'_ Still disbelieving, Sendai continued for the next stairway up. ' _Doesn't look like anything of interest here, except for stuffy dudes in suits… which isn't interesting. I wonder where the honor guard rests. Maybe they have their own little clubhouse somewhere more remote.'_

Reimu and Sendai proceeded up towards the stairs to the top floor.

Immediately at the top, there was a fully armored man with an imposingly red spear. " _Stop."_

Sendai held up her pass. "Here to see the captain. From uh, the Artificial Hakurei Project. I'm Tsuruko-chan. This is Kaferu." Sendai already forgot the other woman's full name, as she gestured to her daughter…

...The man relaxed his spear, and stepped aside. "Right this way."

' _Hah.'_ She began to smile. ' _This'll be what they get for hosting that… raghead congregation, down there.'_

The top floor here was one large room. Across from the stairwell, was a premium desk reserved for only the captain.

"That was _slick."_ When the guard had stood aside them, Reimu gave her mother a thumbs-up. "Was that your plan…?"

"No." Sendai shook her head plainly. "If he didn't move out of the way, I was just gonna beat him up."

"...Oh." Reimu was somewhere between impressed and discomforted. "Hey- if we make a mess up here, we're gonna have a huge mess to screw with."

"So?" Sendai didn't really care about that, however. "Shouldn't need to now, anyway."

"Ha~h…" Turning back to them, the well-armored guard sighed. "Be _nice_ , you two. Captain's getting up there."

' _Oh, right, he was there. Seems he just assumed we were ragheads, too. Otherwise, we were very clearly talking about threatening this place.'_

Ahead of them was the great desk, the left and right sides extended and sharp. The sun's rays came through windows in the shingles above, casting intricate rays across the floor that also inadvertently told the time.

Doppo Iwayama sat there, nursing his forehead as he scribbled off on parchment. "Ne~xt, associate…"

The plain man next to him slid the paper out from under his arms, and fitted a new document for him to sign. "...Ha~h. If only these budget allocation papers were _condensed,_ in some way. Damned financial offices. Do they know who _I_ am?"

"I- don't know, sir…" His associate did his best. "Maybe you should talk with him…? The- finance officer, I mean..."

...Doppo glared back at this idea. "Ye~s. Well, we'll _see…"_

Sendai stepped up to his desk. Reimu stopped beside her.

...Slowly, he looked up from his desk, meeting her gaze. "What…? Ah- _you…!?"_

"Hey." Wrapping her knuckles on the top of his desk, Sendai leaned over towards him. "What's up?"

 _Cli- click!_ "What are you- who let you _in_ here!?" His chair creaked as he shot up from it, throwing himself towards the back wall. "Hakurei?"

"Me." Sendai clarified completely. "I came to see what you were up to. Signing budget documents, hu~h?"

"What do _you_ know, you gods-damned vandal?" He was instantly searching his person, before-

 _Shi~ng!_ He drew a katana-esque knife. The way his body shook said that he didn't plan to use it, however.

...Sendai propped her arms on her hips. "More about the place than you'd think. Anyway, you hear about the underground drug thing? About how that fell through? How about that bitch boy Takeru? He need a neck brace, again?"

Doppo clenched his jaw, gaze becoming tighter.

 _Cla- clack, clack._ Sendai heard the other, armored guards up here begin to step up to them.

"Hey." Reimu decided to confront them, herself. "You're gonna wanna stay back." She demonstrated who she was, by floating into the air…

...To Sendai's surprise, they did as she said. ' _Ooh.'_

"What-... do you _mean?"_ Doppo finally answered her. "I do not know what you speak of, vandal."

'... _Really? I could swear you people here are deep in the shit.'_

 _click, click, click._ Someone was coming up the stairs behind them.

Slowly, Sendai ignored the noise and slinked past the desk. She kept moving for Doppo as he backed along the rear wall...

"For some reason, I doubt that." She kept pressing him. "It wasn't that hard to undo. Also… it's only a matter of time before we know who was involved, too."

' _I don't actually know if he's involved, but I'm willing to gamble it. Can always say I got a bum tip later if not.'_

"You made- a _great mistake-_ in refusing my hails…" Doppo glowered at Sendai. "I could have made you a mistress of the chief."

"I could hurt my knuckles, when I punch you in the face." Sendai proposed a different revelation.

 _Click. Click. Click._ Someone was stepping across the floor just behind Sendai. ' _Also, who the hell…'_

There stood a man in an undone blue yukata top and sand red hakama, no undershirt beneath it.

Sendai's gaze met his. For an eyepatch, he had a coin held in place by a leather band over his left eye.

Trading a look between the captain Doppo, Doppo's blade, Sendai and Reimu, he reached a conclusion. "...Awful sunny day ta be playin' 'don't get spanked' wit' yer maids!"

"Ok- Okita!" The captain called out to him. "Apprehend these vandals! They-... the caves. They disrupted the-... the resource trade-off, you see. They've been creating chaos- turning this town onto its _ear!"_

'Okita' moved for the chair Doppo had vacated. "Hey, don't go gettin' me caught up in yer sex fantasies here. I just _felt_ like stoppin' by on my old pal, captain Dippin' Dots, is all."

...His tensity renewing itself, Doppo held his dagger up again. "Wa- wait, this isn't about-..."

 _Creak._ Now seated in the uncomfortable-looking wood throne, Okita crossed his legs. "Ma~n. Why _do_ ya old people like the chairs that get in yer ass? Last time I was in here, I bought a big, _fluffy_ chair! What'd ya do with that, ha~h?"

"Get _on_ with it!" Doppo's voice raised, his wrinkled face looking warm.

"...We~ll. Since ya asked nicely…" Leaning to one side in the chair, his hand slid for the waist of his hakama.

 _SHUNK._ Sendai shot her gaze back. In nearly an instant, he'd embedded a knife in one of the papers Doppo was half-done signing. "Did ya not _remember_ yer contract wit' chief?"

"He is a _fool!"_ Awkwardly, Doppo seemed somewhere between wanting to advance, yet also not… "I am what this village _needs_ \- I _feel_ it."

"This ain't a participation sport!" Okita held his arms up. "Ya failed yer contract, so yer done-zo! Wait…!"

 _Shoo- shoof._ Digging through the papers on the desk, Okita made a mess within a few seconds. "Where the _hell'd_ ya put-..."

 _Shink._ Lifting his knife, he slid away one of the funding papers, and lifted a smaller one, tucked away half-within an envelope. "Aa~w. S'this a _love letter?_ Who's the lucky lady!?"

 _Fwip- fwip!_ Casting the paper from the envelope, he flicked the bi-folded document open. "...He~re we go!"

 _FWISH!_ Sendai blinked, and he was gone from the chair, vibrant black left in the air where he was for half a second.

He held a magnifying glass up to Doppo's face. "It's fer _you,_ Dopey!" Additionally, he slid the paper under the magnifying glass. "What's it say- what's it say?"

"Get- get _away!"_ Reeling his arm back-

 _woosh._ Doppo flailed his knife out, meant for Okita.

 _WHAP._ Bending to the side, Okita kicked his left leg up behind himself, the limb raising almost upside-down in the air to strike the arm that swung at him.

 _SHINK!_ The plain dagger was embedded into the floor nearby, Okita's sandal having knocked it from Doppo's hand.

' _That agility…!'_ Sendai's interest was caught by that stunt. ' _Who is this?'_

"O~h, fine…" Whipping back into regular posture, Okita shook his head. "I'll read it fer you. 'Dear Mister Iwayama'!"

" _I know!"_ Doppo shook his arms in the air, yelling back. " _Shut up!"_

Grinning big, Okita continued. "We regret ta _inform you,_ that your time as _guard captain,_ while _appreciate~d,_ will no longer be required!"

"What do you _want me_ to do!?" Doppo shut his eyes. "I cannot give up _now!_ My authority had only just _begun!"_

"Oo~h." Okita shook his head, for him. "S'a crying shame, isn't it? It'd be even _worse_ if we had ta _forcibly evict ya_ just 'cause ya wouldn't get yer stinky ass off that rockin' chair over there."

 _Fwish._ From his hakama, Okita drew a stack of cash. "Bu~t! That's not ta say there ain't a _retirement bonus!"_

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ He threw it at Doppo, and the cash wad exploded into individual bills.

"Aa- ah…!" Eyes wide, the captain cast his gaze around, before getting onto his knees to collect the yen. "Da- dammit…"

' _What the hell am I watching.'_ Sendai felt like she just saw something very, very illegal.

"Um…" Reimu's gaze was hard, but also confused. "What-... _just_ happened?"

Looking back, Sendai saw that the well-armored guards were literally just standing there, pretending they weren't seeing anything. ' _Wow…'_

...Gaining a catty smile, Okita stalked over to the Hakurei women. "And I dunno what the _hell_ you two're doin' here."

Sendai gave him a flat stare. "...We were here to see about corruption in the town guard."

Reimu snorted. "We- we were?"

...Looking back at Doppo, Okita posed before him, arms spread wide. "Tada~! Ya found it!"

"Good." Resisting a grin, Sendai focused on him harder. "And, who're _you?"_

Smirking, Okita came up to her slowly. "I had ta step in 'cause captain cash-farm flew the coup! An' _this_ piece 'a history was his _security_ detail. No money, _tons_ a' complaints, public hates 'em… no reason to hold onto his stinky ass no more."

' _He must mean… this captain was on Okane's payroll.'_ Sendai put his eccentricity into plain language. ' _And, now that Okane's not paying for him, and he's been underperforming on top of that, this captain's not gonna be around either.'_

"This Okita," Reimu began to help explain what was going on, gesturing to the half-dressed man. "He's the village's financial officer."

' _Oh, they got a new one? Oh, no…'_

Sendai's gaze hardened, a little. "...Did the last financial officer at least patch up the glaring security flaws involved with his position? Last I remember, it was… a heritage position."

"Not anymore!" Okita beamed at her. "Someone did away with _that_ clan! Now it's just _me._ "

' _Well, no fucking wonder.'_ Sendai let out a sigh of annoyance… ' _Keine's the only one holding anyone fucking accountable at this point.'_

"Yea~h. Funny, isn't it?" Beginning to grin, Okita continued… "Had a who~le job about havin' the money be a hereditary thing, with funny training and all 'a that good shit. When that clan was dissolved, it was actually 'cause they were wildly in debt!"

' _Debt? Those frugal guys…?'_

Sendai rose a brow… "Who were they in _debt_ to?"

Okita beamed. _"Me!"_

"...Oh?" This left Sendai confused, and also suspicious…

Reimu blinked. "There were guys before you?"

' _Oo~h. This is what me dying got the village, apparently. Didn't really think about it like this, but without the two or three things I knew about the village, the place was ready to fall into fucking anarchy, apparently.'_

"How much of the village underground do you control, then?" Despite feeling like she wouldn't get a good answer, Sendai asked him this anyway…

"All of it!" He reassured her. "...But also none of it."

"Quit fucking around." She began to glare. "I'm just seeing whether or not you're worth beating up."

"Oo~h?" A more natural smile found Okita's lips. "Ma~n. Hearin' those words from a chick like _you_."

Menacingly, Reimu floated up to the desk. "How about a chick like me?"

"Rela~x." He waved them off. "Just sayin', your mom there is _smokin'_ hot!"

...Reimu blinked. "Wh- how'd _you_ know…?"

Blinking twice back with his one eye, he threw an arm out to Sendai. "Have ya _seen_ her boobs!?"

Shaking her head, Reimu glared. "No- I mean- the mother part!"

...Now it was Okita's turn to look confused. "You mean I was _right!?_ Wait- you _had_ a mom!? S'that even possible!? _"_

Reimu chuckled. "Wh- what, did you think I came from the sky, or something?"

...Leaning back in the captain's chair, he broke it to her. "Yeah! Who the hell just flies around shootin' talisman lasers like some kinda goddamn fairy tale!? That shit ain't human!"

"Do you control crime or not?" Sendai folded her arms, getting impatient with this…

He held up a finger. "Aaa~..." Then, he let it drop, being serious for once. "No. I'm just the messenger!"

 _Crea~k._ Standing up, he began to move around the desk. Sendai looked around for a moment, noticing Doppo was already gone.

Stopping halfway across the room, he looked back. "Reminds me. Y'got a few guys outside waitin' fer ya."

' _Oh?'_ Sendai watched him leave. ' _What's he mean by that. Why?'_

He was already gone. Now, it was just the maidens and the guards who'd seen it all. They still didn't bother to move, so Sendai figured she'd just leave them be.

 _Crea~k._ Moving to the balcony door, behind the captain's chair, Sendai cast it open.

...Looking off the edge of the sun-crested balcony, she saw them. There were just three men down there, in crimson yukatas. They stood across the street, one with a katana, and two others unarmed. ' _Really. Three guys. I should have asked him why.'_

Reimu exhaled. "A sword…? Ugh. Getting these idiots to use danmaku is a _real_ pain."

Innocently, Sendai looked at her. "Maybe we should show them why they should."

...While Reimu didn't agree, she didn't disagree. "Yea~h. We'll go at them, then…"

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko -+-

Stepping out of the guard headquarters, Sendai gazed ahead at the plainly clad men…

" _Hey!"_ The moment the two Hakurei stepped outside, they stepped up, power-walking towards the girls.

"...So, what's this about?" Sendai asked casually enough.

' _You'd think after a display like last night, villagers would be hesitant to fuck with me.'_

"Youkai miko…" The katana-wielding one raised his blade. "We are under conscript to deal with you. Some people have suspected this… but we, we act."

 _Pap._ The rightmost, scruffy guy in a bright red yukata pounded one fist into the other. "We may not be youkai exterminators. But, we know a thing or two about a fight. This deep in the village, no _youkai_ can hear you scream."

' _Do you, now…'_ Sendai wasn't impressed. ' _Mmh. For some reason, this makes me feel like reading.'_

"How about using _danmaku."_ Reimu advertised. "It also means we won't hurt you badly if we win."

"Bullshit." The katana-clad man raised his blade. "That's enough stalling…!"

...The leftmost man with short, blonde hair filed behind the other two guys.

Sendai cracked her neck, then her knuckles. ' _Alright. Have it your way.'_

-+- _Vs. Goons -+-_

...After a very brief stare-off, the katana wielding man ran ahead first. " _Charge!"_

 _WHAM!_ From Reimu, a torso-sized yin-yang launched into him. " _Auh- nhu~...!"_ The blow immediately sent him rolling away, tumbling on his back before landing on his stomach. "Nn-..."

' _Wow.'_ Sendai snorted… ' _She's intentionally letting me deal with the other two guys just to make this not pathetic. If she really wanted to, three orbs would've ended this instantly.'_

Having thought he'd dodged the same orb due to its sheer intensity, the scruffy-haired man ran at Sendai, his adrenaline spiking. "He- haha~! Come get-"

 _WHAP!_ Plunging an arm ahead, Sendai met his gut with a sweeping left hook before he could swing his own hook, his natural reflexes not great. " _Ngh-"_

 _Wham!_ She thrust her next fist into his stomach with a wide, powerful but skilless hook of her right arm. " _Hu~...!"_

 _WHACK!_ She flicked her knee into his upper torso, the attack staggering him back. " _Uo- oh…"_

She leapt over the knee she sent out, lugging her arm out overhead. "Hra~h!"

 _WHAM!_ The overhead swing entirely displaced the man, having met his collarbone.

 _Thud!_ " _Unh- aa- hh…"_ The blow had enough ferocity to throw him back entirely, sending him rolling over his back much like when Reimu's orb struck the other man-

 _Pahp!_ The remaining blonde man met Sendai's cheek with his arm. " _Got-_ ya…!"

Rolling more off of her own anger and less the momentum from his blow, she thrust her arm forward. " _Hrgh-"_

 _PAP!_ Her palm clumsily met his collar with a fist's intensity, clutching onto his yukata. "Ngh- get _off-"_

 _Slap._ She pushed her palm into his face, and began to crouch, pulling the tall man down with herself-

 _BAM!_ The back of his head met the stone village road. " _Kk-..._ " His eyes screwed up for a moment.

Sendai's adrenaline flared. ' _These fucking ingrateful-… after everything I've done for these fuckos...'_

Still crouched over him, she began to raise him up from the ground by his scalp. "Nn- ah…" Eyes wide, he stared up vainly, while she peeled him up into a sitting-up position...

Reeling her left arm back, she charged it with darkening power-

 _WHA- CRACK!_ She slung it into his face, blood exploding from his nose where the knuckles struck, and the back of his head once it hit the ground again.

"Woah- hey…!" Reimu floated closer, concerned for the guy…

 _Sendai obtained 5,060 Yen_

 _Sendai obtained Worn Katana!_

 _Sendai obtained Tiny Bag._

"Ih-..." The blonde man was still on the ground, crying but apparently okay, somehow. " _Kaugh- kauf…"_

"I'm- sohrry…" Kneeling, the scruffy-haired man tried to catch his breath.

Reimu had her arms on her hips. "I wanna see you idiots try using _danmaku_ from now on."

"Ye- yeah…" The now katanaless man held his ribs, where the yin-yang struck… "We'll- we'll get real good at it! So- please…"

...Sendai exhaled. "You know these dumbasses will go right back to being dicks after they leave our sight."

Reimu shook her head. "I don't think they're _that_ misguided. Maybe. At least, they shouldn't bother us again, for awhile."

"We- won't…" The scruffy-haired man seemingly promised. "Just- leave us alone…!"

' _Yeah. This is just them pissing themselves.'_ Turning away, Sendai ignored them… ' _Let's get outta here. You'd have thought they'd know not to attack Reimu by now, considering she seems to kick unstoppable all-range ass.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

After a brisk walk, they'd ended up near the village's eastern gate.

"I guess it's time to show you what passes for my neighbors." Reimu gingerly floated up to the gate, and the guard there seemed to automatically move to let them out…

' _I don't think I'm getting over the fact she can fly any time soon…'_ Despite seeing it when she first saw her daughter, Sendai was still not sure how that worked at all.

"Neighbors, huh…" This concept gave Sendai a few ideas.

' _Nearby youkai caves? That mansion? ...Marisa, wherever the hell she lives? Actually- that was the magic forest, wasn't it? Hmm.'_

 _Cla- cla- cla- cla- clank._ The village gate creaked open to let them outside.

"Thank you~." Reimu gave the guard a formal goodbye, and he waved back.

Out here, Sendai was able to get an eye-full of the wilds once more. ' _Woah. The snow-...'_

Everything was really bright, now. The sky seemed almost paler for it, the sun's intensity magnified tenfold by the pearl-white everywhere.

Despite this, all the nearby snow banks were obviously heavily treaden by youkai and animal alike, just about everywhere. ' _First snowfall always has the most confusing tracks. Yuki-onna haven't yet taken to their habit of covering trails, and most summer-type youkai aren't asleep yet.'_

Crunching along the snowy trail, Sendai and Reimu followed the Hakurei path by heart. It was pretty linear as it was, so it wasn't hard.

The shrine's snow-crested hill was nearly untouched, except for a few trails leading up. ' _Ah? Things have visited the shrine while Reimu was away. Guess some things never change. But, that's weird…'_

Sendai looked at the ground to save her vision. ' _Winter was one of my best and worst seasons, both for the fact the snow kept the shrine safe, but also because it threatened to collapse the shrine multiple times, made me think I'd freeze to death multiple times, and made actually getting back up the hill myself a serious bitch.'_

Once they got to the stairs, Sendai inhaled. "Here we go~..." Carefully, she took one step at a time, hands reaching out to grab the steps ahead of herself for supreme balance.

...Reimu watched her climb the steps the hard way. Sendai dug snow off each step as she climbed, too. "Uh…"

"You have it _lucky,_ being able to fly…" Sendai remarked to her, giving her a grin. "Ugh, these stairs… ah- uh…"

Reimu floated up to her, and slipped her arms under her mother's. "I'll keep you from falling into infinity. You focus on walking."

' _...Huh.'_

 _Clack. Clack… cli- clack- claclack- clack- clack!_ After a moment, Sendai's sandals slipped from under her, and she ran in place on a single step. "Wo- woah…!"

Reimu lifted her a little, and set her back down, so she'd be able to stand. Sendai smiled as well as she could in the cold. "Thanks. I used to have a pair of _boots,_ for this reason…"

Reimu snorted. "Those are probably dead and gone, now."

' _...Man. I liked those boots, too.'_

After some minutes of scaling the great staircase, they'd made it to the snow-covered front path of the Hakurei Shrine.

' _...Someone already got the snow off the roof. Who did that?'_

"Snow should keep you from slipping and dying." Reimu let go of her… "You're _heavy."_

Sendai snorted. "What'd you expect…?"

"I mean, I expected that, but still." Reimu floated ahead gently towards the shine door…

 _Shoo~f._ She gently slid it open. Her and Sendai proceeded inside slowly.

' _Here we are, again.'_

The interior of the Hakurei Shrine was almost exactly as she remembered it… albeit, some of the architecture was somewhat changed. ' _Looks like it got refurbished at least once, but it still looks old and rustic.'_

Sendai expected this return to be quiet and a little lonesome, aside from her daughter's presence.

Instead, she found a small greeting party already at the kotatsu. " _He~y."_ They all gave belated waves…

' _What.'_ Sendai didn't know _any_ of these people. ' _Wait…'_

There were two blue-haired women, one with hair of a deeper shade, and the other a true youkai-like blue. There was a _very_ tiny girl on the kotatsu top, some fairies were asleep in a pile in one of the back corners, and-...

Sendai stared down at a tiny oni, who slept under the kotatsu. Her sake gourd was currently spilling out onto the floor beside herself, having slipped from her grasp…

It also wasn't stopping. There was an absolutely _huge_ puddle beside herself, that everyone was avoiding. The tiny girl, however, stared at it curiously…

 _SHOOF!_ The shrine's backdoor was rammed open, a fairy in an American-styled clown outfit romping inside. "I found out how to burn _sno~w!"_

' _...Two's a party, but holy shit, this is something!'_ Sendai was taken aback by how many people were loitering in the main room here…

"...Guess I was fortunate." Reimu decided, staring over them all plainly. "Didn't have to be here for _this_ mess."

Walking up to them, Sendai's gaze was plain. "There's not even any room for _us._ Aah- that sake's gonna _stain._ How much of that _is_ there…!?"

"A lot." There was a voice. Sendai couldn't tell who was the speaker, however.

' _Who even said that. What the hell's going on…'_

"I'm down here!" The tiny voice made Sendai realize who was speaking.

' _Oh my god, this little inchling thing. I've heard about them, but-... under what circumstances would you ever normally find one? I've not seen any since I was a kid myself...'_

"Wo~w." Crouching, Sendai leveled with the tiny person on the kotatsu top… "Where'd _you_ come from…?"

The little purple-haired inchling gave her a fluffy stare. "What do you mean…? I've been here!"

"Inchlings in general, I mean." Sendai clarified. "It's been awhile, since I've seen one…"

...The inchling smiled up at her. "We have a castle now!"

' _...The inchling castle.'_ Sendai considered this… ' _So, a shed?'_

"Who are _you?"_ The navy-haired girl looked up at Sendai. She had a big, fluffy winter coat on, and tubby gloves…

' _She looks so light and floaty…'_ Sendai looked the fluffy girl over. "...Hmm. I'm… the miko who came-"

"She's my mom." Reimu summarized for her. "It's a long story."

...This fluffy navy-haired girl gave Sendai a dubious look. "That-... shouldn't be possible."

"Trust me, we know." With that, Reimu moved for the kitchen… "I'm getting us some tea…"

...Reaching down, Sendai tried to right the gourd in the oni's hand, so it'd stop infinitely spilling into the floor.

-+- _Vs. Arm of Suika Ibuki_ -+-

' _That's-... tight.'_ Sendai remembered oni strength, but didn't count on it applying down to something _this_ little. ' _Oh, well. Let's try~...'_

"Nn~gh…" Crouching down, and pressing an arm into the oni's, Sendai pulled with her other arm.

' _Still nothing!'_ No progress was made.

 _Fwa~m._ Black magic whirled up Sendai's limbs, and she pulled harder. " _Hngh- nngh…!"_

' _Holy shit…'_

 _Clack._ She stomped her leg down onto the oni's bicep. Putting all of her weight on this leg, she pulled the entire forearm up, and reeled her left fist back…

 _WHAM!_ The shrine shook as her fist was swung into the oni's clasp on the gourd, meeting it dead on.

' _...I dislodged it, somewhat!'_ Stepping back from the oni, Sendai took a breath…

"Woa~h…" The inchling marveled, after she recovered from the tremor of Sendai's force meeting the oni's arm and the floor.

Then, the blue-haired woman with the peach-adorned sunhat spoke next. "Are you really struggling that much, with tha~t?"

' _I don't even know what the hell you are.'_ Judging from her rainbow-colored, perfect dress, Sendai was gonna say she wasn't human.

" _Nn- nngh…"_ This time, Sendai pulled on the gourd again, tugging hard…

 _SMACK!_ The bottle escaped the oni's hand, and Sendai accidentally splashed herself with some of it. ' _Woah!'_

 _Sendai obtained pocket lint._

...She found she couldn't take the gourd very far at all. It was stuck to the oni by a very powerful rope.

Gently, she sat it back down upright, so it wouldn't spill again.

"Mmh…" That's when the oni blinked her eyes open. "Whah… ferza~h..."

Almost gingerly, she sat up, rubbing an eye. "Aah… ah." Finding her gourd nearby, she swooped it back into her grasp, and chugged. "Mgh- mmh, mmh…"

' _She's an oni, alright.'_ Sendai watched her chug indefinitely…

Staring at the puddle everyone refused to sit in- aside from the oni herself- Sendai crouched near it…

She tapped the oni on the shoulder. "Uh, hey."

...Lifting the gourd from her mouth- then tilting it up so she'd stop spilling it on herself- the small oni looked up at her unevenly. She smiled. "Oo~h…? Wo~w. Yer lookin'... _shexy_ t'day, Reimu…"

' _Is that so…'_

"This sake on the floor." Sendai pointed down at it. "It's in my way."

...The oni slowly gained a big grin. "Aw, y'wanna sit next ta me, huh, Reimu…? A'right, fine…" She held an open hand over the spilt sake…

 _fwi~sh._ Slowly, it began to evaporate into mist.

' _What.'_ Sendai bluntly stared, as it all became mist and floated away…

Once it was in the air, the oni opened her mouth. Like it were a vacuum, it attracted all the mist soundlessly…

Having swallowed it all, she closed her mouth, and licked her lips. "A'right! S'all set, Reimu~!"

Softly, Sendai slid into the spot next to her. ' _For her stature, she's as strong as a mountain, and ballsy on top of that. Also, very drunk…'_

"...So." Now that she was finally seated, Sendai figured it was time to ask some questions. "Who _are_ all of you?"

"Pft- hehehe~! Awwh…" The oni leaned towards her, and she had to tilt out of the way of her big horns. "Y'know _mhe~,_ Reimu…"

"That's… not Reimu." The navy-haired, fluffy girl supplied. "She seems to be Reimu's mother."

...The oni stared at her dumbly. "Wat."

...After a moment of consideration, she began to smirk. "Ee~hehe, choice…!"

Sendai turned to her on impulse-

"Oo- oh…!?" Sendai found herself pulled next to the oni, the girl's tinier grasp only managing to tug her by the waist.

"Aw- yer _clothesh_ 're all cohld…" The oni lamented idly. Her right cheek was squished into Sendai's left breast, and Sendai could feel the warmth of the girl's face there.

' _Woah- what the hell-'_

' _Aa- aah!?'_ Then, Sendai felt a hand on her right breast, and it made her jump.

"Wha- wait, what the hell…!" Reeling her arm back, Sendai felt her dark energy rush through it.

 _WHAM!_ It met the oni's face hard, shaking the kotatsu. Sendai had hooked her right in the forehead.

"Oo~hehe!" All it did was make the little oni tilt back a little. "Hitsh wahy harder 'an Reimu…!"

' _Ugh- fuck…'_ In a futile effort, Sendai tried to push the oni's hands back, as well as her head. ' _So… strong.'_ The oni's powerful hands were like rock, beyond the sort of soft exterior of them. Sendai's eyes narrowed, as the kneading sensation flooded her chest. ' _Damn it…'_

Feeling warm, Sendai could do little but stoically sit there, as the oni beheld her chest, left hand on Sendai's abs, and her right hand deep in a breast, with her face full of Sendai's left breast.

 _Click._ Reimu set a tea set down on the center of the kotatsu.

"Ya~y!" The inchling bounced in her own personal cup, which she now sat in...

"Um-..." Sendai felt embarrassed, sitting there with her breasts being pushed out by the little oni's gentle- for an oni- caressing. "Reimu… your friend-..."

' _Af- after everything I've been through- to think that an oni can just grab me like this and play with my tits…'_

...Reimu gave them an idle stare. "Suika~. Stop or I'll smash you."

"Aww, fi~ne…" It took Suika a few seconds to stop feeling up the bigger woman… "Rheimu-... I _dunno_ wha's better 'bout your mom, her tits or her _ass_ \- I meahn- abs!"

' _I can still feel where her hands were…'_ She felt at herself briefly, remembering the full hand that clasped her. ' _Whatever. If I make a big deal about it, she'll just be vindicated. Not the first time I got bad-touched, and knowing the oni, this is probably her way of being friendly.'_

"You try that again and _I'll_ smash you." Sendai asserted herself, this time.

Suika snorted. "...Aah. I'll keep thaht in mind, when I wanna _fight_ then!"

' _I've beaten an oni before… somehow.'_ It annoyed Sendai, how the thought didn't immediately come to her. ' _...Hmm. What the fuck.'_

While Sendai's blush began to fade, some of the other girls introduced themselves. "I'm Shion." The fluffy navy-haired girl told her. "...I'm a goddess of misfortune."

' _Wait- what…'_

" _Tenshi_ Hinanawi!" Declared Tenshi. "All-mighty celestial!" She patted her seemingly unassuming bicep.

' _A what…!? Just, hanging out down here? With- a goddess, an oni, and-'_

"Shinmyoumaru!" The tiniest girl declared, from her cup… "Of the Shining Needle Castle!"

' _Where?'_

Romping over from the now shut back door, the american clown fairy held up her torch. "Hey, everyone! I burnt _snow!"_

"Shut up, Clownpiece." Reimu shut her up. "I made _tea."_

"Ooh!" Slowly, a big smile grew on Clownpiece's face… "No~w we can _clown around…!"_

"God, no." Reimu made the most encumbered expression.

' _When'd we get a personal circus!? What's that pattern on her costume, anyway…?'_

"Name's _Suika,_ baeby…" Suika gave her a clumsy wink. "Suika Ibuki! Deva~ a' the mountain- mountains…? Single mountain!"

' _She's one of the oni devas…!?'_ Sendai was now thoroughly freaked out by the crazy variety of things at the shrine…

...Facing Reimu, she simply held up her hands. "Who did this."

Reimu shook her head. "Them, and me. But also, life."

' _Shit.'_ Shaking her head, Sendai moved to take a teacup… ' _We're gonna need a bigger tea set…'_

' _...So. Celestial, oni deva, clown fairy, pile of fairies in the corner… inchling of a castle, and a goddess of misfortune.'_

Sendai faced Reimu again. "...So, when are we evicting all of these people?"

Reimu waved her off. "They come and go. Days like today are actually uncommon enough."

' _What do you mean, 'uncommon'? You mean this happens a lot, then…!?'_

"I mean, I do actually live here…" Shion compacted a little, in her seat.

"...Well, you're fine, I guess." The 'goddess of misfortune' thing was worrying, but she was mild-mannered enough to not make Sendai put-off by her. "I'm just unsettled by how many _people_ there are. Until I had Reimu, I lived alone."

' _They don't need to know about Keisuke.'_

...Suika, however, was weirdly wise enough to instantly question this. "Wha' 'bout the hubby?"

Sendai awkwardly played it off, though. "Ah, him too."

"Where'd you come from!?" Tenshi pointed across the kotatsu at her, making it shake again.

This time, the shaking made Reimu mad. "Hey- if you spill it, you're buying me more tea…"

...Tenshi acted a little calmer. "Where'd you come from?"

"Somewhere." Sendai mocked her, at first. "...I don't know. I was born, then I died, and now I'm… not dead. S'that enough detail…?"

Then, she sipped from her tea. ' _...Wow. Pretty good, Reimu. Didn't even have to teach ya this. I gotta show her my recipes anyway. We'll have a tea night, or something.'_

"People just don't… come back to life, though." Shion contested, her gaze at rest. "How'd you come back?"

"That's what I'm tryin'a find out…" Sendai replied simply. "I'm alive again, and not nearly as strong as I once was. My memories… are mostly good. Except, when it comes to fighting..."

' _I need to find a way to regain what I lost. How I fight now-... I used to know how to fight. My fighting style right now-... it works only because of how strong I am, and it's pretty nice and all, but… it's not very versatile. It's just about brawling and violence, which is only a very… surface-level sorta thing, even if it's able to be used in a lot of situations. It works with humans, but it's not gonna cut the shit against youkai, and things stronger and faster than I am.'_

"Yeah." Reimu admitted. "How you handle yourself now… it's different."

When she attracted her mother's attention, she continued. "When I was younger, I felt like you were beyond comparison. Now… well, you just _barely_ beat me that one night, 'cause I was an _idiot._ Even if you made me think I was gonna die."

Sendai snorted. "Was it that bad…?"

"You kicked in my ribs…" Reimu grinned back at her. "I passed out from _pain._ "

"Ow." Sendai empathized. "I mean. You still gave me some good whacks back. You blew my guts out."

...Suika beamed up at Sendai. "Wohw! Wit' a needle, ya mean? Yhou survived _that!?"_

Sendai snorted. "...We- well, it sort of surprised me too, but I wasn't letting myself die there. Not when Reimu-... not when I felt she needed me."

...Suika inched closer again, her hip bumping Sendai's. "Yer so fuckin' _shexy,_ y'know thah…?"

' _What is this horny little demon.'_

At all of this, Reimu seemed content, even with the loud and numerous company. She was pondering what her mother had said, somewhat silenced by it.

Then, for some moments, the girls simply drank tea.

"...Oi, Suika." Reimu spoke up. "Shouldn't that gourd have a stopper, for flooding prevention?"

Already, Suika was lying on her back again, gazing at Sendai. Then, her gaze snapped to Reimu. "A- ah? Aoh, I pro'lly sat on it wrong, 'er somethin', or foun' tha'... tha' button…"

' _I feel like training, or doing something.'_ Sendai was already itching to get into more action. ' _But, this is also nice.'_ She also liked relaxing. It was sort of paradoxical, but she felt like she'd put in enough effort to afford having slow moods between everything…

It was also times like this she wished the shrine had a fire place. ' _Fire's nice in the winter. I could use it to light invaders on fire, too...'_

"Hey, Reimu…" Sendai still had to get used to calling her now just about adult daughter by her name… "How often does the shrine get invaded?"

...Reimu blinked at her. "Neve~r?"

"Pftuh…" Now sitting up, Suika let out an awkward giggle from next to Sendai… "Aw, yeah. Charge 'a shrine whehn an _oni's_ sittin' there. Oughta end real well…"

"What's _your_ story, for being here?" Sendai noticed Suika had inched a little closer to her every moment she was next to her, and was now almost leaning into her side…

' _She's really endeared by me, for some reason.'_

...Suika beamed up at her. "Whe~ll! There's parties here, sometimes! An' _booze._ An' Reimu beat me up once, so she's cool… an' there's _shtuff_ ta do, up hea'!"

' _Fair enough for an oni, I guess.'_

"Once I~ beaht up _tinfoil_ ova' there, an' I got _free real estate_ in heaven!" Suika pointed to Tenshi, across the kotatsu top…

Tenshi glared back. "Yeah, _yeah._ You must always-... _drag on,_ about _that."_

Suika leaned forward. "If ya want _yer turn_ ta gloat, y'can try me again anytime, shiny-shtuff!"

Between the dim light of the snowy world outside the shrine, and the shrine's gentle gloom itself, Sendai let her eyes close. ' _It's been awhile. It's good to be back here… even if pretty much everything's changed overnight.'_

' _Where'd that clown fairy go, anyway? Ah, whatever.'_

' _In terms of… finding out why I died, and why I'm back, that'd probably be a matter of going to that clinic place. I'll do that later. I'd like to relax and live a little, first. Also, build myself up again.'_

 _Shoo~f._ The front shrine door slid open.

" _Aaa~h!"_ Clownpiece ran into the main room.

"Ha _ha~!"_ Behind her, was a green-haired girl with red shorts, and a red shirt with white cloud adornments.

' _Oh my god, there's more people.'_ Sendai watched this green-haired girl leap into the room like an animal. ' _Who the hell is that…'_

"Ah. There's the shrine dog…" Reimu gave a half-hearted point in her direction. "Her job is to ward off intruders, too. I found her just recently, when she tried to ward _me_ off. I guess that counts as an invader?"

The green-haired dog girl stopped mid-chase, and abruptly turned to the kotatsu. Her eyes lit up, and she very quickly jaunted to round it. ' _Um…'_

She came up to Sendai. ' _Hey uh- woah!'_ All of a sudden, she got very close…

"Tsukiko~..." Crouching down, she nuzzled up against Sendai, which made her feel weird… "You're back! You're back you're back you're back!"

Sendai had to ask the obvious question. "Who- who are you…?"

"...I'm Aunn!" She introduced herself. "I was a statue, and was watching you! But then I _wasn't_ a statue! And, I protected the shrine too!"

"Uh- sure. Wait-... that's bullshit." Sendai contested, after having a moment to think about it. "I never saw you in my life…!"

She smiled. "Well. You just never happened to see me when I could do stuff…"

' _...For some reason, I doubt that!'_

Now Sendai sat awkwardly sandwiched between Suika and Aunn… ' _So many people…'_

"A~nyway…" Yawning, Reimu stood up. "We got more places than _here_ to check out. Like, things I'm totally certain _weren't_ around when you were alive."

' _Oo~h.'_ This roused Sendai from her nap-like mood… ' _We could definitely do that.'_

"Where to go _first,_ though…" Reimu considered… "There's the Moriya Shrine, the Scarlet Devil Mansion, some of my friends in the Forest of Magic… the buddhists. There's also the taoists. Some other odds and ends too, I'm sure…"

Most of these locations and factions weren't known to Sendai. ' _When'd buddhism and taoism get here. Also… Moriya Shrine? Scarlet Devil Mansion must be that huge youkai stronghold I saw across the lake…'_

"Moriya Shrine?" Sendai's first question was about the similar premise to their shrine… "Are they also a Shinto shrine?"

Reimu nodded. "Yeah. They're kinda rivals to us, except not really. They collect faith on the mountain, mostly. The village government's more fond of them than me, but the same really goes for everyone who's not me. Doesn't mean they like them, though."

"Where _are_ they?" Sendai wondered…

"The top of Youkai Mountain." Reimu replied simply.

' _What the fuck.'_ Sendai's brows curled up. ' _No. We'll go there last. I'm not climbing a mountain just yet. How the hell do they get followers!? That's actually worse than here! Almost the worst possible place, in fact!'_

"...We'll go there later." She decided. " _Way_ later…"

Reimu snorted. "Oh, yeah. You can't fly. Yeah, that's… gonna be a trek."

' _Might as well do a patrol of the whole damn mountain, at that point. Yeah, that'll be last.'_

...After an idle moment, Sendai grinned. "I like how we're _still_ the youkai maidens, but the actual shrine maiden on a mountain named after youkai isn't."

Reimu snorted. "Ah, yeah. It's great."

"...This Scarlet Devil Mansion." Standing from the kotatsu, Sendai brought up her next topic.

"Dohn't leave me~..." Suika called out to her jestingly, raising an arm towards her slowly…

"That's actually just across the lake." Reimu informed her.

Sendai nodded. "I know. I have eyes. It's pretty hard to miss."

Grinning, Reimu stood up herself. "Well, I didn't know if you _knew_ that big thing was it. But, yeah."

"I'll hold the fort!" Aunn gave them a salute, as they began to get ready for their adventure…

' _Not that we were planning to take you anyway, but good.'_ Sendai looked the many girls over… ' _How many even are there? Five people…? Man.'_

"You do tha~t." After drawling lazily, Reimu made for the main door. "You all be good, oka~y. And- _don't_ steal any booze, just to make sure…"

' _Ooh.'_ Sendai found herself vaguely interested at the idea of a beer stash.

Standing up, Shion's winter clothes gave a wholesome flourish as she rose… "Oh. Be careful on the stairs. It's awfully slippery…"

Reimu snorted at her. "Thanks, I guess. Anyway… we're headin' for the mansion first, I guess. So-"

 _thump._ Sendai moved forward, before slipping on just the wood floor, and falling onto her arms and knees. "Aa- ah… fuck."

' _Ugh, really…'_ She wasn't sure how she'd so easily lost her balance…

"Um…" Shion almost gliding across the floor towards her, except slowly. "I'm sorry…"

' _...For what?'_ Sendai gave her a little look, before it dawned on her. ' _Wait… ah. Misfortune. That's- very literal, then…! Should I blame her for arousing that oni, too? Not that it seems like she can control it...'_

Sendai got herself back up within a second. "Ah, it's good."

' _It's not a bad day until I go sliding down the stairs, or rolling into a snowball down the hill.'_

Looking down at her mittens, gohei held in one, Reimu moved for the front sliding door. "...Oh, right." She turned back inside. "Tenshi, put the tea set away for me~. If you break it, I'm going up to heaven and stealing the money for a new one…"

' _Going up where.'_ Sendai gave her daughter another look. She'd been surprised enough now, that her look of surprise became a bluntly questioning look instead. ' _She's already been up that far? ...Well, she can fly, so it makes sense, I guess. Just, go up, and you're there. No hassle.'_

Sendai stared down at her own mittens. The cloth was a little worn, from when she beat up those villagers earlier. ' _...Well. No time like the present.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

At the cusp of the Hakurei Hill, Sendai stared down at the serene snowscape. ' _Hmm. I could probably get down the stairs with Reimu's help, but…'_ A better idea was beginning to form in her mind…

 _Woo- whish, woo~sh._ A playful, strong wind caressed the hill top, chilling Sendai just a little. It stole some snow particles on the way, from particularly raised banks out in the open, making a brief, ice-cold dust cloud across the land nearby.

"Geez…" Reimu now had boots on, instead of sandals. "Somehow, it's a lot colder, now…"

Nearing the torii over the stairs, Sendai held onto the beam of it as she peered down the great abyss that was an icy staircase. ' _I've got a dumb idea…'_

 _Cla- klack klack- clack- clack…_ Clumsily, she slipped and stumbled her way back across the frosty stone path, coming up to the shrine's porch again.

"...What're _you_ thinking?" Reimu gave her a suspicious look… "If you just walk down, I could hold onto you so you don't fall too badly."

"I've got an idea." Sendai proposed, as she neared the shrine… "If it ends up making me _really fall_ though, I want you to catch me."

The vagueness of that statement worried Reimu. "What do you have in mind?"

' _I really remember this one technique of mine…'_ She began to crack her neck, preliminary to her stunt. ' _It wasn't always super useful, and I don't remember how exactly I pulled it off, but considering I was able to do it once, I should be able to do it again.'_

 _Cla- clack clack clack!_ She began running in place, more because her sandals failed to gain traction on the icy path before the shrine.

Then, she filled her legs and pelvis with dark power, her steps growing more powerful. ' _Not sure if this is enough, but-...'_

 _Whish!_ She kicked a leg out, and let herself fall.

 _Scree~ch!_ Throwing her whole lower body ahead, she on slid on the path legs-first. Her already vaguely scuffed hakama loudly scratched against even the ice below, as all her weight was one the broad of one leg and hip as she slid.

Reimu's eyes were wide just from how much speed this movement gave her mother.

Not done yet, Sendai rammed her darkening forearm into the ground and kicked up at the same time.

 _Wham!_ " _Hou~h!"_ With this motion, Sendai arced into a sliding kick through the air, taking off the ground.

Reimu watched her blow past her. "Wo- woah…!"

Now in the air over the staircase, Sendai felt herself tilt back into an upright position, as her legs carried her body downwards. ' _Alright! That actually went pretty- oh shit-'_

 _CLACK!_ Her sandals both touched down upon one of the many stairs, threatening to throw her into a summersault down with how hard the ten-stair impact was. ' _Aha- hold on- hold on-...!'_

Flailing her arms back, she found herself just barely in balance, as-

 _CLACK!_ After that initial bounce, she kept skidding forward, and caught the next stair a few more meters down.

Like this, she rigidly bounced down the stairs, moving ten-fifteen stone steps at a time.

 _CLA- CRACK!_ Ice shattered upon one step, her sandals now alight with an azure, magical glow as she kept her body firm enough to withstand the impacts… ' _Ho- holy shit, I forgot how much of a ride this kind of thing ends up being…!'_

 _CLACK! CLACK!_ Finally, as she neared the ground, she inhaled, having traveled down the entire staircase with skids and rebounds.

 _FWII~SH!_ Reaching the bottom, her sandals roared through the snow, carving a path of diamond dust behind herself as she came towards a tree…

 _CLA- KRA- KRACK!_ She kicked her leg forward on impulse. The azure light from her sandal expanded outward into a brief mist of magic force, shattering the ice and bark of the spot she immediately kicked.

... _Crunch._ She fell back into the snow, after losing her balance. ' _He- haha~! Wow!'_

While she climbed out of the snow bank she demolished, Reimu was already down on the path just behind her. "What the _hell_ was that…?"

"...Fun." Sendai grinned back at her, as she dusted snow off of herself…

"...I can imagine!" Still, Reimu was somewhat bewildered. "When'd you learn something like that…!?"

That actually reminded Sendai, of something… "Aa~h. One time, I hit a youkai at the bottom of the steps with a kick from that… and I _swear_ his lower jaw went thirty feet."

Reimu snorted. "That- wasn't quite what I asked, but I guess you've known it for awhile, then…!"

 _Sendai remembered Sliding Leap!_

After some walking, Sendai and Reimu neared the shores of the Misty Lake. As usual, mist hung strong in the air over the lake's central regions, this time obscuring the mansion beyond from view…

Rounding a big snowbank, Sendai stared down at the frozen lake surface. "Aah. The water's frozen."

Reimu agreed. "Mmm. Normally I'd just fly _over_ the lake, but…"

Indifferent, Sendai advanced, stepping out onto the ice. "Well, frost was just recently, so this should be-"

 _Crack- shunk._ The ice immediately shattered, and Sendai fell into waist-deep ice water. " _Ee- eah- aa~h!"_

' _Holy shi~t!'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Sendai and Reimu tried the area again, this time going around the lake entirely...

Reimu had a hand over her own mouth, as they walked plainly. "...Ni- nice job."

"It's not normally _that_ flimsy!" Sendai had taken some time to step back and warm up, after all of that… "That was lame."

"Last winter, me and Marisa and some others went ice skating…" Reimu reflected. "It wasn't so bad, but it _was_ kinda brittle. Probably 'cause of just how _big_ the lake is."

"Very rarely has the lake ice just _given up_ on me, especially near the shore…" Sendai scratched at her cheek. "Maybe I just got unlucky. This close to the shore, everything should be frozen."

' _It's not really worth investigating, though.'_ She considered going back to marvel at the ice, but didn't really care _that_ much, especially now that she was warm again…

"Yeah." Reimu agreed with her. "Nature's weird, sometimes."

' _It was probably 'cause of something stupid.'_

The mist didn't typically span too far past the lake, so the girls were free to look at the mansion once they'd passed the midpoint, and therefore most of the mist that obstructed their view...

"So… tell me about this Scarlet Devil Mansion." As Sendai made this request, she sized up the huge clock tower atop it…

"Well. It's big." Reimu began grandly. "Real big."

"Cool." Sendai was immediately impressed. "No, really."

Grinning, Reimu continued. "It's the home of two vampires, the Scarlet sisters, and their… staff and friends, I guess. Really western place, actually. You don't see too many vampires like this in Gensokyo, even when you _do_ see a vampire."

' _Ugh. Vampires…'_ Sendai shook her head. ' _Well, I could see why this place is still here, then. Vampires are bad news.'_

"They told me the term's 'european', whatever that means." Reimu gave her mother a vague look. "In reference to their style."

...Sendai furrowed her brows. "The hell's that supposed to mean, regarding a _house?_ What the hell do they think a european is? _"_ She knew of european-styled weaponry, but not much else.

"I think it means architecture?" Reimu seemed to stare idly ahead… "You'll see when we get close. It's pretty different."

"Pretty different, huh…" Sendai was now curious to see this…

' _I'm not really sure what to expect. The place looks huge alright, and it being manned by two powerful vampires…'_

She faced her daughter. "Why's this place still standing?"

...Reimu turned her head to her. "Whah?"

"I can't help but feel, something like this is _pretty bad_ to just… have around." Expressing her concerns, Sendai brushed some hair from her own face… "How many youkai does it house?"

"You're gonna have to _see it_ before you start jumping the gun." Reimu wagged a finger at her. "No going nuts until you get a clear shake of who you're dealing with. I say this 'cause, while _I_ impulse-fought them with _danmaku,_ if you fight them head-on, you're going to die."

Sendai jerked her head back. " _Die?_ Me?"

...Reimu propped her arms on her hips.

' _Alright, she's got a point.'_ She had to give her that… ' _Still.'_

While they began to coast towards the latter end of the Misty Lake, Sendai continued to express her concerns. "Are they actually that powerful?"

"...I guess you'll have to see for yourself." Reimu regarded her. "But- please, keep it _formal_ and stuff, or at least friendly enough so they don't actually try any shady business."

"Shady business…" Sendai latched onto that idea. "Like, what?"

"Like trying to put you in debt, or making you work for them, or soul-crushing servitude stuff." Reimu gave the examples that jumped into her head. "They probably won't pull it with _me_ around, since I can whack them around, but without danmaku, you're… actually gonna be in a tight spot, if you wanted to do anything."

' _...Huh.'_ That one explanation told Sendai a few things. ' _...So. She's using danmaku to get around not being able to fight things directly more powerful than her. I'm not sure if that's a form of shirking, or smart, depending on how much the land's changed in fifteen or so years…'_

Now that they were all the way around the lake, Sendai gazed ahead in the pale world, the imposing mansion standing past the single gap in forestry.

"He~y!"

...Sendai and Reimu paused, and looked around.

Gently, a blue fairy descended from above, looking rowdy. "...It's _you!"_ She jabbed a finger at Sendai, from afar.

"...Me?" Sendai looked around, then at her daughter…

"Yeah, you!" The ice fairy began to float closer. "Eye don't think you _remember_ me, do you!?"

"Cirno~..." Reimu shook her head, at the fairy. "Get, get. Shoo." She waved an arm lazily…

Even more gingerly than her friend, the green great fairy floated down from above, too.

After a very belated moment, and some exaggeratedly fluffy motions, she called out to Cirno. "D-... do~n't. You'll get hurt…!"

"That's the name 'a the game, Dai-chan!" Cirno gave her a big thumbs-up. "'Cause Eye _believe_ not-Reimu owes me an _apology!"_

Floating down onto the Misty Lake's shore, Cirno walked up to Sendai simply… "An' Eye mean _you!"_ She even pointed, to make sure she knew.

"...Mmm." Sendai just gave her a little hum. "Looks like someone let a monkey out of the zoo."

Cirno's eyes widened. "Wh- _aah…!?"_

Taking some steps back, Reimu snorted. "Oh, boy…"

"Yer gonna _eat_ those words!" Reeling an arm back, Cirno pumped herself up for a fight. "'Cause Eye'm the _strongest!"_

-+- _Vs. Fairies -+-_

Cracking her neck, then her knuckles, Sendai tensed her whole body once. ' _Alright, this should help me warm up a bit more…'_

"Alright!" Beaming, Cirno held up an arm. "Cold Sign! Perfect- _"_

 _Whack!_ Bounding into her, Sendai hooked her left arm through Cirno's gut.

" _Gfh- hu-"_ Cirno's eyes were wide-

 _Wham!_ Sendai immediately plowed a left hook into Cirno's ribs next. Eyes shut, Cirno scrambled back. " _St- stop-"_

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Piddly bolts of frost met Sendai's face and body, her whole being shivering as she followed up.

 _Bam!_ Another right hook powered ahead, meeting Cirno across her cheek, saliva splaying into the air. " _Ahu-"_

' _Those bolts- are so damn cold…!'_ If Sendai didn't stop the fairy right now, she felt like she'd get frozen.

 _WHACRACK!_ Intent on not being chilled any further, Sendai roared her left arm back down Cirno's whole chest, sending the fairy straight to the floor ahead.

 _Bam!_ Cirno's little butt hit the snowy floor, particles splaying out from her impact. " _Aa-..._ ow!" Down there, she glared up at Sendai.

 _WOOSH._ That's when Sendai put everything she had into a leap, an azure-addled fist roaring to life over her head. She was going to overarm thrust Cirno's skull into oblivion.

In the background, Daiyousei's eyes were wide, the whole series of punches used too fast for her to work up the courage to intervene...

"Wha- _oh, no."_ Cirno saw Sendai roar down for her body, and resigned to her own fate.

" _Hrah!"_ Sendai threw her overarm thrust out, as she neared the floor.

 _WHA- CRACK- SHOOF!_ Cirno's nose was destroyed by the knuckles, and then the force of the arm crushed her skull back deep into the snow.

 _Pi~chun!_ While Sendai was rolling off her arm and onto her back in the snow, Cirno burst into a waft of cold air. ' _Oh- gods, damn…'_

...When she stood, she looked around for Daiyousei-

 _bonk, bank- bonk, bonk._ She flailed her arms crying windmill style, clobbering Sendai meekly in the head with them. "Don't hurt _Cirno-cha~n!"_

Reeling back from the blows against her head, Sendai grit her teeth, before reeling her whole body back towards Daiyousei. " _Hmph!"_

 _CRACK!_ She thrust her head through the assault, her forehead crushing Daiyousei's nose. " _Nghk- aa-..."_

While Daiyousei staggered back in pain, Sendai looked around. ' _What fun shit can I use-... ah, fuck it.'_ Since there were no objects around, she dug through her pockets.

She drew a new Chronicle of Gensokyo, nearing the green-haired Daiyousei. Reeling back, she held the thick tome overhead, her arms charging full of azure light and black magic...

"Hey, bitch." Sendai leered ahead, as her arms shook with energy.

Daiyousei blinked her eyes open-

 _KATHOONK._ Sendai slammed the thick tome down onto Daiyousei's head so hard that it flew from her hands, bouncing high into the air. "Pftu- hehehe!" This was so surprising that Sendai burst into giggling…

 _thud._ Daiyousei was lumpified by the impact, flopping back into the snow-

 _PI~CHOOM- FWOOM- FWOOM._ Daiyousei then exploded into a shockwave surge of wind and life.

...The snow under Sendai melted instantly, and she was now all wet. ' _Woah. What the hell…'_ In fact, the snow in a small circle all around them began to melt, and little flowers began blooming.

 _Sendai obtained Daffodil._

 _Sendai obtained Solid Water._

"...Yeah." Reimu nodded dully at her soaking wet mother. "Fairies don't really do the whole punching thing anymore, since danmaku happened. They might hold it against you because of how much it hurts."

"Yeah, but…" Sendai held up her dripping wet arm sleeves… "I remember just _elbowing_ that Cirno character to death. This time-... she took more abuse than the villagers earlier today did."

Reimu snorted. "...I mean, among fairies, she _is_ pretty strong. Daiyousei is a greater fairy, so she's also pretty strong on her own. It doesn't always go noticed, but they're a bit better with bodily mayhem, 'cause they can't bleed. Well- they _bleed,_ but you know."

' _Yeah. They bleed magic, not blood.'_

"Maybe it was because I made them angry." Sendai supposed. "So, they had more will to fight me, and hung on longer."

"Knowing fairies, that might as well be it." Reimu agreed with that logic. "Maybe they'll get even tougher if you keep pissing them off. Or, you could just give them candy. They'll probably immediately forget everything if you got them candy."

"...I'll keep that in mind." Sendai never remembered having _this much_ trouble with fairies, or even caring about their presence. "I've never had to give fairies candy before."

...Reimu smiled at her. "If you give them enough candy, you can make them run dumb errands for you. Just, don't expect them to do things exactly right… or, at all."

' _Well, now there's an idea.'_ This actually incentivized Sendai towards doing that. ' _I wonder how much help a bundle of fairy girls would be in a battle. Probably not a lot...'_

Once Sendai was relatively dry enough, she began moving for the mansion ahead.

"Ooh." Reimu turned to her, while they moved. "I'd get all the really small candies, so you can throw a whole bunch of 'em in the air. They'll spend like an hour just picking them all up."

' _...That I wanna see.'_ Sendai _really_ liked that idea… ' _I can't waste time and energy fighting fairies always, so maybe I should stock up on small candies, then.'_

 _Sendai learned Candy Confetti!_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

==x==

x / Sendai Hakurei No Miko, the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

INVENTORY:

 _X Sub-weapons:_

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her mastery, Sendai takes on the form of the magic she channels most at the moment. Empowers all style attributes, but moves begin costing additional item crash uses, making this expensive to use. Before she died, it only brought out her pain-brought darkness, but...

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

X Pocket items:

[Elementary Backpack] - Young student's backpack. Really tiny, and looks cute on Sendai. Uses no inventory space- being inventory itself- and provides four item slots.

[Tiny Bag] - Uses no inventory space. A small bag, for small goods. Provides four inventory slots, but every time an item is taken out, the bag gets smaller. After four removals, the bag becomes Plain Cloth.

(2x) Potion - A potion used to restore health. Basic, but the best choice for human users. Provides heavy health regeneration for some seconds.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evolution - Heals the entire party, as if they were all given a potion. Equal to a Mega Potion, but consumes an item crash use to produce these effects.

Tauriner - Experimental medicinal restoration item. Restores 'spirit energy'. In Sendai's case, it restores a single item crash use upon consumption.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Yukkuri Production Kit - A kit used for creating yukkuri, which obey the user. Consumable with ten uses. Comes with DNA kits for Reimu, Marisa, and Alice types. Life catalyst is bundled with this item.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

High-Quality Bottled Water - Refreshing and pure.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

(x4) Pocket Lint - Dust friends. Uses no inventory space. Can be combined with nine hundred ninety five other Pocket Lints to create something cataclysmic...

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Ragnarok Theorem - Inflicts a random status effect on a random target. Cannot instantly kill or doom. Cannot cast Auto-Life.

218,250 Yen - Money used to purchase goods. Takes up no inventory space.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards…

Blue Flexi-suit - One-piece swimsuit with removable parts, for easy access to bodily regions. Offers no protection. Made of a mysterious, ticklish material…

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Oni Fight & Drink Guide - Brutal text that archives some oni traditions, as well as one's personal bias to the sword. Teaches Sendai Gravity Flash and-

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

FN Model 1903 - One use remaining - Outsider hand pistol with scary accuracy and fire rate, compared to all current era weapons. Able to hold six bullets, but almost all are used, and Sendai doesn't know how to refill it. Shoots straight through a target, staggers, and has a chance to knock them down. Makes the target bleed.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Worn Katana - Four uses remaining - Half-broken katana stolen from a goon. Why was he carrying something that was already half-broken? Maybe it wasn't, and Sendai just stepped on it before she got it. Either way, this thing's a piece of crap.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Ruby - Takes up no inventory space. Has no practical value, but may be sold for 250,000 Yen to the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and for ~300,000 Yen to a jeweler.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Firaga Burst - Summons an orb of flame over the battlefield, which rains down balls of fire that ignite everything. Expert-level fire magic.

Solid Water - Water crystallized into a solid shape. If only there was a name for this sort of thing. Might be able to be used for crafting, if it doesn't melt...

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Blizzard - Sendai throws her arm, creating a meager spread of icy projectiles that chill things. Doesn't even spend an item crash, because it's so weak.

Daffodil - Common white or yellow flower. Most common flower in the universe.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Purify - Heals party of all status ailments.

(no slots remaining)

(one tiny bag slot remaining!)

 _X Armor:_

 _x Body:_ Hakurei Maiden Combat Outfit: DP - The shrine maiden outfit of the miko who came before. Made for a large bust, and bolsters both martial offense and blunt defense. Features a hakama bottom for easy leg movement, and a black leotard so the upper body can move easily.

 _x Misc:_

Reinforced Apron - A royal red, reinforced cloth apron. Defends Sendai a little against incoming magic and blunt physical attacks.

Nothing.

Nothing.

 _x Weapon:_ Cheap Katana - Twelve use remaining until it breaks - An average-sized blade, made from folded iron and molded into… relative practicality, rather than perfection. Cheap and disposable.

==x==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

 _X Body_

Endured III - Sendai has forged her body through a long cycle of training and combat. She's still not much stronger, but she knows what immense pain feels like.

Powerful III - With constant, repeated motions and strength training, Sendai has built up her body to strike fear into the land's youkai. Hits are becoming closer to her former strength...

Dark Affinity - Inherently, Sendai has channeled inner, dark feelings for most of her life. Grants 50% dark resistance.

 _X Soul_

Heated Spirit VI - A building fragment of the resolve she used to wield. Allows Sendai to use four item crashes. At the end of every fight, she regains one use. Recharged by sleeping, or gaining new resolve.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Magic is ingrained into her body to allow her to replicate certain objects as long as she has enough mana. Becomes unusable when all item crashes are used up.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

Rebellious Soul - Able to channel her magic to her limbs, which takes on the form of dark enchantments. Reduces damage where she applies it, by strengthening the body itself.

Terrain Essence - Sendai can use the environment to deal devastating damage to her enemies. Executable off of walls, the ground, big objects; by lifting tables or chairs, etcetera. Boosts in power the less item crashes Sendai has used.

Weapon Essence - Melee weapons gain decisive maneuvers which deal immense damage. Allows Sendai to use swords semi-properly.

Essence of Finishing - Downed enemies are very vulnerable to extreme attacks, as Sendai's discovered. Follow-ups on downed enemies can now be critical hits, as long as Sendai's spirit remains full. Works with weapons, too.

Essence of Wreckage - When enraged or pushed to the edge, Sendai's follow-up on downed enemies becomes a lethal, relentless onslaught of fists and power. Heavily demanding on her body, and leaves her expended for awhile after use. Wasteful, unskillful, powerful technique. Learned by observing Ex-Keine perform a similar attack...

Essence of Assimilation - When in Fantasy Nature style, Sendai attempts to consume the body of dark-elemental beings. Kills the target. Refills health, item crashes, and Fantasy Nature duration. Sendai inherits target's life force as a result. Bonus power deteriorates over time unless kept fed.

 _X Technique_

 _x Misc:_

Misc Abilities - Skills that don't necessarily go with a style. Often utilitarian or shared.

Candy Confetti - If Sendai has candy in her inventory, she can cast it into the air stylishly. Uses 50% of small candies in Sendai's inventory. Skips random encounters with fairies, and lowers fairy aggression levels. Duration and effect depend on how many candies are spent. Works less well on Scarlet Devil Mansion fairies.

 _x Youkai Style:_

Youkai Style - Sendai's default post-revival style. Has a mixture of youkai techniques and handy things she's learned. Gained its namesake after she defeated her daughter, and unlocked some of her inner potential.

Dark Power - Sendai accents her body with dark magic, reducing incoming damage and heightening outgoing damage when she wills it.

Quick Step - Sendai slides on her sandals to avoid an attack, jolting her muscles to evade. Pretty much muscle memory to her, at this point.

Dodge Retaliation - A technique remembered through battle against Marisa Kirisame. After quick stepping, Sendai can instantly retaliate with a thrusting punch. _Only_ effective when spirit energy is high.

Flying Kick - When running, Sendai can throw herself into a double-legged kick that smashes through defenses, and is not interrupted by minor sources of pain or knockback.

Charged Kick - Sendai accents her stock kick attack with extra preparation, making it super predictable but more powerful. Takes a second for basic extra power, but takes about two or three to become very powerful.

Charge Weapon - Sendai builds dark energy into her arms, giving her a stupid amount of power the next time she swings an object around.

Slide Leap - One of Sendai's classic abilities, from her memory. Has two parts. Begins with Sendai sliding along the ground, from which she may launch herself into the air with a kick.

Youkai Buster Combo - A series of ambitious punches aided by kicks, which gives most foes little time to recover and staggers often. Includes a series of hooks, and finishes with a dark-accented overhead punch that launches most foes.

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Konpaku Shot Stopper - An ancient Konpaku defense technique, first used against matchlock rifles, now adapted to be effective against handguns and shotguns. Allows Sendai to execute a decisive maneuver when near firearms users, as well as disarm them. _Only_ effective when spirit energy is high.

Essence of Finishing Blows - Whenever Sendai grounds an enemy by lashing her arm down on them, she may use a more critical version of her overhead-thrust combo finisher, leaping and putting everything into the attack. When it strikes, she eats shit, but her fist breaks the enemy's nose, and rams the back of their head into the floor. Does extreme damage.

Essence of Steadfast Counter - When Sendai is knocked down, she hypes herself up, and recovers immediately, throwing herself straight into an enemy, knocking them over, and headbutting their skull against the ground, striking both their nose and the back of their head at the same time. Does extreme damage.

Youkai Cunning: Revenge Value - Enables Sendai to follow-up being hit with a counter-strike or a counter-grapple, using the momentum her body receives. Doesn't work if she's knocked back.

Faze Step - Lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward some distance. Makes her highly knockback resistant while it executes. She's not used it once, yet...

x Fast Style:

Fast Style - A general category for all of Sendai's non-normal, quick techniques. Moves are inherited by Normal Style.

Secret of Swing * Pendulum Push - When bound by an enemy by the arms, Sendai uses their grip to slink around their body, attacking nearby enemies with big, rushing thrusts of her legs. Works on up to three generally unaware enemies. Sendai kind of just accidentally pulled it off, the first time.

x Unknown Style:

Unknown Style - Some sort of odd state of being, where Tsukiko can't do anything just about. Disables Item Crashes. Halves Sendai's strength. Renders her incapable in critical situations.

Youkai Buster * Forgotten - Two-strike palm 'combo'. Tsukiko regains her shrine maiden instincts for the first two strikes of the true Youkai Buster combo. Learned by defeating Reimu. Weakest technique she knows by far. Slow, has little force, and leaves Tsukiko very open.

Inherits Konpaku Shot Stopper.

==x==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

this chapter was PRETTY FUN because of the really unique fights and also just the variety of stuff reimu and her mom did together

also meeting the under-represented SITCOM CAST of the freakin' HAKUREI SHRINE; boy are they a trial in writing a lot of characters at once, freakin' MESS

the closest to a meh fight was probably just sendai whomping the fairies but that lasted like a page or two, as mook encounters SHOULD

i'm also excited to have a strong SDM exploring chapter! havin' sendai meet SAKUYA and REMILIA and all the good buddies, and with 50% to 90% less fightmania! aww, yeah dude…

that's gonna be a hell of a chapter dude

also ever since vanilla sendai i wanted to do some good mother-daughter bonding activities and never really got the chance to, so THIS like arc-sized endeavor of exploration's kinda to make up for that!

although reimu won't be constantly safeguarding her mom from the perils so don't worry dude

...yeah- this was pretty fun!

sendai gets SLIDE LEAP back, which i'd initially removed for the sake of cutting down on her not-often-used-well stolen-from-richter-belmont abilities, but i gave it back to her here because it's something that fits for not being used often, mostly because it's like… your MEGA-SIZED LEVEL version of flying kick basically

also candy confetti ;3

i half feel like i should've removed tengu rush and had her remember it later too or something but remembering a _magic_ later is a bit weird by comparison to a martial move

...although she'll BASICALLY BE REMEMBERING IT AT THIS RATE, 'cause really she's not even hinted at using it once

also dark uppercut, ever since she realized it wasn't as good as she remembered - w -

but yeah yo this was PRETTY FUN

as always, see you all next time!


	12. A Perfect Maid

The snow crunched beneath the two girls.

Up ahead, was the Scarlet Devil Mansion. The center boasted the grand clocktower which loomed down over the lakeside, a constant pinnacle to this stronghold's seat between the seldom-noted north-east plains, and Youkai Mountain to the south-east, or just south.

That said, the red, crimson design was accented almost cinematically by the white, diamond-like snow.

Sendai was no stranger to magicians and youkai hiding in plain sight with luxurious, albeit sometimes shoddily or shallowly designed homes, forts or manors. But, compared to what she had called a mansion before, this looked like a _castle._ It was great, with exterior walling that couldn't even be seen over.

' _What would be a crappy fence… is instead almost the border to a territory, or something.'_ Sendai wouldn't say it, but the scale intimidated her. ' _This makes every crappy mansion I've ever been to look like a fucking house by comparison.'_

On the snowy path ahead, there was a small, shoveled cropping. It was the clearing before the front gate, and everything behind it.

"Mmm…" Reimu took in her mother's observant expression… "Yeah, you won't find much wood or shoji here, and it's probably because they couldn't figure out a way to make it red."

Sendai let out a snort. "Ah…? No shoji?" She supposed westerners wouldn't know the benefits and detriments of sliding paper walling.

Up ahead of them was a redheaded gate guard of some kind. She had a big, fluffy green coat on, and big mittens…

"Ha~h…" She let out a breath, into the base of one of her gloves. "Ah." Then, she sighted the girls...

"He~y." Reimu gave her a plain wave. "We're going i~n."

"...Who's she?" The green-clad guardian searched her gaze over Sendai's form.

' _...I wonder if that fan girl lie will still work-'_

"My mom." Reimu told her the truth, before her mother could think of lying. "Don't ask. Long story."

...The guardian furrowed her brows for a moment, smiling wider, before sizing up Sendai's form one more time…

"...Huh." Then, she let herself step back towards the wall. "That's-..."

"Hmm?" Reimu actually faced her, now. "What's up?"

"It's nothing." The woman gave them a bow. "Hong Meiling. If you don't mind… what's your name?" Her question was posed to Sendai.

...Sendai opened her mouth. "My name-"

"Tsukiko." Reimu spilled it. "Her name's Tsukiko."

' _What is it with people and name-dropping me…'_

Sendai slowly faced her. "If I get assassinated by europeans, it's your fault."

Grinning, Meiling waved a hand at her. "I don't think you'll have to worry about that...! But um..." Turning to the gate, she moved to open it. "I guess I won't ask any questions, for now."

"You might as well hear it from someone else." Reimu remarked. "We're gonna be going around town, so-to-speak. Someone's gonna hear an almost-full explanation, at some point. I don't feel like slowing down for every person we come across."

"Fair enough." Meiling supposed… "But, if you stick around long enough, expect me to harass you! Because I'm _really_ curious, now!"

Reimu rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Maybe there'll be a big meetup, or something."

 _Creak._ Meiling cast the gate open with a single thrust of her arms. Heading back for her personal spot against the wall, she continued… "I almost thought you were sneaking Marisa in at first, but…" Her gaze met Sendai's. "I figure you're telling the truth, this time."

Reimu grinned at her. "I pretty much totally expected to have to blow her past you, but this is fine, too. How do you know I'm not pulling a fast one, on you?"

Leaning against the wall, she gave the two a dismissive wave. "Aa~h. Maybe it's just cold, and I'm feeling lazy…"

"Cold, you say…" Reimu didn't look like she believed her, but continued anyway. "If you say so."

The two came up towards the fountain in the midst of the shoveled stone path before the mansion.

 _CLANG!_ The gate slammed loudly behind them, without anyone's touch.

Sendai jumped, casting her gaze back to it. ' _Hmm? Ah. Damn old trick…'_

"Every door here likes to do that, by the way." Reimu shook her head. "After the third time, you'll get used to it."

The mansion yard was about as remarkable as yards typically went. The only thing different was the scale, the neatness of some of the paths and shoveling, and some of the flowers that bloomed in winter. ' _Hmm. Neat flowers…'_

The porch ahead was clean of ice, to Sendai's relief. ' _Oddly accommodating, but that's nothing new. Gotta make sure the path to the meat grinder trap is nice and clean, come sleet or snow.'_

 _Cr- crea~k._ With a few uneven pushes, Reimu got the big, imposing front door open. "The~re we go."

 _Crea~k!_ Sendai gave the other half of the front door a big push, and it squeaked more than it creaked, as it whipped in on its hinges. ' _...Way lighter than they look.'_

She stepped inside the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

True to her daughter's words, the inside, while decorated, was two things: red, and brutally straightforward.

The main lobby featured a grand staircase in the middle, leading upward. There was some negative space to the left and right of the stairs, featuring little more than some furnishings and vases.

To her broader left and right, huge halls followed the face of the manor, or so Sendai thought. The rightmost hall held a right turn. ' _...That would go outside, wouldn't it? That shouldn't be possible. Oh, gods…'_ She probably couldn't trust her innate spacial awareness, in here.

Maids bodied somewhere between adolescence and adulthood sighted the two, and upon noting their Hakurei garb, quit their plain chatting, and continued to polish the stair railing. ' _Those maids… they're fairies.'_ Her attention was drawn to the mostly uniform, translucent wings on each of their backs.

Above them, a warm light shined down from the grand chandelier. Sendai took a good, hard look at the ceiling above it. ' _What's that inlet, there…?'_ Over the entrance itself, there was a big, very slight incropping, visible in the plaster. The light tried to make it invisible, but the edges were just able to be made out.

"Welcome to red country." Reimu held out an arm, to the rest of the place. "It's really, really, red…"

' _...Yeah, this is pretty garish.'_ Sendai wasn't sure what brought the obsession with red about, but she supposed the monochrome color scheme was fine.

Stopping before her, Reimu grinned big. "...We're gonna mooch." She declared. "They make some awesome food here."

"It's safe to eat here?" Sendai was immediately skeptical. "In a _vampire's_ residence?"

"Western vampire." For some reason, Reimu clarified that. "And, yeah. I've eaten here a lot before, actually. They're nice, and they give me food."

...Getting closer to her mother, she continued. "They're probably looking for political favors, but just 'cause they feed me doesn't mean I'll give 'em any."

' _Atta girl.'_ Sendai supposed she'd be satisfied with that… ' _Wait, this is still-... shouldn't this be heavy youkai territory? So far, we were just allowed to walk in without a hitch.'_

"That's awfully presumptuous, of you."

Sendai and Reimu turned between one another, finding a silver-haired maid there.

 _CLACK- THOOM…_ The door behind her slammed shut, a few flakes of frost billowing in the air behind her.

' _Um…!?'_ Sendai wasn't sure if this was part of the normal greeting, or what…

Reimu wasn't bothered, however. "Well, it's not like you don't know, already."

...Her head slowly panned to Reimu. "That wasn't exactly what I was going for. You assume we have an ulterior motive."

"'Cause you do." Reimu allowed herself a smug look… "Now, feed me."

The maid gave an almost inaudible snort. ' _Oh, hey, she can laugh, I think.'_ The stoic servant thing reminded Sendai of a few other times… ' _She's a human, which seems… odd. Perhaps I should question her, later.'_

"Very well." She consented to feeding them. "...If you ask _me,_ you're becoming too comfortable, coming here."

"Yeah, yeah." This was nothing Reimu hadn't heard before. "Next time you stop by the shrine, I might pass you a bottle."

' _That makes two of us…'_ Sendai agreed with the maid's 'too comfortable' comment. ' _Out of all places I've been so far, I especially feel like I can't drop my guard here.'_

...Before leading them further, the blue-white maid stopped before Sendai. ' _Hmm?'_

She gave a healthy bow, and held out an arm. "Welcome to the Scarlet Devil Mansion. My name is Sakuya Izayoi."

' _Huh…'_ Sendai let her expression twitch a little at the expression of service.

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

12

A Perfect Maid

Sakuya lead them down the left hall. They took the first left turn they saw, then the next right turn.

 _Crea~k._ The doors opened automatically for the three girls, letting them out from the halls which one could endlessly gaze down. ' _This place already feels fucking massive. Just how in-built is all of this!?'_

"I was wondering…" Sendai was still very suspicious of this place, and healthily so. "What is the purpose, of this place?"

...While Reimu flicked her gaze up in the background, Sakuya focused on the question. "The purpose of a mansion?"

The levelness of her tone made it hard for Sendai to read snidery or otherwise from her voice. She replied equally plainly. "I feel like it's more than a mansion."

First taking a moment of thought, Sakuya then looked back at her. "You're right. It's more than a mansion. It's a home."

' _Good.'_ She'd achieved effectively nothing within one minute.

"Honestly, what'd you expect…?" Reimu gave her a wry look back. "This place is pretty shady in its own ways, yeah, but they're not _super hard_ to keep tabs on. Just relax."

They were now in the dining room. This large room followed the interior design of the hallways, and included another great chandelier beneath a raised ceiling. In fact, the ceiling was twice as high as the lobby's, even.

Grand windows sat to the left, big and ornate. Beyond them was Gensokyo's snow lands, framed by the perimeter wall in the lower third of the image.

"I'm just questioning the purpose of a youkai stronghold, practically on the horizon of the human village _and_ the Hakurei Shrine." Sendai asserted herself further. "What's the game, here?"

...Sakuya looked back at her, before turning to her fully.

"Mo~m." Reimu gave her mother a chiding look.

Sakuya gave Sendai another bow. ' _...Hmm?'_

"If I may apologize, on the behalf of my mistresses. We had no greater priority on relocation, than scenery. It was only when we got here, that we were familiarized with this land's customs. As you may understand, further relocation was… unacceptable, outside possibility, or both."

' _Got a politician's mouth on her…'_ Sendai took note of how she spoke. ' _Or, she might just be very articulate for no reason. She is a maid, afterall.'_

Reimu agreed with that recounting. "Yeah. They pretty much just dropped in and acted like they owned the place. I put an end to that real quick."

...Sakuya rose from her bow. "You and the black-white, you mean."

"Well, yeah." Reimu now looked wayward… "Don't you got food to be making?"

"It's done." Sakuya replied.

At the almost-empty dining room table before them, there was steak arranged for Sendai, and Reimu was presented with a stack of pancakes.

 _Crunch._ ...It was almost empty, because there was a single fairy there. She was very short, had poofy, orange hair, and was eating a half-burnt waffle.

"Oh, right." Reimu blinked at the food. "I forgot about that."

' _You're instilling me with confidence, Reimu.'_ Sendai stared at the pre-made food in wonder…

"Huh. Do you have a staff, for this?" Sendai moved to sit at the very, very long dining table. "Food doesn't get made this quick, either."

"...You could say we have a staff." Sakuya supposed. "However, everything that requires a more… _delicate_ touch, is left to me."

'Delicate touch' immediately brought one thing to Sendai's mind. "Murder?"

Sakuya nodded. "Well, yes. But, cooking, cleaning, and tending to the mistresses, in most cases."

' _Oh. Wait…!'_

The moment to reply to that quickly passed. Reimu scooted her own chair back, ready for pancakes… "Mmh. So, what'd you think? When you saw my mom walk into the shrine, that night." She also quizzed Sakuya.

"I wasn't there, at that moment." Sakuya shook her head… "I saw you dragging her into the trash, however. You sent me for chips, remember? Or, were you too drunk already?"

...Reimu gave her a vague look, both from cringing at remembering putting her own mother in the trash, but also to illustrate her confusion, as she recounted that night's events. "Well, why didn't you just pop-out and then pop back in with the chips? Why'd you go _manually?"_

...At that, Sakuya didn't have a good answer. "Well. The night was young, and I had a good buzz. I wanted to appreciate the stars."

Cutting into her pancakes, Reimu grinned. "You coulda done that anyway…! Whatever..."

"Wind doesn't blow when time is stopped, you know." Sakuya promptly returned. "So, it doesn't feel quite as genuine."

' _...What exactly are they talking about?'_ Sendai felt like she somehow fell away from their terminology, at some point. ' _Time stop? Pop-in, pop-out?'_

"Time stop?" Sendai wondered aloud.

...Reimu nodded. "Time stop. Sakuya, Sakuya. Room cleaning, stop."

Suddenly, Sendai noticed there was an entirely new table cloth beneath her plate. ' _What. Wh- how.'_

"No." Sakuya refused. "That joke doesn't belong to you."

...Sendai chewed her steak piece as cautiously as one could chew a steak piece. ' _That didn't answer anything. This Sakuya seems to be a friend of Reimu's, of some sort. Just like her and that rabbit girl, kind of. Reisen, was it?'_

Once she was able to finish her piece, she tried again. "What do you mean, by that? Time stop…"

...Sakuya met her gaze calmly, with her blue eyes.

"It means just that." Sakuya's voice was heard in her left ear.

' _What-'_

Sakuya was now to her left, in the corner of the room.

When Sendai's eye met the windows, and the view of the outside world, she saw Sakuya on a distant tree.

' _...Really, now?'_ She wasn't sure if they were illusions, or if she told the truth. ' _That's not possible, though… for time magic to work like this. Right?'_

She looked up, and saw Sakuya upside-down above her.

Before her, Sakuya was laying leisurely on the table.

Reimu looked up, and she was gone. "Hmm…?" It was in his motion, that Sendai just saw her disappear, the presence with her.

' _Now she's-'_

Sakuya was behind Reimu. "Napkin?"

"Ee- ah…" This made her jump slightly. "Don't do that, or I'll whack you."

"My apologies." Sakuya successfully passed the napkin to her. "I was feeling playful."

"You, playful?" Reimu wiped the butter and syrup from her own face… "You're hard to read, y'know…"

Sakuya presented her default expression. "Am I?"

' _...The door into here's already closed.'_ Sendai noticed. ' _There's a tiny door at the other far side of the room. It probably leads to the kitchen.'_

The fluffy, orange-haired fairy maid neared them… "Hehe~y, chie~f!"

Everyone silently turned to her. For her short stature, the fairy maid was considerably buxom…

"...Who's _she!?"_ She jabbed her finger in the direction of Sendai. "She's like Reimu, but _sexier!"_

"No one to be concerned with." Sakuya answered for her. "Run along."

"But- _chie~f…!"_ She whined, pursing her breasts together with her arms… "I wanna at least _ta~lk_ to her. Is _that_ too much to ask?"

"Probably, yes." Sakuya figured. She turned to Sendai as if to seek confirmation…

...Since she was just about done with her steak by this point, Sendai stood up. "Sure. I'll talk with you."

' _I wanna see if there's anything different about these fairies.'_ The bust of this short one sort of clued her in, but she figured a little subtle interrogating couldn't hurt. ' _Most of them are all really tall… except for this one.'_

When she'd approached, Sendai realized she absolutely towered over her. ' _...She comes up to my stomach, about. Or, perhaps my breasts, but aside from her own chest, she seems very small in general...'_

"Wo~w…" Strafing around Sendai, the fairy got a view at the sides of her contained breasts, past the weathered red apron Sendai wore habitually. "You're even _bigger_ than Komi-chan… by a lo~t!"

"Is sex the only thing you think about?" Sendai was starting to think she'd made a mistake in bothering, however…

"I wish!" The fairy beamed up at her. "What about _you!?_ With pillows like _that,_ nnh…" She began to bring her arms up, greedily. "Do you mind if we… play, together?"

"If that's all you're interested in, I'm done with you." Sendai partially turned away, more interested in her chair again…

Stomping up to her, the fairy's grin turned malicious. "Hehehe~! Then, I'll just make you _want_ to play with me! There's no way someone like you's tougher than Komi-chan!"

-+- _Vs. Scarlet Devil Mansion Fairies_ -+-

...Stepping back, Sendai took in a breath of air. ' _Sort of stale, here. Not sure if I like it or not…'_

The fairy groped at the air. "Alright- c'mere, you-"

 _SLAP!_ A single Hakurei talisman met her face. "Wha-"

 _Pap!_ Sendai came up to her, and grabbed her by the collar with one hand. "Wh- _ow- ow-_ _ho- hold-"_

Coming up to the big table, Sendai felt her adrenaline flare. ' _Alright- now!'_

 _WHAM!_ She brought the fairy's fluffy forehead down on the edge of the table, by shoving a palm into the back of it. " _Kgh- gh-"_

 _KR- CRUNCH!_ After thrusting herself back, she kicked the fairy's head into the table edge, wood sandal to her fluffy scalp.

 _Pi~chun!_ This was way too much for her, and she shattered to the force instantly.

 _THUNK!_ Sendai's sandal met the table, and it shook hard. ' _Ah- whoops…'_

 _Sendai obtained Citrus Pleasure Wand!_

 _Sendai obtained 10 Yen._

...Furrowing her brows, Sendai looked over the orangish, pastel wand she found. "What the hell's this?"

"It's a pleasure wand." Sakuya supplied. "When active, it builds pleasure in whoever you touch with it. The fairies here use them to seduce their targets, more often than not… as well as get one another in the mood."

' _I know fairies can be little devils if you let them… but here, they seem especially so, then!'_

"That was good." Standing up, Reimu cast her arms back. "Haa~h…"

"I'm glad." Sakuya gave her a nod. "Did you enjoy it, too?" She turned to Sendai, as well.

She nodded. "Ah, yeah. That _was_ really good…"

' _I hate to admit it, but they make damn good food here.'_ Sendai looked for her drink briefly, before walking up to it and downing it. ' _Aah…'_

...Backing away from the dining table, Reimu faced her mother. "Hey. You want the full course tour?"

Sendai liked how she presented that, so she agreed on impulse. "Sure."

...Giving both girls a nod, Reimu began to move for the door out. "I'm gonna chat up Remilia real quick. You guys can go do your thing, for now."

Seeing through the idea immediately, Sakuya exhaled. "Keeping me busy, are you? Mmm…" Her monotone gaze met Sendai's. "Follow me, then. There may be some places of interest to you, here."

' _Is that so…'_ Curious at this idea, Sendai moved to follow her. ' _Lead the way, then.'_

They followed Reimu out. And, with that, the three had left the mid-morning light cast by the sky, almost by the snow itself. They would not see it again for an indeterminate period of time.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

After a few more turns through the halls, Sendai found herself alone with Sakuya. ' _She's interesting, at least. I'm quickly growing bored of these… red walls, red carpets, and, eugh.'_ There was _really_ too much red, for her interests.

"Do you like reading?" Sakuya asked an unexpectedly plain question.

...Sendai took a moment, caught off-guard. "Uh. Yeah."

 _Crea~k._ The double doors at the back of this dead-end hallway opened.

They stepped inside, and Sendai looked up.

...At first, she was impressed at the scale. Then, she realized what she was seeing. Book shelves as far as the eye could see. ' _What…!?'_

"Voile Magic Library." Sakuya bowed, as if demonstrating it. "We mustn't be here too long. The lady of this place will be disturbed, if we make too much noise."

"...Is that so." Meanwhile, Sendai was still captivated by the sights before herself. "So many _books._ "

Sakuya stifled a smile, at that. "You almost sound impressed."

"Because, I _am!"_ Grinning up at them all, Sendai was happy.

' _This feels like a magician's library... and, while magician's libraries can be painful and annoying, they occasionally do carry the token neat book. I totally need to raid- I mean… explore this. Yeah. Do magicians have check-out systems? Typically, the point of the library is to kill people with their smartness… so, usually they don't.'_

"Don't open the books at random, now." Sakuya recommended, as she paced ahead. "Something unspeakable would befall you."

Snapped from her immersion, Sendai let her face fall a little… "I'm not _that_ dumb."

...While Sakuya moved, Sendai began to jog after her. ' _Still. This place…'_

' _It's so big.'_

She couldn't see the ceiling, as it was blurred out by a red, brown haze of the dim library ambience. Only candle light kept the dark shelves illuminated, the massive space both parts weirdly lively, yet emanating the great feeling of creaking empty and loneliness.

"Hey…" Sendai looked ahead. "Does anyone actually manage-... this."

Sakuya was gone.

"...He~y." She held up a hand, and began to call out. "He~y!"

' _...Really. That bitch ditched me. Ah, whatever.'_ She didn't really care, but it was kind of unexpected. ' _Guess I'll backtrack. Don't feel like getting lost somewhere with magic books of doom.'_

She looked back. A book shelf replaced the way out.

' _Are you… kidding?'_

She panned her head left. Then, she panned it right. She stared straight ahead.

' _Where the hell am I supposed to go, now…?'_ Now she was lonely. ' _There's not even any fairy maids back here. This sucks.'_

Looking between two shelves, she had an idea. ' _Hmm. Let's-...'_ Getting between them, she took some steps back, and then...

" _Hup!"_ She leaped at once, arms streched out to begin her ascension up the shelf's side.

 _SHOOF!_ The books inside flashed green and slid out, ramming her in the gut. " _Unh!"_

Thud. She fell onto her back. "Aa- aanh…"

' _Well. That-... that was embarrassing…'_

"Shit." Taking a moment, she climbed back onto her legs, pushing against the ground to maneuver herself right. "So much for that…"

Then, something pleasant hit her nose. ' _Uh- mmh…'_

 _thump, thump, thump, thump._ Heels softly pressed against the carpet nearby.

Sendai turned, expecting Sakuya. Instead, she saw a woman clothed in black.

Her hair was long, red, and little bat wings came from the sides of her head. "Hello~. Are you _lost?"_

' _Succubus.'_ Sendai immediately recognized what this was, and her danger senses flared.

"No." She began to glare. "You may leave me alone."

The succubus was not impressed. "But _why,_ though? Look." She stepped closer.

Sendai scrunched her nose harder. The succubus's smile was airy, as she leaned towards her. "I'm the assistant of this library's lady. You may call me Koakuma…"

" _Are you,_ now?" Sendai kept her arms ready at her own sides… "What do you say you show me the way out, then?"

"Why, sure." Koakuma blew her a kiss. "Anything for a woman like you."

' _I should just attack her, but…'_ Between the slight buzz she was getting from the sweet scent, and knowing where she was, she decided to relent. ' _I'll wait.'_

The scent was something like vanilla. ' _This stinks…'_

"What brings a woman like _you_ here?" Koakuma inched closer to her, as they walked.

Sendai inched away. "That bitch of a maid abandoned me."

"Ooh?" Koakuma's eyebrows raised. "Aah, yes. That Sakuya. She _is_ a bitch, isn't she? Always so cold."

' _Stop acting chummy. That's already really annoying.'_

"Up there." Koakuma pointed somewhere.

...Staring at her plainly, Sendai seemed annoyed. Eventually, she looked in the direction that was pointed out. ' _Ah. Yeah, I see a ledge.'_

"The way out is up on that floor." Koakuma smiled at her. "I could carry you up there, if you'd let me."

...Sendai nodded. "What if I don't trust you?"

...Koakuma gave her an innocent, yet knowingly obnoxious shrug. "We~ll. I could read you a story, maybe. If that's something you want."

Expression hard, Sendai folded her arms. "Sure."

"I guess I'll- wait, really…?" That response caught her off-guard. "I mean-... right away!"

 _thump- thump- thump- thump._ Koakuma hustled off, to find a story she'd prefer to read.

...In the meanwhile, Sendai looked over the nearby bookshelves.

' _These books.'_ Something immediately struck her as weird. ' _They're arranged in volumes. Except…'_

There were rows of red and blue volumes, stacked up along a nearby shelf.

Stepping up to them, Sendai held out a hand. ' _Touching even the covers might be dangerous, but…'_ There were shapes, on the base of the lowest volumes. Each design took place across four or five books, golden creases creating a rectangle design.

Sendai felt the gold, glittery surface with her fingers, before placing her hand in the midst of it.

 _Fwi~sh!_ It glowed for a moment. ' _Oh- shit…'_

 _Shoof._ "Ah?"

...All books with a similar red design had lit up a full red, sliding out partially.

 _Shoof._ Then, they slid back. ' _...Um?'_

 _...Sh- shoof._ They began sliding in and out of the shelf, every couple seconds. ' _Aa~h. I've discovered something. This shelf won't work, but...'_

She looked at a nearby wall. ' _If I climb the far wall with these shelf platforms, I could get out on my own.'_ There was even one column in particular, seemingly _made_ for this purpose.

 _thump. thump. thump. thump._ Koakuma was back, already. "He~y."

...Since Sendai said nothing to her, she held up a little book she'd found. "Lucky for _me,_ a _personal favorite_ of mine was nearby. Isn't that great, miss maiden?"

"Yeah." Sendai was positively elated.

Koakuma came closer to her… "So."

Her black tail came around her side, coiling up one of Sendai's arms. "Whose lap gets to be sat on? Mine, or yours?"

"I'll sit on yours." Sendai immediately requested the option that made the least sense.

"...Here." Stepping forward, Koakuma pulled Sendai along. "Should be a chair and table, right ove~r…"

Along the back wall, where Sendai actually wanted to go, was a small chair and table work station. ' _Hmm…'_

"There." In the dark gloom, Koakuma smiled warmly. "Let's sit."

The first into a chair was Koakuma, since she had elected to have her lap sat on.

...Sendai moved for a different chair entirely-

Koakuma's tail tugged on her arm. "Miss. My lap will be cold without you."

Giving a sigh, Sendai moved for her. "Alright."

 _fwish._ Channeling dark energy to her butt and hips, Sendai almost leapt, falling backwards with force-

 _Crack!_ When she landed, the chair threatened to break.

" _Ohn-_ eheheh…!" Koakuma grinned sheepishly at that. "He- heavy girl, huh…!?"

' _Good.'_ Sendai grinned at her. ' _That was kinda worth it.'_

Koakuma had to awkwardly position her arms, to let Sendai see into her book. "An- anyway… here, honey."

Almost jestingly, Sendai stared down at the text, written in an unknown language… ' _What the hell is-'_

Her eyes met a glowing light. ' _Wait-... what is-'_

 _FWISH!_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Sendai opened her eyes to an otherworldly shore.

" _Aa~hn…"_ Her body stifled a yawn, her voice echoing out into the blue, luminescent evening. She was staring down at a half-written text.

' _Alright, what the fuck. Did the book send me here…?'_ Sendai wondered...

Then, the woman's body raised from the obsidian chair.

This shore was comprised of blue sand, overlooked by unknown marble, bone-like masses and arches, looking out on a swirling nova of stars and solar gas.

' _Seriously…'_ The view took her aback. ' _What…!'_

Looking down at herself, the woman groped one of her own almost unconcealed breasts. " _Nn~h… damn."_

The motion made Sendai's own chest churn. ' _Wh- what the hell, stop that…!'_

The body was scantily clad, her outfit a combination of black, flesh-like matrices, which eased up around the breasts, wrapping around them with broad strokes, but still somehow shielding the critical places.

An esoteric scent filled Sendai's senses, and the very hint of it was like a drug. ' _Wh- wha~t… the fuck…'_

Her body stepped towards the azure water of the shore, which overlooked an endless sea that lead into the stars.

 _Pop- pop- pop!_ Looking down into her hand, the woman saw heart-like glyphs form, flashes of yellow and pink flaring out from it. " _Aghain…"_ For some reason, her speech slurred.

She thrust her arm up. " _Hyah!"_

 _KRIK- FWASH!_ Around her, a bubble of energy flared out, those heart glyphs bouncing off of the rims of a sphere that materialized around her. The energy burst also let out some kind of electric flare…

Once the saccharine, sudden energy died down, the body let out a sigh. " _Ugh. Archival reports…"_

 _Sendai learned Stun Meteor!_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

After a few more blinks, Sendai found herself again. ' _...That was- wh- what the fuck-'_

Her heels now off, Koakuma had one leg snaked around Sendai, one of her hands now inside her red apron and feeling at her breasts.

"That's right. Lie back…" Her voice was in Sendai's left ear.

"What- the _fuck-..."_ Her adrenaline began to kick in, as she tried to stand.

Koakuma held onto her tight, and tugged back. "Sorry~. I'm not done with you yet, miss. Ooh…"

 _Chu._ Her lips met Sendai's cheek. It was at first itchy, but then began tingling. She left a rich, ruby lipstick mark on her cheek.

The book having long been discarded, Koakuma had a hand feeling at Sendai's abs from around her body. "Hehehehe~. You've already given birth once, I see. Not often have I ever worked with a _real_ mother… especially in _my_ line of work."

' _Why am I so warm…!?'_ Gaze growing harder, Sendai began to push an arm against her.

"Hmhm…" Koakuma struggled against the arm pressing into her upper chest, but due to how much of Sendai's body she had capitalized, she was able to snake past it. Sendai's arm ended up around her back instead.

" _Mmh."_ Swiftly, she planted a kiss on Sendai's lips. " _Mhmhm!"_ Her head twisted, so the lovely red would mark Sendai's lips, and the kiss they shared.

' _Ugh- get- get the hell off!'_ Her expression flared, as Koakuma wrapped her limbs around her, the warm body sinking into Sendai's. ' _This- isn't fucking happening…'_

" _Mwah."_ Breaking the kiss, Koakuma smiled down at her. "Fu- fufufu~! It's too late…"

 _Pap!_ Sendai's palm clutched her face, and began squeezing. ' _Like hell- it is…!'_

The kiss of a succubus was a deadly mark, and the fact she'd let it happen was complete carelessness on her part. ' _If I don't end this right now…!'_

Standing from the chair, Sendai ran forward, towards the nearest surface- a bookshelf- to try and ram Koakuma into it.

" _A- ahn!"_ Sendai squeaked, her charge stopping. Koakuma's tail had coiled up Sendai's waist, and brushed a certain sensitive region on the way.

Then, Koakuma's face slipped past the palm, and met her face again. " _Mmh…"_ Now both of Sendai's arms were around the soft succubus. Her defenses were fully breached.

' _Fu- fuck…'_

 _fwi- fwish!_ Dark energy came up Sendai's arms in uneven jolts, and she pulled at Koakuma's hair-

 _Rii~p!_ ' _Ha- haha!'_ She wasn't entirely unsuccessful at doing damage, at least.

" _Nn- nnh!"_ Despite the pain, Koakuma kept the kiss going, trying to push her tongue through.

Between the groping, the friction against her lower region, and the kiss…

 _Thud._ Sendai fell on her back. ' _My- my body…!'_ She was losing control to the succubus. ' _No…'_

Lying there, Sendai felt her heart sink. Koakuma was now kneading her breasts with a flushed expression, nose-to-nose, and an aching need crept up Sendai's waist, the length of Koakuma's tail massaging her lower entrance. ' _I'm- not letting, this bitch-...'_

" _Mwah!"_ Breaking the kiss, Koakuma smiled down at her. "Ju- just _sleep._ Hehe- yho- you _know,_ yer such a _pervy_ shrine maiden. How would you like a _thick cock,_ in you? I can te~ll, you'd _love_ being dommed. How's _under my heels_ sound?"

If this went on, she'd be lost. Some succubus's pet, and perhaps a new slave for the mansion. Not only would she lose herself here, Reimu would lose her mother. Keisuke would lose his lover. Her life would be changed in an instant, leading to a slow, painful, shameful decline.

While Sendai's body laid still there, Koakuma brought her face closer. "Your body lights me on fucking _fire._ Wh- when I'm done with you, there won't be any of that _hardass mom_ vibe left, honey. Isn't that _so hot?_ "

Sendai had a headache. She felt this idea in her body, and through her growing arousal.

Despite the wet spot on her hakama, and the flushed, hot skin of her body, her heartbeat became not faster or slower, but harder.

' _Keisuke-...'_ This youkai greed, she saw a million times before. She saw it when her life was first threatened, in her shrine. She saw it when her husband died in her shrine.

' _Reimu.'_ She saw it the first time she tried to take Reimu out for training, and had to protect her. She knew Reimu would one day have to stand against it.

Youkai lived off of fear. And, throughout her life, she was afraid. Even with power, there was always something to be afraid of. Gensokyo was more dimensional than having the strongest fists, smartest magic or the wryest cunning. She began afraid for herself, and then she was afraid for her loved ones.

But, for youkai, their tool and lifeforce of fear was a double-edged sword. Fear gave way to frustration, and then anger. That was a fuel for humans all its own.

Sendai's spirit shined brighter: fueled by vengeance, wrath and anger.

Koakuma twitched. "Ah-"

Sendai lunged her face towards hers. " _Rgh-"_

 _CRUNCH!_ She bit down on one of Koakuma's long ears, and-

 _RI~P!_ She pulled.

Blood spritzed out. " _Aa- aaa~h!"_ The scream of Koakuma hurt her ears, but brought her to her senses.

' _Hah- haha!'_ Riding off the energy from that act, Sendai pulled on her, while on the ground.

 _Thu- thud!_ Koakuma's mature form rolled to a stop beside her. "Oh- ohw, ah-"

Sendai sprang up into a crouch atop her. She was bent over clumsily, a posture that strained her whole body, allowing her to loom down over the succubus.

Like this, she reeled an arm back. " _Rr~gh…!"_

 _WHACK- CRACK!_ She slammed down with two fists, one after another, into Koakuma's face. " _Ngh- ahey-"_ Eyes winced, she pushed back against Sendai.

' _This-... this is the problem, with youkai.'_

 _WHACK- CRACK!_ Her body still surging with adrenaline, she slammed the limbs down again. Koakuma had tried to bite at a hand, but her head simply met the hard carpet harder. " _Nn- nnh-"_

' _They don't empathize the same way we do.'_ Sendai felt her mind throb from anger. ' _I can't believe I almost let myself forget that.'_

 _WHACK- CRACK!_ Each vibration of her now limp head against the floor fueled Sendai to keep going, now.

' _Willing to spend me for a meal, because of all the shit she couldn't- wouldn't realize…'_ It reminded her too much of the youkai she was used to fighting. Brutal, carnal, and absolute. They did as they pleased, and to them, a human life was nothing more than something to satiate hunger, lust or amusement.

 _WHACK- CRACK!_ _WHACK- CRACK!_ Sendai's arms began to hurt again, like the last time she remembered doing this. ' _Just- just… die, you god damn deceptive…'_

 _Wham._ Her last fist came down on the bloody face lightly. ' _Love-... love's not a fucking game!'_

She was hyperventilating, now on her knees, straddling the bleeding succubus. "Yo- yhou…"

If there was one kind of youkai Sendai hated, it was succubi. ' _Not only do they just- retardedly, come up to you and try to ruin you… they play with your fucking heart and body. It's so fucking wrong. Love-... using the body like this, is just…'_ She thought of Keisuke again. What she felt when Koakuma touched her was not the kind of reminder of love she wanted.

 _Woosh._ Tensing herself, adrenaline and heart pumping, she stood up. Then, she lifted her leg over Koakuma.

 _WHA- CRACK!_ She stomped her head into the floor, hard. ' _Fucking die. Succubus piece of shit. Fuck-'_

 _WHACK!_ Something blindsided Sendai. ' _Wh- what!?'_

 _Thud!_ She landed on her side. "Ah- asshole…" Taking a moment, she got back up…

There was no one around. ' _...Hmm!?'_

She ran for Koakuma again, ready to stomp her or attack again in some way.

A book came out, whipping with almost invisible velocity. ' _wh-'_

 _WHAM!_ It hit Sendai hard enough to blow her away. " _Eg- aah!"_

 _Thud!_ She landed on her back. "Nnh-... go- god, dammit…"

' _What the fu~ck!?'_ At this point, Sendai was just tired and pissed off. ' _Why!?'_

 _Fwi- shi~ng._ A barrier formed around Koakuma's now bloody form.

 _SLA- SLA- SLAP!_ Her Hakurei talismans met it, stopped by it. "U- ah…" This visual made her stop, too.

...Tensing her entire body, Sendai stomped the floor.

 _Thunk._ It was a pretty good stomp, all things considered. "Who the hell's the~re!? Show yourself!"

...No one came, however.

Her method of assaulting the succubus was brutal. It was raw, forceful, beastial and angry. Frayed emotions, flooding through Sendai like it was the very first time.

' _You know your enemies better, than anyone else…'_ Sendai recognized how she fought. She had descended upon that youkai like a youkai herself. Clumsy, powerful, but effective. Not fast, but not slow. Not with great force, but enough force. It was weirdly balanced. ' _My style right now… it's that of a youkai.'_

...Sendai finally began to collect her breath. ' _If this is the last time I see a succubi, it will be too goddamn soon. The next time I see this bitch… a youkai like this is the kind I remember hunting. She deserves death.'_ The punishment of death was her accepted response to youkai-inflicted cruelty. It's what she grew up with, and considering her old opposition, it was natural.

She stomped up to one of the tome shelves ahead. This one stretched up into the darkness of the ceiling, and judging by the coloration of the tomes- blue and red- they were made for her, or _someone,_ to climb.

 _Pap!_ She angrily slapped the two tomes with glyphs, ready to get started with it. ' _The exit better fucking be up there. I've had it up to here with this fucking hokey maze bullshit.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

The problem solving required to get through the jumping puzzle passed by in a blur.

 _Clack!_ " _Hyup!"_ She made another jump that caused her heart to leap, sandals skidding against the dusty surfaces of tomes as she partially ran against the uneven shelf beside herself to make it to the next stack of extended tomes.

From here, she ran ahead- " _Ha~h!"_ -and, she roared ahead to the balcony ledge.

 _Clack- thud!_ She dropped into a roll on landing. ' _Aah… there.'_

...Admittedly, the time she had to climb cooled her head down a little. ' _Damn. I wonder if I'm gonna get a goddamn talking down to, over that. That'd be fucking ridiculous, but I see it coming…'_

She marched past an arch comprised of shelves, and found herself in a well-lit clearing. ' _Oh…?'_

...There seemed to be a fairy congregation, here. However, they all sat quietly, seemingly minding their own business.

' _What's this…'_ Sendai stared at all the cute girls, unimpressed. ' _Quiet hour?'_

She was really not in the mood to question any of them. ' _Now I'm all in a bad mood.'_

"Um…" A quiet, blue-haired fairy with a slender form came up to her. "Hi…"

Sendai immediately sneered at her. "Wha~t."

"Um. Here…" She held out a highly luminescent, yellow bottle. "Elixir."

...Sendai's gaze hardened. "Do you take me for an idiot?"

"N- no…!" Shy and scared, she began to cower away. "I- I, um…!"

A black-haired maid stepped up alongside her, rivaling Sendai in height, even in hair length. "Just shut up and take the goddamn elixir."

Sendai snorted. "Ooh…?"

' _Got a mouth on her, for a fairy…'_ She had to admit, the fairy seemed to have a nice look and style.

"What's all this?" Since they were on this path of thinking, Sendai gestured to the other fairies here.

The black-haired maid rolled her eyes. "Well, we were _going to_ all jump you up here, but the bookworm came up here and told us that'd be a _bad idea,_ so…"

' _...What the actual fuck is going on.'_

Sendai just slowly shook her head at them. "So-... you're not jumping me _now?"_

"We were actually told to give you this fucking elixir, so just fucking take it." The sailor-mouthed fairy took it from her friend, and held it out towards Sendai. "Here!"

Sendai finally consented to taking it.

 _Sendai obtained Knowledge Blend Elixir!_

"It was gonna be this awesome big fuckfest and everything, too." Shaking her head, the fairy began to walk back to her seat, at one of the tables. "Fucking librarian pet, can't do anything right…"

...Sendai didn't have much room left in her inventory. ' _Man, I'm a hoarder. Hold on… ah, got one spot left. Wait, no, that dumb wand's there. Wait.'_

 _Sendai found out Solid Water melted…_

' _Why the hell did I take a piece of ice with me, anyway? Oh, well.'_ She patted her bloated, tiny backpack. ' _All good, now.'_

"Wait-..." The black-haired fairy spoke up from her table. "You aren't taking it right _now?"_ By 'taking' she seemed to mean drinking it.

Sendai didn't even justify that inquiry with a response, moving out the door with it. ' _...So? I just got molested, not fucking dissected. I'll hold onto it until I need it. Like that box of goddamn yukkuri mix...'_

Maybe she'd have to think about using some of the things she acquired, at some point. ' _...Do I have one of that succubus's hairs on me? Maybe I could make a yukkuri of it and fucking kill it.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

A few seconds down the generic hall, and Sendai heard a second pair of footsteps.

She turned, seeing Sakuya there, walking with her as if nothing abnormal had happened.

...Sendai forced a smile onto her own face. "Hey."

At Sakuya's non-reply, she continued. "What was that?"

Since she still wasn't replying, Sendai continued again. "Was that your attempt at a fucking joke, or something?"

Still no reply. "...Reimu's right. You really do have a weird sense of humor."

"She called me hard to read, if I remember correctly." Sakuya gave a level stare back at her.

Sendai snorted. "Ho~h? That got you to talk…?"

When they were before a huge, decorated double-doorway, Sakuya stopped. Sendai stopped too.

"...I apologize." Sakuya offered to her. "I didn't think that would play out the way it did."

...Hearing this, Sendai paused.

"I hope you understand." Following up, Sakuya gave a short bow. "All this time, and I couldn't be confident in your identity. And… admittedly, I still am not."

' _This was all on fucking purpose…'_ Sendai felt herself heat up again, but only a little. ' _Just because she couldn't check my abilities herself. All because-...'_

"I take threats like that seriously, you know." Sendai held forward her arms, and began to crack her knuckles. "Here I am, giving this unprecedented, big ass _youkai factory_ a chance to prove itself at least _neutral._ And, here _you_ are." Her body heated up as she spoke.

...Sakuya furrowed her brows, a little. "I didn't think it should have proved much of a problem, for you-"

"That's not really the _fucking_ point…!" Sendai began to step towards her. "Do you think human lives are a _fucking_ joke?"

' _I just walk into here, you treat me all nice with Reimu around, and the moment we're separated you try to get me fucking trapped!'_ Her temper was rearing itself, again.

...There was no reply. Sendai kept going. "So, you tried to fucking trap me. Just to sate your own curiosity, you'd have me _raped,_ and-... succubi don't fucking let people go, you know. That would be the rest of my life. Broken slut toy."

"Calm down." Despite her venom, Sakuya stood her ground. "If you weren't who you said you were, you would have faltered. That would have been that."

' _I would've faltered- and…!?'_ Sendai had little to speculate about what that meant. ' _Really…'_

"So, if I _wasn't,_ I'd deserve to _die,_ then." Sendai's headache returned. "Get turned into a cow, just because."

"It's not death." Sakuya's reply was level. "It's an employment opportunity, if anything."

' _What!?'_

"And who the _fuck're_ you to decide!?" Lumbering closer, Sendai's fists were clenched. "You think you can play god!?"

' _She has the brass balls- to look at me, look at me and Reimu, and say… 'oh, she doesn't deserve her mother. Break her, rape her! Why not'!?'_

At her volume and presence, Sakuya took one step back. "...I decide based on the safety and well-being of the mansion. Nothing more."

Sendai stopped, not out of satiation, but from what a statement like that meant.

' _These fuckers are after the land. They're after the people. They're after me, and Reimu. And, this girl… something's seriously wrong with her head.'_

"...So." Sendai cracked her own neck. "Guess Reimu's still green, after all, huh."

Sakuya rose a brow. "Meaning?"

"This place deserves to be burned to the fucking ground." Sendai raised her fists. "If you think you can pass judgment on lives as you see fit, and risk people to becoming entrapped in your _shitty_ ignorance… just because they mean nothing to _you..._ "

Her whole body was tense, despite her motions. "I'll kill you."

' _Everything I've fought for… this absolute idiocy, this cold shoulder, my family, her delusion and intentions shit on all of that.'_

...Sakuya sighed. "What a hypocritical statement."

Sendai's temper flared. ' _This blind piece of shit…!'_

"I was thinking of this culminating in a spar, anyway." Cold and unfazed, Sakuya revealed her intentions. "...If you're all for it, that just makes this even more genuine."

Sendai roared at her, and ran forward. " _Hrra~gh!"_

' _You won't be the boss of my humanity, Sakuya Izayoi!'_

 _Sendai learned Phoenix Spirit!_

-+- _Vs. Private Youkai Exterminator, Tertiary Incident Resolver, Maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion Sakuya Izayoi_ -+-

 _woosh._ Instantly, Sendai felt her body tilt to the side instinctually. Three knives had roared past her, in linear lines. ' _A- ah-'_

 _woosh._ She'd leaned out of the next salvo as she ran. ' _I won't let- that stop-'_

 _Woosh!_ She threw a powerful punch forward-

Sakuya leapt forward, the blow going straight between her legs, and through her skirt.

 _Woosh._ Sendai began to turn. Using the Hakurei's shoulders, Sakuya did a great, clean flip straight over her.

Their eyes met. Sakuya was upside down for a moment, her cold, level blue eyes meeting Sendai's expanding glare. ' _Holy shit…'_

 _Click._ Sakuya finished her forward flip, and landed audibly on the carpet, before the grand double door ahead. Pivoting around to Sendai with an expressionless face, she brushed her hands past her thighs, and knives seemed to gravitate between each finger, almost.

Legs tightly together, her arms stiff and spread, Sakuya stood with six brandished knives, standing as a beacon of cold, formal rigidity.

' _Those knives…!'_ Glaring ahead, Sendai found her resolve after being wowed by that last maneuver. ' _I'll have to watch out.'_

She sprinted straight towards Sakuya. Seeing her come, Sakuya raised an arm-

 _Woosh!_ Feeling her heartbeat pump, Sendai tensed her whole body, sliding on her sandals out of the way of a carving swing of the daggers. ' _Not yet!'_

 _Woosh- woo- woo- woosh!_ Sakuya kept cleaving, snaking around to try and clip her, before doing a full spin, blades of silver leaving echoing trails in the air.

Keeping cautious, almost cowardly distance, Sendai saw her chance. Taking it, she lunged an arm forward while Sakuya stopped spinning.

 _Whack!_ Her fist met Sakuya's midsection. " _Nnh-"_

 _Thunk!_ Sendai's next arm came up her other side, striking Sakuya's stomach, and making her step back. "Ngh-"

 _whish._ As opposed to Sendai's movements, Sakuya's slides were smooth and perfect, almost making Sendai forget where she went with each transition.

 _Whish!_ Flicking her ankle out, Sendai managed to connect with her, upsetting her balance with the glancing blow-

 _WHACK!_ Flicking her leg up with self-destructive reflexes, Sendai connected it with her ribcage. ' _Hh- now, and-"_

 _WOOSH!_ From her kick, she came down on her leg, unleashing a mighty overhead swing.

 _whish._ Sakuya's body streamed the entire overhead swing, as she seemingly crouched down in one instant, faster than a second, a half-second, or even a millisecond. Sendai thought she hit her, but that was just the image of Sakuya her brain had seen there.

 _SHUNK._ Sendai hardly had time to think about whether her swing connected or not. Sakuya had stabbed her in the direct middle of her stomach. " _Hgh-"_

 _Shu- SHUNK._ She drove the silver blade deeper, and then-

 _Shink._ She retracted it simply.

 _Thud._ Sendai fell onto her side, holding her stomach. ' _ow- ohw- nnh- wh- nhn…'_

While she bled on the floor, a pool forming under her, Sakuya took a lazy step back. "Hmm…?"

...Pushing her limbs against the ground, Sendai began to get back up. ' _Al-... alright- fuck-'_

 _WOOSH._ She looked to her side. Suddenly, Sakuya was now there, doing a cartwheel towards her-

 _WHA- CRACK!_ Her knees came down on Sendai's back. " _Nngh- kaugh- kauf…!"_ Blood and saliva ejected from Sendai's mouth.

Then, Sakuya was gone.

Looking up, Sendai saw her before herself, twirling a knife around playfully. ' _Thi- this fucking…!'_

Despite the dripping down her abdomen, the massive, throbbing gash eating at her, Sendai stood up.

"I cannot lose." Sakuya spoke monotonously. "Remembe~r. The test is to see if you're really a shrine maiden, or not. No one needs you if you aren't."

...Standing up unsteadily, Sendai let out a shuddering exhale. ' _God… dammit. What a fucking joke…!'_ After what she'd already been put through, this insult was a slap to the face.

"Think quickly, now." Sakuya began to advance towards her.

' _If I'm a shrine maiden, huh…'_ Sendai reached for her waist… ' _I've got an idea, then.'_

Feeling her adrenaline surge at a constant high, she began to throw her arms with blurring speed, dark energy travelling up them. " _Thousand Talismans!"_

 _Fwi- fwi- fwi- fwi- fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ A constant stream of bullet-like, soaring talismans roar towards Sakuya's form.

The sound of a paper shredder becomes audible, a knife forming in the air for every talisman, shielding Sakuya as she simply walked forward towards Sendai. "...I don't think a shrine maiden just flails their toys around so meaninglessly. You do know I'm human, yes-"

Sendai stopped throwing her talismans, and flicked an arm towards her backpack.

 _BANG._ A shot rang out.

"Nghk!?" Sakuya's reflexes weren't faster than the shot, which pierced her own stomach in turn. " _Kh- hh…!?"_

Sendai dropped the modern handgun. "The way _I_ had to learn about _shrine maiden work-_ ngh… you- you fought youkai any damn way you _could._ Shrine maidens aren't good dead, and youkai- _kaugh-_ don't look to be even…"

' _A mean youkai is bad…'_ She glared over the maid, and marched forward to contest her. ' _But, a broken human is worse!'_ Sendai would know.

Sakuya Izayoi was the defeated servant of vampires. Sendai was the pressured, harassed and angry victim of years of youkai aggression. The former used her holy blades and skills for naught, now a maid, and the latter used the mindset and darkness of youkai against them.

' _The difference between you and me…'_

" _Kauf-_ you- _ngh…"_ Sakuya grabbed at Sendai's throat, when Sendai came up and grabbed onto hers.

 _Wham!_ She thrust Sakuya against the wall, and brought up her other palm.

 _BAM!_ She punched it into Sakuya's forehead, smashing it against the plaster wall, redding it with a fleck of blood on impact. Holding on, she brought the same head back.

 _BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM!_ She slammed it into the wall again and again, trying to knock her out. A new fleck of blood smeared on the wall with each thrust. ' _Are you sure you're fucking human, anymore!?'_

 _WHACK!_ Slamming an arm down brutally into Sakuya's collar, Sendai sent her skidding to the floor. " _Engh-_ enh…"

' _The difference between you and me- is that I never succumbed. Even if we've both sacrificed something. Right now, I don't fight like a shrine maiden. And you… no longer serve against youkai, if you ever did.'_

 _Crack!_ ...Sendai stomped down where she was. She wasn't there anymore, however.

She turned, and saw Sakuya reach behind herself, now behind her-

 _WOOSH._ Sendai ducked under a full-length holy blade. ' _Woah! Ngh- my stab wound…!'_

 _Thud._ Slipping back onto her rear, Sendai gazed wide-eyed up at Sakuya, who now had her other arm flicked back, ready to lash out. ' _Oh- aah- move!'_

 _KABANG._ Sakuya fired a gun at her. It left a hole in the back of her red cloth apron, grazing and rending some of her leotard.

She only missed because Sendai flicked her leg up, having displaced Sakuya's arm and aiming as a result. ' _Oh my god…!'_

 _Thu- thud!_ Rolling into a stand, Sendai took in her form.

Sakuya stood with a Luger in one hand, and a magic broadsword, Claimh Solais, in the other. " _Hh-_ hardy, aren't you…?" Sakuya's eyes were wide. "I haven't had this rush in a long time!"

' _Are you fucking kidding me…'_ Sendai was understandably intimidated. ' _Look at the size of that sword!'_

Claimh Solais glittered in the hall's light, the light of the sun and the dawn of day radiating through the shadows of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

' _She-...'_ Sendai saw the new flame in her eyes. ' _She used to fight youkai.'_

With both weapons ready, Sakuya began to strafe.

Sendai didn't even want to look away for her for a split second. ' _Oh- oh, gods…! My heart's beating so hard!'_

Sakuya slid forward-

 _WOOSH!_ Sendai ducked a swing of Claimh Solais, a streak of holy light trailing in the air over her.

In an instant, Sakuya was ready to swing it again, now crouched down with Sendai.

" _Hup!"_ Sendai had to leap into a roll, deciding to close the distance-

 _WOOSH._ Claimh Solais passed beneath her. ' _Aa- aah!'_

Ignoring the blistering, bleeding pain of her wound, she finished rolling, into standing beside Sakuya. ' _Alright-'_

 _FWISH!_ Sakuya slid back, dust kicking up in her wake.

 _FWISH!_ Kicking her heel into the floor, Sakuya did a half-circle strafe around Sendai in one motion.

 _Cla- cla- clack!_ Her heels pounded against the double door she'd positioned herself before, as she ran up it. ' _What the hell is she-...!?'_ Sendai had whipped around to watch her.

 _Clack!_ Leaping from the top, she attacked.

 _BANG- BANG- BANG!_ Three shots came down from above-

 _Splack!_ One passed through Sendai. " _Hgh- rrghaa~h-"_

 _KASHUNK- SHISHUNK!_ Spiralling down, Sakuya awkwardly brought Claimh Solais into Sendai's side, before rending it back out, an explosion of blood splattering from the impact and subsequent rending.

Sendai stumbled away, her head getting foggy. ' _go- gods…'_

Reaching into her backpach, she drew the elixir. ' _now now now now now'_

" _Mgh- kaugh- shk- nnhk…"_ She sucked on the elixir bottle, almost breaking the glass on her teeth as she downed it.

"What's wro~ng?" Sakuya sounded like she was having fun, now. "I've fought monsters times tougher than you a~re. A shrine maiden shouldn't be like that."

 _Cra~ck._ The bottle shattered on the floor beside Sendai.

Her whole body was alight with azure, purple and white energy, her eyes aglow as the elixir's effects worked through her whole body. ' _Ye- yes…! Holy fuck! I- I needed that…!'_

 _Shi- shi~ng._ From her back, Sendai drew the two katanas she had.

"Oo~h?" Smugly, Sakuya seemed to lean back. "Well, if you insist…" In this moment, Sendai could see Sakuya's bloody nose, and the bruises along her face, as well as the bloody hole in her abdomen.

' _Alright…'_ Sendai watched her closely. ' _If I-...'_

Sendai ran at her.

 _WOOSH._ Sakuya cleaved straight forward, with the intent to kill.

Then, Sendai's form was gone.

...Sakuya whipped her body around, looking behind herself for a moment.

Sendai appeared behind her.

 _CLA- CRACK!_ They both swung dead center on instinct, neither close enough to actually slice one another with this pass. Sendai's worn katana met Claimh Solais dead on. The victor of that encounter was pretty obvious.

The upper half of the worn katana embed itself in the wall, while Sendai reeled her arm back-

 _Whack!_ She threw the hilt in Sakuya's face, and it bounced off. "Nhn-"

 _BANG!_ Sendai wasn't sure where that of Sakuya's shot went, but she didn't feel anything. ' _Gods-...!'_

 _Swish!_ She swung her last remaining katana ahead, and Sakuya ducked the horizontal slash.

 _WOOSH!_ Sendai retracted her legs up to miss Claimh Solais's own wide slash, before she sliced down as hard as she could.

 _Swish!_ When she did, Sakuya slid under her, skidding on one thigh to pass beneath her.

Sendai turned-

 _KASHUNK!_ Claimh Solais met her side. Sakuya was already standing.

 _SHINK!_ In turn, she thrust her cheap katana into Sakuya's gut. " _Kgh- kauhf- nngh- ow, ow…"_

The holy sword burned like fire. ' _Fuck, fuck, fu~ck…!'_

 _Cla- clack._ It slid from Sendai's side. Sakuya had let go of it.

 _Clack!_ The katana of Sendai's fell to the ground, no longer in a body.

 _WHAM!_ Sakuya bolted into Sendai's form. ' _Woah- what the fuck…!?'_

She had a hold on both of Sakuya's arms, as she did her best to try for Sendai's face. " _Ngh-_ I- I'll _gouge-_ your eyes…!" Her hands were moving, despite Sendai's arms, reaching up past her cheeks.

...While they awkwardly stumbled around-

 _BAM- Cla- clack!_ Sakuya thrust herself and Sendai into the double-door from the side.

They both flopped onto their sides, in a crucial hold with one another, landing on the floor of the mistress's bedroom.

Sendai saw Sakuya's thumbs near her eyes. ' _Get- off- nnh…!'_

 _Whunk._ Sendai kneed her with the ground's help, and rolled away.

"Nnh." Sakuya wasn't very hurt by it, but she was forced to relent by the sheer force. "Stubborn _beast._ That was just about to be fun, too…"

"What- that the _hell…"_ A small, winged girl stood from a nearby tea table. "Sakuya!?"

"What!?" Reimu was over there, too. "Aa-...!?"

Reaching along herself, Sakuya drew one more knife…

" _Hehehe~!"_ Fully consumed by her adrenaline, Sakuya held this one knife hard, her white knuckles embracing it.

' _Alright! I-...'_ Sendai's thoughts paused. ' _She's not the same person she was a few moments ago.'_

She looked to the hall outside. The holy sword laid abandoned out there, among other blades. At some point, Sakuya abandoned her luger.

In the end, Sakuya and Sendai were very similar, different sides of the same coin. The hunter who fell to her prey, and the hunter who succeeded through embracing the qualities of the very prey she hunted. At their core, they loved balanced control of a fight. Now, they would do anything to win.

This didn't necessarily imply anything particular for this situation, however. One still had what made them a legend to begin with, at this point in time. One knew what it meant to wield an azure spirit.

Her fists ready, Sendai ran at her. "Rrgh-"

Sakuya was at the side of her vision, for one moment.

 _SHINK- SHUNK- SHI- SHINK!_ Sendai felt pain all over herself. ' _Aaa- aaa~h!'_

She looked around. A knife was in every limb, of hers.

 _SHU- SHUNK._ Sakuya thrust a her blade into Sendai's gut anew.

 _SHI- SHI- SHINK!_ Three knives came through Sendai's back.

Now, Sendai was crying. ' _Are- are you… for- for real…'_

 _Swi- swi- swi- swish._ Sakuya flared past her form in a blur, from all different angles. " _He~hehe~!"_

 _SHANK- SHUNK!_ Then, she charged forward from the door, rebounding off three limbs. She hooked her silver blade into Sendai, before tearing a chunk of flesh out with it as she passed, her absurd stab unlike anything Sendai could imagine a knife being used for. ' _Wh- aa- aah…'_

Holy light, blinding light was emanating from Sakuya's form. She was now before Sendai, stumbling back, ready to throw her limbs back. "He- _haha~!_ Ho- _Holy Cross-"_

 _Click._ Remilia snapped her fingers.

…

 _Thud._ Sakuya fell over, dropping her blade. "I- I… _o- ow…"_

" _Mom!?"_ Reimu ran up to Sendai, who was on her knees now…

Already bloody and beaten all over, Sendai shook. ' _it hurts… so- so bad…'_

 _Thud._ Sendai fell over.

" _Mom-_ don't- no!" Reimu shut her eyes. "Ho- how-... wh-..." Before she began crying, she dug into Sendai's backpack for something…

...Remilia let out a sigh, her expression vague.

 _Pop._ Reimu found a potion, and forced it into her mother's mouth. "Co- come on, seriously…"

" _Mgh- mmgh- nnh…"_ Sendai accepted the liquid greedily.

 _Shi- shi- shink._ Meanwhile, Reimu used her telekinesis to remove knives one by one, while using her hands for others.

 _Sendai learned Endured IV!_

 _Sendai learned Powerful IV!_

 _Sendai learned Secret of the Mad Maid * Poise!_

 _Sendai learned Mad Maid's Kink * Rolling Kick!_

When Sendai was healing regularly, and seemed to be stable, Reimu allowed herself to relax. "Ha- haa~h…"

...Then, she stood, turning to the rest of the room. "Re~ _milia~!"_

Remilia gave her a mournful stare, as she approached. Next to her, Sakuya was sitting up, downing an elixir bottle…

"If it's cash you want, I'll give you it." Remilia folded her arms. "Look-"

 _CLACK!_ Reimu brought the gohei across her face. Remilia just stood there and took it.

 _CLACK- CLACK- CLACK!_ Swinging it back and forth, Reimu continued to stroke it across her face.

Remilia gave minor twitches to show she was being struck, and that she felt the impacts, lest Reimu graduate to actually painful attacks.

"Rei- Reimu…" Sakuya gave her a down look. "Please, stop…"

...Reimu seethed down at her. "And- what was _your_ idea!? Make me wanna figure out a way to- to seal _holy people!?_ Because I will, if you keep this crap up!"

"It's- all my fault…" Sakuya began moving to stand. "I'll take responsibility…"

"No! I wanna know, what the _fuck_ happened, and right _now!"_ She stomped before Sakuya. "Or _both of you_ are going in a nice, big coffin in the _ground!"_

...Sendai grinned, staring ahead at this. ' _God damn. That maid… she's really something else. I may not be at my fullest, but…'_

Pushing against the ground, she began to get up. ' _I hate to admit it, too… but she's been the toughest fight I've had back, so far. I was so sure again, that I was going to die, during that fight…'_

' _Either my resolve… deserves to go this far, or I just lucked the fuck out. Actually- the former's stupid… I'm just mega lucky...'_

...Reimu looked back at her mother, who stepped up to them. "A- ah…! Mom- are you okay!?"

' _Ah…'_ Sendai was jolted from her thoughts.

"As okay as someone who almost got raped and shishkebabbed by fucking psychos could be." Sendai revealed. "I raised some _big damn problems_ I had with the way this place is run. And then, miss I-kill-for-sport over there decided to have a _sparring_ session. You know. With guns, and knives, and swords. Really got the whole three-courser on that one."

...Facing Sakuya again, Reimu reeled a leg back-

 _Whunk!_ -and kicked her in the ribs. "Ohn…!" Sakuya let herself lie back from the blow.

"...Alright. Great." Reimu nodded at this. "What was your problem?" She faced her mother…

Sendai tilted her head back. "Well… in _detail,_ she tried to have me raped by a damn succubus, to prove I was a _shrine maiden._ I told her that kind of playing god is _bullshit,_ and _dangerous._ ...Her response was make me prove I was a shrine maiden, by fighting her, because she _still_ didn't know who I was."

Reimu exhaled, already tired of this. "...For a _perfect and elegant_ maid, that was the _least_ perfect and elegant way you could've gone about doing that." She glared down at Sakuya. "And- what am _I!?_ Did you think I was fooled, or something!?"

...Sakuya gave her an apologetic stare. "Ye- yes. I did. I wanted to- see for myself. For the mansion..."

...Reimu shook her head, stepping up by Sakuya's own head, and crouching next to her. "Why do you protect the mansion, Sakuya?"

"...Be- because…" Sakuya met her gaze. "I-... I care about this place. I'm bound by blood and oath, yes… but the- the mistresses are beautiful, and our companions… we're all close, here."

"So, you _care_ about people, then." Reimu looked away, nodding at that. "...So, if you care about _people…_ why do that? Like- why do _things_ like _that._ Where someone could _die,_ or get _trapped_ or _broken,_ a~ll of that kinda funny _bullshit?"_

Sakuya frowned at her. "It's to uphold our standards for dealing with threats. And- I couldn't be sure- esp-..." She stopped herself from going further.

"Couldn't be sure, huh…" Reimu nodded at that. "So instead of _talking to her_ like a decent fucking human being, you jump her and try to kill her."

"I had- intended for _sparring!"_ Sakuya yelled back.

"Who _cares!?"_ Reimu threw her arms out. "Yeah- sparring with _guns!_ Awesome! You think I'm dumb!?"

"Nn- no!" Sakuya was also getting tired… "It's just-... I- I didn't expect to get as winded, and… I lost myself."

"Winded because she fu-... she _beat you up."_ Reimu began watching her swearing again. "What, didn't think she'd fight back, either? Were you just toying with her, then? I leave you alone for _one_ moment, and- and you-..."

"Pl- please…" Sakuya held an arm up, and began to get up again, too. "Reimu-"

"If you actually managed to kill my _actual mom,_ you'd be lucky if there was a _single brick_ left of this place." Reimu got into her face. "If you got anything else to say, you better make it count, because we're gonna leave now."

"I'm- I'm sorry…" Sakuya apologized to her. "I'm sorry, Reimu."

"Sweet." Reimu nodded. "Bye."

...Sendai watched her daughter march out of the room, her face teary.

' _Ha~h. Well. I guess it's best we tackled this shit now, at least. Guess Reimu really does have this place under her thumb… because that little girl over there has enough darkness in her to blot out the sun, and she's still biting her tongue.'_

Sendai stepped up to Sakuya, who seemed to be actually teary herself.

' _For how badass this damn psycho maid is… even she too kneels to Reimu's anger.'_

"So you say you're sorry." Sendai spoke to her. "Considering how _on the border_ this place is regarding ethics, I'd say you and your guys have a _solid_ chance at making us not hate you again. Just, tone down the smug asshole thing, and the killing-people part, and y'know, share a few beers with us, and we'll see, probably."

' _Normally my job's to just wipe all these fuckers out, but…'_ She looked over Remilia. ' _She's not the kind of vampire I remember. Reimu seems to be staying her hand, too, and I might as well not fuck up whatever science experiment she's got goin' on over here. Still...'_

...Since Sendai was staring at her expectantly, Remilia spoke. "And _here_ I thought, today had gone _so well._ Almost too well. And, it was. It went too well."

Sendai almost wanted to laugh at how upset she seemed. "...What do you plan to do with her?" She gestured to Sakuya.

...Remilia heaved another sigh. "You know what?"

"In order to repay our new debt to the Hakurei…" She began. "Sakuya. I order you… to do as they say, until we agree on the debt paid, or the deal disavowed."

...Sakuya wasn't sure where she was going with this. "Mi- mistress?"

...That gave Sendai an idea. "You know what'd help make it up to me?"

Both the girls turned to her, and she smiled. "Give me a way to call your maid, anytime. And… she will have to fight by my side, and do deliveries and stuff. Maybe kill time, even."

...Remilia blinked. "That's-... well, I did say _anything._ I will have miss Izayoi's calling card passed to you momentarily, then. I suppose I cannot advise you on how to act with her, but…" She looked a little sadder. "Please, be… tactful. Tasteful, even."

"I will, probably." Sendai estimated. "...Well. It's been… it's been. See ya."

 _Sendai learned Summon * Sakuya Izayoi!_

 _Sendai gained Sakuya Izayoi as a minigame partner!_

 _Sendai gained Sakuya Izayoi as a drinking partner!_

 _Sendai gained global access to the Item Box (via Sakuya Izayoi)!_

' _...I'll probably have to watch what I make her do. Overwork her too much, and she'll probably just flop over on me.'_ Sendai figured. ' _I know I would.'_

She was moving through the halls, on her way out.

"I don't even know why you bothered talking with them." Catching up to them, Reimu revealed she had eavesdropped on that last conversation. "I don't want to speak to them again."

"You _were_ friends before for a reason, weren't you?" Sendai proposed back to her… "And, she really seemed sorry, at least. I figure we ought to forgive _her_ , eventually. The mansion itself… well. I'll decide some other time."

' _Too many unknowns. That place is-... it's a goddamn youkai commune is what it is. That's not a one-day project. The fact we shook the roots of it in a day is, whew. Hot damn.'_

 _Crunch._ They were now back outside, in the snow.

' _That Sakuya was a character. Cold, psychotic asshole she might be, but she had a heart in her somewhere. As far as humans go, she just seems misguided. The youkai there, however…'_

She gazed up into the azure sky. ' _She was trapped by them. She was what happens when you succumb. A bittersweet life of servitude. It probably has its ups and downs, and, if I'll be honest, it's probably a damn sweet deal for her, all things considered. But, it's fucking wrong, and it's not the kind of life I'll lead.'_

As much as she favored balance, letting herself succumb to something so mediocre was not only a fear-inducing prospect, but one she actively resented. ' _My path will not be that lame. Sorry, Sakuya. I'm thinkin' you called it quits way too early, with magic and power like that. Then again, that's if I were you, anyway. I'm sure that life might suit you just fine.'_

The gate was already open for them. Meiling was giving them a reserved stare…

"...Heya." Reimu gave her a semi-friendly wave, still fine with Meiling.

"Bye." Meiling's opinion on them was unknown, though. "...If any of you need it, I give massages!" It might be more okay than they thought, however.

They still wandered away from her. Sendai let herself become sedate, and she jested mentally. ' _This was all a plot to make us buy a massage, clearly.'_

Taking this moment, as they walked away, Sendai took stock of her inventory again. ' _...I salvaged that one katana. Down a potion, that dumb broken katana, and that gun. Lost the gun itself, too. Oh, well. She had a scary gun, herself. I mean, if I summon her, I could probably get her to use her gun on things...'_

At the same time, Sendai figured she wasn't gonna summon her for a lot other than mundanities. ' _Not to sell her short, but I like fighting alone… and, I'm trying to get better without relying on crutches. I'll only summon her for funsies, like clearing trash, perhaps. Or, if I think I'm way, way in over my head, and need someone else right the fuck away.'_

Once they came up to the Misty Lake again, they stopped.

The sun was setting. An amber glow began to wash over the land, making Sendai feel more sedated, now… especially after she'd just expended all that energy in there.

They likely would have spent the evening at the manor had things gone better, but the very idea made Sendai uneasy. ' _I wouldn't spend a night in a creepy sex dungeon, so I wouldn't spend a night in a creepy sex mansion.'_

She took a deep breath. "So. Where next?"

...Reimu gave her a somewhat sad expression. "I shouldn't have brought you there. I was counting on this being a _relaxing_ tour, and-"

"Aa~h, it's fine." Sendai waved it off. "Not your fault they're shady. Actually- do they have beer they could trade us? We _could_ profit off this…"

...Now looking more neutral, Reimu questioned her. "Mom, there's not a lot they can trade us that'll make me _not_ hate that they almost killed you."

Sendai held her arms up to offer a carefree shrug. "Well, yeah, but we might as well profit."

While they rounded the lake again, this time taking the right side of it, Reimu spoke. "The good news.. is that the next few places _should_ refrain from trying to kill you. I guess we'll spend the night at Alice's, since she has actual accommodations for guests…"

' _Who's Alice.'_ Sendai took mental note of the western name…

"Into the fire again, huh…" Smiling, Sendai stared into the distant horizon.

Reimu whipped her gaze to her as they walked along the sun-crested snow. " _No._ Next time someone gives you trouble, I'm just beating them up. This was supposed to be _relaxed,_ not running you through a gauntlet."

"...To be honest, I'd be fine with that." Sendai confessed. "I've had ta stake out and fight harder for longer. Just uh… as long as I don't have to fight anyone like that maid again, anytime soon. I can take my knocks, y'know."

Reimu's brows curled up. "It shouldn't be _about_ taking knocks, though. Whateve~r. We're goin' somewhere to _sleep,_ and you're gonna like it."

' _...Guess I can't complain about that.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Reimu floated ahead, as Sendai stepped into the thicket of the Forest of Magic. ' _Wait-..'_

In the setting of the day's sun, this great magical wood was beset by great spikes of ice, mounds of snow that featured varying depths and strange forms, as well as an azure speckling of 'stars' among the snowy canopy.

In the fall, most trees lost their leaves, but the Forest of Magic was always lush, which make it especially treacherous come snowfall, where the magic leaves were strong enough to hold even the weight of frost at bay.

"You mean to tell me this 'Alice' lives… in _here."_ Sendai stared up at Reimu bluntly.

...Reimu drifted down to level with her mother. "Yeah." Then, she drifted back up, slowly...

"How." Sendai was pretty sure this was a death wish. "...Seriously, how."

Floating ahead, Reimu drifted out of the way of a low hanging branch, chunks of crystal ice frozen to some of the leaves. "What do you mean, 'how'? It's just the shallows..."

Sendai saw the branch she drifted past. The ice crystals pulsed with power, the tree's leaves feeding them, creating pulses of azure through them. "You ever _been_ here, before?"

' _I know Kourin has that shop at the cusp there, but that's literally a short jog away from the path to my- uh, our shrine. We're seriously going into the woods right now… and she even told me we were gonna relax! I feel naked without six other people behind me, in here!'_

Stopping, Reimu grinned down at her. "You act like this place is serious. All we're gonna see is fairies, this time of year. Maybe some ice slime or yukkuris, or something."

"...That feels like a _vast_ underestimation." Sendai wasn't sure about that.

"...Well, maybe a frost spirit or two." Reimu raised the ante, just a little. "Nothing a single ofuda won't take care of."

Sendai had to stop, because Reimu floated over a chasm of icy bramble.

'... _Hey, wait, no.'_ She watched Reimu hover off gingerly. ' _Hmm.'_ The enclave of spiky frost was long, but there were trees in the midst that offset the obstruction…

 _Crunch- crunch, crunch._ Marching back in the snow, she began to darken her legs with her inner energy, and began to sprint.

 _Crunch- crunch- crunch!_ Coming to the edge, she stomped a leg into the ground to jump. " _Hy- yah…!"_

Crossing the chasm, she felt her heart rise in her chest. ' _Wo- woah-'_

 _Clack!_ She made it to a tree's frost-laden bark in the midst. Instantly, upon trying to work with it, Sendai found every part of herself slipping, unable to latch on. ' _Ho- holy shit-'_

 _CLACK!_ She'd slid around the tree trunk entirely, and kicked her sandal against the bark to distance herself from the tree. ' _Ha- ahah, oh shit!'_

 _Shoof._ She landed in a bank of snow, just upon the incline of the other side of the chasm. ' _Oh- oh, fuck…'_ The snow was deep. Very deep.

 _CRUNCH- CRUNCH!_ Flailing her limbs, she climbed out of the hole she'd buried herself in, and shoveled her way out of the snow with her mittens. ' _Co- cold as fuck…!'_

She practically had to swim up to the higher ground, her whole body trudging through the soft white mound, until she was free. "Ha- aah…"

Reimu had backtracked to her, having realized she'd lost her on the way. "Ah- hey! What happened…!?"

Sendai grinned up at her, shaking the snow chunks from her arm sleeves and hakama. "Ju- just… keepin' up with ya, is all."

' _...I coulda sworn something would've been waiting for me, in the snow.'_ Sendai stared back at where she climbed out of.

"Wh- did you _leap_ that gap…?" Reimu was taken aback by that athletic feat… "What. You know- I could just _carry you_ across pits and stuff, right? Call out for me, next time…"

' _Eheh. Kinda wanted to keep up in my own way, but…'_ Her brows furrowed. ' _I could've sworn I had a better way of going about this. Maybe it's just because I'm not as strong as I used to be.'_

They proceeded ahead in the azure and white. The magic canopy above them blocked out the remaining light, replacing it with its array of 'stars', which were actually both ambient magic particles, and shimmering ice.

' _This place still eats light. But, the magic on this outskirt area… it's not nearly as intoxicating as it used to be. Missions in these woods used to be as much of a trial of not losing yourself as they were just naturally daunting.'_

 _Shi- Shi~f._ A shimmering sound was heard, when the two girls advanced deep enough.

Off the rim of a nearby, broken trail in an all but overgrown clearing, the snow stirred, the translucent, uneven form of a woman generating there.

"Ah. Ice slime girl." Reimu pointed at it like it was a wild animal.

Sendai tensed, but was confused. ' _...A slime just, showing itself in the open?'_

"You." Sendai immediately called out to it. "What do you want?"

...The constantly readjusting, vibrating form gazed at her. " _Au- uuh… hello~!"_

"Why do you show yourself?" Sendai had a hand in her right arm sleeve. "Speak _now."_

" _I- uuh…"_ Her voice was ill-defined. " _Hello…?"_

...Sendai whipped her gaze around herself, which made her look weirdly paranoid.

"You good?" Reimu asked her bluntly.

"...I guess." Letting herself become sedate again, Sendai found her composure.

" _Mmh…"_ Ignoring them, the ice slime girl moved to a nearby snow bank.

' _Why's this slime girl retarded.'_ She felt this was kind of anti-climatic, almost, which was the wrong feeling to have, but she couldn't shake it. ' _This is… a big difference from fifteen years ago. Maybe it's just her?'_

 _shoof._ The slime girl collapsed into the snow bank, and began playing in it, making weird noises. " _Nhu- nnh…"_

Reimu began to float ahead, ignoring it. "C'mon."

' _Provided, even the slimes I know would just fall apart to one ofuda, but they were a lot more… smart. Conniving and entrapping, even, such is their species trait. To graze like an animal… well, it just doesn't make sense. Maybe it's the ice?'_

"Why was that slime girl… so dull?" Sendai decided to voice her concern. "They weren't always like that."

Reimu paused in the air before her, considering this. "...As far as I was always concerned, they were. The ice _does_ kinda slow them down more than usual, but they're not _usually_ really smart. You seemed like you were expecting a trap, or an ambush, or something. They kinda _do that,_ but not really on uh… whatever scale you thought it was gonna happen on."

"...Huh." Sendai supposed it was just a natural change in the world, then. "What kinda traps do they pull, now?"

"Long story short, if you see a spring in the woods, don't bathe in it." Reimu summarized. "Or drink from it, for that matter. Some slimes do take the form of water, to lure in prey and, you know…"

"I _do_ remember traps like that." Sendai nodded, finally finding common ground… "This whole forest used to be a huge shitshow. I feel like we should've gotten caught by things at least ten times, by now."

"...Huh." Reimu wasn't sure what to make of that. "...Anyway, slime traps like that are mostly just them taking the shape they naturally should, rather than any planned trap."

' _So much for that common ground…'_ Sendai remembered the slimes that would take the form of people with actual accuracy, and then attack from behind when their target felt secure. Since they were slimes, they could rig up a whole area with themselves, and unleash a bind from any angle. ' _That's why I was looking around. All this snow… we could've been in a strange spot. Then again, Reimu can just explode ofuda everywhere, so that kind of thing wouldn't even threaten her.'_

Eventually, they came to a footpath that actually gave the impression of existing. ' _The snow's light here. Someone's taken care of this path.'_

"Ah, there." Reimu gestured ahead…

A very western-looking house sat there, with a clean sheet of snow comprising the lawn all around it. At this point, Sendai was very easily able to tell western design, but that still didn't explain what this was doing here.

There were already numerous steps in the snow before the girls. ' _This area of the woods is weirdly well-traversed, even. I'm not very confident in this very… conspicuously clean house in the middle of a deadly forest. It feels like the biggest trap ever.'_

Landing, Reimu marched up to the house. "Let's get inside and warm up. Especially _you,_ since you really like to _play in the snow_."

Sendai snorted. "Warm up, huh."

...They came up to the front porch.

Sendai was very apprehensive of it. Even though Reimu stepped up it, she gazed upon it like a cat would at some tinfoil..

After some seconds, Reimu looked back at her, and gave her a mournful look. "They're stairs, mom."

' _I guess they're safe, but…'_ A strange porch in the midst of the woods like this spooked Sendai in general.

 _Clack!_ She leapt, skipping the few steps up onto it. "There…"

"Wow." Reimu grinned at that… "Stairs, huh. Real scary."

"You have no sense of danger." Sendai monotoned back at her.

"Yea~h. It's because people don't put landmines on their porches anymore." This made Reimu grin wider… "The stairs won't kill you, mom."

 _Crea~k._ Ahead of them, the front door creaked open.

A girl with short, blonde hair gazed out at them gingerly. "...I thought I heard someone talking, out here."

"Hey." Reimu gave her a little wave. "We had a hell of a day. Mind if we sit, for a night?"

Who Sendai assumed was 'Alice' snorted, at that… "Well, sure. At this rate, I might as well start an inn…"

"Awh. Come on now, there's only two of us." Reimu grinned at her… "I don't stop by that often."

"No, but she does." Alice gestured inside.

...Marisa was there, at a seat. Sighting the two girls, she began to get a huge smirk. "Oo~h!?"

' _When the hell'd she get here.'_ Sendai gave her a vague look…

Since the door was open, Reimu marched on ahead. Sendai followed suit.

Immediately, aside from the plain central coffee table, Sendai took in the shelves on the right and left of the room. Small dolls gazed upon them, their eyes and heads focused specifically on her position. ' _...Uh. Good start. Guess she just wants to scare people coming in.'_

Springing from her chair, Marisa lugged herself towards the girls, holding an arm up. "Awful coincidental, aah!?"

 _Pap._ Reimu met her with an awkward handshake, in which Marisa threw both of their arms up and down. "He- hey, what's got you all excited…!?"

...After pausing for a moment, Marisa gave her a big smile. "Aw, nuffin'! I'm just excitable, s'all!"

Sendai felt weird, staring over them. ' _...Their interaction already gives off a strange energy!'_

Then, Marisa came up to Sendai, holding out her arm for another handshake. "Hehe~y! _Doppel-chan!"_

...Upon meeting her hand, Marisa tried to throw her arm up and down, but ended up just rocking her own body instead.

"Guess _Doppel-chan_ won't suit ya anymore now, would i~t, ze?" Staggered by this resistance, Marisa stepped back, adjusting her hat in the process. "I was gettin' kinda used ta callin' ya that, by now…"

"You two're already acquainted…?" Reimu looked a little left out. "How."

...Marisa turned to her, beaming. "We~ll. Let's just say I kinda got the jump on figurin' out who she was! An' before ya say, ' _why didn't you tell me',_ I'll riddle ya this: would ya have believed me?"

Taking some steps back, Reimu adjusted her posture, looking placated. "Well- I guess _not…_ but, hiding things isn't usually your specialty. Aside from your feelings and stuff, that is."

Marisa let her eyes flick up. "Awh, yeah, we're all sappy poets at heart. Woe's me. Ah…" She turned back to Sendai, a grin creeping up her face… "So! I tried ta headhunt her, and she almost hunted my head instead! An' then, I u~h…"

Sendai chose this moment to finally interject. "She's been challenging me, encouraging me to develop my skills against her."

At this notion, Marisa leapt back a little. "Whah!? Where'd ya get somethin' like _that_ from!? I've just been ribbin' ya 'cause yer a lot fuckin' wimpier than the stories say!"

Sendai furrowed her brows. "Huh? What- like I haven't kicked your ass three times, now?"

Stalking up to her, Marisa got ominously close. "Ho~h, yeah? Y'think any 'a those-..." She let herself refind her words. "Ah, shit. Talked myself inta a corner, huh…"

 _Shoo~f._ Reimu slid out a chair, and took a nice sit.

Alice took small steps towards her. "Yes, Reimu. This is what it looks like whenever you two spar. Verbally, or otherwise."

"Hey- who asked you…" Reimu gave her a fluffy rebuttal.

" _Anyway!"_ Marisa recollected her thoughts. "I'm just tryin'a get ya _warmed up_ , Doppel-chan! 'Cause _really,_ it don't seem like yer even in _first gear_ yet. Still parked in neutral!"

' _What's that supposed to mean.'_ Sendai didn't know what a car was, or what car gears were.

"...So, you're trying to re-invigorate me, like you said you weren't doing." Sendai poked a hole in her teasing. "You're pretty easy to read through, you know."

Marisa just slouched. "A- aw, c'mon…"

"Marisa, if you get a thing for my mom, it's gonna be _so_ weird." Reimu began to grin from the sidelines…

"The- the hell ya mean!?" Provoked, Marisa powered over towards her. "What, I can't rib a girl wit'out wantin' ta suck her clit?"

Alice sunk into the table. "Jeez, Marisa…"

' _Wow.'_ Sendai felt displaced by their high energy. ' _Everyone's friends, here. This is almost kinda magical. Is this what Gensokyo's gonna be full of, now? 'Cause, if it is… I don't think I'd mind, exactly.'_

...As she stepped towards the table, she saw the dolls turn their heads with her movements. ' _Okay- really though, what gives with the creepy shit. Is it a western thing, at this point?'_

The room in general was rather plain, despite the still-harsh western design philosophies she could see. Although, it wasn't as harsh as the mansion, in that there were actually natural windows placed liberally around the front and back of the room.

At the very back was a counter, with cloth lain upon it. Shelves were hung above it, and stationed within the counter itself.

In the room's middle was the coffee table, where the girls were chatting.

 _Shoo~f._ Sendai found a chair to claim, there. ' _Mine.'_

All around her, along the room's sides, were tiny shelf rows on the walls. These held the many dolls that looked at her.

...Once the girls around her had quieted down, Alice stared at her. "Reimu, who is she?"

"Oh." Reimu had nearly forgotten she had to do introductions. "That's my mom."

...Facing her, Alice simply blinked. "Pardon?"

"Mother. Mommy." Reimu clarified very well.

"But- why? How!?" That didn't really solve any of Alice's questions. "That sort of thing… it doesn't just _happen."_

"It did just happen. We're workin' on it." Reimu waved off her concerns. "And I swear, if you try to get to the bottom of it yourself, I'm turning _you_ into a doll. Last person who tried that almost made me go nuclear on them."

...Furrowing her brows at that, Alice tilted her head. "That's rather curious. You'd disallow me any investigation?"

Reimu nodded. "Yeah. Sakuya already tried to kill her, and her outfit's still got the stab wounds to show it. Among uh, other things…"

Snorting, Sendai got up to show off her outfit's disrepair. "Yeah, check all this shit out."

...Upon closer inspection, Alice's eyes widened. "What…? I see the cuts, but… there are so many healed wounds, here. Are- are these _bullet holes?_ And what happened here?" She felt at Sendai's abs, where there was a big chunk of her red apron and black leotard missing.

...Sendai felt curious. "Hey. Mind checkin' if one of those bullets came out the other end? Kind of a problem if it's stuck in me, after all."

Across the table, Marisa had a bewildered expression. "Yo, yo, the hell're you doin' gettin' shot up fer…!? Who'd ya even fight who uses a gun?"

...After briefly giving her form a once over, Alice seemed unsure. "Well, u~m. Maybe one, or two. I actually can't very much tell, from the differing residues, and… this outfit of yours has seen better days. Where did you get this?"

"An old village clothier on north main used to do all my orders." She told her. "Last I checked, that place isn't even around anymore."

"...Ah." That made Alice step back a little. "Hmm."

"Hey…" Reimu spoke up. "Alice. You can make clothes and stuff. Fix her things."

...Alice's stare in return to her was dry. "Elegant as ever, huh. Well, sure. I still have some cloth from the spares I've made for you, so… that's that. But, the rubber for the leotard…"

"Ya got a _block_ 'a rubber." Marisa added helpfully.

...Alice sighed. "I was going to charge for the rubber, you know. It's not the most important aspect of an outfit ever."

Sendai begged to differ. "Without it, I'd be walking around in just this apron and hakama."

"Well, you could have a bra, or something." Alice considered.

"I have a sarashi on _under_ this." Sendai began to grin at her… "Look, if the rubber's pricy, I'll probably be able to pay for it."

' _...A youkai clothier is probably a really good clothier.'_ Sendai had to admit, she'd rather outsource outfit creation to a reliable youkai vendor than a human one. ' _This one seems to be a magi, of some sort, if this place's mana is anything to go by. And, if she makes Reimu's outfits, it's probably safe enough. Fingers crossed, anyway.'_

The money offer placated Alice. "...Mmm. I'll also need your outfit, to refurbish it, and make copies."

"Since we're staying the night, that won't be a problem." Sendai figured. "Unless you need it for longer than tonight… which is, yeah."

"I actually won't." Alice gave her a smile. "Tonight should be all I need."

' _Ahah. Only figures, being a youkai, I suppose.'_

"Oo~h…?" Marisa began to grin at the idea she formed. "Are we gonna see ya runnin' 'round in yer undies?"

"Probably." Sendai replied bluntly. "...Why."

"Hehehe~!" From her chair, Marisa began to smirk. "Maybe we'll get ta have a manly, passionate bathhouse battle, ze!"

' _Oh, gods. Be quiet, you…'_

Next to Sendai, Alice already had a tape-measurer out, calculating portions of her body. "What was this about Sakuya, again?"

"Oh _yeah!"_ Bolting from her seat, Marisa changed gears completely. "You got a freakin' death wish!? Fightin' _Sakuya,_ of all people! Wait- was it _danmaku,_ or…?"

"I was shot with a gun, and this," Sendai brushed a huge gash in the left side of her clothing, "this was from a sparkling sword."

"A _wat."_ Marisa's eyes lit up at that concept, and she began to round the table. "Oo~h, lemme see…"

"I'm still getting pissed just thinking about it." Seated with her arms folded, Reimu began to look dissatisfied. "Hopefully they stop being so full of themselves, over there. They seriously could've killed her."

' _...Really, the problem was more how they just seemed willing to doom or kill anyone on suspicion, or so long as it was convenient. I don't feel like letting that kinda shit fly.'_ She'd cooled way down since then, but the memory was very fresh. ' _Fucking succubi. Next time I go back there, my priority number one is carving her a path back to hell.'_

Holding a hand out, Marisa felt Sendai's parts rough, parts smooth skin where the holy blade cleaved into her. "Makes me wonder the hell Sakuya was thinkin'..."

"The mansion _did_ give me a-... _calling card,_ as compensation." Sendai revealed. "I can summon that Sakuya anywhere I want."

...Marisa's eyes widened considerably. " _Dude._ Use it, ze! _"_

' _...Well, she does have to obey my any order, or something.'_

From her pockets, Sendai drew a nondescript ace card, fit with a graphic of a watch on the front face, and a scarlet, tri-angular design on the back.

Channeling her mana into it, Sendai focused… then, she thrust the arm with the card up, mana surging up it visibly. " _Power!"_

 _Fwish!_ As she sat in her chair, she lit up with grey energy that encapsulated her, as she thrust the card into the air.

The other girls took some steps back, as writhing, tangling fluxes and vague, foggy light flooded from the top of the card…

 _Shi~ng._ As the light faded, a form was revealed within it.

 _Cli- click._ Sakuya landed on her heels, after seemingly flipping from the light. "...At your service." Her eyes closed, she gave an initial bow to anyone applicable, before opening them. "...Ah."

"Holy _shit_ ya weren't _kiddin'..._ " Slowly, Marisa stalked up to Sakuya… "Hey there, chief-a'-dust. How ya doin'."

...Sakuya gazed around the room in vague confusion, before shooting Sendai an expectant look.

"I summoned you so we can look at you." Sendai summarized.

"She summoned you so I can give you round two." Reimu began to hover into the air menacingly…

"It'll be round none if you two have it in here." Alice warned them. "Go play in the snow."

...Closing her eyes, Sakuya stood stock still, completely neutral.

The idea of having to go back outside placated Reimu. She leaned into the coffee table, instead. "Mmh…"

Outside Alice's windows, the faintly luminescent gloom of the magic forest casted the home within an eventful, otherworldly glow.

"Aw…" Marisa invaded Sakuya's personal space. "I think she's sleeping, ze."

...Opening her eyes, Sakuya shot her a vaguely disturbed look. Marisa's hat bumped her face, and she had to lean away.

' _This is ridiculous.'_ Just seeing Sakuya again had initially put Sendai internally on edge, but the way she was acting now was eerie in a different way.

Even though Reimu was calmer now, she was still cold towards Sakuya. "Mom, why'd you even ask for a _summoning card_ or whatever…? She nearly killed you."

"... _Because_ she nearly killed me." Sendai gave her a smile. "If she can nearly kill _me,_ imagine what she can do to random village muggers."

...Reimu resisted grinning at that. "That'd- just _actually_ be murder. Don't _do_ that…!"

"I'd exercise _restraint."_ Sakuya decided to defend herself verbally, on impulse.

...After today, Reimu was visibly _very skeptical_ of this.

"He~h?" Gaining a wry look, Marisa slid Sakuya's headdress from her head, for no good reason. "Only _I_ get ta kill Reimu's mom, stabby."

"When'd this become a competition…!?" Reimu began to stand up. "No one's gonna whack my mom…!"

Sakuya reached for her headdress, but Marisa already put it on top of her own hat. "...I hadn't realized, that the situation was this far-reaching."

Reimu snorted. "Yeah- you don't realize a lot of things, do you."

' _...In truth, I half accepted the card because she was strong, but also because, for a strong person, she's quite unique. She might be a bit of a psycho, but I can tell she's more than just a psycho. Her youkai pals could burn in hell, but she's-... well, human, after all.'_

...She then looked to Alice, who seemed receptive of the growing social encounter before herself.

' _I'd never really pegged myself for a social person.'_ Idly, she watched the three girls bicker and mingle. ' _It's good to see Reimu's got a lot of friends. I'll have to talk one-on-one with this Sakuya, sometime.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

==x==

x / Sendai Hakurei No Miko, the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

INVENTORY:

 _X Sub-weapons:_

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

X Pocket items:

[Elementary Backpack] - Young student's backpack. Really tiny, and looks cute on Sendai. Uses no inventory space- being inventory itself- and provides four item slots.

(1x) Potion - A potion used to restore health. Basic, but the best choice for human users. Provides heavy health regeneration for some seconds.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evolution - Heals the entire party, as if they were all given a potion. Equal to a Mega Potion, but consumes an item crash use to produce these effects.

[Tiny Bag] - Uses no inventory space. A small bag, for small goods. Provides four inventory slots, but every time an item is taken out, the bag gets smaller. After four removals, the bag becomes Plain Cloth.

Tauriner - Experimental medicinal restoration item. Restores 'spirit energy'. In Sendai's case, it restores a single item crash use upon consumption.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Yukkuri Production Kit - A kit used for creating yukkuri, which obey the user. Consumable with ten uses. Comes with DNA kits for Reimu, Marisa, and Alice types. Life catalyst is bundled with this item.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

High-Quality Bottled Water - Refreshing and pure.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

(x4) Pocket Lint - Dust friends. Uses no inventory space. Can be combined with nine hundred ninety five other Pocket Lints to create something cataclysmic...

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Ragnarok Theorem - Inflicts a random status effect on a random target. Cannot instantly kill or doom. Cannot cast Auto-Life.

218,250 Yen - Money used to purchase goods. Takes up no inventory space.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards…

Blue Flexi-suit - One-piece swimsuit with removable parts, for easy access to bodily regions. Offers no protection. Made of a mysterious, ticklish material…

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Oni Fight & Drink Guide - Brutal text that archives some oni traditions, as well as one's personal bias to the sword. Teaches Sendai Gravity Flash and-

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Ruby - Takes up no inventory space. Has no practical value, but may be sold for 250,000 Yen to the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and for ~300,000 Yen to a jeweler.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Firaga Burst - Summons an orb of flame over the battlefield, which rains down balls of fire that ignite everything. Expert-level fire magic.

Daffodil - Common white or yellow flower. Most common flower in the universe.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Purify - Heals party of all status ailments.

(two slots remaining)

(one tiny bag slot remaining!)

 _X Armor:_

 _x Body:_ Hakurei Maiden Combat Outfit: DP - The shrine maiden outfit of the miko who came before. Made for a large bust, and bolsters both martial offense and blunt defense. Features a hakama bottom for easy leg movement, and a black leotard so the upper body can move easily.

 _x Misc:_

Reinforced Apron - A royal red, reinforced cloth apron. Defends Sendai a little against incoming magic and blunt physical attacks.

Nothing.

Nothing.

 _x Weapon:_ Cheap Katana - Nine uses remaining until it breaks - An average-sized blade, made from folded iron and molded into… relative practicality, rather than perfection. Cheap and disposable.

==x==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

 _X Body_

Endured IV - Sendai has forged her body through a long cycle of training and combat. She's still not much stronger, but she knows what immense pain feels like.

Powerful IV - With constant, repeated motions and strength training, Sendai has built up her body to strike fear into the land's youkai. Hits are becoming closer to her former strength...

Dark Affinity - Inherently, Sendai has channeled inner, dark feelings for most of her life. Grants 50% dark resistance.

Holy Rage - When in Fantasy Nature style, Sendai is 50% weak to holy sources of damage. Also confers 100% dark resistance and curse immunity.

 _X Soul_

Heated Spirit IV - A building fragment of the resolve she used to wield. Allows Sendai to use four item crashes. At the end of every fight, she regains one use. Recharged by sleeping, or gaining new resolve.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Magic is ingrained into her body to allow her to replicate certain objects as long as she has enough mana. Becomes unusable when all item crashes are used up.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

Rebellious Soul - Able to channel her magic to her limbs, which takes on the form of dark enchantments. Reduces damage where she applies it, by strengthening the body itself.

Phoenix Spirit - When angered or at critical health, Sendai's adrenaline rises gradually regardless of her momentum in the fight, letting her pull off critical techniques easier. One may harm a phoenix's body, but they can't harm its pride.

Secret of the Mad Maid * Poise - When Sendai has high anger and adrenaline, she knows how to hide her pain from gunshots or knife stabs, refusing to stagger or wither as easily. However, every one of these attacks she resists will drain from her adrenaline.

Terrain Essence - Sendai can use the environment to deal devastating damage to her enemies. Executable off of walls, the ground, big objects; by lifting tables or chairs, etcetera. Boosts in power the less item crashes Sendai has used.

Weapon Essence - Melee weapons gain decisive maneuvers which deal immense damage. Allows Sendai to use swords semi-properly.

Essence of Finishing - Downed enemies are very vulnerable to extreme attacks, as Sendai's discovered. Follow-ups on downed enemies can now be critical hits, as long as Sendai's spirit remains full. Works with weapons, too.

Essence of Wreckage - When enraged or pushed to the edge, Sendai's follow-up on downed enemies becomes a lethal, relentless onslaught of fists and power. Heavily demanding on her body, and leaves her expended for awhile after use. Wasteful, unskillful, powerful technique. Learned by observing Ex-Keine perform a similar attack...

Essence of Assimilation - When in Fantasy Nature style, Sendai attempts to consume the body of dark-elemental beings. Kills the target. Refills health, item crashes, and Fantasy Nature duration. Sendai inherits target's life force as a result. Bonus power deteriorates over time unless kept fed.

 _X Technique_

 _x Misc:_

Misc Abilities - Skills that don't necessarily go with a style. Often utilitarian or shared.

Candy Confetti - If Sendai has candy in her inventory, she can cast it into the air stylishly. Uses 50% of small candies in Sendai's inventory. Skips random encounters with fairies, and lowers fairy aggression levels. Duration and effect depend on how many candies are spent. Works less well on Scarlet Devil Mansion fairies.

Summon * Sakuya Izayoi - Summons Sakuya Izayoi. Allows Sendai to access the item box anywhere. Allows Sendai to request her for recreation. Allows Sendai to summon her to fight alongside her.

 _DETAILS:_ Maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion - Sakuya has a variety of styles. They reflect her progression through life, and as so, ascend in power and utility. Most are rarely seen, however.

o _Dawnstar Style -_ Rarely seen.

o _Assassin Style_ \- Light knife and dirty fighting tactics. Light physical projectiles. High tendency to use danmaku, especially when requested.

o _Solace Style_ \- Wields a Luger and Claimh Solais. Stance for taking down greater youkai and some vampires. Rarely seen.

o _Perfect Maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion -_ Sakuya stops time often and instantly eradicates most foes. Includes powerful counter-attacks, and visceral supplementary damage to her attacks. Rarely seen.

 _x Youkai Style:_

Youkai Style - Sendai's default post-revival style. Has a mixture of youkai techniques and handy things she's learned. Gained its namesake after she defeated her daughter, and unlocked some of her inner potential.

Dark Power - Sendai accents her body with dark magic, reducing incoming damage and heightening outgoing damage when she wills it.

Quick Step - Sendai slides on her sandals to avoid an attack, jolting her muscles to evade. Pretty much muscle memory to her, at this point.

Dodge Retaliation - A technique remembered through battle against Marisa Kirisame. After quick stepping, Sendai can instantly retaliate with a thrusting punch. _Only_ effective when spirit energy is high.

Flying Kick - When running, Sendai can throw herself into a double-legged kick that smashes through defenses, and is not interrupted by minor sources of pain or knockback.

Mad Maid's Kink * Rolling Kick - Sendai half-cartwheels, and half-flips forward into an enemy, striking with each of her sandals at the end of her roll. Not as effective as Flying Kick, but easier to control, and hits multiple times. Doesn't pierce defenses as easily. Sidegrade skill to Flying Kick.

Slide Leap - One of Sendai's classic abilities, from her memory. Has two parts. Begins with Sendai sliding along the ground, from which she may launch herself into the air with a kick.

Youkai Buster Combo - A series of ambitious punches aided by kicks, which gives most foes little time to recover and staggers often. Includes a series of hooks, and finishes with a dark-accented overhead punch that launches most foes.

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Konpaku Shot Stopper - An ancient Konpaku defense technique, first used against matchlock rifles, now adapted to be effective against handguns and shotguns. Allows Sendai to execute a decisive maneuver when near firearms users, as well as disarm them. _Only_ effective when spirit energy is high.

Youkai Cunning: Revenge Value - Enables Sendai to follow-up melee attacks with a strike or a grapple, using the momentum her body receives. Doesn't work if she's knocked back.

Faze Step - Lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward some distance. Makes her highly knockback resistant while it executes. She's not used it once, yet...

 _x Fantasy Nature Style:_

Fantasy Nature Style - Style adopted whenever Sendai casts Fantasy Nature. Uses dark power and an amalgamation of youkai abilities.

Scratch - Basic attack. Deal dark elemental damage over time on incision, which may expand incisions. May be inflicted by any limb; claws not required.

Anti-Glide - User moves at impossible, awkward angles to avoid attacks and projectiles. Provides limited flight.

Air Giant Wheel - Spinning inhumanly fast on an invisible axis, the user unleashes a torrent of deadly scratches. Prevents retaliation with harassment.

Midair Doom - Arching back, Sendai unleashes a sphere of intersecting slashes. Mid-air finishing move. Launches foes.

Gravity Flash - Skidding along her stomach, Sendai scrapes the floor in a circular motion, before sending out a wave of crushing magic all around herself. Ground-based finishing move. Space elemental magic.

Stun Meteor - Balling up in the air, Sendai comes down on a target, encapsulated in an orb of non-elemental, lovely energy. May stun targets. May launch foes.

==x==Ω==x==

 _Ω Marcus Kirisame, the Middle-Aged Magician_

INVENTORY:

Ω Pocket items:

(2x)Hi-Ether - Restores enough mana for even high-tiered youkai to be able to appreciate.

Paddleball - Here comes the paddleball!

(2 slots remaining)

Ω Armor:

-o- Body: Comfy Robes - Familiar, aged robes. Comfy and easy to move around in.

STATS:

50% fire resistance.

50% electric resistance.

50% ice resistance.

-o- Misc:

Enchanted Dreamcatcher - A trinket that halves the effectiveness of debuffs on the user.

Nothing.

Nothing.

-o- Weapon: Magic Bazooka - Collapsible magic bazooka. Can fire lasers in a variety of elemental flavors, but works best with non-elemental magic. Uses currently mastered elements.

==x==

SKILLS:

-o- Items

Replicable Packaged Bomb - No one's certain how many he has. Tosses a cardboard package, which detonates into danmaku, with the potential to launch and stagger targets.

-o- Ice Magic

Glacier - Erect a tall ice blade. Heavy physical ice attack.

Ice Shard - Spawn ice in an enemy's form. Moderate ice magic. May freeze targets.

-o- Fire Magic

Firaga - Lob a short-range fireball mortar. Heavy fire magic that ignites. Preceding tiers are homing fireballs that have a chance to ignite.

Fireball - Generate a fireball in an opponent's form. Moderate fire magic that ignites. Not to be confused with Fira or Fire, mechanically weaker spells that precede Firaga.

-o- Water Magic

Bubbles - Summon bubbles under an opponent. Gets them wet and stuff. Might lower their physical attack…! Good setup for electric moves, too…!

Bubble Burst - Expert water magic. Summons a lot of bubbles under a lot of opponents. Still gets them wet. Also still might lower their physical attack…!

-o- Other Elemental

Quake - Disrupt the earth, and create a not-so-sharp spike of rock. Moderate physical earth attack.

Thunderbolt - Summon a myriad of thunder strikes to converge on a single target. Advanced electric magic. May stun foes. Hits three times.

Mana Drain - When able to access the opponent's mana, Marcus is able to pull it away. Magnet elemental magic. Usually initiated by a non-elemental orb.

-o- Non Elemental

Non-elemental Orb - A flexible non-elemental orb that may explode or simply dissipate. When dissipated, the mana may infuse with enemies and intertwine with their mana pool, allowing for Marcus to follow up.

Magic Resistance - Buffs an ally against magic. Starts at forty percent resistance, but tapers off to nothing over time.

Magic Shield - A non-elemental shield which absorbs all magical attacks, as long as they're not draining, death, or magnet related.

Lucky Star - Non-elemental star that bonks people on the head. Very random damage.

Star Shower - A rain of non-elemental stars which hit a crowd of foes for very random damage.

Cold and Gold - A danmaku non-spell which Marcus can create from an influx of magical energy.

-o- Ability

Elemental Control - Marcus has general mastery and control over non-elemental and elemental mana manipulation, allowing him to do some freeform manipulation for whatever he feels. Mastery and flexibility of freeform control depends on how many spells of that elemental branch are known.

Telekinesis - Semi-decent magical control of objects and matter; more specifically, spending mana to move objects. Works on clothes, too!

Magical Mastery - Marcus has access to any lower tier of attack he's currently mastered, if he needs to use such for whatever reason. As in, he knows Firaga therefore the preceding levels come innately, etcetera.

==x==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

ANOTHER PRETTY FUN CHAPTER

we had a fun serious disagreement with a touhou and it was perhaps one of the few ways one can do a sakuya fight without it being total bullshit

and sendai ended up in a LOSING POSITION anyway when sakuya actually let go of nearly all restraint, up until that point she was just like half-testing sendai and half ready to kill her on instinct, but she also wanted a good FIGHT

and yo she got it but she paid for it

now she has to race RC cars with sendai and drink beer

also koakuma got flattened dude

i like how i keep giving sendai tools for dark noob style but she hasn't even popped it so that she could use the last upgrade she got

not that she can recognize when she gets upgrades for fluffle molester style since she can't even remember the times she uses it…!

already this story has gone for like a fraction of vanilla sendai's size and the plot is wiggling towards the place it was! but honestly this is pretty fun XD and the plot is getting where it needs to be for the given moments so hoh

the sakuya fight actually was weirdly succinct for how much shit went down in it, probably because instead of spell cards everyone just kinda did fighty things and smashed each other's faces into walls

it was around 8-9 pages, which is so far like the upward limit of the length of a fight in this fic so far

also now i don't know why but it's a lot easier for me to let sendai get fucked the hell up, probably because the pace is so much more open-ended

SADLY we know the MC cannot simply EXPLODE AND DIE FOR GOOD DUDE but they can still be put through _immense pain_

and then there's reimu's constant halloween spooktackular, in which her mother constantly nearly dies to her growing dismay

the sakuya fight was also on a completely different scale than the mook fights, and since we HAVE mook fights now, it REALLY SHOWS TOO. like, before i could imagine a reader would just feel like there's absolutely no reason for sendai to have two katanas, a gun and a bunch of healing items, because human villagers and fairies and _koakuma_ don't mean shit to her

but THEN WE MEET SAKUYA

and really the only way to actually make a _beatable_ sakuya would be if she went insane enough to not just instantly slice your throat, or rotate you upside down over a jagged table corner, and of course that is super context dependant, 'cause otherwise she _will_ just do that and that'll be the end of you

even then you'd probably need like mad auto-life and shit to deal with her liberal manic use of it regardless of her sanity... she's really QUITE A MATCH

this was a fun subplot that really just kinda happened - w -

oh yeah by the way quick note for people moving ahead: i revised the reimu fight in chapter 10 to be more impactful to make up for how kinda early it is

...it's not super relevant to the overarching story or anything but it's more revealing and i think it's fun

as always, see you all next time!


	13. Parry Addiction

Sendai stared down at the western beds, of Alice's guest room. They weren't particularly grand, but they weren't futons, so Sendai was already half-dreading how comfortable they might be. ' _Man, oh man. What's with this western bed trend? I sort of miss how cozy a kotatsu could be, compared to these. I need to spend a night in the shrine again. There's always something… so isolated about it, and really just… serenely alone. Nights there are beautiful.'_

...Then, she paused. ' _If I spend a night there, will I have to put up with the idiot parade? That'd be-... nnh.'_

 _pat, pat._ Reimu gently patted the covers before the bed Sendai had approached. "It's not rigged to explode."

Sendai began to look faux-concerned. "Y'know somethin' I _don't?_ That wasn't _immediately_ my first idea, but I guess you never know."

' _This is a youkai residence, after all. But…'_

 _Crea- creak!_ Marisa briefly bounced upon an adjacent guest bed. Within this semi-long room, Alice had _three_ , apparently. "Mm- mmh…"

Sakuya was here, and awkwardly displaced, as she stood back near the door.

"Aw. Why don'cha _snuggle_ wit' yer mom, Reimu?" Marisa struck a seductive pose in her witch garb. "She's so big an' fluffy!"

"I- I'm a little old for that, you know." Reimu shook her head…

...Then, Marisa pans her gaze across the rest of the room. "Sakuya~. Aw man- you know how crazy it'd be to see Sakuya all lusted up on maiden boobies?"

"What's with you and my mom…!?" At this point, Reimu had a big grin. "Seriously, it's a little weird!"

"It's how she acts with you." Sakuya stated her own observations… "Considering how she obsesses over you, it only makes sense your mother would be equally attractive to her."

"Alright- everyone just shut up." Reimu demanded casually… "Also, Sakuya, if you tried to get in her bed, I'd seriously wring your neck. I'd like to wring it right _now,_ but if you behave, I _won't._ "

Sakuya looked vain. "I… wasn't even thinking about it."

' _...I never thought about it that way.'_ Sendai gave Marisa a vague stare. ' _Does she just-... have a Hakurei fetish, or something?'_

 _Creak!_ Sendai took a seat, on the middle western bed. ' _Bouncy.'_

"Before you get too comfy…" Alice stalked into the room. "I need your clothes."

Sendai blinked. "Ah, right."

Marisa got off of her own bed. "Aw. I should _help."_

"No." Alice denied her before anyone else could. "People don't typically need help with that sort of thing, Marisa. I'd _know._ "

In a few moments, Sendai had her apron and hakama off. ' _The leotard's always the hardest part. Just gotta… peel it up, and- ah.'_

This left her in her sarashi. ' _Aa~h. Getting out of those dirty clothes feels good. It's a little cold in here, but that's fine.'_

Folding up the bloody, cut-up clothing, also slipping off her arm sleeves, she handed it all over to Alice. "Here."

"...Ah, thank you." Alice began to move with them after a slight delay, after examining the woman before herself. "Let me ju~st…" She padded out of the room.

' _Alright.'_ Sendai gave a nod, and turned back towards her own bed. ' _Now…'_

All the other girls were giving her varied stares. ' _Huh.'_

"How many of you've never seen a half-naked girl, before?" Sendai's gaze back at them was plain, and slightly amused…

"I mean, uh…" Marisa was sitting cross-legged on her own bed, now. "Yer choice 'a underwear's not common!"

Sendai stared down at her own, red fundoshi. "What?"

"It's- almost literally a cloth!" Slowly, Marisa began to beam. "You got anything on _under_ that!?"

"That's the point of it in the first place." Sendai furrowed her brows at her. "It's easy to move in, and I'm not often in a state of undress anyway. I'm typically always in uniform."

' _My outfit is all about being easy to move in, in every way. It's not often I've had to dress up, but I could always fashion it into a piece that actually covers my lower area better.'_

"Wo~w…!" Leaning to the side, Marisa grinned over at Reimu. "Yer mom's freakin' _lewd,_ Reimu!"

"Just go to bed, already~." Reimu announced over to her. "It's not like we haven't seen naked people before…"

"Hehehe~!" Marisa kept stealing glances at Sendai, who was slipping under her covers in the meanwhile.

' _...It's a little awkward, since I'm literally the center of attention.'_ While Sendai appreciated the bed, she didn't care so much for literally being watched by the entire room.

Her gaze focused on Sakuya. "...You could go, now."

Sakuya simply exhaled. "...Earlier, Mistress had given me the rest of the day off. I was on my way to my room, when you summoned me. I'd have to walk all the way back."

At that, Sendai snorted. "Wha~t? You can't just, do your teleporty thing?"

Sakuya shook her head. "It's time stopping. Whenever it's stopped, I still need to walk places, or do things, in order to create that illusion."

' _...Then- that means she…'_ Sendai might understand why she was a little crazy, now. ' _Damn. I think I actually prefer dying and coming back, to something like that.'_

This made Sendai find a really big question to ask. "How old _are_ you?"

' _She looks twenty, about. But-... the time stops, and-... huh.'_ The concept of time-fuckery confused Sendai.

...Inhaling slowly, Sakuya took a moment to think on it. "Hmm. The Mistress acquired me in the nineteenth century, by outsider terminology. We are now in the twenty first century. That would mean…"

"Wait… _centuries?"_ Sendai's eyes slowly widened. "What the fuck."

"Didn't we do the math, at one point?" Marisa wondered. "Yer like… a hundred fifty, or two hundred, 'er somethin'. An' that's excludin' all the time ya spend fuckin' around in that watch 'a yers, which'd probably make you like a thousand something."

"You don't age?" Sendai noted.

"I stopped." Sakuya kept it simple.

Sendai blinked. "...How." It didn't make any sense. She was full human, even.

"Time magic." Sakuya summarized. "Spatial, chronological control is something not easily explained, and the circumstances of it even less so."

"Can't you just…" Reimu was beginning to snug into her own bed… "Stop time, and go to sleep? I'm sure you've done it before."

"I don't like doing that." Sakuya shook her head.

Reimu snorted. "The heck you mean… ugh. Just, roll under a bed, why not?"

"That's dusty." Sakuya contested.

...Reimu's stare at her intensified. "Well, clean it."

Sakuya refused outright. "No."

' _These girls…'_ Sendai began to feel the day's wear ebbing at her. ' _Well, they'll work something out.'_

"Whelp." Reimu nodded enthusiastically. "Guess you'll have to lie on a shelf and claim it. Like a _cat._ "

...In the next moment, Sakuya was awkwardly seated atop a clothing-filled vanity, the space between it and the ceiling too short for her to sit upright on it, so she was crouched awkwardly.

 _Crea~k._ Slowly, it began to tip.

Then, it stopped, miraculously back in place. Sakuya had her back to it, looking even more tired than before…

"Did-..." Reimu closed her eyes, and rolled over. "Nngh…"

"Pft- hehehe~...!" Marisa enjoyed it, however. "Man. European humor's pretty good, Reimu. Like, really, ze…!"

"...I'm still without a place to rest." Sakuya complained to them.

"Steal Alice's bed." Marisa suggested. "She's gonna be up all night makin' like, thirty miko costumes. You'll have plenty 'a time ta get some shut-eye."

...Sakuya still looked unsure. "I'm very certain she'd notice."

"Y'could go ask her." Marisa also argued. "Screw how awkward it is, too! Ya need ta sleep! O~r…" She patted the bed beside herself. "Ya could climb in wit' _me,_ ze…"

Sakuya turned away, and moved for the door out. "I'll just… ask around, then."

"Awh." Marisa was actually vaguely disappointed.

...The room was now dark, the magi-lights having faded.

Sendai's eyes finally drifted shut. ' _Finally. It's… quiet…'_

…

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

... _Woo- woosh, whish- woosh._ As Sendai came to, she heard the billowing of winter wind against the small house.

As opposed to the faint darkness of the late-day magic forest, the clearing Alice's house sat in was now vibrant and white, the holy glow of the snow making everything blindingly bright.

Although, this grey was also kind of lazy and comfy. Sendai was cozy, up against her pillow.

' _Nnh.'_ She felt like a lump. ' _...Aah. Almost like the shrine, on a winter morning… except with a better bed.'_

...She cast her gaze around, bringing her head up a little. The other girls were still sleeping, and peaceful.

" _Ha~h…"_ Letting out a great yawn, she began to clamber out of bed. She had to re-adjust her fundoshi on the way up…

' _Since I'm up, I might as well get moving. Don't wanna laze about too long, somewhere this unfamiliar.'_

...Since there was no clothing here, she moved for the main room. ' _Surprised Reimu's a heavy sleeper. I guess times really are more peaceful, now.'_

 _Crea~k._ Pushing open the guest room door, she entered the living room.

...For some reason, Alice was spread out on her back on the coffee table, deflated. ' _What the hell.'_

...On the back counter, a stack of actually thirty or so shrine maiden outfits sat there. ' _Wh- holy shit, Marisa wasn't kidding!'_

There was a note, neatly propped up on itself before the outfits. Sendai read it off.

' _Dear Reimu. This collection of replacements for your mother actually used a lot more cloth and things than I thought. You owe me 50,000 Yen._

 _Alice._

 _P.S. You can pay in installments per outfit or something, too, if that's too much.'_

...Sendai shrugged. ' _Ah, I can just pay this all at once.'_

 _Sendai purchased infinite replacements of Hakurei Maiden Combat Outfit: DP for 50,000 Yen._

 _Replacements can be retrieved from Alice's, or an item box._

Smiling, she took a neat outfit from the stack. ' _Yay.'_

Reimu was now next to her, very close and inside her personal space. "How much money do you _have."_

' _Woah.'_ Sendai turned to her snuggly, half-unkempt daughter. ' _Aw.'_

"Didn't you see?" Sendai figured, from the other day, when she got mugged by the goddess of shakedowns. "Oh, well. More money than usual."

"...Ah. I forgot." Recalling the event, Reimu nodded vaguely. "How'd you get that much."

"We beat up hookers and street goons, for a whole weekend." Sendai summarized. "It was a little crazy."

' _...Wow.'_ Sendai just realized, that Reimu was now in her pajamas. ' _That's super cute!'_

"Also." Sendai turned to her daughter fully. "You are the softest thing alive."

"...Whah." Reimu blinked sleepily.

Sendai hugged her. "C'mere…"

"O- oh…" Reimu struggled a little at first, but then eased into it… "Mrmh."

' _...So, I guess this is one of the magic forest houses she wanted to show me.'_ Sendai figured. ' _Cool place. Good clothes.'_

...After they'd hugged long enough, Reimu got uppity again. "He- hey…"

Sendai finally released her. "Alright, alright. Now…" She turned around the house, for a moment, before facing Reimu again. "Does she have a kitchen?"

...Reimu blinked. "You know. I-... don't _actually_ know."

' _Uh oh.'_

After enough turning around, she realized something. ' _Oh. The stove's buried under those clothes that're now mine. Ah…'_

Sendai still had to actually put on her clothes. ' _That would probably help. Then, I might do some exercises…'_

 _SNAP!_ There was a bright flash. Sendai's eyes widened. ' _...Huh!?'_

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

13

Parry Addiction

Whipping around, Sendai ignored how her own breasts bounced amidst their partially-raveled sarashi. ' _Who's-...'_

Standing before an open window, a tengu girl was there, holding a small, box-like device. " _Ayaya~!_ I've found the _motherloa~d!"_

Reimu began marching forward. "How's eggs for breakfast sound? Or _bird…"_

"Hey, hey…" Aya held up a hand diplomatically. "So- the rumors were _true!"_

"You're gonna be a rumor when I'm done with you." Reimu didn't stop advancing.

...Looking faux-concerned, Aya began to slowly trod around the table, while Reimu slowly picked up speed behind her. "I mean- _seriously,_ how could I resist!? That mom lookalike 'a yours is _super_ hot! She's got like- _nothing_ on!" Turning back, she drifted through the air as Reimu marched after her. "I didn't know ya liked 'em _buff,_ Reimu…"

"Who are you?" Sendai stood in the way of the tengu's casual drifting, to pincer her.

 _Woosh._ Before Sendai could see her position even change, Aya was behind her, speaking into her left ear. "Honest and True Reporter…"

 _whish._ Sendai jabbed an elbow to her left, meeting nothing. "Aya Shameimaru!" The voice came from her right ear.

 _whish._ Sendai tried the same with her other elbow. But now, Aya was behind Reimu. "Hehehe~! Da~mn, Reim-"

 _WHUNK._ Reimu had whipped her fist back, and met Aya in the face.

...When she brought it back down, Aya's eyes were winced a little. " _Uuu~."_

Reimu was actually a little surprised she hit her. "...So- what're _you_ doing here? What rumors?"

Aya quickly shook off the pain, if any. "Your sexy friend there's the talk of the town! She made a _big_ splash in the village recently, and she _also_ was just by the manor, wasn't she? Bloodied a succubus, had a scrape with the _mad maid…"_

 _Flick._ Sendai looked down at the table, next to one of Alice's boot-clad ankles. Pictures were splayed there.

' _...What!?'_ There was a shot of when she ducked under Sakuya's great sword. There was one of her screaming at the air in the library, and one of her glowing after drinking an elixir. ' _What- the hell…!'_

...Reimu looked over the pictures herself, once she got near them. "...Me and Sakuya need a talk, _again._ "

"And, here I find her _stark naked,_ looking down at what may be her daughter longingly…" Aya began to increase her smug levels. "Is it just a twisted desire for the mother that was? Or, did fate bring these two together…!?"

"So, what do you want?" Reimu propped her arms on her own hips… "If you just jet and try to write a tabloid about us, I'm gonna make you crap your soul out."

Aya jerked her head back at that threat. "Pft- oh…! That's a new one!"

' _...Huh.'_ Sendai was still _deeply_ confused that a tengu was just down here, and apparently so casually. ' _Is she a spy, or…? Well, not like there's a lot to spy on. Me and the tengu didn't have much bad blood between us, if any. They got in my way sometimes, but that was about it.'_

"Just wanted some more _candid_ shots!" Aya beamed at them, and waved her camera in the air. "And, y'know… to get a good look at this sexbomb yer callin' _mom._ Y'think ya got any _sisters,_ Reimu…?"

"Wh- what the _hell."_ Reimu began to draw her ofuda. "Well, if it's a fight you want-"

"Tengu." Sendai spoke solidly, making both parties pause. "...What is your business, down here?"

' _Last time I fought a tengu…'_ Sendai couldn't remember it well. ' _I had to be quick, for one thing. But, tengu are also… really, really powerful. With my current speed and strength… I feel like there's nothing I can really do. I certainly don't remember them being as fast as this chick.'_

"I mean…" Aya blinked at her idly. "I just said it. Ooh- wait, you're doin' that formal villager thing! I gotcha~. Uh…" She began to grin. "It's a little hard to take it seriously, when yer in yer skivvies…! And, just saying: I _love_ the fundoshi look."

Sendai let her gaze flick up. ' _Ah, whatever.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

"Tengu." Sendai spoke solidly, now that she was actually dressed, with her scraped up mittens re-equipped. "What is your business, down here?"

...Aya was still smiling. "You- you're just gonna try again, huh. Like nothing happened…"

Sendai let out a snort involuntarily. "I- I mean, last I recall, you tengu were all about business."

"More _importantly,"_ Reimu spoke up, and pointed her gohei ahead. She'd taken the moment to get dressed, too. "If she gets out of here with those photos, there's gonna be pictures of you in your underwear all over Gensokyo. She distributes that paper _everywhere,_ and can get it printed in moments when she's ready with it."

...Sendai supposed that was more important than doing this formally. "Ah. Oh, shit." Her reply was skeptical enough to remain monotone, however.

Aya restrained a chuckle at it. "Wo- wow. Shameless, huh."

' _...Can I even close the distance?'_ Nothing that came to Sendai's mind immediately would help her. ' _Nothing martial will work. Why do I have to get paired up against all the fast bullshit…?'_

But then, something recurred to Sendai. ' _Wait. Tengu… I know a tengu technique!'_

She closed her eyes, and searched her body. ' _...Right. It went something like-... did it? Something like this, I think!'_

 _whi- woosh._ Cold wind began to swirl around her form. ' _I'm-... this is wind magic? The fact I remember this little is probably not a great sign!'_

She thrust her arms to either side of herself. In each hand, she held onto the wind, taking reigns on it, making it whine and churn against her.

 _Scree~ch!_ Her sandals skid against the wood floor, whipping wind thrusting her ahead by her arms. " _Hra~h-"_

 _Whu- thunk._ She slid into Aya clumsily, and they both hit the wall next to the open window. "Oof!" Aya's eyes were wide from the sudden, clumsy move.

 _Thud._ Sendai fell back, onto her ass. "Aah…"

Alice shot up from the noise, now sitting up. "Wh- ah, what…!?"

...Blinking down, Aya let herself remained stupefied for a few moments. "Wh-... what. What was _that…!?_ "

"Shut up." Sendai got back onto her legs quickly. "I'm still trying to remember how that went…"

"Remember…?" In truth, Aya was pleasantly surprised at the formation of that clumsy attack attempt. "Where'd ya learn somethin' like _that_ to begin with? That's like-... that's almost like a trainin' move we use back at the camp! Not just _anyone'd_ know that..."

Gingerly, Alice got off her coffee table… "Aya? Ugh- what're _you_ doing in here…!?"

Aya held up a hand diplomatically again. "Not takin' pictures of you dozin' on your table like a maniac, I swear! ...But- y'know, that's seriously a real Marisa-like move."

While Sendai stepped back, she saw Alice cast her arms out, and glimmers of light trailed away from her form. ' _Ah…'_

 _Shi- shi- shing!_ From the shelves, the creepy, automatically adjusting, watching dolls came out.

 _Shi- shi- shing!_ From all directions, they descended upon Aya's form, pointing sharp, metal lances at her, their tips thick and fit for ramming and gouging.

"Actually…" Alice began to grin. "Oh, no. I've got something _else,_ to deal with you, this time."

Aya actually rose her brows at that. "Ooh? Hit me wit' yer newest model! I'm tired 'a blowin' away your little lancey guys."

 _whish._ Alice pulled her arms towards herself, and skidded back. The table in the midst of the room was slid away, along with the chairs, and all the dolls that had initially come out to try and corner Aya.

"Come!" Alice cast her arm to the roof. "New York!"

 _cra- cra- cra- crank._ A trap door in the ceiling opened up.

 _Thoom._ From above, a burly, mean looking doll fell from it. The design was female, highly detailed and fashioned with curly, blonde hair. Her dress was a pastel green, with a checkerboard pattern.

It was also as tall as Sendai. As it stepped towards Aya, it flexed a bicep, rolling up its sleeves.

"Meet New York." Alice beamed at Aya. "Fit with at least two hundred fifteen different fighting strategies and routines, and power to back it up. She may be a different design from many of my other dolls, but she's not made to coincide with their designs, necessarily. She was inspired by this poster I saw, at the Kourindou…"

"Two of those three things aren't even about fighting." Aya noted casually.

Turning back to the girls, Alice gave Sendai and Reimu a big smile, and a nod. "Stand back, you two. This'll be over real quick."

' _...Huh.'_ Sendai wasn't sure what she was about to witness.

-+- _Aya's Demonstration -+-_

After stretching her neck a little, Aya brought her arms up. "O~kay. Whenever you're ready, dolly!"

 _shoof- shoof._ New York lumbered towards Aya, with posture that looked like it carried a lot of power.

 _WOOSH._ Nearly instantly, it crouched down and flicked a leg out, trying to sweep it grandly under Aya, the green heel of the woman-like figure skidding on the floor as it slid.

 _fwi- fwish!_ Aya slid back, then to the right, with two dodging slides-

 _fwi- fwish!_ She repositioned herself before it after its attack with another two instantly, and-

 _Pa- pap- whunk!_ Two fists thrust into the doll's face, then one met its stomach.

 _WOOSH._ It whipped one entire arm over Aya, as she rolled her upper body under it at the last moment, her head ducking the forearm of the doll by bobbing down.

 _CRANK- WOOSH!_ In an almost unfair motion, the doll's torso clattered, rotating one-eighty to whip the arm into Aya right after she'd evaded, but she repeated the weave on a dime. Aya even remembered to weave towards the left, as her last was towards the right.

 _Pap- pap- whack!_ Again, she repeated the two facial jabs once the mechanized swing passed, and met the doll in the stomach, sending it stumbling in an odd direction due to its torso's orientation...

 _CRA- Cra- crank…_ Once it re-orientated itself correctly, an arm of its sprang back, as if pulled by a strange force.

 _WOOSH._ It threw a rising uppercut towards Aya.

 _CRA- CLACK!_ Aya thrust the elbow of her right arm down at the incoming fist, catching its arm by the palm and stopping it.

 _WHAM!_ From there, Aya was able to release a rising uppercut of her own from her opposite arm, sending the doll reeling back.

' _Woah…'_ Sendai was watching intently.

 _Thunk!_ The house shook, as it met a wall, dolls almost falling from the shelves above it.

Sendai turned to see Alice feverishly flailing her arms, the glimmer of steel strings obvious. ' _...Is- is anyone else seeing this?'_ She flicked her gaze back to the tengu's encounter.

 _Cla- Cla- Cla- Clack!_ The doll thrust an arm out.

 _fwish!_ Aya had to graze aside that arm, even though she was across the room. It had come detached from the doll seemingly, but another look told that it was attached by a series of compressible accordions and wooden framing.

 _Cla- Cla- Cla- Clack!_ Another arm shot towards Aya, like a missile-

 _CRACK!_ Aya ducked under it at the last moment, and it struck the wall over her head, becoming embedded.

Weaving back out and over it, Aya brought her elbow up, and-

 _WHA- CRACK!_ She thrust it down, smashing the extended arm of the doll, and kinking the accordion.

The deflated arm returned to the doll, now leaving it with one bad arm, unusable.

' _That technique.'_ Sendai was able to appreciate not only the speed, but the tactics applied with it. ' _She's really having fun with it, it looks like.'_

"Damn…!" Alice cursed, and awkwardly crouched back into the counter behind herself, before bumping it. "Ah…"

Now that the doll girl was postured with one good, defensive arm, Aya strutted up to it, her arms posed more aggressively, wind whipping up them…

 _WHACK!_ Before the doll could dodge or react, Alice's senses too slow, Aya hooked a wind-aided hook into its right cheek-

 _PAHP!_ The doll's head recoiled, Aya thrusting a fist forward into its face, wind spralling away on impact.

Strafing to the side, the doll tried to slide-dodge, or fall-

 _WHA- WHUNK!_ Thrusting into it, Aya connected two gut thrusts into it seamlessly, the doll doubling back as it was forced to keep standing upright-

 _CLACK!_ Leaping, Aya twirled around on one leg in the air. The other leg extended, her red sandal roared through the doll's head as it followed a three-sixty motion. The blow even sent the blonde head spinning on its axis.

 _CLICK!_ Aya landed on her sandals immediately. "Not done _yet!"_

 _pap._ She thrust her whole body forward, putting her whole arm into a punch right into the doll's core, almost instantly.

 _Whi- woosh!_ A powerful gale met Sendai and Reimu, making them more awake as it ruffled their clothes. ' _This is-...'_ The perspective was entirely new to Sendai.

 _CRA- CRACK- ACK- WOOSH!_ Then, the doll roared back, spiralling away from Aya's form as it did perfect vertical flips in the air. ' _Holy shit-'_

 _Wham- thunk- thud!_ It roared back into Alice, bouncing off her form as she was smashed into the counter. " _Agh- uhn…!"_

Doll pieces splashed into the air like confetti, and Alice actually found herself stuck _on top_ of the counter, now in some of Sendai's new clothes. "Aa- aah…!"

 _Thud._ She rolled off, onto the doll parts that met the ground before her. "Oo- ow…"

...Sendai met Aya's posing form with wide eyes.

' _...!'_

Sendai thrust her arm, pointing a finger forward, surprising Reimu. "That's _rad!"_

 _Sendai was inspired to learn Tengu Style!_

In her mind's eye, Sendai remembered great speed, and the call of the wind. Leaping to greater heights on the crags of Gensokyo, or bounding through the many luminescent forests or creeks, at any time of day. Willing down enemies with a sheer rush of overwhelming, quick attacks, weaving past blades, claws, and great fangs.

' _The wind…'_ Sendai remembered how to tell it; the whispers, the secrets that could be carried on it; the fluidity of water, and the overwhelming speed of a gale.

At one time, nature was her friend, and she was friends with it. The sky was boundless, and she wanted to explore it all. The mountains in the distance, the caves, the woods…

Then, she opened her eyes. Something of an amethyst tint brushed her vision, for just a moment.

 _whi- whish._ Overzealous, she threw some hyped punches forward, tensed her muscles to slide ahead, and-

 _thud._ She slipped onto her side. "Aa- nnh…"

Reimu snorted. "Wh- what the heck…"

 _Sendai learned Weave Guard!_

 _Sendai learned Youkai Buster Combo * Rush!_

 _Sendai learned Slide Dodge Plus!_

 _Sendai learned Slide Dodge Plus!_

 _Sendai learned Slide Dodge Plus!_

 _Sendai learned Flick Kick!_

 _Sendai learned Feint Taunt!_

 _Sendai learned Stun Drive!_

 _Sendai learned Switch Style._

 _Sendai learned Mischievous Soul!_

 _Sendai learned Nature's Acquaintance!_

...Once Sendai got back up, she brushed herself off. ' _I used to be able to command the wind!'_

"Woah…!" Aya beamed at Sendai. "You're freakin' excited! Did my performance there get you all that riled up…!?"

Collecting herself, Sendai focused on her. "Uh. Yeah. It-... reminded me, of something."

Closing her eyes, she searched her magic. ' _I was able to do it, because of how the wind felt. If I focus hard enough…'_

A breeze came in, through the open window.

Sendai felt her form cool, and she took a deep breath. ' _Something like…!'_

Then, Sendai began running a circle around the room, her arms raised with fists formed, jankily speeding around. As she hustled ahead all compact-like, the wind played with her, a breeze brushing her as she moved, no matter which direction she chose.

' _With my energy, my mana, if I focus on the wind and call on it, it will answer me. More realistically-... it's a result of using my mana to take it and run with it. This method…'_

As such, she began randomly doing circuits around the room, then deviating and cutting straight across, her pace sudden, abrupt and indecisive. ' _Hehehe- wow…!'_

"What the _heck're_ you doing…" Reimu thought this looked unbelievably ridiculous. "Aya, what'd you _do."_

After taking a good look at Sendai's shuffling about, Aya beamed back at her. "She is _damn_ inspired. I didn't think adult humans could get like this…!"

"Aw- _dude!"_ Marisa shuffled from the guest room, in her own pajamas that matched Reimu's own, but deviated in color. "Yeah- we're gonna _style on 'em,_ ze~!" Running ahead, she began to do the same stupid looking shuffle Sendai was doing…

' _...I might have to work on this run.'_ It was sort of the first thing that came to Sendai's mind, but it was actually pretty stupid looking. ' _It's just- I can do it so effortlessly! It sort of reminds me of when I was a kid…'_

 _Woosh!_ Sendai leapt, the whispers of the wind leaving a soft breeze in her wake-

 _thunk._ She clipped the ceiling. ' _Ow.'_

 _clack._ She landed easily, her limbs light enough for the short fall to mean nothing. ' _I wonder… can I-...'_

With her mind this focused on the wind, and how it felt, and how playful it was, darkness couldn't come to her limbs. ' _Oh…!'_ In thinking so, she almost lost the wind _and_ failed to summon the darkness within her, but managed to recollect her wind at the last moment...

 _pap._ Marisa hustled into her back, and nearly made her fall on her knees. "Ah- woah…"

' _I feel so flimsy…'_ It was a strange feeling, for her. ' _But-'_

 _pap._ Having been amused by the first attempt, Marisa made a triangular roundabout to bump into Sendai again.

And, again, Sendai almost crumpled forward. ' _Fuckin'...'_

Turning back around, she saw Marisa coming towards her again, arms raised rigidly just so she'd also look silly while shuffling about.

 _Fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Sendai was not only able to tense her muscles to slide out of the way, but she was able to slide forward, all the way to the front door-

 _thunk._ She hit the door, too. ' _Woah! That- I did that four times…!?'_ She'd simply tried to tense her muscles and skid like normal, but the air carried her way farther than she'd have expected...

"You guys're acting like fairies…!" Reimu marched into the center of the room, ready to rain on their parade. "Freakin', calm down!"

Sendai ran at her.

Reimu was so surprised by the rate her mother sprang towards her, that she swung her gohei out wide.

 _whish!_ Bobbing her whole form far lower than she'd initially thought possible, Sendai rolled her head under the gohei's swing, the paper trails on the stick whipping with Sendai's movements.

 _Fwi- fwish!_ Throwing her limbs forward, Sendai threw a thrust past either side of Reimu's face, before-

 _fwish- fwish- fwish- fwish!_ She dodged a full circle around Reimu, in four janky motions, blowing her clothes in a circle. "Wo- woah, ah…" This kind of left both girls winded...

 _whish._ Reimu threw a lame gohei swing just to see what would happen. Sendai barely streamed the downward swing. ' _Wo- woah!'_

Then, Reimu had an idea. She was starting to lose track of how fast her mother was moving, the quick motions quickly overwhelming her…

So, she crouched down, and thrust her gohei ahead.

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ It spun in a little circle on the floor, contained in one area.

 _Thud!_ Sendai was caught by her sandal, and the clipping blow made her eat the floor incredibly hard, landing on her knees. "Wh- _ooh,_ shit…"

"Wo- wow…" Reimu blinked down at the tumble her mother took. "You ate it _super_ hard."

"Ye- yeah, fuck…" Getting up, Sendai actually had the mind to feel at her knees.

' _Damn. I take damage hard like this. None of my darkness is even just in my skin, like this, and even with my natural strength, just falling from an attack is… pretty bad. It's almost like, when I get knocked from the wind, I take even more pain than I normally would!'_

In truth, while Sendai remembered the wind aiding her, she didn't remember it aiding her quite like _this,_ nor did it take entire command of her body's magical influences. ' _...No. This wasn't how I used to fight. Not by a long shot. But…'_

 _Fwi- whi- whish!_ Standing up, she spun in a circle really fast. ' _It's pretty fun, though!'_

...When she stopped, she was very dizzy. "O- ooh, uh oh…"

 _pap._ Marisa plowed into her again. "Beep beep!"

 _Thud!_ Sendai almost roared forward, and smashed onto her stomach against the floor. " _Unh…"_

"O- oh, geez…" Reimu sat cross-legged before her. "Ouch, huh."

"Ow…" Sendai agreed, as she began to get up off her four limbs...

Then, she pivoted. She saw Marisa shuffling about, again. ' _Alright, this does it…'_

 _Fwi- fwish!_ Sliding along the floor, she was immediately in Marisa's way.

"Ua~h…!" Marisa gasped, and stopped-

 _pap._ Sendai thrust herself into her. ' _Eat it.'_

 _thud._ Marisa landed on her bum. "Oof, ze. Aw, those're fightin' words, Doppel-chan…!"

"Oh, yeah?" Sendai began to thrust her arms over Marisa, as she got back up. "I'll bet you can't even hit me."

...Marisa tilted her hat back, wide eyes beaming into Sendai's. "Oh, _yea~h!?"_

Reimu exhaled. "Uh oh…"

Aya was aiming her camera in the back, seated on the counter, at the gap made from Alice's impact that crumbled the clothing wall.

-+- _Vs. Famous Youkai Exterminator, Secondary Primary Incident Resolver, Ordinary Magician Marisa Kirisame_ -+-

Sendai stretched her neck, but it didn't crack, and then took some experimental punches at the air. ' _Alright!'_

Marisa, still in her pajamas, tried to mirror these motions, as if in an attempt to mimic the style Sendai had adopted. "I'mma _style_ all over ya!"

' _So… don't get hit.'_ This was Sendai's new goal, which was a little different from when she fought more like the youkai she'd remembered. ' _A little different than just finding a way to win, or winning through force.'_

 _whi- whish._ Marisa began weaving superficially. "Hehe, hehe~!"

Sendai was upon her in the next moment-

 _fwish!_ Then, she had to slide aside Marisa, who'd begun flailing her fists out wildly. " _Gotch-_ ah?"

 _pahp- whap!_ Sendai's fists flicked into jabs, meeting Marisa's right cheek. "Gh-"

 _Whack!_ One met Marisa's gut, and she stepped back. "Ah- shit-"

 _Whap!_ Flicking an arm up, Sendai met Marisa's face with a rising hook. ' _Hah!'_

"Ngh-..." Ducking, already overwhelmed, Marisa began weaving-

 _WHACK!_ Sendai sprang up on one sandal, and kicked the other ahead, sweeping it up into Marisa's stomach.

 _Bam!_ _Thud, thud._ Marisa was thrown left, and hit the wall. " _Uhn-_ ohf…" She then fell onto her knees, before landing face down, on her stomach. "Gh…"

Sendai's adrenaline flared. ' _Ah- now!'_ She could still finish enemies while they were down, she realized.

Marisa peeled her face from the floor-

 _WHU- CRACK!_ Sendai's leg flicked into her ribcage with startling velocity, a visible whirling wind expelling from where the sandal met bone. Marisa was sent spinning one-eighty in the air. " _Agh- ah- nnh…!"_

Reimu got up, because she recognized that attack, and how much it hurt. "Woah hey- don't cripple her, now…!"

 _Sendai obtained pocket lint._

' _...Guess I won't be forced to come up with anything new unless she's serious.'_ Sendai stared down at Marisa…

She was leaned against the wall now, drinking from a potion. "Mmh- jeez, ze…! Y'ever bring a magi-cannon to a pillow fight?"

"...To be fair, you were kinda asking for it." Reimu regarded her plainly. "You also don't have room to talk about magi-cannons and pillow fights, miss _Mini-Hakkero."_

Aya stepped up to them casually… "I don't think I'll be releasing those photos of you in your nudes, Reimu-mom."

Sendai turned to her plainly. "Thank you. Wait, I shouldn't need to thank you for that, to begin with…"

"I _did_ get some good pics of you beatin' up Marisa in her pajamas, though!" Aya gave her a big nod, and a smile. "So this all worked out!"

"Aw, yeah…?" Marisa grinned up at that. "Makes me wonder if I'm gonna get any attention fer that!"

Reimu shook her head… "I think everyone considers that totally normal, for you…"

Stepping up to Sendai, Aya gave her a pat on the shoulders. "I'd like to see where you take that inspiration, too! So I'll make _sure_ to stop by the village from time to time fer a bit longer, on my delivery runs!"

' _Huh…'_ Sendai supposed that'd be nice.

"When do you deliver?" She was enticed to ask.

Aya's reply was blunt. "Everyday."

With that, she turned away. "But for now, I gotta scram! And, Reimu- you should take a few lessons from yer mom, here!"

"Yeah, yeah." Reimu motioned for her to shoo. "Get outta here before I consider thwashing you."

 _Woosh._ With that, Aya was gone.

...Sendai's stomach rumbled. ' _Uh oh.'_

"Uh oh." Marisa also uh oh'd. "Someone's gonna explode, ze…!"

"Hey, Alice." Reimu turned to the back counter. "Could ya hook us up with-..."

Alice could not hear them, however. She was asleep, still lying stomach-down on the floor from when she was defeated, a small pile of Sendai's new clothes trapping her.

 _fwo- fwoof._ Some of the pile above gave away, and further buried her.

Marisa shook her head. "I can't believe Alice is fucking dead, ze. Now we're all gonna _starve._ "

Moving forward, Reimu decided to save her. "We're not gonna be able to eat if she's just _defeated_ the rest of the morning…"

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

The coffee table was repositioned. Sendai was seated between the two girls, who all picked her side of the table, for some reason.

Except Alice, who just sat across from them. She floated down some pancakes for the girls, but Sendai got an almost oversized burger.

It suited her just fine, though. " _Omgh- mm…"_

Marisa had her skirt and pants combination on, but still had her pajama top equipped. She leaned towards Sendai plainly… "Do y'think I'm hot, in my little top here?"

...Sendai's stare back was equally plain. "Mh- fu- auh- nnh."

...Marisa's brows curled up. "Dude. Swallow like- a _little_ 'fore ya try, at least…!"

Truth be told, Sendai never cooked or ate burgers super often. ' _Really more of a western thing, I'd think. I'm more for 'meat off the bone' kinda meals, which are a good lot of meaty meals.'_

...She stared ahead idly. ' _You know, if we don't have any big pastures for cows or chickens, how the hell do we have so much cow and chicken meat? ...Actually, we actually had pretty little while I was kicking around. I just meant, the village seemed to have plenty of meat now, that last time I was there.'_

Swallowing her big bite, she surveyed the other girl's breakfasts. "...No wonder you girls are all fluff. Is _every_ morning pancakes and syrup, for you?"

"Yeah!" Marisa beamed. "Sometimes a _burger_ is nice, though…"

"Some mornings, I have nothing." Reimu contested. "So, this is at least _something."_

...Sendai gave her a worried look. "Wha~t. Do you know how to hunt?"

...Pausing at that, Reimu gave her a strange look too. "Huh. I mean- do I look like I know how to hunt…? I can kinda cook, at least."

"No wonder." Sendai figured lacking hunting skills was part of the problem.

' _Finances are probably tight for her, too. So, even with the meat revolution in the village, she probably can't always hook herself up.'_

"Still, it's important to always get a meal in the morning." Sendai advocated. "In fact, that's the point of the day you should eat the most, really. A little before bed can be okay, too, but has less benefit for the body."

...Reimu just sort of nodded at that. "Yeah- food for me is on a 'what I can get my hands on' kinda basis."

"A~nd a lotta chicks just kinda roll by an' ya bring snacks." Marisa slowly pans to them, facing away from her own pancakes… "Seems like half the reason ya let so many people browse by, ze!"

"Well- _yeah,_ but I could do without them…" Reimu began to energetically carve into her pancake stack at a new, weird angle. "I'm sure I'd find a way."

Snorting, Marisa slowly shook her head. "I~ dunno 'bout that, ze. Remember the time ya ate Shion's old cooking…?"

"That's almost an example of a visitor almost assassinating me, rather than helping me." Reimu contested.

"But I had ta pour holy water on ya to bring ya back!" Marisa beamed across the tableside… "Potions didn't even work on that shit!"

The pancakes received a mourning look from Reimu. "...You made me barf up like, a gallon of that red stuff later 'cause of that. Eugh. Just thinking about that now still gives me the heebie jeebies..."

...Then, she took a buttered bite of the spongy fluff. "Mmh. Ho'y wa' sh'ghood, thou'..."

' _Holy water, hmm?'_ Sendai considered this… ' _Sounds like it'd burn my throat.'_

Next, Sendai turned to Marisa. "What's your excuse? For eating pancakes, all the time."

"I like junk food." Marisa gave her a fluffy but aggressive look… "I find a ton 'a the time, my body just works no matter what I put in it, so I just go ahead an' eat whatever! An' _my_ body's like, a black hole when it comes to food, too…"

"That's not a good reason." Sendai didn't really agree. "That's-... not a good reason at all. You'll never grow your body right like that."

Marisa just laughed it off. "Pfta~h. I do _magic,_ anywa~y. Even if I like ta get _down 'n' dirty…"_

"Having nourishment could be the difference between getting a hole blown through you and dying, and not dying to the same." Sendai contested… "That, and food helps you heal faster."

Marisa returned what she knew in turn. "I mean, if I'm _fucked up_ I'm gonna wanna good meal! An' I won't need ta tank hits, if I never get hit! An'- if I have enough potions to down 'fore I die."

' _That is no~t healthy.'_ Sendai would know, too. ' _Nnh.'_

...Across the table, Alice had already finished her own pancakes. "Myself… I typically eat better, but you know…"

"Getting my ass kicked would be reason to eat more, not less." Sendai returned neutrally.

"I'm not a giant shrine maiden." Alice argued. "I'm also a magician, so in the first place, food is a simple pleasure, not a necessity. And… I don't like to eat much in general. I feel as though people think better when they're hungry. Moderately hungry, not on the cusp of death, that is. After a certain point, your instincts to eat overpower your logical abilities..."

That actually inspired Sendai to think a little. ' _...Makes me think of some feral youkai I've encountered. It's not been unheard of for docile types to get enraged or feral if they don't get their fix of whatever it is they eat, too. Which can happen pretty easily, since there's only so many humans, and most of them aren't constantly being snacked on.'_

"I don't know about that." Sendai didn't want to admit it, but some of her more meaningful moments were when she was on the cusp of getting annihilated, with her bodily resources low. She wasn't sure if that was just some kind of adrenaline high, weary delirium or spiritual enlightenment. "Considering the challenges one faces… it seems dumb to not have everything topped up most of the time."

"Again, we're not all giant doom maidens." Alice shook her head… "Most of my days are spent inside, you know."

' _...Really. I guess she is a magi, but…'_ Sendai never really personally knew any magicians, so this was kind of new.

"How." Sendai couldn't understand such a way of living. "Don't you get restless?"

"I make things." Alice's response is blunt. "I write, I construct dolls, and I practice magic. I also have my dolls do exports for me. I have some deals in the village regarding clothes-making, whenever I need some spare cash. The idea is that my products cost more than the combined materials, and I can make so many so well and so fast that I'm not really rivaled."

' _...Not sure if that's an abuse of power or not.'_ Sendai supposed it was fine, since it was ultimately productive. ' _Would suck to compete against her stuff, though. As a clothier, I mean. Not that I'll be complaining, since I really, really need a high-grade, mass-production capable one...'_

"Thank you for the clothing, by the way." Sendai communicated. "...For how many there are, the price you asked is actually rather cheap."

Alice blinked. "...Oh, really? Well… I couldn't ask for _too much,_ knowing your family. I'm surprised you had so much upfront to begin with."

"It's a long story." Sendai very slowly blinked once… "Nn~h…" Then, she stretched.

Standing up from her seat, Alice began to advertise her services. "I can do more than refurbish and repeat your old outfit, too. As a magician, I'm able to elementally enhance and enchant clothing. And, you know… work with metals."

...Sendai had finished her burger at this point, so she got up too. She took her water with herself. "Is that so? Are you advertising your services to me, of all people?"

"Yes." Alice was blunt. "...All the other incident resolvers of the land have stopped by me at least once, too. Some of them don't _very_ need me, but others- like your own daughter- very much do."

...Sendai looked over at Reimu, and she faced her mother gingerly. "Yeah, Alice makes all my replacement clothes. Then, I had her put the clothes in like, a bunch of places. Pretty sure I stayed up all night with Marisa and her, when she made the first fifty or so…"

"Your daughter's really high maintenance." Alice's expression became slightly haunted… "Marisa's even worse."

"Hey, I help ya with yer _research_ 'n' stuff." Marisa, too, made herself natural and fluffy as she sat. "Reimu just drinks tea an' helps ya call me names."

Moving towards the back counter, Alice gave a wave of her hand, and the twenty nine miko outfits all slid out of the way, as a collective stack.

"She's also the reason Gensokyo hasn't fallen apart yet, so I can spare the expense, kind of." She voiced. "...You, though. Isn't this town a little tiny, for _two_ shrine maidens…?"

"Hey." Marisa disagreed. "...Shrine maidens're _fluffy."_

Alice exhaled. "We know, Marisa. You'll do anything until they both sit on your face."

"Pft- woah…!" Marisa tilted her chair back, at Alice's escalation. "Yer mind's in the gutter, Alice-ze!"

Sendai ignored their lewdery, replying instead to the cost justification. "Fair enough. Your prices still beat the village's..." She gave her new outfit a once-over. "And, this is pretty nice. It feels just like my old one, even."

Alice gave her a nod. "I pay _very_ fine attention to detail. Clothing creation is an art, too."

"I'd imagine…" Looking up at her, Sendai asked her next question. "So, what do you mean, enchanted clothing? I might be somewhat interested…"

' _Wait! She might make backpacks, too!'_ Sendai also _really_ needed an adult-sized backpack, at this point…

"Well… I made a sample or two, to stave off the insanity of mass-producing one outfit for a really long time." Alice gestured towards an unknown door at the back-right of the room.

 _Click._ It gently swung open. From the bedroom, some dolls brought out a different shrine maiden outfit.

This one was fitted with a blue cloth apron, hakama, and a black leotard. Instead of the traditional Hakurei arm sleeves, for each arm seemed to be a tighter fitting black sleeve, similar to the leotard.

' _Huh…'_ Sendai focused on the sleeves. ' _That looks handy for the kind of punches I've taken the habit of throwing. At least, when I fight like a youkai.'_

It was also at this point, that she figured something… ' _I-... pretty much have two entirely separate fighting techniques now. Not sure how to feel about that. Very little of what I've mastered so far applies to how I have to control myself when using the wind.'_

Two more dolls floated out, holding a pink shrine maiden outfit.

At first, the design seemed to resemble a traditional miko outfit, in that the base looked kimono-like.

However, there was still a division between the torso and the arms sleeves. Themselves, the sleeves were now bigger and made of more jagged cloth. As opposed to the simple strings of the red-white arm sleeves, these pink-white ones had tight pink bands.

The biggest distinction is that this outfit had, instead of a cloth apron, a white tunic design, and in the place of a leotard, there was a purple-pink, full-sleeved undershirt. Whereas white was the accent color for the blue and red outfits, this one was predominantly white with splashes of pink and purple.

"...Yeah." Alice nodded at these designs. "I got creative."

"You sure did." Sendai passed her gaze over them. Their colors were appealing, but she wasn't sure about their function… "They look quite different than what I'm used to."

"I wasn't sure how you fought, really." Alice confessed. "So, I made one outfit centered around strength and punching, and one around flightiness and speed."

"...Huh." Sendai supposed that worked out. "So, you enchanted these?"

"Mmm." Alice gave her a nod to that as well. "The pink outfit is so lightweight in design and material, you should find yourself being able to move a lot faster in it. It's also better to land precise blows in, just because it lets you move so fast. Damage and getting hit's obviously not something it will help with. I tried to make it look a little like the traditional miko outfit. You know, to imply it's sort of a… 'remix', kind of?"

"Ah, yes." Sendai nodded sagely. "The traditional new year miko, skidding around like an idiot with her fists up boxing-style, ready to poke someone into oblivion."

"I don't know about _that."_ Alice smiled in disapproval. "This was before you, uh… figured out that thing you did, or something to that effect. I don't think I even recommend fighting like that, but… you do you."

' _Too bad.'_ Sendai was going to figure out how to fight like that.

"Then, this one…" Alice gestured to the blue one. "I intended it to pretty much be a better version of your current one, focused more on combat potential. Because, really, how _do_ you get by with those arm sleeves? They may be aerodynamic to extents, but you can't _fly._ And, I took you more for the 'strength over speed' type, so this does a pretty good job of keeping what makes you defended in your red-white, but also making in-the-moment, brutal hits easier."

' _Wh- why would flying even matter…'_ Sendai wasn't sure what that was all about. ' _But, that's actually pretty accurate to my… well, current style. It's not really a good thing to cater to such a dumb way of fighting, but it's what I have to live with, for now. It works.'_

"Do you have any bags, for holding?" Sendai's next question was out of the blue. "You know, backpacks…?"

...Alice tilted her head, a little. "I could give you some hammerspace pocket bags, if you'd like. They work just by sliding into the pockets of most clothes, so they're very lightweight compared to that, um…" She gave Sendai's elementary school-tier backpack a worried look. "Is- is that from the school, actually?"

"...Why?" Sendai wasn't sure why that was weird. "I had to make do."

"Clearly." With that, Alice took towards the back counter, the dolls moving the outfits near there. "Since hammerspace often works just by storing things, I'll probably… run you like, twenty thousand yen. I'd have to dig a hole under my house and everything, after all, or let you use a box or something in the attic. Each outfit will also run twenty thousand yen for the spiritual materials, wind and dark reinforcements, and… yeah."

Sendai immediately drew sixty thousand yen. "...That works."

"Wh-... for a miko, you're _loaded."_ Alice was intimidated by how fast she drew the money…

"That's what _I_ said." Reimu piped up from the table nearby… "I'm really starting to wonder about it, too…!"

"...I mean, I don't really have much to spend it on other than food." Sendai figured. "And, food's typically pretty cheap."

' _...And, if I'm ever out of food money, I could go hunt a small animal, or provoke some people to try mugging me in the village. Thieves usually have enough money on them for dinner, weirdly.'_

 _Sendai purchased Global Item Box for 20,000 Yen._

 _Sendai purchased Hakurei Maiden Combat Outfit: Brawler for 20,000 Yen._

 _Sendai purchased Traditional Miko Outfit ReMiX: Rush for 20,000 Yen._

Out of curiosity, Sendai quickly equipped the pink outfit, putting away her red one for now.

' _This-... this is already very light.'_ She felt like she'd feel any breeze that passed through her.

"You know," Alice had a hand to her chin… "The color differentiation should also reduce the amount of people mistaking you for Reimu or a doppelganger, or something. Now you're just… a really weird looking shrine maiden, for probably some god no one ever heard of."

Marisa grinned from her seat. "So Sanae, but worse…!"

' _Who.'_ Sendai proved both of those statements correct immediately. ' _Ah…'_

"Be nice." Alice casually recommended, somewhat contradicting herself. "Anyway… yeah. That should be everything, for now."

"Neat." Sendai was ready to break in these new clothes… "I'm not sure what to think about the pink sandals."

Alice began to move for the front door. "You're the bubblegum shrine maiden, now."

' _...It's a very interesting pallette, to be sure.'_

"I think we're done here…" Reimu decided. "Not that it wouldn't be fun to stay, and _sleep,_ but I'm kinda taking mom on a… Gensokyo tour."

"Ooh?" Alice faced her, and smiled. "That's cute. I'd question the logistics, but, you know… Gensokyo."

"There was a lot of blood and tears involved." Reimu summarized. "You might as well just take it at face value…"

' _...Hmm. Where's next in the agenda, anyway?'_

...At Sendai's prospective gaze, Reimu sensed the question posed. "Anyway. The next easiest area to get to… would probably be the temple."

"The _temple?"_ Marisa strutted up, now out of her own chair… "How boring! All they do is practice sermons, and try _really hard_ to forget we're all dyin' of old age!"

...This actually made Sendai more curious. ' _What, no.'_

Reimu furrowed her brows. "Hey, I've got it all planned out. It's a circular trip, so we don't gotta do any backtracking."

"A _well-planned trip,_ in Gensokyo?" Marisa shook her head at that… "An' I thought ya learned somethin' over the years. For shame, ze, for shame."

Rolling her eyes, Reimu turned away for a moment, before facing back. "What's your great idea, then?"

"I should show 'er Gensokyo from above!" Marisa proposed loudly. Then, she faced Sendai… "Especially in the windy outfit! Aw…" Immediately, she had another idea. "Since we're in the neighborhood, we should hit up the Kourindou too!"

' _Uh…'_ Sendai blinked. ' _They would know of that place, wouldn't they? I actually didn't think about that!'_

"...Ah, right." Reimu supposed that would be appropriate. "We can skip showing her _your_ house, I'm sure."

Marisa snorted. "Aww~. My little love shack's nice 'n' warm, though…"

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Sendai came to the same gap she had trouble with last night, as they trekked back through the snow towards Kourindou. It was almost dark as night once they'd gotten away from Alice's lit clearing, the above-canopy miasma of the magic forest blotting out the bright light.

As such, a beautiful, deep blue glow of the sky was now beset upon the layer between the floor and the canopy. ' _So cold, but so azure…'_

"Wow, you _super_ can't fly." Marisa realized, drifting along on her broom this whole way… "Like-... not even a _little!"_

"When can people fly _a little_ but not outright?" Sendai was more curious of that. "Then there's _you girls,_ treating flying like it's an everyday thing…"

"'Cause it is." Reimu summarizes. "Now lemme carry you over this-"

Sendai fought against her embrace. "Nnn~no. I'm gonna jump it."

Reimu gave her a vague look. "...Well, fine. Marisa, get a potion ready."

-+- _Vs. Hole in the Ground -+-_

Sendai took in a deep breath of the winter air. She stretched her neck, and her arms, tensing them a little, but not managing to crack anything. ' _Hmm. I need a massage, at some point.'_

Closing her eyes for a moment, she found herself, as well as where she was in the forest. Or so she thought, at least. ' _Ah-...? Damn, the wind's kind of confusing…'_

 _Whi- whi~sh._ A cool breeze passed over the nearby snow, and rolled up Sendai's aerated outfit.

' _The wind…'_ In her excitement of re-discovering it earlier, she hadn't really considered what constituted her original knowledge to begin with.

' _A lot like the power of darkness, wind can be called to the limbs, and my magic can pull on it instead of, well, the darkness inside me. Except, the wind comes from nature and around me, and not from within.'_

Backing up from the gap she'd jump, she judged the distance. ' _The knowledge wind can give… it's sort of like, if my dark magic were to be dispersed from me, I'd know a bit about where it would go. I could sort of sense that. When I take wind, and make it my own, for a few moments, it's a lot like that. Sound, area, things in relation to myself...'_

' _...Except, I can't quite read much of anything off the wind, right now. All I can grasp so far, is that something damn potent is coming from the center of the forest… but, that's like always.'_ She'd avoided the magic forest's center. Something in her body always said it was a bad idea, and she trusted her senses. Very few youkai she knew went there, either.

 _Shoo- shoo- shoof!_ Sendai sprinted forward on the snow before the gap she'd leap. While she could build great speed _eventually_ with her dark energies, the wind accelerated her there almost instantly.

 _CRUNCH!_ She bounded off the edge of the snowy abyss, wind whirling in a neat circle where she took off from, kicking up snow in a spiral. ' _Woah…!'_

In the air, she sailed almost automatically across the gap, her descent greatly slowed to the point she felt no threat from just letting herself fall.

' _...Ah.'_ But, there was the tree from last night in the way of her jump path, just on the side of it. ' _Can I-'_

 _fwish!_ After she tensed herself up, she accidentally transitioned into a slide of some kind mid-air, her movement changing the wind around herself. ' _Um…'_

 _Crunch._ She skidded to a stop in the snow on the other side. ' _...Well. This is pretty good.'_

 _Sendai learned Leap of Faith!_

 _Sendai learned Slide Dodge * Air Slide._

"Huh." Reimu scratched her cheek, as she gently floated up to her… "You actually did it."

"I think that qualifies as 'flying, but only a little'!" Marisa coasted up to them next, pleased with that performance. "'Cause you were able to control yourself, even!"

"...I'm still bound to the earth." Sendai contested. "It's not flight."

...Marisa gave her a blunt look. "So _what_ is it then, ze. Falling with style…!?"

"...Actually, yeah." Sendai agreed with that. "Falling with style."

Quickly, no one had much more to add, as they continued down the icy path the maidens had trodden the previous evening.

Once they neared the very edge of the forest, Marisa and Reimu took a right off of the path that began to form, which had the tracks of the shrine maidens from the previous evening, after they'd left the mansion. ' _Just yesterday, huh.'_

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish._ In the lighter snow, Sendai sprinted ahead of the other girls at mach speed, putting in very little effort to rumble ahead towards the shop in the distance. ' _The way I used to run-... I did it kind of when I just came back, actually. I'd ran straight for the lake, picking up wind and empowering my legs. Except, like this, I'm just all wind, and uh… nothing else.'_ She wasn't sure how it'd be possible to combine the two magics, all things considered.

Her legs cycled ahead almost with automatic ease as she carried herself to the shop's front door.

Reimu and Marisa had to coast faster to catch up. "Geez, yer hyper…!" Marisa herself grinned at her speed. "If I knew ya could move this fast, I'd've ribbed ya harder!"

 _Di- di~ng._ Sendai pushed the front door open before anyone else.

She was already at the front counter, with six steps that happened within about a second.

...Rinnosuke looked up due to how much of an event that was. "Hmm? Ah…"

Soon, Reimu and Marisa joined her, staring him over plainly. "Yo." Marisa answered for everyone, speaking up again. "We're here to introduce _Mommy-chan_ to ya! An' also _pawn some goods…"_

...Sendai faced her woefully. "I liked Doppel-chan better, I think."

"Nope, nope. Gotta be accurate!" Marisa beamed at her. " _Mommy-chan."_

' _Oh, no.'_

"...I see." Slowly, Rinnosuke placed a bookmark in his small book, and sat it down. "So that _wasn't_ so simply some kind of delusion. I found it weird how you hadn't returned since that one time I saw you, Tsukiko."

Sendai had given up on stopping people from calling her Tsukiko. "Yeah. I've been busy."

 _fwap._ Rinnosuke placed a paper down on his counter. "I saw. You stopped by the mansion, and you seem to be giving the village a good hell-raising."

"Y'know…" Marisa turned to Sendai. "The heck's with you not wantin' to be called by yer name, anyway?"

...Sendai turned to her. "Where'd this come from?"

"Ya always sour up when someone says it!" Moving up to her, Marisa examined her face closely… "Tsukiko."

Sendai reflexively twitched her brows.

"Heha~h!" Leaning back, Marisa clapped her hands once. "Got 'e~m, ze!"

"If I didn't already kick your ass once today, I'd do it again." Sendai shook her head…

Looking displaced, Rinnosuke just kind of shifted behind the counter anxiously. "...This still hasn't really caught up with me."

' _Yeah.'_ Sendai wasn't sure how the hell that was supposed to be avoided. ' _I guess the concept of being dead broke, or something.'_

Placing her hands on the counter, Marisa leaned towards him. "What, the whole 'her not being dead' thing?"

"Well, yeah." He nodded… "It's just-... it sort of goes against what I'd taken for reality. It's kind of silly, I know, but-... it just makes me anxious, is all."

Due to his word choice, Reimu snorted. "Why anxious?"

"It makes me feel like even more seemingly unspoken rules of nature will be violated, eventually." He pondered. "And, who knows what will happen then? I've already distanced myself from the past so much, that-..."

He focused on Sendai again, and took a moment to glance at her vibrantly pink details. "What _is_ that costume, by the way?"

"I had it made." Sendai kept it simple… "By a youkai clothier."

He nodded at that. "Ah, huh. You'd so simply disregard your previous go-to?"

"For now, anyway." Sendai figured. "I wanted to try something new."

...He gained a sedate smile, as he brought his hand to his chin. "I feel like you would have called something like this hokey, when you were alive."

"...Well, yeah, probably." Sendai figured. "Circumstances are a little different."

Reimu spoke up. "I feel like you're hung up on the past."

Rinnosuke snorted, taking some idle steps in place as he folded his arms. "I feel like you've never had to accept a hard truth, only to find out-... that _reality_ lied to you, or something. And- it's less surprise at the _truth..._ " At this point, he was trying to work out the situation aloud to himself. "But, it's some kind of… _dissatisfaction._ I don't know how to explain it."

At that, Reimu furrowed her brows.

"Kourin." Sendai gave him a flat gaze. "Are you pissed at life?"

...He nodded. "I guess so, yeah."

"You got a lot longer-winded with your complaining." She remarked, placing her hands on the counter herself. "But, they're still the same complaints, aren't they? If you had your way, nothing would change, right?"

He allowed himself a smile. "...I guess not. Still, I mean, I would prefer it if what I accepted as facts of life weren't suddenly proven to be total bullshit tomorrow."

"Yeah." Sendai supposed she had to agree. "I just kinda accepted it."

He couldn't stop himself from almost grinning at that. "...It doesn't seem like you had much of a choice in the matter."

"...Not really." Sendai supposed the solution would've been letting herself die somewhere, but that opportunity always seems to slip her by nowadays, so it wasn't really an option worth considering. It'd be lame and sad, now, and she wanted to live.

 _Cla- clack- clank! Thud- thud._ A junk pile behind the girls began to tumble, causing Reimu and Sendai to turn…

Marisa had caused an avalanche. "Aw, shit…"

In her arm, she held some kind of long device. It reminded Sendai a little of the village's flintlocks and muskets. ' _Oh? Kourin has a musket thing?'_

Rinnosuke very quickly marched around the counter. " _Uh-_ Marisa, you _really_ want to put that down…!"

Grinning, she twirled the gun around by the handle. "Aw, yeah? Why's-"

 _KAPO~Ww!_ Since it was a shotgun and not a pistol, her finger easily pulled the trigger by accident.

 _Cra- crack!_ _Thunk._ Some shingle fragments and wood fell from the roof, bonking her in the head. " _Nnh-_ ow, fuck…!"

 _Cla- clack!_ The weapon also bounced hard into the floor, just missing her boot.

Sendai had flinched violently. ' _That's fucking loud! Kourin, what superweapons are you carrying in stock!?'_

" _Wo~w…"_ Reimu felt at her ears. "What the heck!"

"I _told_ you…" Shaking his head, Rinnosuke came up, and claimed the shotgun. "For your _information_ , this is an outside world firearm. Meant for shredding skin and cutting through flesh, with a hailstorm of physical bullets."

"You mean-..." Reimu realized what it was. "Is it a kappa shotgun…!?"

"...I suppose _shotgun_ is one way of describing it." He looked the weapon over again. "I'd rather maybe _spreadgun_ or _stormgun_. Either way, there's nothing kappa about it, barring some of the mechanical complexity. Yet, it's well simple enough to argue otherwise."

 _Clack._ He sat it on his counter. "But… it's not as powerful as it once was. Some of the parts aren't in optimal order, but the gun still seems safe to fire, somehow. It just has less power than it should."

"It's still pretty bad." Sendai argued… "A _hailstorm_ of bullets, you say…?"

' _Something like this could kill someone like me instantly.'_ The prospect of a _multi-fire_ physical gun was scary and unheard of, to her. ' _Taking one bullet is hell enough. If this thing shoots whole salvos…'_

"How much for it?" Sendai was ready to purchase a deadly weapon.

Reimu was not happy, however. "What, no. Mom, you're not murdering people. Outside guns are no joke."

...Sendai's look back was skeptical. ' _I mean, I'm not dead yet, all things considered.'_

"Hmmh." He tilted his head about. "I _would_ like to fix it up, someday, and it only has so-and-so ammo. Except…"

 _Chik- chik._ He cocked the shotgun, and a round, red cartridge casing was expelled from the chamber.

Setting it back down, he bent down and claimed it. "Maybe I can take this to the kappa, and see what they think. I _would_ like to know what it's power is like, from someone who could use it for real combat. Particularly, against youkai. Please do not tell me you've shot a human's limbs off with it."

' _Is this thing really that powerful…?'_ Sendai was even more skeptical, now.

"I'd still have to run… I'd say, fifty thousand yen for it." Rinnosuke decided. "It's not often that I get my hand on an outsider weapon, before the kappa does. They typically charge about this much, for whatever base models they _don't_ reverse engineer, so…"

Sendai placed the yen on the counter. "That sounds pretty good."

...His expression, while unsure, was flat. "It only has four shots left in it, you know. If you want more ammo…"

 _Shoof._ He placed a box on the counter. "Each full refill will run you about… twenty five thousand yen."

Sendai furrowed her brows. "That's half the price of the thing itself."

"Yes." He nodded. "If you really need _nine or more_ shots of that thing, I'd like more value from the deal myself. While I _do_ want feedback on it… you know, this really risks losing it itself, if you choose to keep it for whatever reason. And, I know you…"

"I _did_ just pay an arm and a leg for it." Sendai felt at the shotgun… "Unless you really just gave me an indefinite rental. Do you just _make_ the ammo too, or…?"

"No, I have to run it by the kappa." He gave her a nod… "They can make more cartridges. I tried, but…"

' _Price makes a lot more sense, then.'_ Sendai knew the kappa to be stingy even when she was alive. ' _I'd imagine only some of the ammo fee is him turning a profit, at the rate the kappa do business.'_

"Well, if I ever run out of money, I guess I can club people with it." Sendai supposed, looking the shotgun over. "Thanks, Kourin."

 _Sendai purchased Winchester Model 1897_ _(four shots remaining) for 50,000 Yen!_

"Uh… please, don't use it as a club." Rinnosuke felt like this was an overall bad idea. "Just, the gun's firing mechanism- it's finicky, and could fire the gun when you don't want it to, if you're not careful. Especially if you use it as a mallet when it's not empty."

' _...Must be especially broken, then.'_ Sendai couldn't imagine why that would happen. ' _I guess because these things are purely mechanical, the metal could slip or something. But, how does that fire the bullet? Ugh. Who the hell's bright idea…'_ She couldn't really wrap her head around firearms.

She slid the gun into her pink arm sleeve, and it disappeared.

...Rinnosuke blinked. "Ah? You've discovered 'hammer space', I see."

"Seems really powerful." Sendai supplied. "Especially if it means, I can just keep buying shotguns."

"I don't _think_ you'll ever need more than one…" Rinnosuke shook his head again…

' _...I mean, if each needs to be reloaded when they run out, it seems like you couldn't have enough. Still, maybe… five or ten for an eventful day might be good. I don't actually know how strong they are, yet.'_

 _Clack._ Marisa sat down a toaster she'd found nearby. "I want one 'a these."

"...If you plan to actually _pay for it_ before breaking it, _sure."_ He began to look encumbered with the logistics, of this situation… "What of you, Reimu?"

Reimu held up a sleigh, it looked like. "Mom'll be buying me this. 'Cause I'm broke."

' _Wait, what.'_ Sendai turned to her…

 _Sendai paid 11,000 Yen in gift expenses…_

Outside the Kourindou, Sendai stopped herself from zooming into the distance by thinking about it. ' _If I just trod around like I normally do, I'm gonna get separated from everyone.'_

"...So, why'd you make me buy a sleigh, again?" She looked at the sleigh held under Reimu's right arm, just now.

Reimu answered fully. "It's Christmas."

...Sendai learned actually nothing. "What's Christmas."

"Reimu- it's still _October…"_ Marisa began to grin. "Just 'cause it snowed don't mean it's Christmas!"

"It's festive, though." Reimu argued. "And, I'm just kinda planning ahead, you know. Don't you plan to take her flying?" She gestured to her mother…

"But, what's Christmas?" Sendai was still in the dark… "I'm gonna keep asking until you actually answer me."

Reimu took a moment to collect her thoughts. "...It's a western holiday. It's supposed to be in the last week of December. People put up lights, and give each other gifts, and sleep. It's not really celebrated around these parts, but it is at the mansion, and among some of us..."

Marisa nuzzled the toaster she bought. "If yer good, Mommy-chan, I might give ya this in a few months…"

"I can't even use toasters." Sendai curled her brows up… "Well, technically I can, but I'd rather not."

...Putting away her toaster with only mild bewilderment, Marisa ignored the confusing sentiment. "Anyway! We should get flyin', ze!"

After taking in the bright white world around them, Sendai focused on her. "Flying…"

"Normally it _wouldn't work,_ but ya should be way less wind resistant wit' that silly purple outfit on." As Marisa spoke, her broom drifted out of nowhere, coming up behind herself… "'Cause we're goin' by broom! And, it can only hold so much 'fore it gets sad, an' we crash 'n' break all our limbs."

"Broom." Sendai echoed. She'd seen it when Marisa fought her, a few times before. "...Doesn't it ride into your crotch?"

Marisa snorted. "Only a little! Also, I can ride it sideways, so it _don't_ do that. I'd recommend you do it, too! Some people think full force forward would feel good, but trust me, nothin' about havin' some _jagged ass wood_ stickin' up your vagina feels good! Just like when dudes get their balls crushed tryina' ride horses!"

' _Ah.'_ Sendai supposed that answered all possible questions…

Marisa soundlessly sat down on the hard wood, and Sendai did, too. Each girl's impact on it made it bob a little, decreasing her faith that this would work…

"Hold on tight!" Marisa strongly recommended. "Or yer gonna eat air, and shit!"

' _...I'd like to not eat shit.'_ Sendai gave her a fair stare… ' _Such a colorful vocabulary. She still really reminds me of Marcus.'_

Gradually, but soon accelerating faster, they began to ascend.

Very quickly, Sendai felt she'd committed to something dangerous. ' _Oh, boy. We're rising fast…'_

Looking around, she saw Reimu casually floating up with them. ' _A broom at least kind of makes some kind of sense, but why can Reimu just fly for no reason!?'_

It was like when she was on that airplane, except somehow weirder. ' _Sitting on a tiny piece of wood somehow doesn't feel any safer. Nnh…'_

 _Whi- whi~sh!_ As they took to the air, Sendai felt the whipping winter winds pass into her tunic-like miko outfit. ' _So cold!_ _Ahah…'_

Instantly, in the air, Sendai met the blue of the midday sky, and the absolutely _blinding_ brutality of the snow-covered land below. The rest of Gensokyo's plains were like a reflection of the sun, and a _huge_ middle finger to Sendai's ability to see.

The snow-captured trees with orange and red leaves lowered below her vision. The horizon was bathed in a white glow, the distant mountains sharp with sun, but still lost in the rich, misty glow of the far, forever unreachable world.

They bobbed to stability, now a healthy two hundred meters over the snowy plains below. From here, Sendai could make out the Hakurei Shrine, as well as the mansion, and the village. ' _So-... so high…!'_

If she thought the cold was bad as they rose, it was incredible now. ' _Between the wind- and the air… holy shit…'_ Nothing about her outfit stopped the wind, despite everything.

"Hehehe~!" Marisa laughed over the wind. "If ya ever get _too cold,_ ze, feel free ta hold o~n!"

' _If I pushed her off, I wonder if we'd both die.'_ Sendai supposed this wasn't the best thing to be thinking about…

Up here, especially due to the messy white below, Sendai could make out the fairies and youkai who pierced the canopies of various woods, drifting about and doing their snowy day activities.

Despite the icy wind, Sendai furrowed her brows and endured it. "I'll be fine…!"

There wasn't a cloud in the sky, today, which made the sun that more insufferable, from all angles. Sendai's eyes were very squinted, to the point she just let one close so she could still look around a little better with just one eye. ' _Damn…'_

"How do you put up with all the light…!?" Sendai yelled over the roaring wind.

"Ve~ry carefully!" Marisa outright failed to answer her question. "Let's _go!"_

 _WOOSH!_ Suddenly, they took off. ' _Woah!'_

Up here, Sendai once again got a visual of how limited in scale Gensokyo really was. But, it was big enough for her. ' _Any bigger, and patrolling would be a serious pain in the ass.'_

To her surprise, the texture of Youkai Mountain wasn't _as_ blinding as it could be. ' _...I didn't get a good look at this place when on that plane. I've always looked out on Gensokyo from the mountain's top, so seeing the mountain itself from so far… it's something crazy to behold, for sure.'_

This was the first time in awhile she really stopped at the same level as the mountain's top, as her patrols tapered off once she had Reimu. Less time to romp around the land, and all that. ' _...Maybe I should have. But, there's nothing to say I wouldn't have gotten assassinated faster that way. I'm just thinking, maybe I could have stopped whoever killed me.'_

Speaking of Youkai Mountain, they were accelerating towards it, really quickly. ' _How- fucking fast are we- woah…!?'_

 _WOOSH._ Marisa tilted her broom up, and they flipped upside down for a moment, before righting. They had done a loop in two quick seconds, that wasted only a little time, but whipped both of their hairs around wildly in the process. ' _Holy crap…!'_

" _Love Sign…!"_ Marisa passed her weapon back to Sendai. "Yo- can ya slip that into the slot on my ass!?"

Sendai's eyes widened, and she roared back over the wind. " _What!?"_

Marisa grinned at her own slip-up. "I mean- the _ass_ 'a the _broom-_ not _my ass!"_

Looking back, Sendai saw the octagon-shaped hole for the octagon-shaped weapon. ' _...Octagon peg goes into octagon hole.'_

 _Click._ She put it in, and brought her hand back.

" _Master Spa~rk!"_ Marisa slid a leg over the broom's front, to take direct control of it-

 _VRRRRRR~!_ Sendai glanced at the roar of rainbow magic behind them for only a moment, before she had to lunge her arms towards Marisa to not get swept off into it. ' _Wh- whoaah- what the fu~ck!?'_

She felt their bodies vibrate on the broom, as they rocketed at almost idealistic, unrealistic speed towards the mountain's top.

Marisa's body was alit with fruity stripes, the Master Spark's light great and powerful, even in the brightest sunlight of the year. ' _This beam-...!'_ It reminded Sendai of something of Marcus's, even. ' _It's like the Holy Spark…!'_

 _VRRRRRrrrr-..._ After some time, the spark finally died out. But, at this point, between the eye-watering wind and the cold that pierced to their bone, the girls were already just about there.

In fact, Sendai hadn't seen it through the white blur the world below had become, but they'd arrived.

 _SHOOF- SHO- SHOOF!_ They hit a big snow bank. ' _Ngh- ow- ff-...! Fu~ck!'_ Even though it was snow, it hurt. Especially this high up, where the snow froze harder, and clumpier.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

 _fwoof- fwoof._ Reimu fanned the remaining snow off of them with a huge, person-sized talisman.

Sendai held herself on instinct, shivering. "You- you got _breaks,_ on that fucking thing…?"

"He- hehe- _ow…"_ Marisa let a potion bottle lower from her mouth, having almost emptied it. Dropping it into the snow, she reached for her right arm, and-

 _crack._ She righted it. " _Fhu~_ huhuhu! Yea~h, _Reimu!"_

Reimu chuckled, looking between amused and worried… "Wh- why're you calling out to me? ...And, isn't it a waste of potions, to keep hurting yourself?"

"Ye- yeah!" Marisa gave her a big nod. "But I got u~h… somewhere between _two hundred_ and _one hundred_ more! I'll be good!"

' _Gods.'_ Sendai wasn't sure what to think about that. ' _Where did she find all the resources…!? That's almost a year of just doing nothing but making potions.'_

"Right, I forgot…" Reimu shook her head. "Well, if it makes you happy."

...Marisa grinned at Sendai. "My question's how you got outta it with just a buncha snow on ya!"

"I probably transferred it all to you." Sendai figured. "That, and, my body's way above yours in general."

"Tha~t's _true,_ isn't it…" Marisa let her hype taper off… "Anyway!" Recovering, she pointed ahead.

There was a blue shrine of some sort, before the three girls. The shingles had snow on them, too, but it was beginning to melt a little.

' _...Is this the shrine that Reimu told me about?'_ Sendai looked a little taken aback… ' _It's like a bad joke. It's so, so far up… any villager who tried to trek here would-... would they even get past the tengu? Wow.'_

Sendai even remembered hanging out around this particular clearing near the mountain's top, before. ' _How things change, huh.'_

"Let's go say hi ta Sanae, ze…" Marisa gave both the shrine maidens a nod of reassurance.

Reimu snorted. "Mmm."

"If I have to fight all of your friends, Reimu, I'm gonna be mad." Sendai was sort of sensing a running trend, between her, Marisa, and Sakuya…

"Yeah, well, Sanae's a pushover." Reimu waved the idea off. "It's her gods you'd probably have to worry about. Come to think of it, parading you around-... well, not that it matters now, since Aya already has articles on you around, somehow."

Marisa grinned back at her. "Aw, c'mon. Mommy-chan won't get any stronger if ya just _baby_ her. Why, I oughta beat 'er up myself, one 'a these days!"

"As if you don't…" Sendai gave her a vain stare.

"Marisa, you got a thing for hurting yourself." Reimu was just as vain.

 _Clack, clack._ Sendai trusted this front porch more than the others, by virtue of it being a Shinto shrine. ' _This place does feel quite holy, and…'_

On this peak, the wind was the strongest in Gensokyo. Sendai's hair whipped well behind her every other moment. ' _Probably because it's_ the _mountain top, but there's something about this shrine…'_

 _Shoof._ The shrine door slid open.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

...Stepping into the shrine, Sendai was met with a flush of pleasant warmth, temperate air, and a feeling of calm. ' _Woah.'_

For the simplicity of the structure, her body immediately felt a turning sensation upon stepping in, which soon gave away. ' _This-...'_

There was a sort of childish sensation to this place, and it was almost the same, offputting vibe she got from the magic forest's center. A kind of vibrant, innocent life beset by massive, frayed and fear-inducing power.

Except here, the distinction was less random, ultimately clearer to read. And, unlike the magic forest's unholiness, this one was holy. ' _Not sure if that feeling's a lot better.'_

' _...It's strange. What magic produces this heat?'_ Sendai would have felt beings of powerful wind like this would be acclimated to the biting cold. ' _You'd think, for a wind god… it'd be like, if their followers could not handle their wind, they'd not be welcomed here.'_

...She idly stared at a glowing device in the corner of the room. Unbeknownst to her, the magic heat was actually just this modern radiator.

"Aa~h…" A girl with long-green hair sauntered into the room, stretching. "Heya~. Aah- _oh!_ Reimu, Marisa! And-... her!" She pretended to know the pink-clad Sendai… "It's been a long time since I've seen you, I think!"

...Reimu blinked. "That's my mom, who's been dead for fifteen years. Where could you have possibly seen her last."

...The green-haired girl let her brows raise. "Wh- why'd that have to be the _worst case scenario._ I thought- you'd like, brought someone you expected me to-"

Marisa just talked over her. "Whah, ya mean ya _haven't_ seen 'er corpse walkin' 'round before!? Wo~w, Sanae-ze. Dick move."

"What- no!" Sanae fluffed up, rounding the kotatsu. "It's not my faul~t! Uah..." Then, she centered on Sendai… "But, uh, really, who's she…?"

The kotatsu in the middle of the room was of particular note to Sendai. ' _Ooh.'_

"Truth is stranger than fiction, huh, Reimu…" Marisa shot another great grin to her friends.

Reimu exhaled. "Oh, boy. You better help me explain, because the mansion was just a mess. And, whatever we do, we're not leaving her alone. Things start exploding when we get separated."

"Who- who'd you invite into my shrine…!?" All this foreboding talk worried Sanae…

 _shoof._ Reimu slid under the kotatsu quickly. "Sit down, and we'll tell you."

...After a few moments, Sanae gingerly took a seat. Sendai and Marisa congregated around the kotatsu to join her.

Sendai took in the architecture quietly. ' _This is a lot like our shrine, but… well, for one thing, it's not just three rooms. More like… five rooms.'_

"...Um?" Sanae looked to the girls questioningly.

"Hey. Hey, Sanae." Marisa began to grin big. "Whah-... what's the combination of a _cowboy,_ and a _clown?"_

...Sanae just blinked at her.

Her grin became shit-eating. "A _clownboy."_

"Mom, get out the shotgun." Reimu covered her own eyes…

 _Chi- chik._ Sendai reached into her pink band-accented great sleeve, and drew the Winchester Model 1897 in one motion.

Sanae's jaw dropped. "Wh- _holy crap!"_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

==x==

x / Sendai Hakurei No Miko, the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

INVENTORY:

 _X Sub-weapons:_

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

X Pocket items:

[Global Item Box] - Pocket-fillers that grant Sendai unlimited inventory space, as long as the item fits. Takes up no inventory space.

[Elementary Backpack] - Young student's backpack. Really tiny, and looks cute on Sendai. Uses no inventory space- being inventory itself- and provides four item slots.

(1x) Potion - A potion used to restore health. Basic, but the best choice for human users. Provides heavy health regeneration for some seconds.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evolution - Heals the entire party, as if they were all given a potion. Equal to a Mega Potion, but consumes an item crash use to produce these effects.

[Tiny Bag] - Uses no inventory space. A small bag, for small goods. Provides four inventory slots, but every time an item is taken out, the bag gets smaller. After four removals, the bag becomes Plain Cloth.

Tauriner - Experimental medicinal restoration item. Restores 'spirit energy'. In Sendai's case, it restores a single item crash use upon consumption.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Yukkuri Production Kit - A kit used for creating yukkuri, which obey the user. Consumable with ten uses. Comes with DNA kits for Reimu, Marisa, and Alice types. Life catalyst is bundled with this item.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

High-Quality Bottled Water - Refreshing and pure.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Broken Winchester Model 1897 - Four shots remaining - Damaged shotgun, which deals half of its potential damage. Fires a curtain of bullets, with a chance to strike multiple foes. Very powerful physical weapon, which induces bleeding, stagger and knockback. Power not modified by user's strength.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

(x5) Pocket Lint - Dust friends. Uses no inventory space. Can be combined with nine hundred ninety four other Pocket Lints to create something cataclysmic...

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Ragnarok Theorem - Inflicts a random status effect on a random target. Cannot instantly kill or doom. Cannot cast Auto-Life.

108,260 Yen - Money used to purchase goods. Takes up no inventory space.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards…

Blue Flexi-suit - One-piece swimsuit with removable parts, for easy access to bodily regions. Offers no protection. Made of a mysterious, ticklish material…

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Oni Fight & Drink Guide - Brutal text that archives some oni traditions, as well as one's personal bias to the sword. Teaches Sendai Gravity Flash and-

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Ruby - Takes up no inventory space. Has no practical value, but may be sold for 250,000 Yen to the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and for ~300,000 Yen to a jeweler.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Firaga Burst - Summons an orb of flame over the battlefield, which rains down balls of fire that ignite everything. Expert-level fire magic.

Daffodil - Common white or yellow flower. Most common flower in the universe.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Purify - Heals party of all status ailments.

-=o=-

Hakurei Maiden Combat Outfit: DP - The shrine maiden outfit of the miko who came before. Made for a large bust, and bolsters both martial offense and blunt defense. Features a hakama bottom for easy leg movement, and a black leotard so the upper body can move easily.

 _ATTRIBUTES:_

Yin-Yang's Light - Draws forth the wearer's true worth?

Last Hakurei's Darkness - Draws forth the wearer's true worth?

Youkai Exterminator - Balanced, miniscule boost to strength, speed and defense for all styles.

Pockets - Hammerspace is accessed from the pockets.

-=o=-

Hakurei Maiden Combat Outfit: Brawler - Blue-black Hakurei outfit with white accents. Arm sleeves are minimalized to make punching easier, and the cloth is a little heavier than normal.

 _ATTRIBUTES:_

Hard Cloth - Slight increase to knockback resistance, and stagger resistance when in Youkai Style.

Dynamic Sleeves - Slight increase to attack speed and power when in Youkai Style.

Armory - Hammerspace is accessed from the inner face of the blue apron.

-=o=-

(eight slots remaining [Elementary Backpack])

(one tiny bag slot remaining!)

(over one hundred hammerspace slots remaining)

 _X Armor:_

 _x Body:_ Traditional Miko Outfit ReMiX: Rush - Pink-white traditional shrine maiden outfit. Arm sleeves are maximized to increase control and speed, at the cost of being able to use much if any power. The body itself is also loose enough to promote great speed.

 _ATTRIBUTES:_

Great Sleeves - Massive increase to accuracy when in Tengu Style.

Hastega - Slide dodge technique is easier to control, goes farther, and is moderately faster. Standard running speed is slightly faster.

Quick Draw - Hammerspace is accessed from sleeves.

 _x Misc:_

Reinforced Apron - A royal red, reinforced cloth apron. Defends Sendai a little against incoming magic and blunt physical attacks.

Nothing.

Nothing.

 _x Weapon:_ Cheap Katana - Nine uses remaining until it breaks - An average-sized blade, made from folded iron and molded into… relative practicality, rather than perfection. Cheap and disposable.

==x==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

 _X Body_

Endured IV - Sendai has forged her body through a long cycle of training and combat. She's still not much stronger, but she knows what immense pain feels like.

Powerful IV - With constant, repeated motions and strength training, Sendai has built up her body to strike fear into the land's youkai. Hits are becoming closer to her former strength...

Dark Affinity - Inherently, Sendai has channeled inner, dark feelings for most of her life. Grants 50% dark resistance.

Nature's Acquaintance - Sendai used to like nature. Grants 25% Wind resistance, when Tengu Style is activated.

Holy Rage - When in Fantasy Nature style, Sendai is 50% weak to holy sources of damage. Also confers 100% dark resistance and curse immunity.

 _X Soul_

Heated Spirit IV - A building fragment of the resolve she used to wield. Allows Sendai to use four item crashes. At the end of every fight, she regains one use. Recharged by sleeping, or gaining new resolve.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Magic is ingrained into her body to allow her to replicate certain objects as long as she has enough mana. Becomes unusable when all item crashes are used up.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

Rebellious Soul - Able to channel her magic to her limbs, which takes on the form of dark enchantments. Reduces damage where she applies it, by strengthening the body itself. Only available in Youkai Style.

Mischievous Soul - Able to channel her magic to her limbs, which takes on the form of loose, windy magic. Allows her to weave, run faster, and jump higher than ever before, at a hefty cost to her power and her ability to use darkness magic. Only available in Tengu Style.

Phoenix Spirit - When angered or at critical health, Sendai's adrenaline rises gradually regardless of her momentum in the fight, letting her pull off critical techniques easier. One may harm a phoenix's body, but they can't harm its pride.

Secret of the Mad Maid * Poise - When Sendai has high anger and adrenaline, she knows how to hide her pain from gunshots or knife stabs, refusing to stagger or wither as easily. However, every one of these attacks she resists will drain from her adrenaline.

Terrain Essence - Sendai can use the environment to deal devastating damage to her enemies. Executable off of walls, the ground, big objects; by lifting tables or chairs, etcetera. Boosts in power the less item crashes Sendai has used.

Weapon Essence - Melee weapons gain decisive maneuvers which deal immense damage. Allows Sendai to use swords semi-properly.

Essence of Finishing - Downed enemies are very vulnerable to extreme attacks, as Sendai's discovered. Follow-ups on downed enemies can now be critical hits, as long as Sendai's spirit remains full. Works with weapons, too.

Essence of Wreckage - When enraged or pushed to the edge, Sendai's follow-up on downed enemies becomes a lethal, relentless onslaught of fists and power. Heavily demanding on her body, and leaves her expended for awhile after use. Wasteful, unskillful, powerful technique. Learned by observing Ex-Keine perform a similar attack...

Essence of Assimilation - When in Fantasy Nature style, Sendai attempts to consume the body of dark-elemental beings. Kills the target. Refills health, item crashes, and Fantasy Nature duration. Sendai inherits target's life force as a result. Bonus power deteriorates over time unless kept fed.

 _X Technique_

 _x Misc:_

Misc Abilities - Skills that don't necessarily go with a style. Often utilitarian or shared.

Switch Style - Changing her stance, posture, and enchantment capabilities, Sendai changes out her moveset and the way she controls. Can only switch to Youkai and Tengu styles, as Fantasy Nature style only works by item crash.

Candy Confetti - If Sendai has candy in her inventory, she can cast it into the air stylishly. Uses 50% of small candies in Sendai's inventory. Skips random encounters with fairies, and lowers fairy aggression levels. Duration and effect depend on how many candies are spent. Works less well on Scarlet Devil Mansion fairies.

Summon * Sakuya Izayoi - Summons Sakuya Izayoi. Allows Sendai to access the item box anywhere. Allows Sendai to request her for recreation. Allows Sendai to summon her to fight alongside her.

 _DETAILS:_ Maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion - Sakuya has a variety of styles. They reflect her progression through life, and as so, ascend in power and utility. Most are rarely seen, however.

o _Dawnstar Style -_ Rarely seen.

o _Assassin Style_ \- Light knife and dirty fighting tactics. Light physical projectiles. High tendency to use danmaku, especially when requested.

o _Solace Style_ \- Wields a Luger and Claimh Solais. Stance for taking down greater youkai and some vampires. Rarely seen.

o _Perfect Maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion -_ Sakuya stops time often and instantly eradicates most foes. Includes powerful counter-attacks, and visceral supplementary damage to her attacks. Rarely seen.

 _x Youkai Style:_

Youkai Style - Sendai's default post-revival style. Has a mixture of youkai techniques and handy things she's learned. Gained its namesake after she defeated her daughter, and unlocked some of her inner potential.

Dark Power - Sendai accents her body with dark magic, reducing incoming damage and heightening outgoing damage when she wills it.

Guard - Sendai guards against attacks. Self-explanatory. Prevents most damage, but doesn't work against blades or bullets, for obvious reasons. Doesn't protect her from angles other than her front.

Quick Step - Sendai slides on her sandals to avoid an attack, jolting her muscles to evade. Pretty much muscle memory to her, at this point. Also known as Slide Dodge.

Dodge Retaliation - A technique remembered through battle against Marisa Kirisame. After quick stepping, Sendai can instantly retaliate with a thrusting punch. _Only_ effective when spirit energy is high.

Flying Kick - When running, Sendai can throw herself into a double-legged kick that smashes through defenses, and is not interrupted by minor sources of pain or knockback.

Mad Maid's Kink * Rolling Kick - Sendai half-cartwheels, and half-flips forward into an enemy, striking with each of her sandals at the end of her roll. Not as effective as Flying Kick, but easier to control, and hits multiple times. Doesn't pierce defenses as easily. Sidegrade skill to Flying Kick.

Slide Leap - One of Sendai's classic abilities, from her memory. Has two parts. Begins with Sendai sliding along the ground, from which she may launch herself into the air with a kick.

Youkai Buster Combo * Brawl - A series of ambitious punches aided by kicks, which gives most foes little time to recover and staggers often. Includes a series of hooks, and finishes with a dark-accented overhead punch that launches most foes.

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Konpaku Shot Stopper - An ancient Konpaku defense technique, first used against matchlock rifles, now adapted to be effective against handguns and shotguns. Allows Sendai to execute a decisive maneuver when near firearms users, as well as disarm them. _Only_ effective when spirit energy is high.

Youkai Cunning: Revenge Value - Enables Sendai to follow-up melee attacks with a strike or a grapple, using the momentum her body receives. Doesn't work if she's knocked back.

Faze Step - Lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward some distance. Makes her highly knockback resistant while it executes. It's not in its true form, yet.

 _x Tengu Style:_

Tengu Style - Sendai's speed-focused style, sacrificing her brutal power for great speed and evasive ability, helping her get further with her combat skills. Learned after she witnessed Aya show off using a similar moveset.

Wind Power - Sendai accents blows with wind. As her attacks ascend in intensity, so does the wind that guides her. Usually weak and does little other than improve speed, but it could also be powerful in its own right...

Slide Dodge Plus - Sendai can slide dodge one additional time, and it comes easier, with the wind's guidance. This increases her total dodges to two in succession.

Slide Dodge Plus - Sendai can slide dodge one additional time, and it comes easier, with the wind's guidance. This increases her total dodges to three in succession.

Slide Dodge Plus - Sendai can slide dodge one additional time, and it comes easier, with the wind's guidance. This increases her total dodges to four in succession.

Weave Guard - Sendai can no longer guard, and when she does, it's hilariously ineffective. Instead, she weaves past some blows, or chooses to parry, reducing or avoiding damage entirely. Doesn't work against some moves, or heavy magic.

Youkai Buster Combo * Rush - Fast jabs and thrusts, which are too fast for some enemies to keep track of. Deals very low damage, but is easy to use, accurate, and chains into many different quick attacks.

Flick Kick - Combo finisher. When she's dealt enough hits, Sendai sweeps a leg up in a rising kick to her enemy's torso. Breaks enemy guards, with good knockback and stagger potential. Most effective when bouncing an enemy against a wall, opening them for harassment and punishment.

Stun Drive - Sendai's basic combo attacks have a chance to stun less aware foes with their intensity and speed, setting them up for an easy knockdown. Alternatively, they can just be left amazed.

Feint Taunt - A taunt where Sendai weaves before an enemy, throwing windy, fast punches before them. Has a chance to intimidate foes.

 _x Fantasy Nature Style:_

Fantasy Nature Style - Style adopted whenever Sendai casts Fantasy Nature. Uses dark power and an amalgamation of youkai abilities.

Scratch - Basic attack. Deal dark elemental damage over time on incision, which may expand incisions. May be inflicted by any limb; claws not required.

Anti-Glide - User moves at impossible, awkward angles to avoid attacks and projectiles. Provides limited flight.

Air Giant Wheel - Spinning inhumanly fast on an invisible axis, the user unleashes a torrent of deadly scratches. Prevents retaliation with harassment.

Midair Doom - Arching back, Sendai unleashes a sphere of intersecting slashes. Mid-air finishing move. Launches foes.

Gravity Flash - Skidding along her stomach, Sendai scrapes the floor in a circular motion, before sending out a wave of crushing magic all around herself. Ground-based finishing move. Space elemental magic.

Stun Meteor - Balling up in the air, Sendai comes down on a target, encapsulated in an orb of non-elemental, lovely energy. May stun targets. May launch foes.

==x==Ω==x==

 _Ω Marcus Kirisame, the Middle-Aged Magician_

INVENTORY:

Ω Pocket items:

(2x)Hi-Ether - Restores enough mana for even high-tiered youkai to be able to appreciate.

Paddleball - Here comes the paddleball!

(2 slots remaining)

Ω Armor:

-o- Body: Comfy Robes - Familiar, aged robes. Comfy and easy to move around in.

STATS:

50% fire resistance.

50% electric resistance.

50% ice resistance.

-o- Misc:

Enchanted Dreamcatcher - A trinket that halves the effectiveness of debuffs on the user.

Nothing.

Nothing.

-o- Weapon: Magic Bazooka - Collapsible magic bazooka. Can fire lasers in a variety of elemental flavors, but works best with non-elemental magic. Uses currently mastered elements.

==x==

SKILLS:

-o- Items

Replicable Packaged Bomb - No one's certain how many he has. Tosses a cardboard package, which detonates into danmaku, with the potential to launch and stagger targets.

-o- Ice Magic

Glacier - Erect a tall ice blade. Heavy physical ice attack.

Ice Shard - Spawn ice in an enemy's form. Moderate ice magic. May freeze targets.

-o- Fire Magic

Firaga - Lob a short-range fireball mortar. Heavy fire magic that ignites. Preceding tiers are homing fireballs that have a chance to ignite.

Fireball - Generate a fireball in an opponent's form. Moderate fire magic that ignites. Not to be confused with Fira or Fire, mechanically weaker spells that precede Firaga.

-o- Water Magic

Bubbles - Summon bubbles under an opponent. Gets them wet and stuff. Might lower their physical attack…! Good setup for electric moves, too…!

Bubble Burst - Expert water magic. Summons a lot of bubbles under a lot of opponents. Still gets them wet. Also still might lower their physical attack…!

-o- Other Elemental

Quake - Disrupt the earth, and create a not-so-sharp spike of rock. Moderate physical earth attack.

Thunderbolt - Summon a myriad of thunder strikes to converge on a single target. Advanced electric magic. May stun foes. Hits three times.

Mana Drain - When able to access the opponent's mana, Marcus is able to pull it away. Magnet elemental magic. Usually initiated by a non-elemental orb.

-o- Non Elemental

Non-elemental Orb - A flexible non-elemental orb that may explode or simply dissipate. When dissipated, the mana may infuse with enemies and intertwine with their mana pool, allowing for Marcus to follow up.

Magic Resistance - Buffs an ally against magic. Starts at forty percent resistance, but tapers off to nothing over time.

Magic Shield - A non-elemental shield which absorbs all magical attacks, as long as they're not draining, death, or magnet related.

Lucky Star - Non-elemental star that bonks people on the head. Very random damage.

Star Shower - A rain of non-elemental stars which hit a crowd of foes for very random damage.

Cold and Gold - A danmaku non-spell which Marcus can create from an influx of magical energy.

-o- Ability

Elemental Control - Marcus has general mastery and control over non-elemental and elemental mana manipulation, allowing him to do some freeform manipulation for whatever he feels. Mastery and flexibility of freeform control depends on how many spells of that elemental branch are known.

Telekinesis - Semi-decent magical control of objects and matter; more specifically, spending mana to move objects. Works on clothes, too!

Magical Mastery - Marcus has access to any lower tier of attack he's currently mastered, if he needs to use such for whatever reason. As in, he knows Firaga therefore the preceding levels come innately, etcetera.

==x==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

this was a pretty fun chapter too! back to a slower pace after some of the INTENSE ACTION of the previous sendai chapters - w -

we're less likely to see any other immediately assassination attempts on sendai 'cause sanae is not as much of a murder hobo as the sdm friends (although most of them have personal reasons to want to ice a lady)

also now sendai gets to get used to her NEW STYLE

despite me hammering home the azure, balanced spirit sendai had in the previous few fights, something so limited and general is not something she will settle with dude

now she gets to try being a SPEED DEMON to get revenge on all the bitches who have been styling on her with their superior speed, working on her reflexes and skill shit in the process!

it's also gonna be fun because it's just totally different from the stock 'take your blows like a champ and do as much raw damage back as possible' of youkai style; getting hit takes sendai out of it way easier but she has a lot more options to STYLE ON 'EM like this too

where a lot of sendai's previous fights boiled down to a MANLY DPS RACE, tengu style should theoretically help her even up the odds a little bit - w -

plus she can also switch between fighting stances at will, meaning she gets that much more flexibility dude; it does take her a moment or two to collect herself for each probably, since they're both just radically different approaches

she'll probably also want the big eats to pair with her mountain adventure!

inb4 sendai skips the next encounter by _FILLING THEM FULLA LEAD DUDE_

a shotgun might be a waste to use on fairies if she finds any . w '

as always, see you all next time!


	14. Wind's Requiem, Fighter's Ballad

The four girls were all seated around a warm, blue-white kotatsu, in the midst of Gensokyo's sub-autumn, winter-like frost, protected by the walls of the Moriya Shrine.

"...Ah, huh." Kneeled under said kotatsu, Sanae's nodding was reserved, and her expression vague. "So-... huh. This is your mom then."

Reimu had explained the situation to her, once everyone had settled down. "Yeah. Crazy, isn't it?"

"...Yeah." Despite the length of the tale, Sanae was still skeptical. "She's pretty hot…"

' _I knew she was staring.'_ Sendai began to grin. ' _But still-'_

Reimu shook her head… "Not _again."_

"I- ah, am I wrong…!?" Giving her an intense grin back, Sanae leaned towards her. "She looks like something out of a doujin! You need to protect her, Reimu!"

Reimu snorted. "At the rate this is going, I'll really have to..."

' _Why are all of Reimu's friends lesbians.'_ Sendai chuckled internally… ' _My next question… is Reimu into them? She has a lot of girl friends! It can't be just for the sake of it… or, maybe it can be. Every time I think we're walking into a rival territory or property, Reimu seems to be begrudging pals with whoever lives there. This is getting ridiculous.'_

"Well, mom." Reimu looked slightly displaced, turning to Sendai… "Her name is Sanae. She's soft and inexperienced."

"I- I'm not _that_ inexperienced." At that, Sanae took minor notice… "Y'know, this is _really_ crazy, right?"

"It's had some time to sink in." Shifting about in her seat, Reimu stared wantingly at the kotatsu below.

"Not fer Sanae-ze!" Marisa gave them both a very chummy look as she objected. "It'll pro'lly take awhile fer her, too!"

Making a more focused expression, Sanae raised her arms. "Like-... I know Gensokyo's really crazy and everything. But, seriously..."

' _This Sanae character…'_ Curiosity began to meet Sendai's mind. ' _What's this operation on the mountain about, anyway?'_

Sanae was the sense of childishness and playfulness she felt pour from this shrine. The more boundless, intimidating part was the essence of the wind.

"So." Sendai began speaking simply. "Sanae, was it?"

...Sanae blinked at her. "Yeah, hey?"

"What is your job as a miko, here? Or rather, what is the shrine's purpose?" It was never a question Sendai had to ask before, so it came from her a little strangely.

This also made Sanae pause. "...Uhm. I mean, I perform miracles… and uh, do blessings and stuff. We mostly serve the more peaceful youkai of the mountain, but we're pretty popular at the village, too."

' _The more peaceful youkai? As if that's a majority? Nnh. And the villagers call_ us _the miko of youkai...'_

"Miracles?" This phrasing stood out, and made Sendai wonder.

"Ah… yeah!" Her notice made Sanae perk up in her seat. "Simple ones can be sort of random… and, I can invoke them, but they take time. To prepare, I mean! It's proportional to how impossible they are."

"Really, now?" This ability really intrigued Sendai. "Can I see?"

...Sanae pursed her lips together. "Uu~h. Hold on."

Getting up from her seat at the kotatsu, she shuffled off in her socks towards a different room, and left.

...Sendai stared at the open sliding door she went through. ' _Awful crazy amount of setup for a small miracle.'_

Shortly, Sanae shuffled back into the main room. She had a salt shaker in her hand.

Coming up to the kotatsu, she moved to sit. "Alright- _ah!"_

 _Thump._ In a deliberate motion, she slipped onto her rear, and sent the salt shaker spiraling into the air, where it began to descend...

 _BAM!_ It hit the kotatsu top incredibly hard, exploding into multiple parts, the salt splaying all over it.

' _Wow._ ' If Sendai hadn't seen the impact, she would have twitched.

Reimu and Marisa did flinch at it, however, and the latter teased her. "Pft- hehaha~! Now that's a miracle if I ever saw one! Smooth moves!"

"Awwh…" Sanae faux-whined. "Co- come on…"

' _That movement was way too articulated.'_ Sendai had seen how Sanae slipped. ' _This is part of the demonstration.'_

Reimu's gaze was at first accented by a grin… but, seemed to catch on to what was going on quick enough, too. ' _Ah.'_ Sendai didn't expect Reimu to also be skeptical...

Sanae didn't expect such dead gazes from two of her three audience members. "...Um. Man. can you guys like, at least pretend to follow along?"

"No." Sendai folded her arms. "I wanna see a miracle. If this is just some telekinesis with salt, I'm going to be disappointed."

 _fwi- fwish._ In a sudden motion, the salt had all magically swirled back into the salt shaker, and the broken shaker came back together.

"...Do I have to pull out my shotgun again." Sendai was _extremely_ disappointed. "What did I _just_ say."

...Sanae stood up. "Alright- follow me outside, I feel obligated to prove myself now!"

"Man, oh man…" Marisa had a pitying smile. "Yer really gettin' them _critical hits_ today huh, Sanae?"

Reluctantly, Sendai got up from the kotatsu's warmth to follow. ' _Gods. I wonder if Marcus is reading something more interesting than this.'_

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

14

Wind's Requiem, Fighter's Ballad

-+- _Marcus Kirisame's Thoughts_ -+-

Another day.

Marcus took a gulp of pristine water, from the almost crystalline glass he held. Keine was at the school today, and he decided to spend the day at her house. It was somewhat awkward to stay here, but he felt like it. Perhaps Tsukiko would come back today, or maybe not. She was kind of fickle, and since she'd run off with Reimu, there was no telling what the two would get up to and how long that would take. He knew Tsukiko was in good hands, too.

Setting down the glass, he reclined in the fluffy chair in Keine's home.

' _Hookers're in jail.'_ He mulled over the responsibilities of the previous few days… ' _Eientei's crankin' out a cure, at that doc's request, an' them patients're already gettin' treated. Boys too. Seems everything's sorted.'_

His gaze wandered to the snow-cast, diamond glare of the windows. ' _Guards're really pussyin' out now. What, with the fall of a council boy, and all. Never been good at change, them. Kinda unfortunate too, since transformative change is what Gensokyo's all about.'_

Yet, it also wasn't, but to Marcus, it was. The day to day for him had long grown dull, but every year was a new change, a new subset of weeks with arrays of days to use to change, to learn and to grow.

Just in these last fifteen years, the changes were radical. Gensokyo moved on, gained new life. The history books showed how much of a passion flower the land was; a blossom fed by blood and tears, hate and love.

With the blooming of the flowers came the flourishing of nature. Magic was more accessible now than ever. The elements of the magi, the tricks and wiles of wise youkai, and the blunt, natural affinities of even the magically inept.

One could say change took awhile. But, these past fifteen years were a blur, so it was more sudden; almost the kind of sudden even the faintest youkai life would know.

' _Life's pretty crazy, huh.'_ He smiled down into his tome on warding, defensive magic.

Until now, he spent almost every day alone. Tsukiko was gone, Michelle was gone, and then Marisa had elected to leave their home. The timing was almost comedic, one event after another.

But, Gensokyo had changed, and Marcus did, too.

' _Hrrm.'_ He set the tome down. ' _S'hard to focus, right now.'_

Restless, idle, he rose from his seat. Taking the water, he paced meaninglessly away from the chair.

Despite the magic all around him, he made only a superficial effort at adapting. It just wasn't interesting.

He took a glance back at the tome. With it, he was reminding himself of the past magic he knew, and had been developing.

' _...Haa~h.'_ Turning from the magic book, he moved for the guest room across the house. It was there in place of the staircase up, for now. ' _Magic stuff…'_

The unlit room was comforting. Bright white poured in from the window, cast by the snow outside.

The skills he used to possess were, as a moderate amount of magi would note, impressive. Not only that, but they were foundational, and they were his passion.

He knew the answer of why he neglected them well. The world he knew had crumbled, and after everything, his own efforts lost steam.

 _Crea~k._ The front door opened. ' _Hmm…'_

"Yo, Kei~ne." It was Mokou. "You here? Ah- right… school." For a moment, she seemed more casual, but after she cast her gaze around, she saw Marcus. "Oh. It's just you."

Marcus hadn't turned back to her, still gazing out the window. ' _Even I couldn't 'a dreamt of shit like this. Tsukiko, just, back in a flash.'_

It was even something he was quick to accept. Because, of the countless losses he suffered, most minor, but the worst major, it was just awkward enough, just the perfect middleground of _realistic mediocrity_ for him to believe. His best friend was back, but his lover remained dead, and his daughter was still averse to him. It wasn't sad, and it was kind of happy, but it was… weird. That made it realistic.

He tilted his head back, chugging water.

' _If I could've just turned back time an' found someone, I'm sure I'd've found my confidence as well.'_ He smirked out the window, at the snow.

To him, the most inhuman thing to become, was someone who no longer strived nor feared. Someone who was content with nothing, until death. Someone just barely sub-human, or profoundly meta-human.

Some years ago, his idea was plain. To walk through his path of gold, where death would meet him at the end of the broken road. And, to have a little fun along the way, because life wasn't all skulls and crossbones. But, it sure wasn't worth putting anymore effort into.

He had become cold and gold. To himself, he lost his humanity over the years. The ride to the bottom was quick and merciless, and to stay there was easy, safe, and yet, draining at the same time.

Then, in an instant, something happened even sooner than when he lost his muse, when his inspiration had subsided, when he had walked a thousand miles alone, and passed the empty thrones of the arcane and gold. When he glanced books of meaningless worth, and power of no value.

Tsukiko was just back.

Now with an empty glass of water, Marcus held it up to stare through it. The sun had peeked through the clouds, filtered rays meeting the alley outside betwixt the village's homes. In this valley, a speckling of gold met the cold, an unearthly beauty meeting the eye through the wet lens of a cup.

' _What the fuck.'_ Marcus supposed on his own, that he was kind of an asshole. ' _Just-... holy shit.'_

It was like he woke up with a jolt. He found himself hitting books again, all of a sudden. He found himself doing a lot of things, all of a sudden. Meeting with Keine, using some of the great stockpile of yen he'd accumulated, studying.

Only in this moment did it dawn on him.

' _All this time, an' it took me this long ta realize.'_ The wounds of the past were made fresh again.

' _I moved on an' everything, an' I put the golden years behind me, but life fer me from then on was bein' an old guy. I'd lived, loved, lost it all, and it was good. Life rolls ya that way. But now… I dunno if this is life, or somethin' else.'_

Marcus turned away from the window, as the sunlight became momentarily obscured. ' _Took me this long ta realize life's what ya fuckin' make of it.'_

 _Fwi- fwish…!_ A grin crept up his features, as ice crept from his hands, up the cup. Once it was a full cylinder, he rose his other hand.

 _fzt!_ Electricity became contained in the wet center, making a gold lantern of the glass.

Having fun seemed richer, now. ' _A lot of shit seems richer, now! Hehehe~!'_

...Mokou stared vainly from the couch, as he brought the cold, gold lantern to the table.

 _BAM- CRA~CK!_ He shattered the glass on the table. From the shattering, a spark of light came into the air, flickering as it shot straight up, and into the ceiling. ' _Hoh! Holy shit!'_

"Hey- what the hell…!" Mokou had flinched at the sudden motion. "You finally lost it, or what!? Wasn't that Keine's glass?"

...Marcus shot her a smirk, which became toothy. "Aah. I'll foot the bill!"

 _Marcus learned Voltaic Ray!_

 _Marcus learned Inspire Drive I!_

In the end, he had to get himself a new water, because all that thinking and working himself up made him thirsty again. It was also cold too, which probably didn't help.

"Oo~h, man…" He rubbed a temple, and reclined in the fluffy chair. "Mokou, don' ever become old."

"Fuck you." She bristled at the joke, before smiling lopsidedly. "...What uh, makes you say that?"

"It sucks." He nodded at her. "...Although, I'm sure _you_ know that already. Many times over, in fact…!"

She exhaled. "...Yeah, lemme tell ya straight up: shit's what you make of it. Not that you ever learn that lesson. I'm sure _you_ know that already, and many times over."

She was making fun of him. He grinned. "Mmh, hmh. Y'know what, Mokou? Yer right."

"But I'm wrong, you'll say…" Mokou, while never one to really fraternize with Marcus, had heard plenty from Keine about his ideological complacency in the recent years.

"Nope." Marcus shook his head. "I was a piss baby. Hell, only reason I'm even considerin' the idea, s'cause Tsukiko's back in town. Took the literal impossible ta make me _truly_ go… 'fuck it'."

...Mokou nodded at that. "Yeah, that's kinda lame. I don't really believe you, either."

Marcus just rolled his eyes. "Yea~h. Mmm."

' _Well, if she's gonna be like that, I'mma just keep readin'. Not super in the mood ta pal around wit' er.'_ It took something precise and personal to make Marcus so simply shy from conversation like this.

"Not like I know a thing about solidarity." Mokou hopped onto the self-deprecation bandwagon. "I spent many years killing myself over and over. I half feel like it's a kind of thing that comes in waves. Someday, I might be that fucked up again. I don't know."

Marcus snorted. "...Yeah, that's kinda lame. I'd say I don't believe you, but that'd just make me look stupid!"

"Yeah, I kinda got an edge on you, here." Mokou smiled again. "Not that it matters. The fuck're _you_ doing, getting sappy like this?"

"Aa~h." Marcus would have waved her off, were his hands not full of book. "I ain't bein' _sappy._ Just old!"

"...Honestly, that might be the same thing." Mokou figured.

"Y'might be right!" Marcus grinned wider…

 _Knock knock._ Someone was at the door, which Mokou had closed and locked.

Marcus sat his tome back down. "Ah, hell. I swear, if this is _another_ one 'a them damned textbook salespeople, I'mma bust a blood vessel…"

"I've almost hit one before." Mokou began to recline on the couch… "A couple were real dicks. Tell me if you see one with a doofy hat. I've got a score to settle with _that_ prick."

' _The hell's a doofy hat.'_ Marcus wasn't sure what she meant, but kept it in mind anyway.

 _Click._ He unlocked the door by twiddling a finger in the air, telekinetically undoing the lock.

When he swung the door open, he saw a young woman. She had long black hair, and donned a red-white miko outfit. It was a fairly ill-fitting knock-off of Reimu's, but over the front of it she now had a royal red cloth apron, to mask how the shirt didn't really fit, if anything.

"Hello." She gave a respectful bow. Marcus noted she was a little shorter than Tsukiko would be. "Is miss Kamishirasawa here?"

"S'a school day." Marcus remarked plainly… "What, ya think she's here takin' a smoke break 'er somethin'?"

"...Perhaps." She gave him an awkward smile. "I don't believe this is your house, either. Not to be rude, but… who are you?"

' _Who the hell in this village don't know me.'_ Marcus was pretty sure he'd made a name for himself, after all these years. ' _Oh we~ll.'_

Leaning onto the door frame, Marcus also leaned out towards her. "'Ol man Kirisame. S'that ring any bells?"

"Ah." The woman gently tilted her head back, beginning to scan the interior ceiling of the home. Then, her gaze met Marcus's again. "Why, yes. Marcus Kirisame, the magic goods vendor, and alchemist. I must say, I quite admire your work."

"...Ah. S'that so." This was almost the only time a villager's actively praised him, so he was naturally distanced and aloof to it. That, combined with his sense for deceit, left him uneasy.

"Indeed." She smiled at him, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I came here to ask some advice of Kamishirasawa… but, if I may be greedy, may I ask you, too?"

"Advice?" Marcus rose a brow… "From _me?"_

"Certainly." She gave him a quarter of a bow. "With your age, you've become wise, I'm sure. Especially since those events, two decades ago. Or, was it more? I was still young, at the time."

' _Sounds like she's just butterin' me up.'_ Marcus was, at his core, somewhat selfish. In the human village, he found this to be a virtue. ' _Never really even seen this looney 'fore today.'_

"Two decades ago?" Marcus took note at that in particular, however. It was actually way closer to say around fifteen, in his opinion. "What's it ta _you?"_

"You have a great eye for business." Her smile only slightly faltered, at his outward coldness. "One which has only sharpened with time."

"Cool." Marcus wasn't sure where she was going with this. "So. Who're _you?"_

She smiled genuinely, now. "My name is Tsuruko Aoyama. I am the next Hakurei Shrine Maiden, and I believe I have an offer you cannot refuse."

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

' _Uh huh...'_ Out of morbid curiosity, Marcus had accepted her invitation to discuss business at a village diner. ' _Haven't eaten much today, so free food's free food!'_

Tsuruko was quiet for the duration of their approach to the generic diner. It was a very local establishment, the inside somewhat cramped and uninteresting. It didn't really faze Marcus, as he'd eaten at every eatery that could be eaten at, by this point. He'd been here before.

Bright, pale white came in from the big window at the front of the tiny diner. An old couple manned the front counter, while a few younger hands tended to the stoves in the back. Seating was limited, only six viable areas available.

' _Real talker, huh.'_ Marcus stared her down without shame. Her eyes met his levelly, and didn't falter either. _'This 'Artifical Hakurei Project' thing's kinda nuts, but it's always a fun kinda nuts. Gives these youngsters somethin' ta be mental over, 'cause we all need some kinda dumb obsession as kids. Well, 'side from the times they tried ta fight youkai. Shit's pretty dangerous!'_

"...Aren't you curious?" Tsuruko's gaze didn't change, despite her question.

"I was kinda waitin' for the part where ya tell me yer life's story and bitch about youkai mikos, 'er some shit." Marcus admitted. "As long as yer payin' for the food, I'm all ears, y'know!"

"...I'll take that as a no." She shook her head, and brought both arms onto the table.

 _Pap._ A newspaper landed there, between him and her. "Since you're so kind, I'll ask my own questions first. And…"

 _Pahp._ Before Marcus, she laid down a thick, weathered pouch, containing a square stack inside. "Fifty thousand yen attests to my influence."

...Marcus furrowed his brows, as if considering it, before shrugging. "Hmh."

 _Pahp._ She laid down another sack, from her backpack. Marcus had glazed over most of her crazy outfit, but he realized she had some kind of compact backpack pressed to the back of her red-white outfit, which stored the money she carried. "I'll add another fifty thousand, then."

"...If ya want the color 'a her underwear, yer better off askin' her yerself." Marcus began to grin at her. "Believe it or _not_ , I never saw 'em!" He blatantly lied.

Tsuruko's gaze was still neutral, but her brows shifted a little, betraying annoyance. "...Ah."

 _cli- click._ The old woman who helped run the shop came up, and set down two pancake plates, one on the newspaper, and one on the money. "Here you go~. Enjoy…!"

Tsuruko stared vainly down at the food.

"Omh." Marcus immediately dug in.

' _Aw- hey, they remembered the amount 'a butter I liked!'_ He was pleasantly surprised. ' _Sometimes I'm glad I'm old! All the other old bastards treat me like family!'_ It was especially jarring because he wasn't even _that_ old, the beard just made him look older.

It was also during this time that he really relaxed, and read Tsuruko's weight and intentions. Weight as in, what she brought to the table, literally in this instance.

' _She's thinkin' she can buy me out, which typically ain't a bad offer.'_ He often sold goods, or in some cases, mundane-tier magic service. Simple bombs, wards, tools or advice were all available, at the cost of simple fees. Information on people wasn't an overwhelmingly common request, much less of someone he knew personally.

' _It'll depend what she wants ta know. That'll pro'lly actually decide my rate. Dunno what she's doin' layin' all that fat cash down now, 'cause it'll just make me ask fer more later.'_

He read her bittersweet expression, as she set aside the business to eat her own pancakes. ' _It really just kinda figures, I guess. All this new shit swirlin' in the air, and people like her would be clamberin' to get some news about the action. A hundred grand on it, though…'_

"What do ya wanna know?" He asked her.

...Awkwardly, she had to slide his plate off of the newspaper she'd put down. "I was about to ask you about Tsukiko Hakurei."

"What about 'er?" This much was painfully obvious to him already.

The article before him featured a small picture of Tsukiko with her arms up somewhat stiffly, Marisa flopped on the floor before her in her pajamas. ' _I think I'm more curious about what the hell's goin' on in this picture…! Tsukiko's got a stick up 'er ass, and Marisa's imitatin' a ragdoll!'_

"The way she fights." Tsuruko seemed to forget her food. "For some time, she seemed predictable. But, all of a sudden, it's changed."

' _...Oh, now that I think about it, this must mean the tengu news girl got ta her.'_ Marcus realized what the article also meant. ' _Hoo boy. This is gonna be a riot! No wonder this shit's happenin' now!'_

"I want to know more about her situation. Why she's alive again, why her power is no longer as history indicates, and I need to know what she currently knows." All of a sudden, Tsuruko made some pretty big requests. "It's a very once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I would like to know all I can about it."

She'd phrased it innocently enough, but something still stood out to Marcus. "...Ya said yer gonna be the next Hakurei, didn'cha?"

"Yes." She nodded. "This is an ambition I will no longer keep hidden, as long as I find a way to trace her. No one has ever tracked a Hakurei clan member's growth, and all old records of such a thing are outside of the village's reach for any number of reasons. And, I know you have a history, with Tsukiko."

"...So, what, ya think it's like a club?" Marcus began to grin at her. "Y'just gonna submit yer sign-up paper by next month, an' hope ya get accepted 'er somethin'?"

Tsuruko's brows furrowed a little at his humor. "...No."

' _...Aw.'_ Marcus grinned wider at her dead look. ' _Seems like I'm gettin' on her nerves!'_

"My ideals, and the ideals of the current shrine maidens are incompatible." Tsuruko decided. "And-... I know the path to power is drawn in blood. Which is to say, if it's alright with you, I will kill the current Hakurei maidens."

...Now that was a statement that made Marcus pause, if not from the idea, but the mere audacity. ' _Hahaho~ly shit! Awh, that's rich.'_

"Really, now…" Marcus's look back at her was pityingly dubious. "How."

She shut her eyes for a moment, before finding the strength to explain herself. "I cannot say. But-... personally, I will follow Tsukiko's successes. And, if she were to die, I will follow the opposite of her failure. Obtaining information of her current being is easy. With this knowledge, I will build myself."

...Slowly, Marcus nodded. "Y'know. When they say, 'the Hakurei are a bloodline', that doesn't mean 'you gain Hakurei power by drinking Hakurei blood'...!"

"That's not it at all…" Tsuruko let her eyebrows curl up…

Idly, she met her pancakes before herself again. Choosing to ignore them further, she continued. "There would be no better way to take the place of the Hakurei, than through achieving higher power, and subduing them through it."

"Yeah, an' I'll win an armwrestlin' contest wit' an oni one 'a these days." Marcus stated something equally unlikely. "Ya had any exact questions, or are ya just havin' a teenager moment…!?"

"Yes." She nodded. "I want you to tell me how Tsukiko fights, currently. And, if you can, how she used to fight. Then, I will ask the price it takes for you to do services for me."

"Oh? Services?" Marcus was more intrigued by that than anything else, at this point. "Such as…?"

"Scrying. Location magic, and, if we feel you qualified, holy and spiritual migration and generation through mana apparati which-... they're crude, but they interact with the barrier's energy." In a moment, she spilled another plethora of topics before him…

' _Don't really feel like scryin' no one, unless it's some village fop.'_ After all of that, Marcus had some questions… ' _Also, from where the fuck did mana apparati come from?'_

As the conversation went on, Marcus sunk back into his comfy booth chair more and more. "What, you tryin'a get free mana from the _barrier_ 'a all things…? Why not the _magic trees_ just a hop 'n' a skip from here? Or, y'know, magic storage an' accumulation."

She nodded, her following reply dismissive of the answer. "Those are valuable ideas, certainly. They'll be considered."

' _...Wha~h.'_ That sort of puzzled him. ' _Apparently it's not about gettin' a lot of mana inta one place.'_

The sun glowed brighter outside again, and the diner was alight with warm rays. ' _Ooh…'_

"If the time were to ever come," Tsuruko spoke with sudden definition. "Payment would also include your aid in combat, against the current maidens. It would not only be monetary pay, either."

' _Is she serious, right now…'_ At this point, he wasn't sure if he wanted this to keep going, or if it should just end already. ' _Ahw, girl, c'mon now. Ya could be doin' a lot smarter things than bangin' yer head against bricks like this.'_

"...S'that everything?" Ultimately, he didn't feel like dealing with this. "Right now, Tsukiko fights like a fighter. Admittedly, after she woke up, she was a bit rusty seemin', but I'm sure it'll wear off, or somethin'. As fer scries 'n' stuff, aa~h..." He chose his options carefully. "If ya come back ta me later, I'll offer some options, but otherwise I ain't takin' requests."

...Her gaze was narrowing. "You don't seem very enthused to aid our cause."

"S'business." Marcus lied to her again. "All formal, y'know. What, y'thought it'd be _fun?"_

"I could retract my funding. How would you react then?" She rose a brow at him.

He shrugged back. "I'd have exactly as much money as I already have. Woe's me, ah."

...She closed her eyes. "You're planning to relay these requests of mine, aren't you?"

"Nah." Marcus stood up, and used a napkin to wipe his beard and lips… "Aa~h. Anyway- thanks fer the meal! Maybe uh, read a book sometime. Or read less, if ya read too much. Crazy comin' from me, I know."

Tsuruko stood. "Kirisame. You will listen to me."

...Marcus blinked. "Nope."

She stifled her recoil at his bluntness, and he had to stifle his grin in turn. "I mean look, sweety. Ya listen ta me, or I'll nag yer parents, and they'll be mildly disgruntled with ya fer a week."

...While she frowned and seemed to pout, he began to strut for the door out. "Thanks fer the meal again, by the way!"

 _Di- ding!_ The diner's bell clattered suddenly, as he began his march into the snow outside.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

' _Today's real gorgeous.'_ Despite the chill, Marcus felt warm in his usual robes. ' _If only it wasn't so chilly. I need ta bake up more ice resists, so I can just loaf around in the snow like a lump.'_

The thought passed. He was currently in an alley near the diner, on his way back to Keine's home. In fact, this alley was the very same typical alley he used to and from the house and the west main street. The school's perimeter walling sat to his right, as he proceeded down the lane.

' _She was a real piece a work, alright…'_ The encounter made him eager to sit down and exist, rather than anything else. ' _But, this village has all kindsa dangerous-minded people. Lotsa people're afraid, after all. Just hope she ain't gonna do anything crazy. Or, maybe I do, considering how she goes about it…'_

Stopping near Keine's house, he took in a breath of the cold winter air. "Haa~h."

' _Maybe I might just take a nap later, or somethin'.'_

...He began to scan the sky, and simply relax.

"Kirisame." That's when his thoughts had to be interrupted again, clearly.

' _Aw- freakin'...'_ As he turned, he gained a forced grin of increasing intensity…

Tsuruko had followed him. Her stare was expectant.

"Don't be like a lost cat, now…" Marcus dismissed her with a wave. "C'mo~n."

"This did not go as I anticipated." Tsuruko stated plainly. Now that he really looked at her, he noted her gaze wasn't just expectant; it was tense. "Marcus Kirisame. I need your answer right now."

She began to step closer, bridging the distance. "Are you in favor, of the Artificial Hakurei Project?"

' _Pft. May I interest ya in some religion, good sir…'_

...In this whimsical moment, Marcus shoved his hands into his robe pockets. "I ain't gonna be on your side 'a _anything_ if ya keep this shit up. Lemme strut about in _peace_ , will ya? S'called common decency."

...Tsuruko closed her eyes. "I see."

Marcus began to step back, still facing her. "I'd hope so. Otherwise we'd hafta take ya to a docta'."

' _Hot take: she's in need of a doctor right now. Ho ho~, shit.'_

Her brown eyes met his. "If you keep helping Tsukiko, in any way, there's no reason I shouldn't do something about that here and now."

"Ah." Marcus tilted his head back. "So, s'a fight you want. Y'shoulda just bloody well said so, if you're just gonna be ambiguously hostile about everything."

Focusing on her again, he slid his hands out, and began articulating them. "But, is this really what ya want? Why would ya be _this_ stupid?"

The prods at her ideals made her take heed. "What do you mean?"

They stared across the snowy dirt ground at one another. Marcus rose his voice. "Like, goin' around killin' people for no good reason, and then rollin' a try at the maidens for about no reason, is just-... I dunno! Ya just seem really dumb!"

"I need this power!" She yelled back. He'd finally found a button to push. "Without it, my life will return to nothing. I will die."

' _...Whaha~t the fuck. Man, I'm too old fer this shit.'_

"...Okay, _how."_ Marcus slouched at her. "What's gonna happen to you."

"I'll lose my associating maidens. The protection, the ability they invested in me to fight." As she argued, her face was suddenly alive with frayed emotion. "And-... for my cowardice, I'll become a target to all. Their toy. The only way to set things right, is if I finally become a Hakurei shrine maiden."

"Why not just, leave the village?" Marcus supposed simply. "Talk ta Reimu- er, the maidens, why don'cha?"

She tightened her fists, and raised her arms. "I'm not letting myself be a tool or a toy ever again, once my day arrives. I am the next Hakurei shrine maiden, and my presence commands _respect._ My power will crush everything."

Marcus snorted. ' _Man. Why've I gotta play therapist, all 'a sudden.'_

-+- _Vs. Tsuruko Aoyama, Artificial Hakurei * Fighter Style_ -+-

 _Crunch, crunch._ The snow ahead folded beneath her sandals. Tsuruko Aoyama plowed ahead in the cold, her arms grandly poised by her sides, not in a typical fighting motion.

"You said, that Tsukiko was a simple fighter…" Tsuruko evaluated his prior words, searching for an answer through them. "Then, simplicity must be their key!"

That's when Marcus saw her current power.

 _cri- krack- krik…!_ Along the center of the Hakurei imitator, red-white sparks of energy flared out, then along her form. It was nothing impressive, but it was a spark of holy, spiritual energy.

Even so, it was distinctly generic. ' _Not really a Hakurei thing, I think. There's not a lot ta work with in the first place. Still, fer a villager, that's promising!'_

" _I_ am the next Hakurei shrine maiden!" With her grand standing posture, Tsuruko roared her greatness to the single guy standing before her.

"If ya say so!" Taking a step back, Marcus poised his arms up, ready to control magic. "I dunno 'bout that!"

 _kra- krack!_ The red energy along Tsuruko flared in intensity. "I will show you, then!"

She ran forward, towards him. It was a pretty predictable move, and he expected her to start punching him once she got close.

 _KRI~NG!_ So, he didn't let her close in. With a flourish of his arms and his magic, Marcus summoned a blade of ice to erect from the floor before her, the crystalline structure impeding her progress.

"Ah- what…!?" The magic immediately baffled Tsuruko. "This is nothing…"

 _WHAP!_ She thrust a whole arm forward, a great, red energy-accented hook meeting the ice.

' _...She could just, y'know, go around it.'_ Marcus began to strafe around the side himself, from a distance, watching her choose to tear into the ice blade.

Her thrusting arms were very aggressive and forward, a type of fighting only efficient if its wielder could truly never be interrupted. It seemed pretty naive, to Marcus. ' _Like-... if I had a phrase fer it, I'd call it 'defining mediocrity'. Actually- I do have a phrase for it! S'defining mediocrity! Hehehe~!'_

 _PAHP- click!_ The next thrust, this one of her right arm, met the ice, her knuckle clicking unhealthily on impact. "Nh- gh…"

 _BAM! WHA- CRACK!_ The searing red energy grew brighter, as she threw a left, then a right, the two sudden uppercut motions driving into the side of the icy structure, chipping at it.

 _PA- PA- PAP!_ Her now bleeding fists were like a wall of force, a whirlwind of the red, extraordinarily wasteful magic too flowing like blood from her limbs. Each thrust was a reach, her three pounds against the ice absolute.

With his hands in his pockets, Marcus quietly stepped around the encounter, now coming up behind her… ' _She's way too focused on showin' off. She even forgot where the hell I am! S'truly kind of an idealistic, fantastic fighting style… but, that forwardness has drawbacks.'_

" _Hh- haa~!"_ Then, she brought both her arms back, and her whole body tensed.

 _Fzzt- fzrzt!_ From the core of her being, jolts of red traveled along her body, and she leapt.

" _Sorare's Meteor!"_ Bringing her left arm back, she swung it overhead as she ascended, countering her own momentum. This equilibrium brought her to a point where she simply hung in the air.

 _BOOM- KRABAM!_ Her bare fist met the ice, and a flourish of holy ran down the blade-like shape, shattering it. Light traveled along the floor, and the ground shook from the mere impact.

 _Thud._ Tsuruko landed on her butt. " _Rgh-_ ngh…" The hand she used for the impact was raw, open and bleeding, fingers bent incorrectly.

 _fzzr- fzzr- fzzrt!_ The red energy along her body calmed, and focused entirely into the arm holding the hand she broke. Keeping it still with her other arm, she struggled into standing, as the hand pulsed with the unnatural, solid red glow.

 _kri- krack._ The fingers began to snap back into place. "Hh-... ha- haha…" Beaming down at her recovering energy, she held it forward. "Do you see yet? My-"

Marcus patted her on the shoulder, from behind.

" _Egh-_ eyah!?" She jumped, and then-

 _WOOSH!_ She swung her arm back, a streak of red where it traveled.

 _thunk._ She slapped the brick Marcus had levitated up to poke her with. It met the floor, sinking into the snow and even bouncing off of it a little from her great force.

"Pft- hehehe!" Marcus nodded in satisfaction, many meters away. "Real impressive stuff! S'too bad I can just make like, ten more 'a those!"

By contrast, she began looking worn out. "...You're not quick to fear, are you."

"Not really!" He began to stroke his beard… "I'll tell ya _what._ If ya can close the distance ta me without gettin' yer ass handed to ya-... I dunno, I'll buy ya some bread 'er somethin'."

' _She's way more powerful than them other not-really-maiden bimbos, but if all she can do is punch shit, she's kind at a disadvantage. Fightin's more than biceps!'_ ...He supposed that thinking applied a little to Tsukiko now, too, but she at least still had control over her inner magic, spiritual control, and sub-items.

The fake maiden standing before him had no care for dodging, or anything other than plowing bluntly ahead. She was perhaps, the most fantastic definition of making something simple work that Marcus had seen in awhile, aside from Tsukiko's own, youkai-esque skillset she'd taken on.

' _This Tsuruko character does got that… weird magic she uses ta regenerate her broken shit, but it feels more like a crutch, if she's just gonna break herself wit' it.'_

"...I see." She raised her arms, again. "When I inevitably reach you, don't cry."

That's when she began plainly running across the snow, her footing on her sandals a little awkward as she tried to sprint.

 _KRI~NG!_ From the fluffy snow, Marcus drove another blade of frost, erecting it into the air before her. It was as tall as the houses that sat at either end of the encounter. ' _Kinda glad I actually asked about this ice blade spell, now! S'actually pretty cool. Dah, pun not intended…!'_

This time, she rounded the ice blade, still running.

 _Bwu- bwup- bwup…!_ Before her, a surge of big bubbles sprang from the snow, and popped as they flushed into her. "Wh- _nnh…"_ Almost instantly, her shrine maiden outfit was soaked, and she was forced into sliding back in the snow…

Marcus crouched down for a moment, and flourished his arms forward.

 _Kroom!_ A not-so-small spike of rock erupted beneath Tsuruko. " _Ngh…"_ It was half as tall as she was, but she simply found herself stepping back from it. "I- I see…"

' _Once she gets tired 'a my harassment stuff, she'll leap at me.'_ Marcus was pretty sure how this would go. ' _S'a cold day an' she's all wet, so she'll pro'lly freeze in a snap.'_

 _Woosh!_ True to his expectations, she leapt across the obstacles he made, a trail of blazing red following her legs as she brought her left arm back again. " _Sorare's Meteor!"_

"Ice shard!" Marcus held both hands up, tracking her position.

 _Ka- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ In the midst of her form, a single ice shard formed, immediately filled with her sparking, violent red magic. " _Ngh-"_

 _FWASH!_ Almost her entire body was frozen. Ice crystals materialized in the air around her form, even.

 _Crunch._ She landed in the soft snow below, lower body trapped in a chunk of ice, and an upper, longer chunk capturing her neck and arms. "This- magic…!" Her head was still exposed, along with some of her body's core-most areas, the ice trapping her like a shell.

...It didn't seem like she was about to break free, so he meandered towards her.

She seemed to tense herself up and detense rapidly, but her body couldn't find the strength needed to do anything about this. "Damn it! You- were an ice mage, all along…!? No one said anything, about this!"

"I mean, ya saw me _just_ make a blade 'a ice." Marcus gestured to the big ice statue of a sword that still stood beside them. "An' then the bubble stuff."

"I- I thought it was... clever manipulation, of present elements…" She argued back, despite her position. "This- can't be…"

"Y'understand where ya sit _now?"_ Marcus got up closer to her, and smiled into her face. "If ya can't poke _me,_ a shrine maiden'll kick yer ass up an' down their funny stone staircase they got over there."

"But- I worship the Hakurei god…" Tsuruko's gaze on him intensified. "My- my body was changed to house the energy, even. I- I surely cannot be _this_ weak…"

Marcus snorted. "Oh, yeah? If ya figured out how to actually worship that guy, maybe tell the actual Hakurei, and they'd make ya a freakin' honorary shrine maiden over there."

...Tsuruko furrowed her brows. "You mean-... do they not worship him?"

...Marcus slowly gave a big shrug. "I _dunno._ I know Tsukiko didn't really! Reimu actually knows a little more than her, but y'know, I'm pretty sure not _that much_ more."

Slowly, Tsuruko simply began to stare into the air, looking finished for today…

Marcus put his hand on the ice. ' _Let's take some 'a that mana back ta the house, so I can bottle it an' poke it with tiny metal sticks.'_

...Once he had what he wanted, a wisp of pure red, he began to strut off.

Despite being trapped still, she simply sat in silence as he left.

' _I've got the ice rigged ta crumble soon now, too. Surprised she ain't even askin' to be freed.'_ He gave a few last looks her way, as he moved for Keine's house once again.

 _Marcus obtained Bottled Artificial Spiritualism_.

-+- _Tsukiko Hakurei's Thoughts_ -+-

"I- I meant to make it rain, not sno~w!" Frazzled, Sanae stared out into the deep white blizzard outside the shrine, her grin hyperactive... "Noo~!"

Sendai was standing next to the door with her, and saw the results of the miracle she had cast. "The fact you affected the weather at all is kind of a miracle…" Despite her words, she was still skeptical… "Are you sure it just doesn't snow a lot, up here? We're on a mountain, after all."

Sanae gave her a tense look back. "It- doesn't- that's not quite how it even works…"

Reimu was looking soft back at the kotatsu, drinking tea held with both her hands, as usual…

The blizzard's darkness made the Moriya shrine's main room feel more cozy than it was before. The magic cylinder of heat in the room's back glowed a warm orange, energy emanating throughout the room from it.

' _Sanae's cute, I guess.'_ Sendai consented this opinion to herself. ' _She's even greener than Reimu, it seems. Um… joke unintended.'_

"Oh, well…" Sanae shook her head, and slid the front door shut. "Weather is… one of the easier 'miracles' I can perform."

This prompted Sendai to announce her suspicions to her. "There is wind magic at play here, isn't there?"

"Well, yeah." Sanae admitted… "The miracle is made easier because of my goddess's power."

"Hmm?" Sendai rose a brow at that. "Who is the goddess this shrine is dedicated to?"

"That would be me."

 _woo~sh._ Sendai felt a smooth, ominous wind wrap her form, for one moment. ' _What…? Ah.'_

 _FWI- WOO- WOO- WOOSH!_ In an instant, along the center of the room's back wall, a woman clad in royal red drifted from the aether. She sat cross-legged on the air itself, her hair purple, and her eyes examining. Onbashira hung in a quartet around her, the wind whistling off of them.

Beholding the goddess's lucid, flowing form, Sendai furrowed her brows. "I don't think I've seen you around, before."

"Ugh." Reimu had to tilt her cup to prevent more tea from being blown out of it. "Can you turn the effects down? We're trying to _drink_ here."

...The goddess's wind grew unexpectedly calm, and she frowned down at Reimu. "You speak as if I care about your tea party here, Hakurei."

"You speak like I care about your dumb magic." Reimu immediately disrespected the goddess. "I'm just here on tour."

"Tour…" Folding her arms, the red-clad goddess tilted her head back as she reclined in the air. "Yes, I've seen. I've especially seen this _form of wind_ your newly revived _mother_ has adopted. She is like a newborn tengu in her clumsiness."

For how playful the wind itself could be, Sendai was surprised a goddess of it would be this much of a hardass. ' _This is new…'_

"Who are you?" Sendai asked the goddess.

"...How rude." She gave Sendai a look somewhere between contemplative and bored. "Who are _you,_ might be the better question."

' _...Right. Respect bullshit.'_

Sendai gave her a half-hearted bow. "I am the miko who came before. That is all you need to remember."

The goddess was determined to rib her, it seemed. "Quite an attitude, for an _ex-_ Hakurei. What brings you here, today?"

"Tour." Reimu interjected plainly.

...She shot Reimu a glare for a moment, before centering her gaze on Sendai again. "What brings _you_ here today?"

"Tour." Sendai restated just as plainly. "You know, considering you're a goddess of the wind, I'm absolutely certain you already know this. Save me the motions."

...At that, the goddess smiled. "Hmh. Very well. I am the goddess Yasaka, of the weather and wind. The village seeks me for prosperity and safety. The youkai seek me for any number of reasons. The tengu find value in my practice, and I do business with the kappa. This land is under my thumb, and you-... well, there are _reasons_ I leave you Hakurei be."

"Yo." Marisa suddenly spoke up for the first time in awhile. "Kanako~. Can ya cool down this cup I just poured? Thanks, ze."

...Kanako exhaled, and waved her arm.

 _woosh._ Marisa's tea disintegrated. "Wh- hey, no fair! That's a little _too cold_ , ze!"

Sanae cut in on impulse, walking closer to her so she could be at the sidelines of the conversation. "Wouldn't that be warm, technically? I bet the tea's all moving even faster, now. Unless uh, the wind took the heat and dispersed it too. Or-"

"Nerd." Marisa accused her.

Sanae snorted in disbelief. "Co- coming from you…!?"

' _This goddess must truly have a foothold, on the land.'_ Sendai's gaze kept on Kanako, as she stood still in the midst of the room's front. ' _Still, Reimu and Marisa don't care at all. I don't really get it…'_

Sendai slid under the kotatsu, and got cozy. "Reimu. I'll ask outright: what true stake does this goddess hold on the land?"

...Her inflection encouraged Reimu's honest take. "Kanako Yasaka~... she's pretty social. She does business with the tengu and kappa, and… yeah, the village probably does favor her more. Not really by that much. More importantly, she has a deal with the underground that results in-... well, it's kind of hard to explain."

' _What.'_ Sendai wasn't sure what she meant, but if it made her daughter mixed-up trying to explain it, it probably wasn't good. ' _Hmm…'_

"We have a nuclear reactor." Sanae confessed. "Powered through an interior solar generator which conducts nuclear fission to produce electrical energy. Um- case in point, it powers our outside technology." She moved to the heat relic in the back of the room. "Like this."

' _...Ah?'_ Sendai didn't catch much of that. ' _What the fuck…?'_

"You lost her." Kanako revealed, as she hovered into the kotatsu on her own.

"Oh, gods." Sanae gave Sendai a pitying look… "Well. Do you know… what electricity is?"

Her look became dubious. "Well, yes. I assume you have some sort of… generator, for that? What would the purpose of that be?"

...Hunching over near the heat relic, Sanae just looked tired. "Um…"

 _Fwish!_ An aura of rainbow flared over Sanae's form. Rejuvenated, she raised herself up and proceeded over to them. "Ah. Electricity is the source of energy for many outside-world appliances, as they don't use magic. The nuclear generator that connects this shrine to Old Hell is a simple, grand method for powering both the kappa's creations, and this shrine. Basically, we intend to try and bring electricity to- mmh- mm- mmh…"

A snake had curled up her shoulder, and slithered between her lips, silencing her. "Nnh…"

"...Of all the miracles." Kanako gave her a flat look. "Be mindful of our company, Sanae."

"I'm pretty sure a stop's already been put on the whole 'bring electricity to Gensokyo' thing." Reimu wasn't faltered by the idea, and seemed to already understand it.

' _...What the hell?'_ Sendai was still trying to comprehend it. ' _So, they want to bring outsider technology to Gensokyo, which I'm sure means the human village. But, if what she said is correct, the kappa make primary use of these developments.'_

"What would be done with this technology?" Sendai was now invested in this idea… "Would it really be wise?"

Kanako scoffed. "Wise? By whose doctrine?"

"Mine." Sendai was impulsed to say. Then, she elaborated… "As in, one that won't promote further decline."

This idea made Kanako snort; the air from her spreading out across the room from this simple motion. "Decline? The village? Thanks to us, it has undergone an architectural revolution. We plan to lead a project to bring safe water there, as well. What say you?"

"Wasn't that started by Miko, and that one village elder?" Reimu objected to her interpretation… "Among, like… others."

"Y'know, I think a little of everyone helped out." Sanae admitted. "The river thing's my idea, though. I mean- the river to bring water to the village. Um…" She turned to Kanako, who was giving her a hard stare. "Oh- oh, right. That's a secret! Um. Please forget that…?"

Regardless, Sendai didn't care. "Good luck. There's a lot of real estate for you to work with, I'm sure."

" _Right."_ Kanako didn't want to hear anymore of this… "We needn't discuss _us_ any longer, surely. Though, I must wonder… what brings you back to this mortal plane, Hakurei?"

Sendai found her oddly irritated demeanor curious. "If I knew, I wouldn't be going on a leisure trip around the place."

"Hmm?" That struck Kanako as curious. "...I suppose there could be an event where you _wouldn't_ know. Was it an effort, or…?"

"It just happened." Sendai stated plainly. Then, an idea came to her. "...Goddess. You may not know, considering you asked me, but would you have any idea why I've come back to life? Is there anything you can read?"

...Kanako simply leaned back, now neutral. "That's quite a question. Hmh. In truth, I'd sensed your energy the moment you re-materialized. It was a spike of holy, more like a column, which had surfaced in one very specific place. It was a massive natural disturbance, and it took the wind and wildlife some time to investigate those grounds properly, after that display."

' _Holy magic?'_ Sendai supposed that was appropriate, in a way. ' _Perhaps some potent spell centered on resurrection and revival. But, why, and how? I've never heard of such magic performed by anything less than a god.'_

"Naturally, I was left with many questions." Kanako revealed. "I've learned a myriad of details about you, in these past few days you've been back on this planet. You have a strong, personal sense of justice, but you also fear losing loved ones, and you hold personal values above all else."

"...Congratulations." The onbashira attracted Sendai's gaze, for how awkward they hung in the air around Kanako… "If I ever forget who the hell I am, I'll ask you to remind me, then."

Kanako snorted. "Mmh? You say that ironically, but people have used the wind for far more and far less. I'd expect you to know this, seeing as you used to practice it yourself, if I'm not mistaken."

At that, Sendai focused on her red gaze more intently. "How would you know?"

Leaving the kotatsu, Kanako took to the air, still seated. "Forgetting how much of a husk your soul is, right now… your movements betray familiarity. When you call the wind, and show knowledge of how to listen, and how to run with it… it's something incredibly easy for me to hear. Almost akin to how a tengu might do it, but obviously more _human_ in application."

' _...Akin to a tengu?'_ Sendai's attention was caught by this phrase, for some reason. ' _Considering I was inspired by a tengu to recall, it might only figure.'_

Everyone was silent, pondering the spoken words. Reimu sipped her tea, while Marisa finally poured herself more. "Freakin'..."

' _Cozy place.'_ As a whole, the atmosphere was pretty snug, the light outside dimmed by the small blizzard Sanae conjured accidentally. ' _The dark weather's going to make me sleepy…'_

' _I'm a little offput by this new goddess's presence, but… she doesn't seem to have a reason to make the village worse. Unlike those rabbits, I'm more confident in actual gods to not be dickheads. As long as she stays out of my way, I'll stay out of hers.'_

"Hey." Sanae came up to Sendai, and looked down at her. "I should show you some of that outsider technology!"

...Sendai blinked at her. ' _Where's this coming from?'_

"Sanae's impulsive like this…" Reimu was still peaceful at the kotatsu… "She doesn't mean anything bad. But-..." She began to get up, too. "I'm sure not leaving you alone again, this time. Even if Sanae probably wouldn't kill you on purpose, or anything."

"I- I'm not _that_ bad…" Sanae frowned, as Reimu rose into standing next to her. "Seriously, Reimu."

"I know. I'm just _not_ taking a chance." Despite her good intent, Reimu stood her ground. "...I'll play that 'smash' thing with you, or whatever."

Sendai's eyes widened. ' _Wait- what…!? Smash? In what way…!?'_

Romping up to them, Marisa made an aggressively smug expression. "Aw, yeah, ze! That smash game's _fun!_ I dunno what the hell's goin' on half the time, but it's good!"

...While the girls began to walk off, Sendai rose to follow. ' _Hey- wait, what the hell…'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

After moving down a small hall, and in through an oddly plain wood door built into the shoji, the girls all came upon Sanae's room.

The entire right half was a mess, but the left was not. Included on the left side was the bed, which was kept tidy, as well as the shelves and end-tables nearest it.

Sanae came up to a large, flat black screen of some sort. "Here we go! Ah- lemme just…" Reaching behind the device, she stretched a hand there and articulated it, telekinetically changing cords with colorful ends.

' _I don't honestly feel threatened.'_ Sendai was far more at ease in this messy room. Before the screen, and around a desk housing a smaller screen, there was all kinds of odd trash. Plastic bags, the odd Moriya maiden outfit, for some reason a single sandal, a box of tissues…

"...You look incredibly out of place." Reimu sized up her mother's pink-white attire, and compared her stature to the room around her.

"I feel like it, too." She confessed. "We came to see the technology, right?"

"Yeah!" Sanae gave them all a big nod. "Sit on down! This'll _could_ be awhile- I hope…" Then, she clicked her fingers.

 _Click!_ ...After she did so, the big screen lit to life.

This device was a television. The light from it was bright, almost blinding Sendai in the cozy gloom of the unlit, mid-winter shrine, the format from which it was delivered unlike anything she'd ever seen. ' _What-...!? What is this relic!?'_

She held up a hand, trying to detect its energies. ' _...There's nothing holy about it. What is this?'_

"What is _this?"_ Sendai had to react. Then, she realized the girls were already staring at her…

"This… is a _TV!"_ Sanae flourished her arms towards the device. "It um… basically, it shows pictures and art and motion pictures and stuff! And it can play music!"

' _...What. That's-... how?'_ That combination was unthinkable, to Sendai.

The white screen on the television showed a number of boxes. Unknown to her, this was a Wii U game menu. The words, in both English and Japanese, felt very weird for her to just read off of a screen. ' _This is amazing…'_ Light from the example of progress proved to dazzle her, and she gave a full, accepting look at the lonely gradient of white that ran across the otherwise blue-hued darkness of the room.

"I think she likes it…" Sanae gave them all a big smile. "Wait until she gets a controller!"

' _A what.'_ The term made Sendai's mind wander… ' _Controller? That's- a rather obscure magical term, to come up all of a sudden…'_

 _Click._ Suddenly, the room was flushed with light. ' _Woah…!'_ It was like someone revealed the sun within the room. ' _Where's the-... magic lamp?'_

Sendai's gaze centered on a soft, white bulb affixed to a top beam of the room. Despite the low intensity, it was still just too much to stare at. ' _That's… efficient and not distracting, actually. Most magi-lamps make a spectacle of themselves in some way. It's pretty much why I didn't put any in the shrine. Candle light is so much better.'_

Sanae turned to the door. "Awwh. Lady Suwako~..."

A small, blonde girl stepped past Sendai, into the room's midst. ' _Woah, she's tiny. Does she live-... here?'_ Her mental question paused, detecting the girl's energies. ' _Another god…!?'_

"You kids have a thing fer wallowin' around in the dark, don'cha?" The little Suwako tilted her big straw hat back, smiling up at them… "'Specially _you!"_ She pointed at Sendai.

Sendai blinked at her. "...Me?"

"Yeah, you!" Suwako's smile shifted into a grin. "...'Cept, it also feels like you got a mean trigger finger when it comes ta light switches."

' _...I suppose that's not inaccurate.'_ Sendai wasn't really sure who this was, herself. ' _Where did this aura of the earth come from? It's overwhelming, and-... ah.'_ The child-like energy felt wasn't strictly Sanae's, apparently. ' _It's masked very well. Perhaps to be expected, of a god.'_

"She's not the only one!" Marisa held up her mini-hakkero. "I like lights too, y'know!"

Turning to her, Suwako came closer to her… "That's a different kind, though! Aah…" Her gaze centered on the 'TV'. "Smash brothers, huh?"

"This game'll let us do _five_ player!" Sanae suddenly darted up to Sendai, and handed her a controller. "Here!"

"What-...?" Before Sendai could question it, Sanae hurried up to hand out stuff to her friends before they got bored.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

All five girls now sat before the television. Reimu sat close to her mother, but so did Sanae, and Suwako, and Marisa followed along because she'd noticed the trend…

Everyone was close to Sendai. ' _Why're we so cramped. There's a lot more floor, even with the trash.'_

"You know, this is impressive…" Sendai held up the controller by the clearly designed handles. "I can't even sense the magic between the controller, and the-... _teevee._ "

...From just about a meter or less away, Sanae gave her an innocent look. "That's 'cause there's no magic! I mean, it _does_ use electricity, but you can get to that step without magic, 'cause it's energy, and-... energy need magic stuff to exist. It's actually pretty-... not _hard_ but not _easy_ to reach, without magic."

"Is that so…" Sendai wasn't sure what she was getting at. "It uses _electricity,_ but there is no magic involved."

"I don't get it, either." Reimu shook her head…

"I get it!" Marisa blurted out. "...Mostly! Kinda."

"Alright, so…" Appealed to this new challenge, Sanae took in a breath. "If it used _magic,_ it could skip all the electricity stuff and just use a buncha super specific telekinetic thingies, probably, or a buncha other logical magic. It wouldn't need, uh…"

Holding up her own controller, Sanae got even closer to Sendai. "Wires!"

Her perfume made Sendai wiggle her nose. "Wi- wires?"

"Yeah." Sanae continued to scoot closer. "Like, here." She referenced the black wire that left her controller. "Input and energy travels through these. On the outside, they're really common for technology. The black part is a rubber case sorta, so that the electricity inside isn't harmful to the common consumer. An' _that's_ all part of like, many little individual wires that both use electricity, and deliver input and interaction to the console. Like, a _lotta_ really tiny, almost kinda hair-width wires that'd break if ya could just poke 'em or let them loose."

"...Wow." Sendai considered all of this information. "This must have been difficult to make by hand."

Sanae snorted. "O- oh? Um, about that…!"

The images on the screen also moved more fluidly than any animated illustration Sendai had ever seen before. She'd seen the occasional puppet trickery, shadow imagery, or color manipulation tricks, among others, but something like this was clear, with no obvious elemental sourcing to speak of. Images, projected by light, came from the television with unreal clarity; the only identifying grace being the liberal stylization of elements beyond the screen.

"Yeah. They'd be hard to make by hand…" Sanae saved Sendai from the explanation of factories and mass production machines.

This lead to Sendai's next question. "Who made these?" The controller itself had writing in English, reading 'Gamecube Nintendo'.

' _It's a rather blunt series of words. I don't think they actually mean anything, so they might be an English name. They're inscribed on each, after all.'_

While Sanae considered the question, Sendai posed one of her suspicions. "Was it someone named… Gēmukyūbu? Nintendo?"

...Sanae gazed into space. "Ah, yeah. They were made by a guy called Nintendo. He was smart."

' _Gamecube Nintendo.'_ Pondering the name again, she nodded at the controller… ' _He must have slaved over these controllers. I wonder what the price for these were.'_

For some moments, only the clicking of control sticks were heard.

The events on the screen were jarringly fast. ' _Some of these more realistic illustrations are odd, to see compared to ones like…'_ She focused on one of the more red ones. ' _Mario?'_

"We're all sittin' so close, this room's actually warm!" Marisa exclaimed out of nowhere. "What's everyone's _reasons,_ ze…?"

"I wanted to sit close to my mom." Reimu began to scan the small party… "What about _you?"_

Also looking away from the screen, Marisa beamed at everyone. "I wanted ta sit on 'er lap! But, I wasn't sure who'd make a move first, so I was waitin'!"

Sanae made a skittish expression at the rest of them. "...Uuh. To be _honest,_ I wasn't sure about asking, so I just sat closer…"

Suwako turned to them bluntly. "I didn't actually know what was going on!"

Giving her two friends skeptical looks, Reimu shook her head. "And I thought _I_ was her daughter…"

' _The future is strange.'_ Sendai thought back to just a few days ago, again… ' _I never thought I'd be sitting in a strange shrine, observing outsider technology while getting strange attention from my daughter's-... ever-growing band of friends. How many more does she have…?'_

" _Oof!"_ On the screen, Mario was brutally slaughtered by a puffball-shaped opponent.

' _...Oof.'_ Sendai gave him a pitying look, as he flew off the screen.

"Um." Since Sendai was sitting cross-legged, Sanae had to lean onto her right leg to reference the controller… "Remember that you can do those dodge things by holding the shoulder buttons!"

"...Wouldn't you just, move the character?" Sendai was unsure of that definition of dodging…

Once again, Sanae continued to explain in variable vain. "I mean- that's _a way,_ but the game's got different _things_ , and…"

" _Oof!"_ On the screen, Mario exploded, again.

"Oof." Sendai voiced her concerns. "...This is novel and everything, but it takes getting used to." In truth, she didn't quite know how the other girls were already so adept with what did what.

Reimu grinned back at her. "Yeah, I'm kinda surprised you're as bad at this as you are."

Sendai mashed the shoulder buttons because they made a pleasing noise. "This is the first time I've held a controller in my life. And-... controlling things that _aren't_ myself directly is just-... not something I do, or would prefer to do, often."

"...Oof." Sanae contributed nothing meaningful to the conversation. "Oh well!"

After some moments of confusing insanity and violence on the screen, the game ended. " _And the winner i~s…!"_ It even emulated an announcer, apparently. " _Palutena!"_

"...It'd be nice if you could like, see your score." Reimu shook her head at it. "It's not like I'd have known I was _a point_ behind…"

 _shoof._ Marisa slid her controller away. "We gotta get up ta some stupid shit, ze. Sanae- what's the _dumbest_ game ya got on here!?"

Just like that, she put Sanae on the spot. "I- I'm not sure!"

Standing up, Marisa sprinted up to the nearby window. "Aw! Woah…" It was very white, the intense blizzard outside having obscured it… "Let's _see._ "

Reimu was the only one who tried to stop her, raising an arm. "Marisa, hey-"

 _woo~sh._ When Marisa opened the window, an intense gale began, accented by a powerful series of white flurries met her. "Ach- pft, wh- whoah…!" Her hat was blown away into the room, and her hair whipped back…

"Hey, you're gonna get snow in my room!" Standing up, Sanae romped over there, seemingly ignoring the wind as she came up to the window…

 _shoof._ Casually, she shut it, the wind having made no difference in the process, somehow. "I'm fine with a little, but the water could ruin stuff if it piles up, you know…"

...Marisa turned back to the other girls, her hair frozen in place, making her look constantly blown away. "He- hehehe…!"

' _Nice.'_ Sendai gave her a look somewhere between drowsiness and amusement… ' _A couple days ago, she was talking about trying to kill me whenever we ran into each other. What happened to that.'_

"Maybe she'd get behind an actual fighting game." Reimu proposed, getting up off the floor herself… "And not, you know, Smash, or Mario Party, or any of the other cartoony things…"

"Oo~h…" Perking up at that idea, Sanae moved behind the TV again. "I've got an idea! Lemme plug in the PlayStation!"

...Coming up to Sendai, Marisa sat down next to her again, and turned her head, so that her frozen hair would whack her. ' _What- hey…'_ It was only mildly effective.

"Actually, now that I think about it!" Springing back into standing, Marisa looked over to Reimu… "Sanae-ze, how's yer alcohol storage doin' today!?"

The screen changed, as Sanae plugged the wires for her PlayStation into the TV telekinetically. "Ah? Well, we've got plenty, but- nevermind, we only have a few." She backtracked very quickly on revealing how much they actually had…

' _Someone press that.'_ Sendai wanted beer, too. ' _'Cause if no one does, I will.'_

 _Creak._ Reimu flopped onto the bed in the back. "Aa~h. Why is your room so _cold,_ anyway?"

Shuffling towards the door, Sanae gave her a single look… "I like it cold… and I'm gonna go get us drinks, so don't go anywhere in the meantime!"

 _Click._ She opened the room's plain door, and left.

' _Oh. Well, hopefully she brings enough for a nice buzz.'_

... _Crea- creak._ Reimu bounced on the bed for no discernable reason.

 _fwif._ That's when something came out from under it. It was a whirling, formless entity of white and wind, its midst aglow with some kind of magical influence.

' _What the hell is that…!?'_ Sendai blinked at it owlishly. ' _It's coming this way!'_

-+- _Vs. Kedama_ -+-

 _fwoof._ When it got too close, Sendai jerked her arm up at it on reflex, piercing the magically bound storm of dust. Instantly, it became weaker, the sharp currents of wind and fluff coming undone and fizzling out…

 _Sendai obtained five pocket lint_.

...She had to wipe dust from herself. ' _What the fuck. Why.'_

"Awh." Marisa smiled down at her, looking suspicious about it. "You got all dusty."

At that, Sendai lied back on the floor. "Unf…"

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Now, all the girls had rather fluffy-proportioned cans of beer to accent their activities.

' _Canned beer.'_ This was also Sendai's first time interacting with a canned beverage, to the surprise of very few. ' _I didn't think canning drinks of all things was possible, but apparently so. How is beer even common enough to do this to? Provided, this is… really, really cheap alcohol, but still.'_

"You couldn't have gotten out the sake?" Reimu contested with Sanae… "You _had_ to get out the can crap?"

"We- we're just playin' _video games…!"_ Sanae held her arms up to negotiate with her… "We're not having a blessed dinner, or anything!"

...Focusing, Sendai began to twist the metal opener on top of the can to excess-

 _CHINK- KRIK._ Her force accidentally crumpled the can partially, some of the fizzing beer splashing out and onto her hand. ' _Oh, fuck.'_

Marisa snorted at her. "The- the hell're you doin' to it…"

...Searching the room idly, Sendai found that Suwako was indeed still here, but she'd chosen to lie back on the floor idly, for some reason. ' _Gods are weird.'_

"Anyway!" Coming from the TV with her beer held, Sanae gestured to the screen. "Reimu! Your mom's gonna play a video game!"

This phrasing left many questions for Reimu to ask. "Why her, specifically? Weren't we just doing that…!?"

Sitting back onto her butt, chest giving a healthy bounce as she did so, Sanae exhaled. "Aa~h. This game is single player. I dunno, I think she'll like it..."

"The hell is the point of making us all sit here, then…" Reimu wanted to object for the sake of objecting, but slowly let herself trail off. "Mrm." She sipped her beer.

...Now behind Sendai, Marisa poked Suwako's form-

"Haa~h." Suwako began slowly spinning on the ground, pushed by nothing. "I'm bo~red, Sana~e."

She received a blunt look from Sanae. "Aw, Lady Suwako..."

Sendai stared at the game that came up on the screen. ' _Yakuza, huh?'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

The day was almost over.

' _The outside world is really an interesting place!'_ Sendai was probably already halfway through the game. ' _...It's also really violent, and I'm kind of glad I don't live there. If all their cities looked like the one in this game, though, that'd be crazy.'_ The idea of a city _this_ sprawling and huge was very unappealing to her, but it was different and interesting.

Most of the game took place in a single city district, which the character was walled off from leaving for no particular reason, but it reminded her of Gensokyo.

However, the cityscape really re-defined what Sendai knew 'urban' to mean. ' _Considering what Sanae told me about apartments, people on the outside are really packed in like fuckin' rats. And, I get the impression a lot of them act like it, too. Even idiots in the village lead more fulfilling lives, when they're not being outrageous dumbasses.'_

...She gazed down at the few beer cans she'd downed. ' _I'd like to actually know about some of the booze the game advertises, though. Hm hm.'_

The blizzard preventing anyone from leaving the shrine was already done some hours ago, but it was now night.

Reimu was splayed out on Sanae's bed, a small sum of beer cans tipped over next to it. Marisa had stolen one of the blankets and fully wrapped herself in it, forming a lump on the bed next to Reimu…

Sanae herself was at this economic chair with wheels on it, sunk into a desk with a smaller screen on it. The goddess Suwako was running her hands through her hair gently…

' _Everyone's wiped.'_ Despite this, Sendai felt charged and motivated to continue playing… ' _This is like-... it's like a book, and a play, but also… you can do things in it, which makes it really fucking cool. Takes a little time to get the bearings of, but despite that, it's very nice. I can only imagine how the hell you make something like this.'_

The situation around her sort of inspired her, too. ' _...I should get together the rockheads, sometime. Marc, Kourin, and Keine. Now that I've been around the block, and farted around with the village, they can't really say no. Kourin's really gotta get outta that damn shop and move around, Marc already seems willing, and Keine…'_

That was the only prospective problem. ' _Keine actually works her school. Hmm. I mean, we can screw around with her on weekends and stuff, but she seemed very busy. Not only that, but it seems like the school- and village- might go to hell without her around.'_

' _...Ah, whatever. I'm sure there's a lot of stuff in the village for us to do.'_ Now, Sendai had some ideas of how to waste time, which she considered doing. ' _With Reimu in charge, my only actual responsibility is, well, finding out shit about my death. Considering how static everything is right now, that doesn't need to be done right-the-hell-away or anything.'_

She rose the controller again. ' _Well, let's continue…'_

...She took pause, as she began playing. ' _I don't think I actually exercised today. Well… this experience is novel enough. It can wait for tomorrow.'_ She inadvertently discovered one of the many vices of the outside...

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

…

"He~y. Wake up."

' _Nnh…?'_ Sendai stirred. ' _Wa- wait, what?'_

After a moment of sleepiness, she saw Reimu standing over her. ' _Oh, hey. It's Reimu… and, yeah.'_ For a moment, she was surprised at how old Reimu looked, then remembered what time period she was in for the rest of her life. ' _Ah.'_

...Sendai began to lean up, but felt a weight on her stomach. She was lying in a bed, now. ' _What? This wasn't how I-...'_

Her white, gi-like tunic was folded open, and Sanae's head rested between her purple cloth-concealed breasts. ' _Um. Good.'_ This made her realize that Sanae's own chest was pressed into her abdomen.

"Wake up." This time, Reimu had a plush doll of a monkey. "I'm gonna whap you, if you don't."

"He- hey…" Sendai's voice came out a little dry. "Ah, shit…"

 _fwoof._ Reimu still whapped someone with the monkey, but the target was Sanae.

"Nn- nnh…" When Sanae shifted, Sendai felt it.

' _Wh- how the fuck wrapped around me is she…!?'_ She felt her eyes widen, Sanae's arms coming up along her sides-

Sanae grabbed onto both breasts. "Hnn?"

' _Wh- hah, hold on…'_ It felt more than a little weird. ' _It's too early for this shit…'_

"Ghood morning…" Sanae spoke to someone. "Issit you, Ka- Kanako…?"

She finally looked up, burying her chin into the chest she'd woken up in.

Sendai blinked sleepily at her. "Morning."

...Sanae's slow wake-up increased in intensity. "Wha- whaht."

' _Idea.'_ Grinning, Sendai moved her own arms forward.

" _Mm~h."_ Stretching her legs a little, she wrapped her arms around Sanae's back, one keeping her head where it is, and the other pushing her into herself. " _What_ a night. I never knew a friend of Reimu's could be so bold."

Like this, the smaller body was almost trapped by the way Sendai stretched. "Wh- _whaht…!?"_ Sanae weakly pushed back, trying to escape. "Ih- what-"

"Did- did anything really happen…?" Reimu was skeptical, but on the fence… "I swear, Sanae, if you actually _fuckin'-"_

"Nn- no- it's not-...!" Sanae almost said the cliched line of doom, so she silenced herself instead. "Help me!"

' _As warm as she is…'_ Sendai began to more firmly grip the cute shrine maiden she'd captured.

 _Woosh._ Sendai thrust an arm and a leg up.

 _Wham!_ Sanae rolled straight out of bed, did a full rotation back onto her stomach, and hit the floor. "Oo- _ohf…"_

"Nothing happened. I _think._ " Sendai assured her daughter. "I was just screwing with her."

...Reimu was peaceful, again. "Mmm."

 _Crea- creak._ Bouncing off the bed, making sure not to accidentally destroy Sanae's body on the way off of it, Sendai sprang up into walking, and made into the center of the room…

' _...Now what?'_ She wasn't sure where else Reimu planned to take her, or if there was much else to do here, actually. ' _Hmm. Breakfast and exercise sound good, for now. Then, I'll see what everyone else is doing.'_

She looked down at her clothes. ' _I still got everything on from last night. About time I've broken in this pink-white getup of mine.'_

Reimu immediately got into her way. "Breakfast is ready, by the way. Kitchen is across the hall from here."

' _Ah.'_ Sendai supposed the morning pushups would have to wait. ' _Let's chow down…'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

The dining table was plain and efficient, surprisingly, but the room as a whole was of notably high quality, especially compared to the village's homey architecture.

' _Reminds me of ours, but with more polish.'_ Sendai considered. ' _Ah. It's an overcast day, huh.'_ The window revealed that there was little lighting, outside…

The goddesses were here, figures seemingly radiant in the gloom of the overcast, early morning shrine.

"You need your eggs to grow big and strong, Lady Kanako~." Suwako was wafting food in front of Kanako's face for no discernable reason…

"You're always like this when we have guests." Kanako was unimpressed. "Here I am, striking deals, while you're _shoving eggs in my face._ Will you just-...!"

 _CRA~CK!_ Kanako flicked her arm up, and the plate shot into the ceiling, exploding into a glorious, sparkling field of diamond dust.

Suwako leapt back five meters, literally. "Oh- oh, _no~!_ The _food!_ Wha- haa~h!"

"Ah- shit!" Kanako realized what she did. "Th- that was _all_ the eggs!"

"Lady Kanako, you ate _all_ of the eggs!" Suwako looked at a loss. "All of them. Wh- why…" She could hardly contain herself...

"I didn't mean to- I didn't _eat them!"_ Kanako got up from her chair. "Get the hell over here, you little demon…!"

Suwako ran up to Sendai, and hid behind her. "Yo- hey, help!"

' _Gods are weird.'_ Sendai wasn't sure what she walked in on. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to see this, either… ' _Weirder than I thought, even…!'_

 _woosh._ Kanako drifted up to them menacingly, before landing on her legs. "Aa- ah. Greetings, Hakurei."

"You smeared all the eggs on the ceiling." Sendai gave the rafter above the dining table a mournful look.

 _splat._ One of them fell down, splattering onto the table below.

"I'm about to smear something else on the ceiling, too." Kanako glared down at the smaller goddess, who was hiding between Sendai's legs… "May I ask you to step aside?"

"Good morning, everyone…"

Sanae sauntered into the room, looking disheveled from the tumbling she took in the bedroom. After stepping past Sendai, she saw the eggs stuck to the rafter above. "...Awh! Lady Suwako! You always do this when we have guests over!"

"It's _always_ the eggs." Kanako began to clench a fist… "Gods damn it."

' _Is it kosher for a goddess to curse the gods…?'_ Sendai was instantly perplexed. ' _Has- has that ever happened before? Isn't that cursing herself?'_

"Didn't you just curse yourself?" Sendai asked. "Being what you are, and all…"

...Kanako huffed. "Well. _Yes._ It is a turn of phrase, often with no associated meaning behind it."

This still stood out to Sendai, though. "Would you chastise a follower for that? Especially since you just said it didn't mean anything."

The wind around Kanako intensified. "I shouldn't have to put up with this kind of rebuttal from mortals, this early in the morning. You're to blame for this, Suwako."

"Help…" Suwako shook Sendai's leg with surprising, overwhelming force. "I'm gonna get _eated."_

Sendai almost got thrown around like a ragdoll from her intensity. ' _Ho- how strong is she!? Jeez!'_

"You didn't answer my question…" Sendai casually kept prodding her. "Now I'm really curious. Can a god be a heretic of their own teachings? What does it mean if they are?"

' _Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever really met a god in a situation as casual as this!'_

She asked an unwise question. "Do gods take shits?"

"...Well, to answer your last one, no." Kanako for some reason dignified her with a response. "Not unless we will so."

...Sendai was very morbidly curious. "Do they ever… _will so?"_

Kanako came up to both her and Suwako. "Now you're _both_ in for it."

-+- _Vs. Kanako Yasaka, the Avatar of Mountains and Lakes, Goddess of Wind and Rain_ -+-

Suwako pushed Sendai forward, which almost just resulted in sweeping her legs out from under her by accident. "Go getter!"

"Whah- hey!" Turning around, Sendai saw that she'd somehow leapt back and out of the room entirely…

Facing forward again, she saw Kanako right there. ' _Oh. Hey. Um…'_

"Mmh…" Behind them, Sanae had a glass of milk. "Haa~h. At least, this is nice and fresh."

 _whoosh._ Sendai was lifted into the air, at the behest of Kanako gesturing it to be so. She searched for the arm that lifted her, but there was none. ' _Um.'_

 _Whi- whi- whish!_ She began spinning Sendai around, really fast. ' _Oh- gods- woah- woah- woah…!'_

"At least you made it easy, for me." Reclining in the air, Kanako watched her spin. "I'll make this thirty minutes instead of an hour, then."

' _Wh- how long…?'_ The number turned Sendai off immediately. ' _Fu- fuck that…'_

Shutting her eyes as she was flung around, she focused on her body.

' _So much wind!'_ An aggressive current was constantly pulling on her, from eight angles, creating her circular motion. This was the easiest thing to identify.

' _But-...'_ She opened her eyes again.

The world around her was somewhat a blur of light and color, but she could still make out things. Sanae's hair blew to excess some distance away, even if Kanako's body seemed to be immune to its movement and current; unless she willed it, naturally.

' _The wind's really being commanded hard, here. What if I-...'_

Closing her eyes again, Sendai kicked off the floor, and let her legs leave the ground. Taking a cross-legged, sitting posture as she spun around, her head lightly tapped the interior ceiling above.

' _This wind can be collected like the rest, if it's so harshly smashed into one motion like this.'_ She saw a vulnerability in this magic motion. ' _If there's anything that can't be contained easily, it's the wind itself. This makes exploiting it really easy, but truly taking reigns of it hard.'_

Her dark magic ebbed from herself as she spun, meeting the holy qualities of the wind around herself. However, this darkness sent a different message: one more similar to the wind's idea of freedom.

The gale switched colors, an otherwise undetectable surge of holy becoming white, mixing with the grey and black that splattered it.

"Ooh…!" Sanae sat down her milk. "That's like, one of those dye spinner toys! Or, were they light spinners?"

"A _what."_ Kanako gave her a confused look, for a moment…

 _Fwi- fwish, fwi- fwish…_ Gradually, the momentum of the wind grew lazier, expanding out and becoming playful. A pink, amethyst flare accented it, as it was finally persuaded to obtain a less obstructive, less controlled method.

 _Thu- thud._ Sendai spun to a stop on the floor, legs still crossed.

"Ah…" Kanako turned back to her. "You're not an idiot, then."

...Slowly, Sendai shifted into a crouch-

 _Whish!_ Then, she leapt up, clearing half the room with one motion. ' _Ho- holy shit…!'_

Kanako's stare became dulled. "Not a _complete_ idiot, as it stands."

Sendai was before Kanako in the next moment.

 _fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ She dodged a complete, square roundabout around Kanako's form, before succumbing to the dizziness racked up by both the spin from earlier, and her own abrupt agility. "Aa- ooh, oh shit…"

 _thump._ She fell over, onto her side. It was so softly, all of a sudden, that it really stood out to Sanae. "Wow."

' _Didn't realize-... I was this mixed up…'_

...Abruptly, Reimu thumped into the room. Almost a few moments after joining everyone, she saw her mother on the floor.

"...Wh- I'm not with her for _two measley goddamn seconds- and- rrgh!"_ It took her a moment, but she overreacted pretty quickly.

 _Sendai learned Wind Dispelling Prayer._

Everyone was now seated at the dining table. Sanae had cooked a new batch of eggs in a few seconds like a miracle worker. By this divine intervention, everyone could have an egg with their breakfast meats.

"You gotta work on averting dizziness." Kanako waved a finger at Sendai... "You don't seem to understand what level of strength to use, either. And, you cannot channel that dark energy inside yourself quite the same way, when you use your mana to speak with the wind."

Looking up from her food, Sendai slinked back in her chair… "I know a bunch of this, already. I've hardly had time to experiment yet, so I also don't know how to do many useful things."

...At that, Kanako raised a brow. "That so? It seems a little _odd,_ that _you_ of all people are like this."

"Lady Kanako~." Sanae spoke up over her breakfast meats. "It's not _her fault_ she got hit by the bag of spilling."

Reimu rested against the table, looking the others over. "You guys didn't even know she _existed,_ until she did. Don't go getting smarmy _now."_

"We're not!" Sanae held up a hand gingerly. Then, she faced Kanako, before smiling at Reimu again. "I'm not!"

"Smarmy's a word fer it!" Suwako piped up from a nearby chair.

"You people." Kanako allowed a look of exasperation, to them…

' _I don't think I would have minded this place existing.'_ Sendai figured. ' _...I don't know about all that generator-reactor shit, though. I also don't really know what their ambitions are, and bringing technology to the village without doing something about the social issues seems like-... not necessarily a winning strategy. The river project thing's fine, though; water is weirdly a semi-issue down there, despite mages and shit.'_

...She furrowed her brows at her morning steak. ' _Does Marcus just spawn water from the air to sell to people? Do other people do that? Would the whole water problem be solved if people could just be bothered to learn some fucking water magic? Ugh…'_ This was a thought she had before she died even, but now it resurfaced again.

"Mmh." She took a bite of the food…

"Hakurei." Kanako spoke up. "May I offer you a deal?"

...Sendai looked up at her, swallowing her bite. "Yeah?"

"The Moriya Shrine could always use a hand, in its efforts." Kanako smiled at her. "Regardless of your skill, I'm sure you're competent in a number of matters both spiritual and physical. Would it not be fitting, for you to spearhead the newer technological era, if perhaps from the shadows?"

...At this job offer, Sendai exhaled. "If you want muscle, go down to the village. I'm many things, but I'm a Hakurei maiden at heart, you know. Besides… I've got bigger problems to worry about than yours."

With a little shrug, Kanako reaffirmed her smile. "Oh, well. I won't ask you again, then. We could help you with any problems you have, you know? We're like a little family, here."

"It's cool." Sendai waved the offer off. "Already got my own family, thank you."

' _...At least this is still going better than that mansion visit. Truth be told, I was kind of expecting… some kind of conflict, and that it'd be a running trend, but this place is surprisingly civil, for being at the literal cusp of Youkai Mountain.'_

"That was a little rude…" Reimu spoke up about how blunt that whole exchange was. "I'm right here, you know."

From her own seat, Kanako smirked at her. " _Now_ who's being a hardass? I was simply making a business proposal. And, knowing the state of your _shrine_ , who am I to refuse you or your family opportunity? You are too irrational, Hakurei."

Sendai just stared at her, while Reimu fumed in the background. "...Y'know. If you're trying to make me dislike you more, it's working."

"Oh, relax." Raising her arm, Kanako moved it forward.

 _woosh._ A calm wind was heard, but not felt, coming over the room's air space with great, slow ease.

Riding it was a single, metal handle. The simple red-gold piece was oddly dazzling to Sendai. ' _Ah. What's that…?'_

 _whish._ Softly, the royal red handle came into Sendai's hands. When held, she was able to see the shimenawa wrapping on the upper one third of it. ' _Ah. It's a little onbashira.'_

With a grand smile, Kanako introduced the implement. "This is a wind dagger. Think of it like a lance."

...Sendai blinked. "How about 'wind lance'?"

"If you insist." She instantly conceded. "It is a simple tool that will never dull. Use your magic influence on it. Be aware, that this works best when you are using the power of the wind. I can't guarantee this would work natively otherwise."

"There's a holy blessing, on this artifact." Sendai examined. "What for?"

"Ah, yes." Kanako gave a tiny nod. "You can also use it to grant yourself partial resistance to the wind and rain. It is a simple blessing."

' _Only partial?'_ That felt a little cheap, but it was fine. ' _Alright…'_

Slowly, an ambient breeze that blew through the shrine found Sendai, as she searched for it. ' _There we go.'_

The free, flowing force of the wind slowly wrapped around her form, and she held up the tiny onbashira, a single hand clasped around it.

 _Woo- woo- woosh!_ A spear formed in Sendai's grasp, messy and forceful, before gaining a definite glow of holy brightness and amethyst light. It was made entirely of wind magic, barring that one handle she held.

' _Ooh…'_ Sendai was appealed by the glowing visual. The way the wind visibly rippled the softly luminescent magic was pretty. ' _This is fascinating.'_ Wind rippled across her hand like a shell as she held it, the constant motion sharp and abrading, although her skin there was already rough enough to take the irritating friction.

 _Shoo~f._ Kanako's chair slid back many meters, to the back of the room. "Try it out. Toss it at Suwako."

...Suwako sprang into standing on her chair, after a delay. "Woah- hey!"

 _woosh._ Sendai threw her arm forward, and the motion had surprising weight to it, for how light her arm felt with the wind's guidance. ' _Aah…'_

 _FVHIR._ The spear of wind stretched as it came up to Suwako's form, ripples of distorted light coming from the accelerating beam.

 _CLACK!_ Suwako sprang from her chair in a near instant-

 _SHINK- KSHOOF!_ The spear curved straight up, piercing straight through her. " _Huu- huwoa~h…!"_

 _Thud._ Suwako landed on her butt a moment later, a clean, fist-sized hole in her clothes and torso. "Owie…" She rubbed her hat as the hole closed, for some reason.

 _fwoof._ The spear met the ceiling, dispersing gently into wind and light.

' _...Wait, where'd-'_ Sendai looked down, and saw the tiny onbashira in her hand again. ' _What the fuck.'_

"The trick's that it doesn't leave your hand much, but the magic does." Kanako revealed immediately. "So, it can sort of double fake-out some opponents. Typically those who it would be useful against, in the first place."

' _That's pretty neat.'_ Quietly, Sendai stared down at the small onbashira…

Reimu had finished her breakfast, at this point. "...Well. This is a nice reversal, of last time."

"That's true, isn't it…" Sendai was pretty glad she didn't have to fight someone who could perform miracles… "Ah."

Suwako leapt up to her, like a frog would leap, clearing the entire distance from where she was, and where Sendai was, in a single half-second.

"I got something for you, too!" Beaming up at her, Suwako suddenly sprung into standing. "Here ya go!"

' _...Ah.'_ Sendai received a tiny, wooden frog statue.

"It's cute." She liked it.

Suwako's smile was small and soft. "It'll give you safe travel, financial upturn, and transfiguration."

"Transfiguration…?" Sendai raised a brow, at that. "That sounds unsafe."

Letting her hat tilt back at an angle, Suwako looked really fwoofy. "It means I can make some stuff into different shapes. I'm an earth goddess, after all."

' _...This could actually be handy.'_ Sendai realized. ' _Maybe I can stop breaking every crappy weapon I get my hands on. If I remember to pick up the parts, that is.'_

 _Sendai obtained Zephyr Bolt (infinite uses)._

 _Sendai obtained Frog Statue._

"Ha~h…" Marisa had finally woken up, and looked excessively fluffy about it. "Good eats, ze, good eats."

The outside was still overcast, but the shrine's interior was well-illuminated by the white light of the electric-powered bulbs.

' _I wonder.'_ It's been awhile, and Sendai had an idea. ' _I haven't used any item crashes in awhile. I tried to throw those talismans at Sakuya, but that went… less than well.'_

She still wasn't sure how her spirit would fare, either. ' _For some reason, I can't just… do them, like I could. It's probably a good thing for my recovery that my 'pool' is like this, but it's still annoying.'_

Around her, everyone was sort of lazing about. Sanae yawned. "Ha~nh…"

' _Ah. I should do my exercises soon.'_ She considered. ' _...Maybe I have to exercise my mind to use my abilities more, too.'_

She held up the red handle that Kanako gave her. Holy, dark energy surged from inside Sendai's soul, her arm tensing as it sent needles of numbness through her arm, for a brief moment. ' _Alright…'_

" _Haa~h!"_ All of a sudden, she sprang into the arm, limbs arched back and tense as her spirit flared. " _Goddess's Blessing!"_

Kanako's legs slid together, and her body jolted. " _Oo- nnh…!"_

 _woosh._ In the next moment, she was teleported behind Sendai, where she stood, feeling at herself awkwardly.

"Wha- what the hell…" Raising her arms from her crotch, she gave Sendai a bewildered look… "What was _that!?"_

"...That was an item crash?" Sendai wasn't sure why the goddess warped behind her… "What's up?"

Shaking her head, Kanako backed up… "A wh- what? Ugh. As _pleasing_ as that was, please-... do whatever that is, in moderation."

' _I mean-...'_ Sendai felt half dead, again. ' _Man. I want to sleep… again. Sleeping's good...'_

"...Ah." It took a Kanako a moment to recompose herself, but now that she was, she saw what happened. "You-... converted bodily energy into faith, and used it on the item I gave you, which in turn sent it back to me. That's-..."

"So _that's_ how they work!" Marisa sprang up, romping over to them. "I was wonderin' what all that yelling an' magic was about! So you _do_ have Hakurei stuff after all!"

Sendai jerked her head back. "What do you mean, 'after all'? I still have my orbs and talismans."

"But- you always kept usin' 'em like Reimu did when she was a baby!" Marisa contested immediately. "It was kinda rare seein' you use your magic an' skills like… like actual _skills!_ An' now that I think it, I kinda wanna see Reimu show ya her spell cards some time!"

...She pivoted to Reimu. "Y'know that one time yer mom kicked the shit outta ya? Ya shoulda used Evil Sealing Circle!"

"I- I wasn't in the mood to use danmaku…" Reimu gave her a sedated look in return… "I don't want to associate it with when I go to kill people. Holy magic didn't work great on mom, either, so a lot of my sealing techniques weren't gonna cut it. And, if it was hard to tell, I _really didn't_ wanna kill anyone that evening."

' _...I'd say something about that hesitation,'_ Sendai gave her a neutral stare, ' _but it's probably the reason I'm alive right now. If only I wasn't shit at fighting. Now I really want to train…'_

"I feel like I missed a _lo~tta_ context." Sanae looked only slightly confused. "That might be a good thing!"

"It might be." Reimu confirmed. "Everyone's gonna figure out by the next flower viewing, anyway…"

...Sendai now brandished the frog statue. ' _Alright. Probably the same, but…'_

" _Haa~h…!"_ Ascending slightly into the air again, she thrust her limbs back, holy magic pouring like a bucket into the frog statue. " _Goddess's Blessing!"_

 _fwoof._ Suwako emerged from the floor behind her, before-

 _thump._ -falling back, onto her butt. "Oh, _wow…_ you're a- real pleaser, aren't 'cha…?"

"But- is there any actual _point_ to this…?" Sendai began to feel her mind numb, from the exertion. "Am- am I just summoning you people for fun?"

Kanako had her arms folded. "Well. It's essentially the same as praying for a great blessing. In which, we bless you or someone you wish us to bless, or we grant varying aid in the smiting of your foes. Think of it as… using a debit card, except with your faith, and I'm the vendor."

"What-... the _fuck's_ a debit card?" Sendai was lost, and tired… "I-..."

Coming up to the chair near Reimu, she immediately plopped into it. "Unf. Mrgh…" Then, she sank into the table, resting her head on it… "Ni- night…"

"What." Reimu blinked at her. "...Hey- what the heck. Mom? Mo~m…"

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

==x==

x / Sendai Hakurei No Miko, the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

INVENTORY:

 _X Sub-weapons:_

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

X Pocket items:

[Global Item Box] - Pocket-fillers that grant Sendai unlimited inventory space, as long as the item fits. Takes up no inventory space.

[Elementary Backpack] - Young student's backpack. Really tiny, and looks cute on Sendai. Uses no inventory space- being inventory itself- and provides four item slots.

(1x) Potion - A potion used to restore health. Basic, but the best choice for human users. Provides heavy health regeneration for some seconds.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evolution - Heals the entire party, as if they were all given a potion. Equal to a Mega Potion, but consumes an item crash use to produce these effects.

Plain Cloth - It used to be a tiny bag, but it came apart and died. Basic synthesis item.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ With Like A Cloth Or Something - Sendai whips the cloth at an enemy, forcing them to turn around. Reflects projectiles, too.

Tauriner - Experimental medicinal restoration item. Restores 'spirit energy'. In Sendai's case, it restores a single item crash use upon consumption.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Yukkuri Production Kit - A kit used for creating yukkuri, which obey the user. Consumable with ten uses. Comes with DNA kits for Reimu, Marisa, and Alice types. Life catalyst is bundled with this item.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

High-Quality Bottled Water - Refreshing and pure.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

(x5) Pocket Lint - Dust friends. Uses no inventory space. Can be combined with nine hundred ninety four other Pocket Lints to create something cataclysmic...

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Ragnarok Theorem - Inflicts a random status effect on a random target. Cannot instantly kill or doom. Cannot cast Auto-Life.

108,260 Yen - Money used to purchase goods. Takes up no inventory space.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards…

Blue Flexi-suit - One-piece swimsuit with removable parts, for easy access to bodily regions. Offers no protection. Made of a mysterious, ticklish material…

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Oni Fight & Drink Guide - Brutal text that archives some oni traditions, as well as one's personal bias to the sword. Teaches Sendai Gravity Flash and-

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Ruby - Takes up no inventory space. Has no practical value, but may be sold for 250,000 Yen to the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and for ~300,000 Yen to a jeweler.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Firaga Burst - Summons an orb of flame over the battlefield, which rains down balls of fire that ignite everything. Expert-level fire magic.

Daffodil - Common white or yellow flower. Most common flower in the universe.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Purify - Heals party of all status ailments.

Zephyr Bolt - Gift from the wind goddess Yasaka. When filled with wind energy, it may be tossed like a homing lance at targets. Has more chance to hit the more the target evades. Can only be used in Tengu Style.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Goddess's Blessing * Kanako Yasaka - Summons the wind goddess Yasaka. She'll either increase the party's evade, provide resistance to various statuses, or dispel the enemy with ominous wind. Advanced wind magic. Uses two item crashes.

Frog Statue - Gift from the earth goddess Moriya. Passively decreases random encounter rate, increases money gained from fights, and slowly adds uses to weapons outside of fights, up to their logical maximum. May aid in fixing objects, too.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Goddess's Blessing * Suwako Moriya - Summons the earth goddess Moriya. She'll either strengthen the party, cast earth magic on foes, or create earthy eruptions to defeat enemies. Other times, she may be summoned to re-orient objects or architecture. Uses two item crashes.

-o-

Hakurei Maiden Combat Outfit: DP - The shrine maiden outfit of the miko who came before. Made for a large bust, and bolsters both martial offense and blunt defense. Features a hakama bottom for easy leg movement, and a black leotard so the upper body can move easily.

 _ATTRIBUTES:_

Yin-Yang's Light - Draws forth the wearer's true worth?

Last Hakurei's Darkness - Draws forth the wearer's true worth?

Youkai Exterminator - Balanced, miniscule boost to strength, speed and defense for all styles.

Pockets - Hammerspace is accessed from the pockets.

-o-

Hakurei Maiden Combat Outfit: Brawler - Blue-black Hakurei outfit with white accents. Arm sleeves are minimalized to make punching easier, and the cloth is a little heavier than normal.

 _ATTRIBUTES:_

Hard Cloth - Slight increase to knockback resistance, and stagger resistance when in Youkai Style.

Dynamic Sleeves - Slight increase to attack speed and power when in Youkai Style.

Armory - Hammerspace is accessed from the inner face of the blue apron.

-o-

(eight slots remaining [Elementary Backpack])

(over one hundred hammerspace slots remaining)

 _X Armor:_

 _x Body:_

-o-

Traditional Miko Outfit ReMiX: Rush - Pink-white traditional shrine maiden outfit. Arm sleeves are maximized to increase control and speed, at the cost of being able to use much if any power. The body itself is also loose enough to promote great speed.

 _ATTRIBUTES:_

Great Sleeves - Massive increase to accuracy when in Tengu Style.

Hastega - Slide dodge technique is easier to control, goes farther, and is moderately faster. Standard running speed is slightly faster.

Quick Draw - Hammerspace is accessed from sleeves.

-o-

 _x Misc:_

Reinforced Apron - A royal red, reinforced cloth apron. Defends Sendai a little against incoming magic and blunt physical attacks.

Nothing.

Nothing.

 _x Weapon:_ Cheap Katana - Nine uses remaining until it breaks - An average-sized blade, made from folded iron and molded into… relative practicality, rather than perfection. Cheap and disposable.

==x==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

 _X Body_

Endured IV - Sendai has forged her body through a long cycle of training and combat. She's still not much stronger, but she knows what immense pain feels like.

Powerful IV - With constant, repeated motions and strength training, Sendai has built up her body to strike fear into the land's youkai. Hits are becoming closer to her former strength...

Dark Affinity - Inherently, Sendai has channeled inner, dark feelings for most of her life. Grants 50% dark resistance.

Nature's Acquaintance - Sendai used to like nature. Grants 25% Wind resistance, when Tengu Style is activated.

Holy Rage - When in Fantasy Nature style, Sendai is 50% weak to holy sources of damage. Also confers 100% dark resistance and curse immunity.

 _X Soul_

Heated Spirit IV - A building fragment of the resolve she used to wield. Allows Sendai to use four item crashes. At the end of every fight, she regains one use. Recharged by sleeping, or gaining new resolve.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Magic is ingrained into her body to allow her to replicate certain objects as long as she has enough mana. Becomes unusable when all item crashes are used up.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

Rebellious Soul - Able to channel her magic to her limbs, which takes on the form of dark enchantments. Reduces damage where she applies it, by strengthening the body itself. Only available in Youkai Style.

Mischievous Soul - Able to channel her magic to her limbs, which takes on the form of loose, windy magic. Allows her to weave, run faster, and jump higher than ever before, at a hefty cost to her power and her ability to use darkness magic. Only available in Tengu Style.

Phoenix Spirit - When angered or at critical health, Sendai's adrenaline rises gradually regardless of her momentum in the fight, letting her pull off critical techniques easier. One may harm a phoenix's body, but they can't harm its pride.

Secret of the Mad Maid * Poise - When Sendai has high anger and adrenaline, she knows how to hide her pain from gunshots or knife stabs, refusing to stagger or wither as easily. However, every one of these attacks she resists will drain from her adrenaline.

Terrain Essence - Sendai can use the environment to deal devastating damage to her enemies. Executable off of walls, the ground, big objects; by lifting tables or chairs, etcetera. Boosts in power the less item crashes Sendai has used.

Weapon Essence - Melee weapons gain decisive maneuvers which deal immense damage. Allows Sendai to use swords semi-properly.

Essence of Finishing - Downed enemies are very vulnerable to extreme attacks, as Sendai's discovered. Follow-ups on downed enemies can now be critical hits, as long as Sendai's spirit remains full. Works with weapons, too.

Essence of Wreckage - When enraged or pushed to the edge, Sendai's follow-up on downed enemies becomes a lethal, relentless onslaught of fists and power. Heavily demanding on her body, and leaves her expended for awhile after use. Wasteful, unskillful, powerful technique. Learned by observing Ex-Keine perform a similar attack...

Essence of Assimilation - When in Fantasy Nature style, Sendai attempts to consume the body of dark-elemental beings. Kills the target. Refills health, item crashes, and Fantasy Nature duration. Sendai inherits target's life force as a result. Bonus power deteriorates over time unless kept fed.

 _X Technique_

 _x Misc:_

Misc Abilities - Skills that don't necessarily go with a style. Often utilitarian or shared.

Switch Style - Changing her stance, posture, and enchantment capabilities, Sendai changes out her moveset and the way she controls. Can only switch to Youkai and Tengu styles, as Fantasy Nature style only works by item crash.

Candy Confetti - If Sendai has candy in her inventory, she can cast it into the air stylishly. Uses 50% of small candies in Sendai's inventory. Skips random encounters with fairies, and lowers fairy aggression levels. Duration and effect depend on how many candies are spent. Works less well on Scarlet Devil Mansion fairies.

Summon * Sakuya Izayoi - Summons Sakuya Izayoi. Allows Sendai to access the item box anywhere. Allows Sendai to request her for recreation. Allows Sendai to summon her to fight alongside her.

 _DETAILS:_ Maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion - Sakuya has a variety of styles. They reflect her progression through life, and as so, ascend in power and utility. Most are rarely seen, however.

o _Dawnstar Style -_ Rarely seen.

o _Assassin Style_ \- Light knife and dirty fighting tactics. Light physical projectiles. High tendency to use danmaku, especially when requested.

o _Solace Style_ \- Wields a Luger and Claimh Solais. Stance for taking down greater youkai and some vampires. Rarely seen.

o _Perfect Maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion -_ Sakuya stops time often and instantly eradicates most foes. Includes powerful counter-attacks, and visceral supplementary damage to her attacks. Rarely seen.

 _x Youkai Style:_

Youkai Style - Sendai's default post-revival style. Has a mixture of youkai techniques and handy things she's learned. Gained its namesake after she defeated her daughter, and unlocked some of her inner potential.

Dark Power - Sendai accents her body with dark magic, reducing incoming damage and heightening outgoing damage when she wills it.

Guard - Sendai guards against attacks. Self-explanatory. Prevents most damage, but doesn't work against blades or bullets, for obvious reasons. Doesn't protect her from angles other than her front.

Quick Step - Sendai slides on her sandals to avoid an attack, jolting her muscles to evade. Pretty much muscle memory to her, at this point. Also known as Slide Dodge.

Dodge Retaliation - A technique remembered through battle against Marisa Kirisame. After quick stepping, Sendai can instantly retaliate with a thrusting punch. _Only_ effective when spirit energy is high.

Flying Kick - When running, Sendai can throw herself into a double-legged kick that smashes through defenses, and is not interrupted by minor sources of pain or knockback.

Mad Maid's Kink * Rolling Kick - Sendai half-cartwheels, and half-flips forward into an enemy, striking with each of her sandals at the end of her roll. Not as effective as Flying Kick, but easier to control, and hits multiple times. Doesn't pierce defenses as easily. Sidegrade skill to Flying Kick.

Slide Leap - One of Sendai's classic abilities, from her memory. Has two parts. Begins with Sendai sliding along the ground, from which she may launch herself into the air with a kick.

Youkai Buster Combo * Brawl - A series of ambitious punches aided by kicks, which gives most foes little time to recover and staggers often. Includes a series of hooks, and finishes with a dark-accented overhead punch that launches most foes.

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Konpaku Shot Stopper - An ancient Konpaku defense technique, first used against matchlock rifles, now adapted to be effective against handguns and shotguns. Allows Sendai to execute a decisive maneuver when near firearms users, as well as disarm them. _Only_ effective when spirit energy is high.

Youkai Cunning: Revenge Value - Enables Sendai to follow-up melee attacks with a strike or a grapple, using the momentum her body receives. Doesn't work if she's knocked back.

Faze Step - Lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward some distance. Makes her highly knockback resistant while it executes. It's not in its true form, yet.

 _x Tengu Style:_

Tengu Style - Sendai's speed-focused style, sacrificing her brutal power for great speed and evasive ability, helping her get further with her combat skills. Learned after she witnessed Aya show off using a similar moveset.

Wind Power - Sendai accents blows with wind. As her attacks ascend in intensity, so does the wind that guides her. Usually weak and does little other than improve speed, but it could also be powerful in its own right...

Slide Dodge Plus - Sendai can slide dodge one additional time, and it comes easier, with the wind's guidance. This increases her total dodges to two in succession.

Slide Dodge Plus - Sendai can slide dodge one additional time, and it comes easier, with the wind's guidance. This increases her total dodges to three in succession.

Slide Dodge Plus - Sendai can slide dodge one additional time, and it comes easier, with the wind's guidance. This increases her total dodges to four in succession.

Weave Guard - Sendai can no longer guard, and when she does, it's hilariously ineffective. Instead, she weaves past some blows, or chooses to parry, reducing or avoiding damage entirely. Doesn't work against some moves, or heavy magic.

Youkai Buster Combo * Rush - Fast jabs and thrusts, which are too fast for some enemies to keep track of. Deals very low damage, but is easy to use, accurate, and chains into many different quick attacks.

Flick Kick - Combo finisher. When she's dealt enough hits, Sendai sweeps a leg up in a rising kick to her enemy's torso. Breaks enemy guards, with good knockback and stagger potential. Most effective when bouncing an enemy against a wall, opening them for harassment and punishment.

Stun Drive - Sendai's basic combo attacks have a chance to stun less aware foes with their intensity and speed, setting them up for an easy knockdown. Alternatively, they can just be left amazed.

Feint Taunt - A taunt where Sendai weaves before an enemy, throwing windy, fast punches before them. Has a chance to intimidate foes.

 _x Fantasy Nature Style:_

Fantasy Nature Style - Style adopted whenever Sendai casts Fantasy Nature. Uses dark power and an amalgamation of youkai abilities.

Scratch - Basic attack. Deal dark elemental damage over time on incision, which may expand incisions. May be inflicted by any limb; claws not required.

Anti-Glide - User moves at impossible, awkward angles to avoid attacks and projectiles. Provides limited flight.

Air Giant Wheel - Spinning inhumanly fast on an invisible axis, the user unleashes a torrent of deadly scratches. Prevents retaliation with harassment.

Midair Doom - Arching back, Sendai unleashes a sphere of intersecting slashes. Mid-air finishing move. Launches foes.

Gravity Flash - Skidding along her stomach, Sendai scrapes the floor in a circular motion, before sending out a wave of crushing magic all around herself. Ground-based finishing move. Space elemental magic.

Stun Meteor - Balling up in the air, Sendai comes down on a target, encapsulated in an orb of non-elemental, lovely energy. May stun targets. May launch foes.

==x==Ω==x==

 _Ω Marcus Kirisame, the Middle-Aged Magician_

INVENTORY:

Ω Pocket items:

(2x)Hi-Ether - Restores enough mana for even high-tiered youkai to be able to appreciate.

Paddleball - Here comes the paddleball!

Bottled Artificial Spiritualism - Red energy sampled from a human villager. Seems similar to faith...

(1 slot remaining)

Ω Armor:

-o- Body: Comfy Robes - Familiar, aged robes. Comfy and easy to move around in.

STATS:

50% fire resistance.

50% electric resistance.

50% ice resistance.

-o- Misc:

Enchanted Dreamcatcher - A trinket that halves the effectiveness of debuffs on the user.

Nothing.

Nothing.

-o- Weapon: Magic Bazooka - Collapsible magic bazooka. Can fire lasers in a variety of elemental flavors, but works best with non-elemental magic. Uses currently mastered elements.

==x==

SKILLS:

-o- Soul

Inspire Drive I - Marcus recovers the inspiration that defined his youth. Grants him one use of _Inspired-_ type spells. Use regenerates once per day. _Inspired-_ type spells use no mana. Inspiration cannot be recovered with items, with art or personal revelations being exceptions.

-o- Items

Replicable Packaged Bomb - No one's certain how many he has. Tosses a cardboard package, which detonates into danmaku, with the potential to launch and stagger targets.

-o- Ice Magic

Glacier - Erect a tall ice blade. Heavy physical ice attack.

Ice Shard - Spawn ice in an enemy's form. Moderate ice magic. May freeze targets.

-o- Fire Magic

Firaga - Lob a short-range fireball mortar. Heavy fire magic that ignites. Preceding tiers are homing fireballs that have a chance to ignite.

Fireball - Generate a fireball in an opponent's form. Moderate fire magic that ignites. Not to be confused with Fira or Fire, mechanically weaker spells that precede Firaga.

-o- Water Magic

Bubbles - Summon bubbles under an opponent. Gets them wet and stuff. Might lower their physical attack…! Good setup for electric moves, too…!

Bubble Burst - Expert water magic. Summons a lot of bubbles under a lot of opponents. Still gets them wet. Also still might lower their physical attack…!

-o- Other Elemental

Quake - Disrupt the earth, and create a not-so-sharp spike of rock. Moderate physical earth attack.

Thunderbolt - Summon a myriad of thunder strikes to converge on a single target. Advanced electric magic. May stun foes. Hits three times.

Mana Drain - When able to access the opponent's mana, Marcus is able to pull it away. Magnet elemental magic. Usually initiated by a non-elemental orb.

-o- Non Elemental

Non-elemental Orb - A flexible non-elemental orb that may explode or simply dissipate. When dissipated, the mana may infuse with enemies and intertwine with their mana pool, allowing for Marcus to follow up.

Magic Resistance - Buffs an ally against magic. Starts at forty percent resistance, but tapers off to nothing over time.

Magic Shield - A non-elemental shield which absorbs all magical attacks, as long as they're not draining, death, or magnet related.

Lucky Star - Non-elemental star that bonks people on the head. Very random damage.

Star Shower - A rain of non-elemental stars which hit a crowd of foes for very random damage.

Cold and Gold - A danmaku non-spell which Marcus can create from an influx of magical energy.

-o- Ability

Elemental Control - Marcus has general mastery and control over non-elemental and elemental mana manipulation, allowing him to do some freeform manipulation for whatever he feels. Mastery and flexibility of freeform control depends on how many spells of that elemental branch are known.

Telekinesis - Semi-decent magical control of objects and matter; more specifically, spending mana to move objects. Works on clothes, too!

Magical Mastery - Marcus has access to any lower tier of attack he's currently mastered, if he needs to use such for whatever reason. As in, he knows Firaga therefore the preceding levels come innately, etcetera.

-o- _Inspired_

Voltaic Ray - Marcus creates three rays of electric energy, which carve through enemies by jolting at them in linear, synchronized thrusts. Can end many encounters instantly, and does great electric damage. Uses all inspiration for the day.

==x==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

a fun chapter!

this college semester is 110% "holy shit" levels of busy work, but at least it's relatively easy

i've been looking back over some of the other chapters and finding ways to unify their theme, more in regards to the fight scenes and how they can be made better / more impactful, and typically i find the solution is blending symbolic meaning into a more intense instance of action

which is not to say there can't be a one-off mook stomp here or there but honh, they might as well be part of the relief between conflicts

i've given a few things a once-over so far (namely chapter 1 and 2), but that was in part to just make chapter 1's hook a bit stronger and more consistent, and give a little more purpose to the armor bout in the kourindou in chapter 2

as of right now, i still gotta finalize the guard fight in chapter… 4 was it? yeah 4, to make that more demonstrative of the village

i also feel like the dieter conflict coulda culminated in something a little more intense, and i STILL REALLY DUNNO about the pacing of the rabbit conflict

i've already said in previous chapters i touched up chapter 10's reimu fight and that really is a lot better despite when it happens, which gives a little more weight to everything that happens later

BUT, MY SCHOOL SCHEDULE IS PRETTY MENTAL RIGHT NOW, so AHHHHHHHHH AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

anyway enough about OTHER SHIT, let's talk about this chapter!

it provides a good amount of world building - w - and to keep things moving forward it's not just sendai having a nice relax, there's that STUFF WITH MARCUS AS WELL…

in comparison to one of my prior works (GENSOKYOBOUND), the pace here is a lot slower in terms of party composition and wider in terms of scale of the adventure, and considering the more GROUNDED nature of the characters here, we'll see how that GOES…

and part of this is why i'm dicey on pretty much the pace of the entire series of chapters preceding the reimu fight since it's pretty much just sendai awkwardly fumbling about, but now that i think about it… that's NOT WRONG OR INACCURATE, and perhaps that makes it a better thing that we ended up fighting reimu earlier since past there is a very big pace and tone change compared to when sendai was essentially alone-but-sometimes-with-a-party-or-a-random-gook.

so we have sendai exploring some _neat stuff_ for the first time in awhile here, and getting used to her new outfit… and ironically how inexperienced she is with tengu style hints that she needs grinding to develop it!

aw that haku-boy going "isn't sendai gaining new power too fast" in the reviews, to which ai'm pretty sure is just because of the "sendai learned X" visual porn

also it's NOT EXACTLY SAID TO VIEWERS that individual 'styles' don't really blend into one another, but it's kinda implied like a lot; on its own tengu style lacks _a lot of benefits of youkai style_ and doesn't yet actually have anything that makes it worth using over youkai style other than the fact it's faster just because it's so weak and she can't do a lot with it

 _not that we've seen much of it yet to make a judgment like that_

ANYWAY, another criticism ai got was that the video game-like elements of the story were holding it back because they don't specifically reference or induce cross-over elements, thus taking away from the story

from a more contemporary standpoint ai can see the visual clutter of them being pointless, but it's more personal preference on my part combined with the fact it's basically window-dressing. as in, if ai got rid of the inventory, visible weapon durability, 'sendai got X' skill handlers and after-battle results in the form of drops and money, it'd still pretty much be the exact same thing but framed a little differently

the only things different would probably be _less smooth_ transitions out of and into fight scenes, how sendai builds herself would be able to afford being more vague and summary because we wouldn't need to see a visual representation of every step of the process, we could fudge the currency and other inventory elements because they wouldn't matter as much, and while this could better emphasize non-game-referential scenes, ai feel like it'd remove some key parts of the story's identity and my self-imposed challenge to just MAKE THIS WORK AS IT IS

weapon durability is there regardless of if ai number it because sendai is a freakin' barbarian and her primary weapon is fists; so it kinda ropes her back into not using a sword or something forever

also the fight scene transitions are very good and nice and i like them; they're heavy-handed but they're supposed to be

i feel like if there's any reason someone might not like the story at this point, it's just a combination of the awkwardness of the first nine chapters combined with them not liking the sadder thematics that lead up to where it is; it's a bit more _real_ and _sad life stuff_ which isn't quite the same as the tone of my other works, and that's kinda the POINT, 'cause that's SENDAI'S CHARACTER influencing the narrative

we may already be at like 200 k words but we're just getting started over here son

oh right i should be talking about the chapter

sanae is a good girl!

i haven't written much sanae, kanako _or_ suwako so this is a learning experience dood

kanako's character i'm especially iffy on just because i don't _precisely_ know what ambitions to give her yet but she seems to be in a pretty okay place

SUWAKO'S A BIT OF AN ANOMALLY and i LIKE 'ER

originally i did want sendai to find some conflict here but there was really no good reason and sanae is in fact a good girl who doesn't lynch people randomly like a certain european maid we know

so instead of fighting sendai got to play yakuza on playstation which i think is a FAIR TRADEOFF

she even still learned things! ho ho!

and yeah now we get to see more of the artificial hakurei project and stuff, which ironically fulfilled the chapter's 'hitting things' quota albeit inadvertently

i like how little of a fuck marcus gives about it personally XD he just ain't havin' any of that shit

I THINK I'VE RAMBLED ENOUGH

please give me more criticism to either ramble defensively in disagreeance about or actually act on because i find it partially correct and actually important to think about…!

also is it me or are these end-chapter summaries gonna get _really long after not that long of a time_

boy i sure wish had CSS STYLING AAAAAAA- or even IMAGES

as always, see you all next time!


	15. The Odd Calm of Youkai Mountain

"Nnh…" Sendai completed her first hundred push-ups.

The outside of the Moriya Shrine was cold. Past the deck she used to exercise, there was plenty of snow. Perhaps, too much snow…

She'd just woken up from an involuntary power nap, courtesy of expending way too much of her spiritual energy way too quickly. ' _Apparently, I-... I think I have more than I did, but I'm not sure.'_

The large back of the Moriya Shrine was windy and cold, but it was a good place to do warm-up activities.

"Try not to knock yourself out, now." Reimu cautioned her, sitting on the steps into the snow nearby, sipping from a small but warm green tea cup. "This tour'll take all month, if you spend half of it dead."

Standing from her push-up posture, Sendai snorted. "Ahah. I'd know about spending time dead."

Coming up to them with an incredulous grin, Sanae's eyes were widened. "...You're casual with the dark jokes, huh?"

Sendai gave her a smug look. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I dunno! I just figured, you'd kinda-... well, I guess joking about it _is_ moving on, huh?" She gave her a big smile, sort of awkwardly...

After giving her a ginger stare in return, Sendai centered on the great snowfield ahead. "Anyway. There's not a lot I can do, with this snow all over the place. Perhaps-..." She had an idea.

"I can clear i~t!" Smiling big, Sanae moved for the back lawn-

Quickly, Sendai grasped her shoulder. "We don't need _more_ snow. Let me handle this."

"Aww~h…" Hesitantly, she surrendered the clean-up. "Since you _really_ wanna do it, fi~ne."

-+- _Vs. Snow, the Broad and Soft_ -+-

Stepping off the porch, Sendai instantly became belly-deep in the snow. ' _Oo- ooo…'_ Cold met her clothing and skin.

The back of the shrine was surprisingly bigger than she had expected. The large building's porch revealed a larger yard, accompanied by tall, thick onbashira scattered across the lawnscape in a circular pattern. A wide, shallow-looking pond sat along the edge of the near-summit plateau where the Moriya Shrine rested, ice overlaying the surface.

' _There's so much snow…'_ There was no way she could manually move all of it. ' _Hopefully that nap was enough. Both for my spirit energy… and, in general.'_

 _Crunch- crunch, cr- cr- crunch…_ Awkwardly wading into the midst of the snow, she considered her options.

' _I should have some kind of ability to deal with this.'_ She felt lucid, mountain-top wind creep up her features. The snow she stepped out of filled into the resulting tracks instantly.

While she marched, she resisted the urge to hug her own midsection. ' _It's cold…!'_

 _woosh._ With her fists held up, she glared down at the snow aggressively. ' _I'm gonna-... hmm. As funny as it would be to punch it into mist, I know as well as anyone that it wouldn't end well. It's a good idea in theory, but quickly you realize that snow is cold, and there's a lot of it. Then, once you're tired, you go 'is there really that much left? I got nowhere'!'_ She thought of a previous experience...

While she focused, the idle environmental wind coalesced into a dance around her skin. Her body felt lighter, and the snow became tougher to wade through, inadvertently making movement slower...

' _Ah, man.'_ She didn't immediately notice the wind was making her life harder, but she did notice the snow got seemingly denser. _'I'm far enough in, I guess. Let's start with some of my sub-weapons.'_ Sendai reached into her huge, pink-white sleeves.

She drew a Chronicle of Gensokyo. ' _Since I can make as many of these as I want… I don't think these'll be effective, but-'_

 _Fwi- fwish, fwi- fwish!_ When Sendai chucked it, the magic enchantment of the Chronicle was set off, and the tome took flight.

While it flailed in the air, it spiralled around her form, kicking up snow as its pages grew wet and tore. It almost looked like it was tumbling and crashing against the snow's surface.

She furrowed her brows, while it destroyed itself without the snow's direct intervention. ' _I'm not sure under what circumstance this would be useful in. It might be an effective distraction...'_

 _Fwish- thunk._ The chronicle stopped in the snow, missing half of its pages, the magic that kept it spinning running out.

Theoretically, a Hakurei axe would make a good snow shovel, but… ' _There's got to be a better way. Wait…'_ She decided to try it anyway. ' _Since I can't summon my darkness when I'm windy, the axes… what would happen if I made one?'_

 _Fwi- fwish- fwish- fwish…_ From Sendai's sleeves, talismans flowed out, in an attempt to make the Hakurei Axe.

But, they were unsuccessful, Sendai's captured wind blowing the talismans away, and the dark magic failing to adequately glue the holy paper in place. ' _What…? Oh! I guess, some of my subweapons won't function correctly without dark magic. That makes sense, considering it's an important exploit for some of them.'_

 _Shoo- shoo- shoof._ Marisa waded out into the snow, with her. "The- the hell're ya doing? Snow's not a youkai, ya can't just _seal it_ … _!"_

"We'll see about that." Sendai jested. Her gaze met the gently glowing talismans which got stuck flat along the snow before herself. "More seriously… I'm experimenting. I ought to have something, to deal with it."

"Something, huh…?" Marisa stopped, before she waded too far in. "S'freakin' _cold!_ Don't ya got snow in yer bandages now, 'er somethin'?"

...It was a little uncomfortable, but she'd been through worse. ' _Oh, well.'_

 _woosh._ She threw her arm. A chunk of holy salt rolled out, landing in the snow before herself.

 _sss._ Instantly, the snow began to sizzle where it landed. Within seconds, the big chunks sank in, melting the snow as it went. ' _Oo~h. That's right! Salt is an excellent de-icifier! No fucking wonder!'_ She gave her past-self a pat on the back.

' _I wonder. Maybe Marcus told me about that, or something. Well- no… it's pretty common knowledge that you can salt surfaces. It's just, the village had dirt paths for the most part, so black ice on stone paths wasn't really an issue. I don't think the village has enough resources to just waste salt on non-food activities.'_

 _woo- woo- woosh_. Throwing her arms, she sent out some gently accelerating clumps of holy salt to melt more of the snow.

' _This'll take forever the normal way.'_ Sendai figured. ' _But…'_

"Pft, uh…" Marisa stared on at the display semi-pityingly...

Mana pulsed through her form, her wind becoming loose in one moment as the light around her rippled, contorting strangely. She tensed her muscles, summoning dark and awkward holy into her veins. _"Ha~h…"_

Dark and holy energy bobbed and pulsed, and her heart rate accelerated. The power she suddenly summoned made her body shake in stress.

 _Click!_ Snapping her fingers together, Sendai posed one arm into the air. " _Sodium Geyser!"_

 _FWI- FWOOSH- FWI- FWOOSH- FWI- FWOOSH!_ Around her form, a grey-white mist of fine salt particles were expelled into the air. The clouds rose with rapid, repeated force, a constant plume of dusty grey billowing away.

Holy light left Sendai's form, and she stopped posing, the descending stress settling into her. ' _...Not really an offensive technique, that. It-... also didn't drain me as much as giving faith to those goddesses did.'_

...The salt was coming back down, and Sendai actually had to get out of the way of the dusty clouds.

' _Ah- really…'_ This was at least easy, because the salt geyser's eruption had vaporized all the snow immediately around her, as well as some of the grass.

 _Fwii~sh._ When it all came back down, it was almost like a tiny rainfall. Still, for the energy cost of the maneuver, and the low radius of the salt cloud that resulted, Sendai furrowed her brows. ' _What the hell's that good for…!?'_

"Wow." Marisa nodded healthily. "That was a _huge_ waste of mana…!"

...Sitting cross-legged again, Kanako hovered into the yard, near them. "Mmm. Also- not to rain on your parade, or anything, but that salt will kill the grass."

...Sendai gave her a dry look back. "You have an earth goddess here. Can't you just-... get more grass?"

This was hard for Kanako to refute. "Well-... yes. I'm just saying, as far as lawn care attempts go, you've ruined this pretty spectacularly."

"I'm sure I can clean it up, somehow." Sendai argued. "Give me a moment."

...Skeptically, Kanako coasted back away. "Well. Oka~y…"

' _I'm getting the impression that these subweapons of mine are kind of situational. Of course, most are for combat, not snow shoveling, but I'd figured I'd at least have something destructive enough to clear out a good portion of the snow.'_

' _...Actually.'_ Sendai had some ideas. ' _I think I can dispose of the salt… and clear out at least a lane of snow. And, the salt itself.'_

 _Woosh!_ Sendai leapt from her spot in the snow. Despite the wind's aid, the snow she was stuck in still made her movement difficult. Promptly, she sank back into the snow a moment later...

' _Also- nnh...'_ Moving even further away from the porch was going to be a huge hassle, especially without any strength. ' _First…'_

 _fwish- Crack, crack._ Cracking her neck, then her knuckles, she felt all the wind around herself dispel and return to the world. Dark energy twitched along her muscles and skin for one moment, and she began to march.

 _Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!_ Now that her body was no longer receptive to the wind's aid, she could simply power through the snow, pushing her legs through it instead of daintily wading through like before.

' _There we go. I have to be mindful of what style I'm going for, when I approach something. My body seems to be not good at doing both wind shenanigans and actual force at once.'_

She moved to a slightly lowered plain of snow, at the far end of the yard. Stepping into it revealed the ground to be margins lower, letting her sink up to her breasts. ' _Aa- cold…'_

As it was, the salt was probably sinking into the snow as she acted, chewing its way to the precious, highly-replaceable lawn beneath. But, she wouldn't let that stand.

' _First, to stop the salt.'_ Sendai reached into one of her fluffy, pink-white sleeves, and drew a clear, teal mana molotov.

The concoction began to light up a bright toothpaste-like color, the cap smouldering, as she focused her faith and dark power into it. ' _Alright…!'_ Her own blood almost boiled, body growing hotter as the opposite elements churned through her; it was a constant, turning friction.

 _Click!_ She thrust one arm up, and snapped her fingers. The holy molotov she held spiralled into the air, leaving her posing, her body's power unleashed. " _Hydro Storm!"_

 _...fwii- Fwii- FWII~SH!_ The rain began nearly instantly. Violent, heavy, bullet-like drops roared down from the overcast sky above. The whole ambience of the mountaintop darkened, the needles of water striking holes in the snow, sloshing it and mixing it around…

It was freezing cold, fighting the firey holy energy that bubbled from Sendai's form. Unaware to her, rainbow-colored light leaked from her body, but the biting cold forced it back.

As the liquid cleansed her skin, Sendai drew a Chronicle of Gensokyo, and gripped it tight with both arms. " _Hnn~..."_

As she charged more magic power into it, her body briefly rebounded from the high-intensity cast of rain magic she just performed. It was like her body went from full-throttle to nothing in an instant, and started at full again.

 _CRUNCH!_ Springing back from the snow, she cast the tome forward. " _Holy Spa~rk!"_ The prismatic energy flared across her body, her nature as a holy warrior revealed.

 _Woo- woo- woosh!_ This time, when she cast the Chronicle of Gensokyo forward, it split into nine different copies, all expanding out behind her to draw an octagon in the air. Once they took a rigid, even formation in the air behind Sendai, she thrust an arm up.

 _Click!_ With a snap of her fingers, prism-like lines were drawn between every book, and then an octagram was traced between each of them.

 _VRRRM- ROOAASH- vrrrm._ From them, an absolutely massive, house-sized laser of pure rainbow light rocketed out, spanning out infinitely into the distance, seemingly. It was a rigid, octagonal shaft of holy splendor with many jagged edges, created by the many book's imperfections. This was the protective properties issued by the Hieda family shaped to their absolute maximum, utilized by a magic limiter Marcus designed for them a long, long time ago.

But, it had almost ended as quickly as it started. During the brief, almost one or two seconds that the beam persisted, a big lane of snow before the shrine was simply gone, including where Sendai had deposited the salt previously.

The beam had even cut close to the grass, to get most of it, but managed not to clip the lawn. This was why Sendai wanted to find lower ground: so she could aim the perfectly horizontal beam at just the right angle. If she couldn't aim it directly, she could aim herself.

...But, now she was exhausted. "Nn- nnh…" She didn't want to do anything, anymore. "Damn…"

 _Shoof._ Her light dimmed into darkness again, and she sunk into the big snow around herself. ' _So-... so cold…'_

 _Sendai found twenty Snowballs._

' _That- took a lot out of me, really quickly…'_ She became very drained again. It was especially bad, being so soon after the nap she just took. ' _This is- probably why I never got into magic…'_

...Gingerly, Marisa hovered over to her upon her broom, from the porch-bound station she held not too far away. "Ya fuckin' nicked my _spell,_ ze!" Her reaction was not ginger, however.

Raising her head from the snow clump she fell into, Sendai used the last of her mental energy to give a sufficient counter… "Nnh? It's- it's more like, 'great minds think alike'..."

...After brief hesitation, Marisa blinked at that, her momentum in the air pausing. "S'- s'that a _compliment?_ That's what _I_ do ta get away wit' stealin' magic! I dunno how ya _did it-_ and in _non-danmaku_ format like that- but the form's obviously too close fer comfort! An'- them books…" She began to look focused. "What kinda books _were_ those?"

"Books." Sendai grinned stupidly at her. "...Chronicles, actually. Ugh…" She realized how spacey she became, with this low of spiritual energy. "My head-..."

"Yer head won't be the only thing!" Marisa rumbled towards her, coasting slowly on a collision course with her upper body…

Sendai ducked her head under the broom pass lazily. Then, she rose from the snow a little, turning to face the gently coasting Marisa. "An- anyway, um…"

She dug through her sleeves, where she'd relocated all her items. ' _I don't really have a need for this backpack anymore.'_ It was placed inside of her sleeves like the rest of her items, since space and weight were no longer issues. ' _I'd normally never consider hammerspace, but that youkai tailor probably doesn't mind repairing such things, considering what she is.'_

Finding the Tauriner within her inventory, she took it out. ' _Faith supplement thing, yeah? Could go for that, about now...'_

As she held it up to look it over, Marisa's hand shot past her, in an attempt to steal it. "Yo- wazzat!? Woah…!" Despite the hold she got on it, Sendai was able to thrust her arm away and free it.

 _shoof._ "Nn- ngh…" Marisa flopped onto the fluffy snow.

It was then that Reimu rejoined them, after having observed everything. "Are you _trying_ to knock yourself out again? Since when could you even _do_ all of that…!?"

Seeing her daughter stirred Sendai from her drowsiness, a little. "For- awhile, actually. This has been the most I've been able to exercise these powers, in a long time."

"Powers…?" Reimu blinked at the idea. "...You _did_ have powers. I've been kinda weirded out that you've only like, used talismans so far, but…"

Sendai snorted. "Ye- yeah. It's just, those big magical attacks take as much out of me as you'd expect, now. I don't remember them doing that, before."

"It's probably because those techniques derive from the Hakurei God's blessings."

Kanako was now near them, sitting in the air as she was prone to. "If neither of you noticed, there are now _two_ maidens feeding off the god's blessings. And, knowing your shrine, there's not much faith to go around. Infact..."

Her gaze centered on Sendai. "I wouldn't be surprised, if you weren't using the god's power at all, anymore."

Reimu jerked her head back, at that. "But- wouldn't stuff like that weird flash step, and her talismans stop working?"

"...I don't _exactly_ know how involved the magic is." Kanako admitted. "Hakurei items use patterns of shaping holy and mana dissimilar to my own. But, they are similar to other godly, spiritual items in that they have _some_ unique method of doing things, which also happens to help in keeping secrets."

"...Huh." All of this discussion just made Reimu seem sort of neutral.

"That gives me an idea." Marisa was brushing snow from herself, now risen again… "Mommy-chan, gimme some papers."

 _SLA- SLA- SLAP!_ With one swing of Sendai's arm, three talismans met Marisa in the torso and face.

 _Crunch._ She landed on her butt in the snow. "Wh- ow! Aw- dammit…"

 _Cru- cru- crunch._ Sanae also stomped over, into the now thin layer of snow at the lower landing near the shrine. "Are we playing in the snow!?"

Springing back onto her legs, and ignoring the snow now matted to her butt, Marisa took the talismans from herself, and tried to fling them forward-

 _fwi- fwi- fwish._ They acted like regular paper, and a strong passing breeze took them away. "Wh- aw…! I even charged them with mana and everything!"

 _cra- crack._ Ignoring everyone now, Sendai cracked open the Tauriner she drew from her bag. ' _This should get me closer to full again.'_

Once she opened it, it instantly attracted Kanako's gaze.

Tilting her head back, Sendai readied to drink it. ' _I wonder…'_ As she did so, she let her body's dark magic imbuement blur out again, reaching from her form to make contact with the blowing wind of the world around her.

' _Since drinking it with dark energy in my blood makes all my skin turn black, what will drinking it with wind around my skin do?'_

"Mmh." Then, she began drinking.

 _FWI- FWISH!_ Instantly, the layer of wind that caressed her form pulsed and grew, becoming a gentle but whipping gale as she drank. Her normal, internal dark energy crept along her limbs like a playful amethyst mist, rather than as inky black, making her body glow again.

' _This- is so much better than coffee…!'_ It may have tasted like death, but the instant effects and lack of a resulting crash were undeniable benefits. ' _...Must've been why I called my spells 'item crashes'. Because they make you crash after you use them. Ahah, hah. Nnh.'_

She lowered the mostly downed Tauriner, her body now anxious and thriving with more energy than before. It wasn't as powerful as the first time she used it, but that was probably for a reason. ' _After all, one item crash doesn't wipe my ass anymore. I don't really know how many uses this thing would restore… or how many I really have in total now. I think four?'_

"That…" Kanako couldn't resist the urge to bring it up. "That was bottled faith, was it not?"

"Something like that, I think." Sendai nodded. "I don't know how it works."

"Even more interestingly, faith revitalized you…" Kanako considered the maiden's body. "I suppose that only makes sense. It's not like shrine maidens use their mana pool for much else."

Sanae was snapped from the snow mound she'd become interested in nearby. "Awh. I'm trying to learn elemental spells that aren't wind or earth related! Or, healing, for that matter…"

"Which I keep telling you is a futile effort, but we let you do it anyway." Kanako began to grin at her… "Truth be told, perhaps you'll learn much in the coming years… yet, your natural affinities to miracles and our elements will always be far superior. Try not to forget that, in your… youthfulness, Sanae."

"Yeah, yea~h." Looking playfully aggressive, Sanae held up a big snowball, shaped and packed neatly. "Does this count as ice magic…!?"

" _Yes,_ ze!" Marisa sprang up to her like lightning. "Yeah- here- lemme-"

 _Pap- fwish!_ She punched the snowball out of Sanae's hands, and the snow splashed onto Sendai's face. ' _Wh- freaking- come here…!'_

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

15

The Odd Calm of Youkai Mountain

"How freaking _long_ are you going to spend _training."_ Reimu stared at her mother vainly. "We've been here for _hours._ It's almost- it _is_ noon!"

 _fwish- fwish!_ Sendai sent two more regular thrust of her arms into a tall tuft of grass, grown at the behest of Suwako's help earlier. " _Two_ hundred. And-..." Finally, she turned to her daughter. "I haven't had a day to practice any of my motions, yet. So far, it's just been one fight to another, and I've felt dangerously unprepared for a lot of them."

They were still in the shrine's backyard, in the area free of snow.

"...If you really wanna train or something that bad, you can do it while we run around the mountain." Reimu figured.

Sendai snorted, giving her a semi-incredulous look. "Are- you kidding…? That's like calling the bout I had with that maid training. It technically _was,_ but it was less memorizing motions and skills, and more me frantically trying not to die."

"Yeah- don't remind me about that." Reimu shook her head. "Also, it wouldn't be _that_ bad. I'm completely positive I'd be able to mow down anything before it'd even be a problem. Only the small fry and tengu are really hard-headed, for the most part, and between the two of us, there's pretty much no risk."

...Sendai supposed she saw the logic in that. "Well. Alright. You're gonna have to help me with some motions along the way, though. Come to think of it, what training do _you_ do?"

...This was a difficult question for Reimu. "Ah. Uh…" She stopped to look around. "Well, me and Marisa tussle, sometimes. I win a lot."

"How do you build muscle." Sendai posed a different question.

Reimu held up a thin but healthy arm. "Do I _look_ like I build muscle."

"If you were attacked out of the blue, what kind of physical motions does your body have memorized?" Sendai leaned closer for her next question…

"Fly fast and flail danmaku wildly." Reimu summarized. "Talismans stop a lot of things that'd otherwise probably doom me, honestly. Especially as a kid."

That last statement bit at Sendai, even though she knew it wasn't meant to. ' _Ah, damn.'_

"Hmh." Folding her arms, Sendai let her eyes trace the bright, overcast sky nearby. "...I guess that's good enough. What if you couldn't use your magic?" The idea of silencing and syphoning recurred in Sendai's mind.

"I'd hit things." Reimu stated it like it was easy enough. "Or, run away. That works sometimes, too. I've also got backup talismans that don't need magic..."

Sendai combined all her questions at once. "So, you have no magic, so _most_ talismans and danmaku don't work. You can't fly, and you don't rely on physical attacks, so you can't hit your way out of a grapple or a pin, or anything. I don't think teleporting works without mana, either. What do you do?"

...Reimu huffed. "You know, this is why I travel with friends, especially for tougher jobs."

Marisa called out from the porch nearby, mid-conversation with Sanae. " _Told you so~!"_

"Ngh." Reimu cringed at her interjection. "But- lemme ask you a question, too."

Sendai rose a brow at that. ' _Oh?'_

"So," Reimu began. "Your enemy can fly, is really powerful with magic, and either resists talismans, is too strong for just a few talismans, or destroys your talismans before they can land. Danmaku excluded, nothing tires them, they're immune to most statuses that can be brought in the form of items, and their non-danmaku abilities can vaporize you in moments. What do you do?"

"Die, because that sounds impossible." Sendai gave her a blunt expression. "I've also yet to encounter something that bad, outside of large raids usually conducted with, well, _my_ friends, and some villager cannon-fodder."

"Villager cannon-fodder…?" That idea stood out to Reimu. "Whatever. Well, imagine this. Crow youkai with the power of a sun god."

"We can talk hypotheticals all we want." Sendai wasn't impressed. "Imagine a really big man who's immune to magic, and destroys anything by looking at it."

"...Y'know, that might exist somewhere." Reimu smiled. "Whatever, you'll see, eventually…"

' _I gotta get her to do some push-ups eventually, at least…'_ Sendai wanted to help Reimu out late in the parenting game. ' _And, learn how to hunt, more importantly. I think she knows how to cook, but I don't know how well.'_

"We should get going soon." Reimu decided. "I don't wanna spend a whole week running around, at this rate. But, we've mostly covered all the neat overworld locations, so we should be done… at some point."

' _I'm definitely hitting the village after we're all done with this, to see how everything turned out.'_ Sendai considered… ' _And, seeing what I can do about getting the gang back together. All this running around with Reimu made me realize something I've been missing.'_

They stopped, and Reimu turned towards the porch. "Hey, Marisa~! We're gonna get moving!"

On only a slight delay, Marisa romped up to them, across the grass cleared by Sendai's attacks earlier in the day. "Oh, boy! Where're we killin' time now?"

"Well…" Reimu paused to think. "There's the Tengu Village on the way down, and some goddess residences, which we'll probably just pass. Near the base, the Kappa Valley rests, and then we got Eientei to the mountain's side. After all of that, when we finally round to the village again, we'll be able to hit the Myouren Temple."

' _Tengu Village…'_ Sendai thought back to what she knew of them. ' _Ironically honorable and friendly, for the youkai types I knew. I've only ever had a few problems with them… which is good, because they're quality over quantity over there.'_

Sanae was suddenly next to them. "Hey- can I come!?"

"Four's a crowd." Reimu immediately declined her. "Maybe we'll have another drink-up-meet-up at the shrine, some time. But, I'll let you know when."

"Aww, man." Sanae slouched… "Well, I guess I got _stuff_ to do anyway, but… oka~y! Have fun with your mom, Reimu~!"

 _Cru- crunch, crunch._ As the three girls marched off into the snow, Reimu commented on the parting from the shrine quietly. "Never thought I'd be hearing that…"

Sendai snorted. "Heh…"

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

There was snow everywhere.

 _tick- Fwoosh! ti- tick- Fwoosh- Fwoosh!_ Marisa held her mini-hakkero ahead. Person-sized magic missiles made oddly muted noises as they washed the snow with danmaku energy. Snow clumps were melted and vaporized by each expanding, magic impact.

"I need to practice my running, jumping, evading and kicking, still." Sendai announced her typical regimen… "Then, I could lift, or do weighted push-ups."

' _...I think doing push-ups with the wind's aid would be cheating.'_ Sendai considered her wind magic… ' _With my strength, I can normally get a lot of speed if I really get a moment to wind up, but… if only I could a find a way to make what I know about the wind a more normal part of me.'_

"Evading, huh." That option stuck out to Reimu. "That'll be really important."

Sendai snorted. "Yeah, considering. Hey- does everyone roar around like a fucking bird, this day and age? Everyone I've had a problem with so far was really quick."

"Everyone roars around like a fucking bird." Marisa began to grin at her… "Considerin' where we're headed, literally too! 'Cause they've got fuckin' birds! Bird people, I mean…"

' _No, you didn't need to correct yourself, 'fucking birds' is pretty accurate. Animal-type youkai really get into it.'_

Reimu exhaled. "Well, yeah. Almost anyone worth even slightly anything on the power rung can fly pretty freely, now."

All this talk of flying suddenly reminded Sendai of something. ' _I still have to practice my water mobility. It's only gonna get colder from here, so I should do that sort of thing sooner rather than later.'_

 _ti- tick- Fwoosh- Fwoosh!_ Despite the dull noises, the magic missiles ahead of them were a spectacle of green, expanding energy.

 _Fvhir- fvhir!_ From either side of Marisa, pentagrams came down, drawn in the air, thin white beams glowing into existence, already stretching straight ahead. They seared through the snow easily, reducing it to visible vapor.

' _She's pretty effortless about how she does this…'_ It took a moment to sink in, but the missiles were a one-off attack she used on Sendai to completely throw her off her feet in the past. Now, Marisa had probably shot about fifty of those missiles in the past ten seconds. ' _Holy shit.'_

The upper mountain's woods had all but lost their leaves already, and the trees weren't very dense in general, up this far. ' _We're still some distance from the Tengu, since we're still quite high up. The woods will get more intense the closer we get to their walls, if we actually choose to stop in.'_

"The wind is so annoying…" Reimu re-adjusted her fluffy ribbon, which was getting assaulted by the harsh mountain-top winds. "I should have told Kanako to cool it until we were off the mountain, or at least lower…"

"Oh, she's coolin' it alright!" Marisa began to grin big at them. "Coolin' it down, that is!"

Reimu deflated. "I'm gonna cool _you_ down."

 _Fwi- fwish._ As the three came onto the centralized geographical level of the rest of the upper mountain, some of the still-furnished brush ahead shifted.

 _Woosh._ Someone slid, but instead of from the brush, they came from behind the three girls. "You three…"

She was now in front of them. Stopping on a dime, the white-haired girl raised her leaf symbol-adorned shield. Her single dash from behind was an abrupt, sole motion that happened in almost an instant. "What brings you up the mountain, today?"

' _Shield in one hand, and a great blade in the other.'_ Sendai sized up the tengu. ' _...Momiji Inubashiri, that's who this is. Still workin' fifteen years later, huh.'_

Sendai replied before anyone else, almost on auto-pilot from the times she's patrolled up here herself. "Hey there. Just makin' my-... _our_ rounds…" She took pause, once her format was broken.

Momiji's eyes widened, just a little. "...Forgive me, Hakurei maidens, but-... why are there _two_ of you? It's more than a little suspect."

"It's a long story." Sendai spoke before anyone else, again. "...I'd like to know the details of this myself."

"It's even more confusing… because you are both Hakurei indeed." Momiji didn't know what to think of this. "...But, I know, the miko who came before is dead. Who are you?"

She gave a lopsided smile back. "I am who I am. Don't know what else to tell ya."

...Momiji held her blade ready. "You may demonstrate your skill."

That was when Reimu intervened. "No~, no, this isn't happening."

"You'd dare instill doubt?" Momiji narrowed her eyes at her. "On her behalf, even?"

"Let's just say mom's not at a hundred percent yet." She propped her arms on her hips. "And I don't want some tengu beating her up, when I'm just trying to take her on tour. Come on."

...Her perspective gave Momiji a myriad of conflicting impressions of the situation. Regardless, all of them weren't of her concern, yet. "...Fine. But, if she is ever ready, or comes here alone, me and my peers will not hesitate to test her skill. Who she is will be proved through action, because we cannot trust word alone, here."

"Fine." Reimu rolled her eyes. "Not like we need much on this dumb mountain anyway."

' _Guess we're not going directly to the Tengu Village.'_ Sendai supposed. ' _Not that I was super looking forward to it, anyway. Maybe I'll come back if I become a god at shogi, or something… but I doubt it.'_

 _ti- tick-_ _Fwoosh! tick- tick- Fwoosh- Fwoosh!_ Marisa continued bombing the shit out of the snow ahead of the girls, as they trudged away from the village's direction.

Sendai followed behind Reimu's direction, away from the rest of the upper terrain of Youkai Mountain.

' _I remember the kappa being down the mountain's side, huddled in around a big creek. More like a river. We should be careful as we approach, as kappa are quick to fear.'_

"Tengu sure are jumpy, ah?" Marisa smirked back at the girls… "What do ya chance our odds wit' the kappa will be? I'm gonna guess a whole lot better, actually."

"Probably." Reimu considered. "They're more about technology, so they'll probably not bat an eye at mom."

"Mmh." Sendai gave out a hum of acknowledgement… "When we get a little further, I want to go through some of my motions."

"Fine, fi~ne." Reimu waved her off. "If we run into some small fry, I might let you throttle them."

Sendai rose a brow… "You sure that shouldn't be the other way around?"

...Reimu grinned. "What- let them throttle _you?_ "

Snorting, Sendai corrected her. "Wh- no, I mean, me letting _you_ throttle _them._ "

Marisa turned back to the girls with a huge, growing smile. "Yo- Mommy-chan, did a guy ever throttle ya!?"

The abrupt demand made Reimu chuckle. "Wha- what the hell."

Sendai held her arms out as a gesture. "How the hell do you think I made Reimu."

"Jeez! You two…!" Reimu was apparently not ready for this exchange. "...Is- is _throttle_ really the right word, for it?"

"Only sometimes." Sendai thought back… for a moment, before stopping herself. That kind of recanting could only go two ways, and neither was great while she was on the road like this. "Do you have anyone special to you, Reimu?"

...Reimu furrowed her brows. "That's a hard question, all of a sudden. But, I haven't really met many guys… like, period. The village isn't great for that sort of thing, either."

Marisa hung back to get closer to them… "Aw. But, you like to _snuggle,_ Reimu-ze."

Huffing, Reimu glared up at her as they went. "That's _different,_ though. And- don't _talk_ about that kinda thing. Mrm..." She gave a shifty look, to make sure her mother hadn't caught onto anything weird.

Sendai was indifferent, though. "You can screw around with your _harem_ all you want, but continuing the bloodline is important, you know."

"I- I know…" Reimu fidgeted, all fluffy-like. "I'm only eighteen, you know. I might be around that age, but I still got a lotta time. I know it took _you_ a lot of time to actually get around to it."

"Yeah." Sendai admitted. "It wasn't until I became strong enough, and shit cooled down that I could actually think about it. A Hakurei maiden being out of it for a good part of a year used to be bad news, back then."

Now, they were further down the mountain. Taller trees, still with their gold and rust-colored leaves, hung near them, as they plodded down the snow-crested trail of Youkai Mountain.

Nearby their trail, was a series of large footprints, inhuman. ' _That reminds me…'_

"Hey." Sendai turned to her daughter. "How many giant beast guys have you had to fight?"

Reimu snorted. "What kinda question's that. Not many, really. They know their place, and some are actually pretty nice. Or, outwardly so, at least."

' _...What?'_ That didn't make any sense to Sendai, so it was a little worrying.

"What about their camp, along the base of the mountain?" Sendai questioned. "Or, did they move it again? They probably moved it again."

Reimu shook her head. "No such thing. You have trouble with them in the past?"

"All my life." Sendai summarized her experiences with them. "Almost as common as fairies, but way worse. Sometimes armored, sometimes not. Not typically totally humanoid, either. No good rapists that deserve death. Basically bastard kin only loosely related to the tengu. Heard they came about in the void after the oni were sealed underground. Ring any bells?"

Reimu had jerked her head back. "...I remember you talking about something like this a little at that ramen stand we went to. I can't really sink that sort of thing in, because-... like, really. It's so _different_ sounding from today. If a villager told me similar, I'd write him off as some bard wannabe."

Taking in the overcast sky, Sendai tilted her head. "Has anyone ever tried to rape you?"

...Reimu looked a little offput by the question. "I mean, not in Gensokyo so much. There have been one or two instances with villagers, yeah. Occasionally, a slime or beast would probably want to, because that's just what some of them do. Except, they usually go down too fast for me to actually know their intentions…"

Marisa slowed again, grinning at them. "Ya gun 'em down 'fore they even attack ya, Reimu! What if they offered ya some lunch? You could take it, and offer it to a different youkai, and get them poisoned or somethin' instead!"

Sendai agreed with this practice. "Sounds like you're staying safe, regardless. Say… did that succubus at the mansion ever give you trouble?"

"Oh, yeah." Reimu nodded plainly. "She made me and Marisa make out, the first time we assaulted that place. It's actually kind of lucky we both attacked the mansion at once, because we, uh…"

"We had eachother, ze!" Marisa beamed back at them, fighting looking awkward about it. "No succubus could rape us, if we can just touch each other ta make the shit wear off!"

...Sendai blinked at this. ' _They really are damn good friends. I guess I can't blame Reimu, if all her friends are this cute.'_

"How'd you guys _meet?"_ Sendai wondered next… "Was it at the village?"

While they entered the Youkai Forest, aptly near the base of Youkai Mountain, Marisa slowed even further… "He- hehehe! It _wasn't,_ actually! Hell- it wasn't even in Gensokyo!"

"I was probably… what, twelve? Fourteen?" Reimu considered. "Probably about around there. It seems like forever ago, now."

"We met fer a showdown in Makai. A few, actually!" Coming closer to the ground, Marisa held up her mini-hakkero, twirling it between her fingers. "That was just when the both of us were first gettin' our wings. An' _damn_ was Reimu cute when she was younger! I dunno how the hell she survived vistin' Makai over and over!"

"I didn't go that deep, most of the time…" Reimu adjusted her ribbon as she fidgeted. "But, it _was_ pretty scary. I had to grow up really quick."

' _Makai…?'_ Sendai wasn't sure what she meant. ' _Now that I think about it, I must have died closer to twelve years ago. If it was fifteen, Reimu would have been three… which doesn't make sense. Five or six isn't a whole lot better, though…'_

"But, yeah. Marisa gave me a hard time." Reimu looked sedate about it. "But, it seems like we both grew, while beating each other up. And then there was _Mima_ and _Yuuka…_ "

One of those names was familiar, to Sendai. "...Yuuka? As in, Kazami?"

"Yeah." Reimu nodded, at that. "You know her?"

' _She was one of the toughest fights of my life.'_

Sendai wiggled her nose, at the softer wind, now that they were well into some woods. "You could say that."

She tried to think back to how that fight went. It was years ago, but now it felt even most distant. ' _It genuinely feels a lifetime away. The force I used-... it's hard to remember anything other than superficial details. I pushed myself hard, sure, but- I'm sure it took a lot of magic and strategy. Hmm.'_

 _Cra- crack._ Nearby foliage rustled. ' _Ah?'_

 _Fwish._ From the shade of the near trees, a tall man in cloth sauntered out. His hair was unkempt and grey, and he had patches of fur running along his exposed, toned flesh.

"Nnh-..." He seemed pensive as he approached them, looking like a twenty year old male. "Hey."

Reimu pointed her gohei at him. "Another step, and you'll be sleeping in the snow."

He held his arms up. _"Hold o~n._ I just-..."

' _Greater wolf youkai.'_ Sendai could tell what he was from a glance. ' _Oddly tame genetics. Their grey fur is so travelers mistake them for the white-furred tengu, but it's especially noticeable in winter that they're not them. A real tengu's fur is white as snow, but theirs is an off-key grey.'_

"I was just wondering, if you girls-... fancied a conversation, is all." He gained a smile, letting his arms sag down a little. "It's awful lonely up here on the mountain, you know."

Sendai stepped forward, a fist held in one hand as she stretched a little. ' _They're nothing like tengu, but they achieve dominance through close combat. They're also really damn greedy. Don't let them bite your neck or your shoulder.'_

He rose a brow, his smile warming at the hostility. "Aw- come on. There's no need to look so aggressive."

"We're not in the mood." Reimu announced. "Scram. You're lucky I didn't just mow you down, for poking your head out."

...He let his arms drop. "What about her?" He traced Sendai's form, with his eyes.

Sendai was coming closer to him. ' _The way to fight these-... it was with precise blows.'_

...Reimu folded her arms. "She might want a round with you, instead."

Soon, Sendai was only ten meters from him.

"Seriously…?" He began to smile. "No interference from you, I take it?"

"Probably not." Reimu figured.

Sendai's heart began to beat harder. ' _Alright… ngh. Wish I got to practice my motions earlier. I spaced it in that discussion…'_

...His faintly luminescent, brown eyes connected with Sendai's, becoming more yellow as they did. "Alright. And I might want a round _with her-_ after this is all done!" He grinned wide, massive canines and sharp teeth revealed.

At his mannerism, Reimu frowned.

Sendai's body tensed. ' _I need to dodge, he's opening with a bite-'_

 _KASHUNK._

...She had prepared to move to the side, but stayed tense. ' _Um. What- was that…?'_

 _FWII~SH._ A fountain of blood came from the greater wolf youkai's head. A massive cleaver split his skull straight down. ' _Oh!'_

 _crunch- crunch._ The body of the youkai dropped to its knees, then its side, the snow stained red.

"Hehehe~!" Behind the corpse, a young woman with long, grey hair rose into standing. "An' that'd be dinner, I think! Aa~h…" She stared up at Sendai's wide-eyed expression. "Thanks fer bein' bait! Them studlier wolf boys're always a pain in the _ass._ "

"It's you." Reimu floated down, confronting the youkai girl. "That-... didn't _look like_ danmaku, you know."

' _Di- didn't look like danmaku…?'_ Sendai began to grin. ' _He got fucking wasted.'_

...She grinned back at Reimu. "Y'cant _eat a thing_ with danmaku, yeah? Best way's a cleaver ta the head, 'er a spear to the neck."

"That's- hunting _animals."_ Reimu was pretty sure. "You just killed another youkai."

She snorted back. "Pft- y'sayin' youkai ain't animals? They got _meat_ on 'em! An' wolf dicks are a dime 'a dozen, breedin' all outta control with the _sluts._ An' y'know, just _poofin' outta thin air like fairies._ Common as the soil, girl. What, didja wanna be his bitch? Oh- wait!"

Looking Sendai over, she came to a conclusion. "Oh- you wanted him ta do _her!_ Aw shit."

Reimu shook her head. "I- I don't want anyone doing anyone! I'm just kinda against _people dying_ in general- but-... I see what you mean."

"Yo- Nemuno!" Marisa called out to her. "How do wolf dicks taste, anyway!?"

Nemuno giggled, and held up a hand to gesture. "He- hehehe~! Lemme tell ya, the stuff an' the lower tender areas there go _great_ wit' salt. Actual dick don't, 'cause there's no more blood, so it's just a fuckin' sleeve 'a stink and rubbery shit. Some think it mighty tasty- but I just don't _get_ them. Dead matin' smell is the _worst._ "

' _Yamanba.'_ Sendai recognized this youkai, too. ' _Generally non-aggressive towards humans, if they leave them alone. Very rare to see, but on the mountains, I see them a lot by virtue of my patrols. I can never help but feel a little unnerved by them, but they seem all seem honest enough.'_

"You eat youkai too, then." Sendai stated her newest observation… "I knew your kind hunted, but…"

Nemuno came up towards her, dragging the dead male by the leg. "Heheh! Yeah, no qualms here. Actually…" She brought up the youkai's leg.

 _Ri~p._ Sundering some of the cloth, she looked the semi-furred flesh over. "Hmm…" After a moment, she held it closer to sniff. "Yeah. Boy was six months old, just like half 'a the damn things. Guys who just appear, they typically keep a vague scent of a few months, 'till they get older. Sometimes feels like I'm fightin or eatin' the same damn one."

Reimu sighed. "What if you killed someone who didn't deserve to die?"

...Nemuno shook her head. "Nah. I'm usually pretty good 'bout that. 'Sides, boobie maiden, he was 'bouta sink them canines _so_ damn deep inta that neck 'a yers! I mean, hey!"

Sendai took a step back, as Nemuno crouched nearly instantly. Standing again, she held the dead guy by his legs, upside down.

 _Ri~p!_ She tore off the armored pants fragments he wore, revealing the brown shorts beneath, a healthy bulge protruding from them. "Dude was in _love,_ girl! Fuhehehe…!"

"Really, now…" Sendai's brows were raised, at the goofy way the dead body was being handled. "Well-... thank you, I guess."

Nemuno gave her a big smile. "Aw, don't thank me. Thank him!"

 _Crunch._ Plopping the dead guy down in the snow, Nemuno crouched over him. "Only reason I stalked 'em ta begin with, 'sides from _dinner,_ these armor plates 'a his're mighty shiny. Figure they oughta make good cups 'er plates… 'er a _shank._ "

Reimu exhaled. "I could've avoided all this, if I just shot first…"

...Nemuno gave her a dry look. "I coulda just jumped 'em after' y'know. Anyway- ah, any of you want meat?" Springing into a stand, she held up the dead guy. "I don' normally _share,_ but since y'all helped…"

"That's-... fine." Sendai was all for hunting wild animals, but she was pretty sure eating youkai parts was a health hazard for humans. "Sorry, but we've already ate this morning." It was noon, and she _was_ more peckish than earlier by far, but…

' _I can purify magic from regular animals, but youkai are not worth it, especially since when you get rid of those parts-... the remains take on strange qualities, and still aren't safe to eat. Ngh.'_

...Nemuno rolled her eyes. "Ah, too skittish 'bout eatin' somethin' human- _shaped,_ even? Well, s'more for me, then!"

"Eatin' youkai's a health hazard fer humans!" Marisa exclaimed, so everyone was on the same page. "...Pretty sure eatin' human's also a health hazard fer humans!"

"Oo~h, right!" Tilting her head back in realization, Nemuno made an okay-sign at them. "I gotcha, I gotcha! Them frail bodies, an' everything! No sweat!"

With that, she turned off, dragging away the dead wolf youkai. His head still had the cleaver embedded in it, and her movements now left a trail of red in the snow behind her.

"Let's, uh… get going." Reimu decided, before softly ascending off into the sky.

...Sendai watched her go. "Wa- wait… wait! Hey!" She couldn't fly after her, so...

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

"I _really_ need to go through my motions!" Sendai had it with grazing around, at this point.

Reimu snorted. "Really…? Can't you just kick as we walk, or something?"

"No~." Sendai felt like that was a bad idea. "At the very least, I'd like to practice my agility, both with and without the wind's guidance. When we get to the town or the shrine, I can resume my more traditional training then."

At this point, Sendai knew they were closing in on Kappa Valley. They were around a nook in the rocky terrain, just before the slope down and straight into their series of huts and projects, as Sendai remembered.

"Your agility?" Reimu questioned. "...I might have an idea, for that. But, since we're already so close to the kappa, why don't we check them out first? We'll have some time to screw around once we leave here, and get off of the mountain in general."

"...Fair enough." Sendai supposed. "I can't see us having a lot to do here."

"Maybe not." Reimu drifted forward, looking peaceful. "But, you can get that shotgun checked out, and maybe ask about it. It might have things you don't know about it."

' _Probably true.'_ Sendai admitted to herself. It _was_ a piece of outsider technology, after all.

Rounding the corner of rock, Sendai found the slope down, and gazed ahead…

' _Oh. Wow…'_ She laid her vision upon a wealth of tiny structures, their style and structure a far difference from the wooden, albeit well-constructed huts of the past that were here. ' _It's only been like fifteen years. Are those- metal houses?'_

 _fwii~sh._ Somewhere near, but not too much so, the roar of a waterfall was heard. ' _Sounds like Genbu Ravine, alright. I'd sit under this waterfall, but I've never trusted the kappa too close to a body of water.'_

Before them, there was a path down from the mountain, which was the very one they'd been walking on this whole time. But, it widened ahead, before joining with a big bridge, which went over a river section that cut straight under it. The shape was ultimately a little awkward because of how the river force it to grow longer.

' _They really forced that bridge design, alright.'_ If it was made by humans, Sendai would consider it the worst spot to put a bridge on the entire river. But, it made sense that the kappa were too stubborn to move their ground zero huts.

Sendai looked to her left, as they descended. The path deviated at a three-way up ahead, the outshoot leading closer to the Genbu Ravine portion of the greater valley here.

 _fwii~sh._ The landmark itself was a great wall of white rock, featuring a dip where water fell down an almost straight face. Along this rugged, vertical surface was a series of pipes and tubes built into it by the kappa; ones Sendai didn't remember being there, actually. ' _They've really had their fun with the place. Ah…'_

The houses ahead seemed to be made of mythril and adamantite. Despite this durable approach, they were also covered in scorch marks in various places, and the path ahead was weirdly indented, but only near the kappa's village-like center here.

Of course, the shrine maidens knew, this was not quite a village. Kappa congregated here for trade, opinions, to steal each other's ideas, and to test technology on one another. The kappa were not a race known for cooperation, or for a single idea to keep their attention long. What an adventurer may look at as a hokey little tiny person town was actually an often dormant, but never-resting battleground.

Today was sleepy, however. ' _Not an overwhelming amount of kappa here.'_ Even though the snow all around the village was muddled and disturbed, few kappa were in viewing distance.

Her gaze came to the mythril sheds. ' _...Guess they finally got sick of rebuilding those, every time they blew up. I wonder how long these have lasted.'_

They came into the three-way, and Sendai was the first to keep going at her regular pace.

Kappa manned nearby rugs, lined shabbily with parts for sale. Each rug was naturally attended by its vendor, who carried their typical combined, custom guns, all of different colors and types.

' _So they do have advanced guns, now…'_ Sendai looked standoffish. ' _Not appealed to that, but fair enough. We had a deal about that, when I was alive. When I died, I guess they just moved forward indifferently. Not like Reimu knew I didn't want them getting super-kill-you guns.'_

None of the kappa paid her much mind. Reimu came up to her, and got her attention by passing her closely.

"There's a certain one we're gonna talk to." Reimu informed her. "Unless you wanna like… buy some gears and springs, or something. Or blocks."

Marisa had landed, and darted up alongside them. "Yo- mommy. Ask them their prices!"

"My soul dies every time you call me 'mommy'." Sendai gave her a foreboding look…

Grinning wider, Marisa nudged her towards an isolated kappa stand. "C'mon, let's go window shopping…"

"Ah." Sendai let herself get goaded, since she'd never seen the kappa set up quite a bazaar-like situation like this, under her previous contract with them. "Alright."

They approached the short, black-haired kappa girl. She gave the three a cross look immediately. "If- if you plan to steal from me-..."

"No?" Sendai rose her brows at the tinier girl. "I just wanted to ask you your prices."

...She narrowed her eyes, but continued. "Point at something."

Sendai pointed at a red, orange-ish gear. "Well… what's that cost?"

"Palladium gear. Eighty thousand yen." She gave a confident nod.

' _A single gear…?'_ Sendai blinked at her greed. ' _I know it's palladium, but…'_

Holding her arm out, Marisa smiled plainly. "See? It's an arm and a leg, up here!"

 _Fssh._ The hiss of gas suddenly made Sendai freeze. ' _What…?'_ She looked around, before sighting a kappa with a mask on, stepping in the snow behind the mythril shed they were at.

 _Fwoo~m._ A plume of fire came from the instrument they held, lighting up the overcast gloom with orange warmth. The weapon's new hiss was scratchy and oddly warm-sounding, as Sendai watched the flames lick the snow, reducing it to steam and slush.

' _That weapon-... it throws fire.'_ Sendai was mesmerized by the show of flame. ' _That's-... foreboding.'_

"What's- going on, over there?" Sendai pointed to the snow-melting procedure…

The kappa only tilted her head vaguely in the direction she pointed. "Mmh. Snow groundskeeping."

"With a… fire, gun?" Sendai wondered aloud.

"Fire melts ice." The kappa girl stated this like it was stupidly obvious.

' _...I mean, fair enough. Kappa are masters of the water element too, so forest fires shouldn't be an issue from this.'_

The layout of gears, metal pieces and indiscernible blocky items didn't mean anything to Sendai. Of the garbage for sale, however, there were a few items that seemed- at least visually- ironically mundane.

"Are these… sandals?" Sendai leaned down to hold up a pair of black and red sandals-

 _Chi- chik._ The kappa held a gun at her. " _Don't touch."_

"Ah, sorry." Letting go, raising her arms back, Sendai stood and kept still. "Sorry. I was curious."

"That better be set to danmaku." Reimu interjected from the background...

Ignoring her, the kappa gave Sendai some context. "...Sometimes, I make footwear. Those are lava waders. Not that you'd understand how they work. What-... made you all come _here?"_

"I'm sorry." Sendai apologized to her, crouching down a little to be even with her. "We were just curious." She knew kappa were quick to become annoyed sometimes, especially when it came to explaining themselves.

...Her deliberate verbal approach made the kappa less apprehensive, and she began actually explaining their stock. "Well… they employ our most recent shield technology to create bursts of energy from overcharged battery power. If you don't know how to _charge them,_ you'll be wasting your money. They were made to activate and use everything they have when their user falls into lava, or catches fire."

' _Huh.'_ Sendai considered that… ' _That'd be good to stop burning… not that it happens to me a lot. Especially in recent years.'_

"How does it stop burning?" Sendai questioned its abilities. "Does it magically grant resistance, or…?"

The kappa shook her head. "Does it _look_ enchanted? No, it runs the-... the shield technology uses the battery overcharge to provide outright preventative measures to counteract the fire and lava."

Marisa simplified the language further. " _Basically,_ the thing's got batteries that make a really good shield when ya get too warm! But s'only got so much power, probably..."

' _Sounds situational.'_ Sendai didn't really see the value in that. ' _Even if pricier and harder to find, magic resistances might be better.'_

"That makes me wonder…" She rose her voice to continue. "Are there any like this, for other elements?"

Reimu looked bored. "I heard the kappa made shoes that let you walk on water. There's not much water in Gensokyo, though, so I don't know what use they would be…"

"...Y'speak like that's some _rumor."_ The black-haired kappa girl gave her a focused look. "It's not uncommon, for us, even if we have water walking magic anyway. It's sort of a-... young kappa's first invention kinda thing."

' _...Those might be cheap, then.'_ Sendai felt. ' _I remember when I had the speed and force to run along the lake's surface. True to what Reimu said, it was more of a party trick than anything. But, the lake was sometimes in the way, so… it was cool, at least. I don't think I can do that anymore.'_

She pointed to these grey, slipper-like shoes. "What of these?"

...The kappa blinked at them, and gave her a neutral stare. "They're Mew Shoes. I didn't make these. I got them today, actually..."

"Ooh!?" Marisa's eyes lit up. "I got a pair 'a those!"

Reimu tugged at her mother's sleeves. "Let's go."

Sendai's lips curled a little, at that. "Oh? Why?"

"I'm not letting you wear Mew Shoes." Reimu refused to let her even consider purchasing the shoes. "I had to beat up Marisa over them, once."

The black-haired kappa picked them up, and plopped them down-

 _MEW- MEOW!_ They made great, obnoxious meowing noises.

"Oh." In this moment, Sendai realized their destructive potential. "Oh, gods."

"Ah- crap, that reminds me!" It even made Reimu lock up, or so it seemed. "I forgot the sled you bought me! It's still at the shrine on the mountain!"

Eyes widening, Marisa faced her. "Reimu- how the hell didja forget an _entire_ sled, ze…!?"

"I don't know!" Floating into the air, Reimu gave them a scattered look back down. "Well- I'm not just gonna leave it behind. You guys stay around here, I'm just gonna go-... get it!"

 _Woosh._ She soared into the air, roaring straight up the rocky, intraversible terrain they'd rounded on the way down.

...While she was gone, Marisa was an immediate bad influence. "Buy the Mew Shoes, ze."

"I- don't think so." Sendai shook her head. "That's going to get me lynched… and- not even on the basis of being a youkai or a shrine maiden."

"Will you both screw off?" The kappa had enough. "You've probably scared off whatever business I would've gotten for the day already. Be grateful we don't hold grudges."

"Yeah, yeah, relax, half-pint." Marisa waved off her irritation. "We'll get on our wa~y. Oh, here's lookin' at you, by the way."

Flinching, the kappa grabbed a potion Marisa had tossed at her. "Aa-... I _guess_ this makes up, for it."

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Just past the series of fantasy-metal huts, there was very little else in terms of civilization within the kappa-commandeered territory. Most of the forest landscape hosted a variety of springs, water ponds with unknowable shafts and drops, and an oddly temperate atmosphere, for winter.

Marisa drifted ahead with seemingly no direction, while Sendai took in the water-shaped rock faces and hard rock paths around this area. ' _Some of these 'roads' seem carved out. Be it by water or machine is anyone's guess. The whole landscape around the valley and the ravine seems different, now.'_

...An oddly cozy sensation washed over Sendai, as they went. ' _The loneliness is kinda nice. I remember when kappa were shy, but would be romping about here or in hiding. Now… something feels off, but I can't place what. It's interesting.'_

"So…" Sendai faced Marisa plainly, as they marched along the mildly snow-dusted, bleached rock path. "Who were we going to see, now? You look as if you've forgotten."

"Just lookin' 'round." Marisa answered plainly… "She could be a lotta places! An' trust me, if she doesn't wanna be found, we ain't findin' her. Unless like, we _really_ wanted ta find her, 'cause I know where she lives."

"Hmm." Sendai considered that. "She's a kappa, I take it?"

"Yep!" Parking her broom in the air, Marisa turned to her. "She's kinda shy, but really snug. Also, one 'a the best known kappa in Gensokyo fer her tech and stuff!"

Around them, some of the ponds were only partially frozen, oddly.

' _Why only partially? Oh, wait, I know. It's the bubbles from the kappa's caves below. If I remember correctly, they have these things called 'bubbulators', specifically to prevent the water from freezing in winter. After all, you don't see rivers freeze often, do you? It's because the water is running.'_

 _Spla~sh!_ From nearby, one of the ponds became active. The water's surface was burst by an emerging kappa, a blue-green clad, stout girl springing from below the chilly abyss. "Haa~h! The _air's_ a little-..."

She was blonde, with long, straight hair. She sighted the human girls, and froze, figuratively.

"Oi, you!" Marisa called out to her. "Wit' the fluffy hair!"

"Wh- where'd-...?" She immediately clammed up. "Why- who!?"

"You seen Nitori 'round!?" Bounding up to her, Marisa immediately frightened her. "Ya seen 'er!?"

 _Ch- chik!_ "St- stay back!" The blonde kappa pulled some kind of combined rifle from her back. "Don't-..."

 _Pap- pap- pap!_ Marisa became hyperactive, darting towards her. " _C'mere!"_

 _PAT- TAT, TAT, TAT!_ Bolts of prismatic light shot from the combined rifle, whizzing past Marisa. "Wh- woahoah…!" Her eyes widened as she neared.

Tanking some of the danmaku bolts, she reached the kappa, and got her by the shoulders. "Ooga booga booga~!"

 _PAHTAT- PAP._ She shot Marisa in the face. " _Get-_ get the _hell ba~ck…!"_

" _Nghk…!"_ Marisa's hat fell off, the sparks of the danmaku shot dancing across her face. "A~nhd, _uhp!_ Ho- nnh, shit…! _"_ Hefting her arms up, she hoisted the kappa over her shoulder. "Mo- Mommy-chan! Let's go!"

"What- the hell are you actually doing." It took Sendai a moment to process what just happened. "Are you hurt? Why…!?"

The kappa began kicking and pulling for freedom. "Put me _down-_ you- ngh!"

"We gotta go!" Running up to Sendai, Marisa tried to tighten her grasp- "Oo- _shi~t-"_

 _thud._ After becoming top-heavy, she fell over softly, and the kappa was free. " _Ah- ha!"_

Springing from her bind, the kappa stopped before Sendai. "And, _you!"_

"And me." Sendai hunched on her knees, to peer down at the short kappa girl. "...Marisa, what was the point of assaulting her, again?"

"I- I wanted ta raise a ruckus, ze…" Marisa's reasoning was vague. "Nitori's sure ta come lookin' if we start makin' noise!"

"As- as well as every other kappa in the area…" The blonde-haired kappa aimed her gun back at her. "Next time- next time you do that- I'm-...!"

 _sna~p._ There was a small mechanical noise, then a flash. ' _Woah- what the fuck.'_ Sendai looked like a deer in the headlights, for a moment…

 _fwish._ Then, someone darted from the trees and stick-like brush ahead.

"Damn it. Alright- just, stop moving already!"

As they came closer, Sendai threw her limbs up to guard. ' _Who- is this!?'_

...But, they never struck Sendai's form. Her perceived aggressor was before her: a long-eared, particularly bored looking tengu girl. Her garb was primarily purple, with a black and purple checkerboard skirt, her sandals joined along her legs by a series of similarly colored bands.

...Sendai dropped her guarded posture. ' _Oh. Another tengu. This low? She looks like a scout, so that makes sense, I guess.'_

When she dropped her guard, the purplish girl brought her odd rectangular object up. "Alri~ght, stay like that for me…"

 _sna~p._ The mechanical sound from the object was louder, now.

"Who- are you, again?" Sendai gave her an awkward smile.

"...Call me Hatate." She gave Sendai a look of only mild enthusiasm. "After all the buzz going around, I just _had_ to see you. Even if _someone else's_ reached you, already…"

Her words made Sendai pause for a moment. ' _...What the hell is she-'_ It came to her. ' _Oh! That other tengu was a news reporter. Then… is this one another reporter, as well? That makes sense. I suppose the news would be the tengu's more softly-worded method of scouting, in this era.'_

She began to look more plain about the situation. "Is that so? Do you have photos of my new life up until this point, as well?"

"I _wish._ Ugh." Hatate marched up to her, and her twin-tails bobbed in the faint wind that persisted at the bottom of the mountain. "You know how rough that _holy dark_ thing you do treats my thoughtography? It also doesn't help how you keep fighting crap in obscure places. How's _anyone_ gonna know what you do if you just fight in the halls of the mansion, or whatever?"

"...I- don't _think_ that was ever a concern of mine." Sendai was a little bemused, by all of this…

Marisa grinned, raising from the floor nearby. "Yeah… yeah- I imagine Mommy-chan would be hell on your _thot_ ography!"

Hatate whipped to face her. "You know- you're _really_ not helping…!"

"Considering how fast that other reporter is," Sendai looked over Hatate evenly… "Is there really a reason for more? How many of you are there, even?"

Her words took a moment to sink in, but then quickly earned Hatate's glare. "Don't knock my work until you've read it. Actually-... you've read the Kakashi Spirit News, haven't you?"

"The what." Sendai didn't read any news at all, in actuality…

"Ugh." That didn't seem to make Hatate any happier. "Anyway. While _Shameimaru_ does all the field work, I use my thoughtography to take pictures from within the Tengu Village. I was pretty popular for my undetectable surveillance. Hell-..."

Her gaze was drawn to the rest of Sendai's form. "Assuming you are who you say, I've still got pictures of when you were alive."

' _Ooo?'_ Sendai was fascinated at this prospect. ' _Huh. That might be something. But…'_

She had an idea. "Do you have any pictures of my corpse?"

...Hatate's stare was blunt. "What. I mean- yeah, actually, but what?"

' _Also, I don't know what thoughtography is.'_ Sendai considered her words… ' _Is that one of the tengu's secrets? Not that it will matter, now that going around knocking on each other's doors seems to just be common courtesy now, and not a territory violation. Even though the tengu themselves are still like that. Hrm.'_ When she looked at it like this, she clearly saw what kind of game they were playing. ' _Oh well.'_

 _sna~p._ Hatate stole a picture of her, while she was lost in thought. "Freaking, don't just ask me about your corpse and space out! That's weird!"

"Eheh…" Sendai let out a little chuckle. "Sorry. My mind's been active, for some reason."

"Right." Hatate nodded… "Well. I'm not just going to _give you_ the pictures."

' _Ah, of course.'_ Sendai let her eyes glaze up…

"How much?" She reached for her sleeve, to draw more money. "I've got a lot on me."

...Hatate blinked. "What? What the hell are you talking about. No- I want you to do something exciting!"

"Oh…?" The request sort of caught her off-guard. "Something exciting?"

"Yes!" Hatate had her arms pursed together, seemingly unconsciously. "Your situation's _perfect_ for, like, meaningful writing! And- no one needs Shameimaru humping you like a cash cow for the next _two years,_ at least, not uncontested."

"...I guess not." Sendai really wanted those pictures more than anything. "What would you have me do?"

 _PAT- TAT!_ They were interrupted when prism-like bolts trailed after Marisa, while she ran in a circle. "Yo- _shit,_ I'm sorry, ze!"

"I- I'll _make you_ sorry~!" The blonde-haired kappa's arms shook, as she held down the trigger on her blue-orange, metal firearm.

"How did this happen." Sendai shook her head at the visual…

Hatate provided the context. "You didn't see it, but Marisa tried to sneak up and steal her cloaking device while she was watching our conversation. Which, yeah..."

' _Marisa's too slippery for her own good.'_ Sendai considered the odd paradox… ' _She can sneak up on you easily, and she's apparently a thief… but, she's also so loud normally.'_

Sendai came up to the blonde kappa. "Hey. I can make it up to you."

...Turning to her, kappa's eyes were wide. Then, she aimed her gun at Sendai's face. ' _Wait- shit-'_

 _PAT!_ Her vision was filled with a rainbow of colors. It was pretty for one moment, but then, Sendai was forced to shut her eyes. ' _What- augh!'_

-+- _Vs. Kappa Hobbyist_ -+-

Stumbling back from the blow to her face, Sendai held where the bolt struck, wind rolling up her form as her dark energy flared. ' _How- does that hurt so much…!?'_

"He- hehe~!" Marisa ran up aside her. "Yo! You scared the crap outta her, ze! Ya came up all thug-like, bein' all, 'I can make it up to you, huhuhu'! Some feral youkai vibes, ze!"

" _Go awa~y!"_ Yelling at the top of her lungs, the kappa girl held her rifle at them.

 _PAT- TAT- TAT- TAT!_ Streaks of light began to pass Sendai's vision, bullets grazing her head and body. ' _Holy- shit! Woah!'_

Nearly falling out of the way, Sendai jerked her body with all her strength to start running.

 _fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ In the process, she put her entire force into four consecutive motions, again. ' _Oh- shit…'_

Halfway across the clearing, she could see Hatate floating into the air to take shots, and Marisa romping across the snowy, rocky path towards her…

"Ru- run around her, 'till she makes enough noise!" Marisa yelled out, as she ran closer- "Ea- aah!"

 _Thud!_ She slipped on the snow, and banged her knees and arms on the cold rocks. "Nh- ahah…! But- _don't_ hit 'er, or we'll be in some shit, least as far as- Nitori…!"

Even though Marisa's words were messy, somewhat mumbled and disrupted by breaths, Sendai got the idea. ' _Don't hit her, huh.'_

 _Fwoomp!_ From the kappa's distance, a luminescent, blue projectile was lobbed into the air like a mortar, shot from the gun's underbarrel…

Sendai saw it descend, and ran to get away. ' _Oh- shit, the ground really is slick…'_

' _Actually, this would be a good time to practice my reflexes and stuff!'_

When the two girls ran away, the teal light came down where they were-

 _KRABOO~M!_ A cyan blast of pure magical energy roared out from the impact zone. Snow billowed away from the explosion's area, big rocks tumbling through the air after the flash of light launched them.

Sendai's eyes widened, as the rocks came for her. ' _What the fuck was that…!'_

With the wind currently coating her form, she knew she couldn't get hit herself, or it would hurt. ' _They're coming right this way. Alright-...'_ She took in a breath.

Dipping her whole upper body forward, she managed to drop onto her knees to skid under a wave of oncoming, big gravel rocks. Standing in the next moment-

 _pap._ Her whole body flinched, as she brushed another rock off with her forearm, merely diverting its great momentum. ' _Ow. That's gonna bruise.'_ The dissonance in her body's constitution was pretty big, compared to when she forgot about the wind…

 _PAT- TAT- TAT- TAT!_ She heard the sounds of gunfire again, and turned herself.

 _Whap!_ A danmaku bolt met her midsection.

 _THUD!_ She was launched onto her back, hard. " _Unf…"_

' _That-... was disproportionate, even…'_ It was almost funny, how fast she got slammed down. It hurt almost as much as the danmaku itself...

"Wow!" Marisa saw this, from some distance to her right, near a large rockside. "Ya got _fucked!"_

"Damn it…" Getting back up, Sendai raised her arms again.

"You-... you…" Raising her firearm, the blonde kappa girl shakily adjusted it. "I- I'll have to set it to stun… the- they're not playing danmaku..."

Beaming, Marisa faced Sendai again. "Oh, shit! Y'hear that, Mommy-chan!? She's gonna taze ya!"

' _Taze…?'_ Sendai was unfamiliar with the term. ' _It sounds like she's doing something unpleasant, at any rate.'_

 _Chi- chik._ With the gun now adjusted, the kappa cranked a large slider on the side back again, revealing a core that fizzled with live energy.

"Yo!" Marisa began to run to the right. "You go left!"

 _whish!_ Sendai took to the left like the wind, her legs moving effortlessly as she covered a half circle around the kappa in a second.

Turning, the kappa aimed at Sendai. _"Go down already!"_

 _PATATATATAT!_ The bullets came out in greater intensity, the streaks of yellow electricity roaring out like painful rain.

 _fwish!_ Seeing the streaks of potential injury roaring at herself with seemingly unrealistic velocity, Sendai jolted her body forward, grazing through the uneven fire. ' _Um- wow…!'_

Weaving her body into a crouch again, she compacted herself for a moment. Articulating herself came easily like this, letting her duck under shots aimed for her head with ease.

' _How's nothing hit me yet…!?'_

 _fwish!_ Immediately, she sprung into standing and slid forward. She was closing distance with the kappa now. ' _My mind almost can't keep up with how I can move myself, like this…'_

 _fwish!_ She slipped ahead, towards a bullet she thought would hit her, but the jerking motion of dodging carried her just shy of it.

The yellow streaks stopped. Eyes wide, the kappa girl brought up her rifle again. " _Stay ba~ck!"_

' _Everything's so sudden!'_ Sendai began to grin at her own insanely abrupt movements. ' _What do I even look like, when I do this? How did I stumble through all those bullets…!?'_

 _Fwoo~m!_ Yellow fire came from the underbarrel, in a broad sweep. Sendai was too caught up in her dizziness and the abrupt nature of her own movements to even think of dodging. ' _Wha~t- oh no!'_

 _Woosh!_ Still, Sendai leapt into the air a second after thinking about it. " _Ha~h!"_

' _Alright! I think I- fuck…'_

"Aa- _fuck-_ nngh…" Despite still coasting through the air off her leap, her ankles were burning.

Bending down awkwardly, she patted at the creeping, yellow 'flames' that came up her pink-white tunic bottom. It wasn't like regular fire, in that it didn't destroy clothing for flesh. It made up for this by having electric properties. "O- ow, ow!" Slowly, her motions began to make her leave an upright position...

Marisa pointed up at her, as she glided overhead, burning and flailing. "Pft- wow…! Holy shit!"

 _thud._ Sendai landed softly on her side, upon the snowy rocks. "Ugh- ow, ow- _ugh…!_ Nn- nnh!" Tossing her arms, she began trying to use the snow to get rid of the flames. It actually worked, kind of. "Da- damn…"

' _That- numbed my legs, a little…! What the hell was that? Ouch…'_

"Ya became a _shootin' star,_ ze!" Marisa ran past her, drawing her attention for just a moment before she was gaining distance again.

' _Freaking…'_ Sendai watched her sprint. ' _Actually. If I stay here, and Marisa distracts her…'_

 _PATATATATAT!_ True to Sendai's expectations, the stream of yellow shots began to focus on Marisa now.

' _Now!'_ Springing up, Sendai ran for the kappa's form while she opened fire. Her body almost left the ground from the force she used to get up. ' _Wow!'_

...Within moments, she got behind her.

 _THWAP- PAP- THWAP!_ " _Woo- woaa~h!"_ Struck by the curtain of non-danmaku tazing bullets, Marisa fell over somewhere ahead. "Aa- a-..."

With her defeated, the kappa looked around, her blonde hair swinging. "Got- got one…"

Sendai poked her shoulder.

" _Ee- eyaa~!"_ Jumping, she almost dropped her gun, as she spun around-

 _Fwoo~m!_ The electric fire poured from the gun again, but Sendai moved with the turn of her weapon, avoiding it.

 _fwish!_ With a single thrust of her form, she skidded behind the kappa. Her balance was nearly betrayed by the uneven ground beneath herself, but she took care of how she skid, gliding over the small gaps.

 _Fwomp!_ The kappa fired a grenade off into nowhere on impulse, before pivoting. "Wh- gh-"

 _PATATATAT!_ Sendai weaved her whole body around, ducking under the barrel as the electric magic shots sailed through her hair. ' _She's so confused!'_

 _KRABOO~M!_ An explosion went off in the distance, illuminating the yellow flames left on the ground by the gun. ' _Damn!'_

 _Fwomp- fwoo~m!_ Firing a grenade and using the flamethrower at the same time, the kappa began to pivot opposite Sendai's movements this time. " _Sth- sto~p!"_

 _fwish!_ Sendai used her speed to jolt straight through the flames, and found herself unscathed on the other side. ' _Woah…?'_ She'd hardly even seen the light of the fire, but now registered seeing them before and after her weird sliding movement.

 _KRABOO~M!_ Behind herself, another explosion went off. ' _How many of those does she have!?'_

The kappa girl aimed up. " _Nn- nooo~!_ Lea- leave me alone…! _"_

 _Fwo- fwo- fwo- fwo- fwomp!_ She fired five grenades straight up, and they hit the ground immediately, no force put into their arcs.

Sendai's eyes widened. ' _Oh- oh gods. Oh, gods!'_ Turning, she began to run.

" _Hup!"_ Leaping off a rough patch of large gravel, Sendai ascended forward-

 _KRABOOM- BOOM- BAM- BOOM- KRAKBOOM!_ She saw the light of the great bombs make the path before herself even whiter than before, hiding the snow's imperfections as she soared away from the explosions. ' _Holy fu~ck!'_

 _Sendai obtained Ragnite Grenade!_

 _Sendai obtained Fluffy Cookie._

 _Crunch._ Sendai immediately ate the cookie the kappa gave her. ' _This was worth it.'_

...Almost falling over again, the blonde kappa let herself get propped up by Marisa. "Oo- ouch…"

"Y'better clarify that it wasn't us that blew ya up…!" Marisa was somewhere between amused and displaced, as she shook the dizzy, defeated kappa about. "'Cause it wasn't!"

' _Dodging things so… easily like that.'_ Sendai let her eyes shut, and she focused on how the wind caressed her form. ' _It's actually really fun. If only because, there's no way I should be able to do that normally. I'm kind of flexible, but I'm not lightweight… and the wind almost seems to turn me into a lightweight by its own virtue.'_

 _fli- flick._ From nothing nearby, another kappa appeared, her form flickering into existence. "Hey."

Her eyes opening, Sendai flinched at the surprise. ' _Where the hell'd she come from…!?'_

"That was pretty okay." Hatate drifted down from above to add her own commentary. "Your like, entire fighting style wasn't what I remember it being before the mansion stuff, but whatever."

"...Not that I fought anyone, just now." Sendai turned to her, and smiled. "The idea was dodging."

...Hatate made a pensive expression. "That's right. I could work with this, I think…"

"What're you doing, Marisa…?" The new, blue-haired kappa came up to the blonde girls. "I figured it'd be you, starting trouble."

"Startin' trouble!" Marisa beamed at her. "Truth's that we were lookin' fer you!"

"Me?" Nitori blinked plainly… "Why me?"

Marisa gestured to Sendai. "This is Reimu's mom, ze! She's on tour, and she wants you ta look at a shotgun she's got!"

...The entire premise immediately made the blue-haired kappa pause for multiple reasons. "Wh- wait, hold on! A lot of that doesn't make any sense!"

Marisa didn't clarify anything, and just stared back casually. So, the kappa kept going. "Don't just stare at me, like that! Why's she on tour? When was Reimu's mom _alive_ …? Why a _shotgun-"_ She stopped. "This isn't just a plot to get me to do gun service for you fer free, is it…"

"It's actually not, ze." Marisa spoke more bluntly. "And, funny enough, I ain't jokin'!"

"Why's _Reimu_ not here, then?" She propped her arms on her hips. "Why _only you?"_

 _shoo~f._ ...Everyone turned, as Reimu slowly slid into the conversation, riding on the sleigh she bought earlier.

"Hey." It came to a stop easily enough. She looked up from the wood platform lazily… "I saw explosions. Figures it'd be you. Also, hi Nitori."

The blue-haired kappa, Nitori, waved back. "Ah, hi."

...Sendai looked down at the sleigh. "How'd you ride _that_ all the way down to here?"

 _shoo~f._ Suddenly, the sled began moving from nothing at all. ' _What.'_

 _shoo- shoo- shoof._ It slid back and forth, defying all known laws of automotion, taking a tired-looking Reimu with it.

"Accordin' to all known laws 'a aviation…" Marisa began to grin big. "There is no way a _shrine maiden_ should be able to fly."

"Oh, no. That line again." Reimu gave her a faux-dismal look. "Where did you get that from, anyway?"

Marisa snorted. "We shoulda asked Sanae! Somethin' about a _bee movie..._ "

"I don't know what you guys're talkin' about!" Nitori piped up at them, and began to march up to Sendai. "You say you're Reimu's mom?"

"She is." Reimu confirmed for everyone. "Anyone who fights her fights me, too."

"Nn- nnh…" The blonde kappa in Marisa's arms twitched.

Hatate looked up from her rectangular device, and pointed at the blonde kappa. "She fought your mo~m."

...Just now noticing her, Reimu gave Hatate a plain look. "Where'd you even come from. I swear, when you're on the mountain, tengu just crawl out of the woodworks. I've gotten stopped by patrols while in caves under the mountain, before…"

Sendai snorted. "Right? They're fucking psychic. No thanks to these scouts, I'm sure."

"I got what I wanted, for now." Hatate begins to float off… "I'll jump you later, when I want something cool."

"Hey- hold on!" Sendai turned to her, as she began to drift off. "Those pictures I asked for! We had an agreement."

...Hatate paused, and nodded. "Ah, right. Next time I see you, I'll bring some."

...Sendai supposed that was fine. "Alright."

Then, she was gone.

' _She better uphold her end of the bargain within my lifespan.'_ Sendai wondered if tengu ever cheated humans by meeting them decades after they passed...

"Anyway." Reimu got up, and lifted the sleigh. "Nnh. Nitori- we want you to look at a gun my mom's got."

"...O~kay." Nitori brushed off how odd this felt. "Let's head on down to my workshop!"

"Cool!" Fitting her hat back onto her head, Marisa beamed. "Let's-"

 _thud._ She let go of the blonde kappa by accident, who immediately fell over. "Ouch…"

...Everyone stared down at her softly, unsure what to do next.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

The access shaft to Nitori's workshop was exposed to the surface. Around the corner of a rock that landmarked it, there was a water shaft that Nitori would normally use.

Sendai looked the big, metal platform up and down. ' _Technology's really escalated. It's not even been that long. Why didn't we have… these big metal platform things ten or twenty years ago?'_

"Get on the elevator, guys." Nitori gingerly faced the three girls… "It won't bite! I move big machines like cars and stuff on it all the time."

' _Kars?'_ Sendai didn't know what that was. ' _Oh well. Probably code for something big.'_

 _Cla- clack._ Everyone stepped onto the grey, metal platform. ' _She certainly wasn't lying._ _Feels very, very sturdy.'_

Once they were all onto the platform, Nitori walked to the back of it. She began pressing on a panel that lit up once she neared it.

 _CLA- CLUNK._ The elevator jolted noticeably once, and was loud at first. ' _Woah.'_

 _VRRRR~._ After a moment of the platform twitching and jerking, it began to descend into the darkness beneath the snowy surface world.

As they went, the shaft was continually illuminated by the one hole to the sky above. Farther down, the only significant light source became the few dim lights of the elevator platform itself, and the panel that Nitori interacted with in the back.

' _How deep does this go?'_ Sendai watched the surface's light get smaller and smaller above…

"So, we're lookin' over a shotgun, huh…" Nitori spoke in the vague darkness, as they descended. Of the girls, it seemed Nitori's eyes glowed blue in the dark. "What kind?"

This was a difficult question. "...Some kind." Sendai figured.

"You- don't know, huh…" Nitori's luminescent gaze became blunt. "Well, I might be able to tell by looking at it."

Reimu had a different question. "Why were shotguns made?"

...Nitori faced her with equal plainness. "To fire shots."

"Pfft- aw." Marisa grinned at that, not that anyone could see it very well in the increasing darkness… "They fire more shots than the average gun! Well, at once, anyway. Rifle things are faster."

"Depends if the rifle's fully automatic, semi, or bolt action, Marisa~." Nitori clarified her information. "Not every gun's just a gun!"

Sendai somewhat guessed what those types meant. ' _It sounds like a scale of speeds. What's semi? Is a flamethrower automatic, or something else?'_

Reimu spoke up about that, too. "Why do guns have to have types? You'd think they would all just be full-auto…"

Nitori gave her a slightly more sardonic look. "Guns aren't just- _magic,_ Reimu. Sure, any gun can be a full-auto danmaku rifle, but when they fire _actual bullets,_ they kind gotta _shoot 'em_ , and that's a way different thing than moving danmaku. Like, totally different."

"And it's a lot more effort than danmaku." Reimu shook her head, while the elevator platform bobbed and sunk. "I don't know why anyone would put in the effort."

At that, Nitori grinned. "...It _began_ as self-defense! But we all realized how cool guns were, and honestly, it's not _that_ hard. For us kappa, anyway. We all pretty much learn guns when we're tykes, now."

"But, why?" Reimu kept pressing her questioning. "I mean… I suppose the same question could be posed for bladesmiths in the village. But, guns are so much more effective and deadly."

"S'not like it can be _stopped,_ considering how easy the knowledge is." Nitori stretched back, a little… "Nnh. 'Sides, we like ta _not_ be confronted to begin with. You know us."

"If we asked every kappa why they made anything, we'd me here till next _year!"_ Marisa yelled over the hum of the elevator. "Hey, Reimu- why don'cha ask about the _laser guns?_ An' the fire bombs! The _destruction rays…!"_

"I don't _know…"_ Reimu shook her head, and reserved herself from the conversation… "I hear they have guns like that on the outside. Not the rays- just stuff like bullet guns."

"I think they do! But, it's all really basic." Nitori confirmed. "Actually- Reimu's mom, the gun you have, is it an outsider one?"

' _...I guess I'm known as 'Reimu's mom' now. I don't mind that.'_

"I think so?" She wasn't sure about the gun question, however. "Probably."

 _CLA- CLUNK._ The elevator stopped. A soft blue light was emanated from odd plates built into the walling of the shaft…

' _This is so… advanced.'_ Sendai immediately realized how metal and artificial the whole shaft was. ' _Seriously. How much would this cost to make with the village's resources? Is this just… all Nitori's?'_

"Who lives here?" Sendai regarded this whole underground structure.

...Nitori gave her another plain look. "Me? I do. Why."

"Only you?" Sendai's brows were raised…

Stepping forward, to open the large access door ahead, Nitori nodded. "Yeah. I mean-... this whole place was like, a week of work, and I've just kinda added to it as time went on."

' _A week.'_ Sendai stared up the big metal shaft again… ' _So, this is why I made an agreement to stop the development of kappa technology. They literally don't have an upward limit. What the fuck…'_

"Some years ago-..." Sendai began to speak of this agreement. "When I was alive, I'd held the kappa to an agreement to stop the progression of their technology. Were you around for that?"

"Probably not!" Nitori shook her head. "I heard about it, though. Everyone here thought you were an asshole, and really stupid. Don't uh, go bragging about that or anything, or you might get real bullets at some point."

"Hey." Reimu was perturbed, by that. "If anyone's really that dumb, I'm sealing their ability to hold solid objects."

Nitori's eyes widened back at her, and her grin intensified. "That's _actually_ worse than death…!"

"Exactly." She stepped off the elevator, where Nitori was about to fiddle with the panel to open the large double sliding door. "It sets an example."

Once she'd reached the panel, Nitori's nails clicked against the weathered, multi-colored screen.

 _KLA- CLAK- CLUNK._ The big door hummed as the top half slid up, and the bottom half down.

Sendai moved to stare the moving pieces up and down. ' _Holy crap…'_ It was especially impressive to her, because it didn't seem to be an attempt to show off either, between the visible blemishes in the metal, some of the corroding wet puddles, and patches of dirt.

"Aren't kappa _very_ shy?" She figured, looking their host over… "You seem rather at ease…"

"I know Reimu and Marisa." Nitori turned herself-

 _whump._ Her huge backpack displaced Sendai, but only a little. ' _Woah, look out there…'_

Marisa snorted. "Aw. I'm tellin' ya, that backpack's a weapon, ze."

...Stepping forward into the corridor ahead, Nitori gestured for them to follow. "Even then, shy's kind of an exaggeration. It's more like we're mostly introverts. Some of us are weirdos, like Fuwa-chan on the surface, there. They can get really surprised, and won't stop attacking until they're hurt enough to really submit. Before guns, that's half of where the 'asshole soul eating' thing came from. Now, we'd probably just blow someone's head off."

"And you're telling me _not_ to worry about guns." Reimu gave her a very blunt look as they trodded down the metal hallway…

"Ta be _fair,"_ Marisa brought a hand to her own chin, "the kappa will at least blow yer head off wit' _danmaku_ now, most times. Ya gotta be a real piece 'a work to make them throw the safety off now, an' I'm sure there's some kinda deal ta make sure they get their salt diet. Ain't that right, Nitori-ze?"

"Something like that!" Nitori bounded ahead faster, now. "Let's get into the firing range!"

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

The firing range was way wider than Sendai thought possible of an underground facility. ' _This-... I couldn't put a price on all this architecture. Fuck. Next time something bad happens to the shrine, maybe I should hire a kappa…'_

It was a large, metal room, with a huge pane of dim light coming from above. The area where guns were shot and handled was well-lit, illuminated by pale, whiteish-bluish light.

The temperature underground was very, very cold, however. ' _Caves are typically like this.'_

Despite the width, the range itself had varying lengths. At the far left there were impressive lengths, which had targets at the end of them. At the right, where the targets got ever closer, the open range segments ceased, and instead became rather crude slots in the wall to shoot into.

"Here ya go!" Nitori gestured to the open row where they could select a range… "Where's the shotgun anyway…"

Sendai drew it from her huge, pink-white arm sleeve. "Here."

"Oh!" Nitori's eyes lit up at it instantly. "It's a Winchester model eighteen ninety seven."

"...What happened to the other thousand and change." Sendai questioned plainly… "Was that how many attempts they took at making a gun, or…"

Nitori giggled. "Fr- freaking, no! It's the year it was made! Oh, yeah- outsider years, and stuff! Anyway, the actual number 'a these the outside made is closer to one million."

Sendai furrowed her brows. "What…? Was that a joke?"

"Nope!" Nitori confirmed. "Lotsa humans, lotsa war, lotsa cool guns! Well, depending, but some of them are really neat. Kinda interesting what happens, when humans commit to killing each other."

This kind of news was pretty new to Sendai. ' _What would they need one million guns for…? Is the youkai scenario outside that bad?'_

"Y'see, human engineering isn't very personalized." Nitori took the gun from Sendai, and looked it over… "But they make up for it, in that they _cooperate_ and shit out millions of the same thing. Lots of metal, lots of factories, and yeah. I think someone said somethin' about war bein' a business out there, and I'd believe it!"

"...Right." Sendai wasn't sure how to feel about that, yet. "What about those outsider years, you mentioned?"

"Oh, yeah!" Marisa piped up, at that. "Right now, it's like-... twenty fifteen outside, isn't it?"

"Yeah!" Nitori gave her a big nod, while she surveyed the shotgun… "An' there's plenty of world history past the last two thousand years, or so I know, but guns were kind of recent. So, I don't know too much past the past couple hundred… and only as far as guns 'n' tech're concerned, really!"

' _Good.'_ Sendai would probably have to ask someone else, if there was anyone who knew of the outside as much as, or more than, this kappa. ' _Maybe Keine knows some things, actually…'_

"So anyway…" Nitori smiled, holding the gun up as if to pose with it. "This was made in eighteen ninety seven! In Gensokyo's time, that's year _twelve._ "

"Twelve." Sendai said it aloud, almost just to process that timeframe… "That's… huh."

' _That thing is older than me. By a lot, actually…'_

"So, what'd you want to know about this?" Nitori also asked. "I dunno if you only came to talk about its history! You might also wanna ask, like… how to _use it_ right, 'cause I've never heard of shrine maidens really using guns before."

"That _was_ my curiosity." Sendai consented. "...I don't particularly want to spend its ammo on anything, however. It also needs repairs, if you haven't already noticed."

"Oh? Ah, I can supply you with all the ammo you need, for practice." Nitori made a generous offer, by kappa standards. "We're probably gonna practice without bullets in it first, so you don't get whapped by the thing, or anything."

 _Clack._ She placed the shotgun on the counter between them and the various ranges. "And, yeah, it's gotta get fixed, probably. Looks a _little_ battered, but the insides could be bad if not inspected… and, you said it was broken, so it _probably is._ "

Taking the broken gun, Nitori sauntered to the room's exit. "I'm gonna take you guys to the workshop room so we can fix this, and maybe also get some other cool things to play with in here. Uuh… do you um, have any requests?"

Reimu held out the sleigh her mother bought. "I wanna soup this up."

' _Um…'_ Sendai turned to her with a cozy but inquisitive expression…

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

==x==

x / Sendai Hakurei No Miko, the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

INVENTORY:

 _X Sub-weapons:_

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

X Pocket items:

[Global Item Box] - Pocket-fillers that grant Sendai unlimited inventory space, as long as the item fits. Takes up no inventory space.

[Elementary Backpack] - Young student's backpack. Really tiny, and looks cute on Sendai. Uses no inventory space- being inventory itself- and provides four item slots.

(1x) Potion - A potion used to restore health. Basic, but the best choice for human users. Provides heavy health regeneration for some seconds.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evolution - Heals the entire party, as if they were all given a potion. Equal to a Mega Potion, but consumes an item crash use to produce these effects.

Plain Cloth - It used to be a tiny bag, but it came apart and died. Basic synthesis item.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ With Like A Cloth Or Something - Sendai whips the cloth at an enemy, forcing them to turn around. Reflects projectiles, too.

Tauriner - Experimental medicinal restoration item. Restores 'spirit energy'. In Sendai's case, it restores a single item crash use upon consumption.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Yukkuri Production Kit - A kit used for creating yukkuri, which obey the user. Consumable with ten uses. Comes with DNA kits for Reimu, Marisa, and Alice types. Life catalyst is bundled with this item.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

High-Quality Bottled Water - Refreshing and pure.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

(x5) Pocket Lint - Dust friends. Uses no inventory space. Can be combined with nine hundred ninety four other Pocket Lints to create something cataclysmic...

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Ragnarok Theorem - Inflicts a random status effect on a random target. Cannot instantly kill or doom. Cannot cast Auto-Life.

108,260 Yen - Money used to purchase goods. Takes up no inventory space.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards…

Blue Flexi-suit - One-piece swimsuit with removable parts, for easy access to bodily regions. Offers no protection. Made of a mysterious, ticklish material…

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Oni Fight & Drink Guide - Brutal text that archives some oni traditions, as well as one's personal bias to the sword. Teaches Sendai Gravity Flash and-

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Ruby - Takes up no inventory space. Has no practical value, but may be sold for 250,000 Yen to the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and for ~300,000 Yen to a jeweler.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Firaga Burst - Summons an orb of flame over the battlefield, which rains down balls of fire that ignite everything. Expert-level fire magic.

Daffodil - Common white or yellow flower. Most common flower in the universe.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Purify - Heals party of all status ailments.

(x20) Snowball - Common synthesis item. May be thrown at a target for pitiful ice-physical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Snowballs - Sendai throws all the snowballs in rapid succession. Easy way to win snowball battles. Not very fun to fight against.

Ragnite Grenade - Kappa-made grenade, with a destructive, non-elemental flare. Doesn't break most terrain, and excels at non-lethal, anti-infantry combat. Powered by lunar energy, but the way it's used is too destructive to actually use the natural affinities of the magic, oddly…

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Zephyr Bolt - Gift from the wind goddess Yasaka. When filled with wind energy, it may be tossed like a homing lance at targets. Has more chance to hit the more the target evades. Can only be used in Tengu Style.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Goddess's Blessing * Kanako Yasaka - Summons the wind goddess Yasaka. She'll either increase the party's evade, provide resistance to various statuses, or dispel the enemy with ominous wind. Advanced wind magic. Uses two item crashes.

Frog Statue - Gift from the earth goddess Moriya. Passively decreases random encounter rate, increases money gained from fights, and slowly adds uses to weapons outside of fights, up to their logical maximum. May aid in fixing objects, too.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Goddess's Blessing * Suwako Moriya - Summons the earth goddess Moriya. She'll either strengthen the party, cast earth magic on foes, or create earthy eruptions to defeat enemies. Other times, she may be summoned to re-orient objects or architecture. Uses two item crashes.

-o-

Hakurei Maiden Combat Outfit: DP - The shrine maiden outfit of the miko who came before. Made for a large bust, and bolsters both martial offense and blunt defense. Features a hakama bottom for easy leg movement, and a black leotard so the upper body can move easily.

 _ATTRIBUTES:_

Yin-Yang's Light - Draws forth the wearer's true worth?

Last Hakurei's Darkness - Draws forth the wearer's true worth?

Youkai Exterminator - Balanced, miniscule boost to strength, speed and defense for all styles.

Pockets - Hammerspace is accessed from the pockets.

-o-

Hakurei Maiden Combat Outfit: Brawler - Blue-black Hakurei outfit with white accents. Arm sleeves are minimalized to make punching easier, and the cloth is a little heavier than normal.

 _ATTRIBUTES:_

Hard Cloth - Slight increase to knockback resistance, and stagger resistance when in Youkai Style.

Dynamic Sleeves - Slight increase to attack speed and power when in Youkai Style.

Armory - Hammerspace is accessed from the inner face of the blue apron.

-o-

(eight slots remaining [Elementary Backpack])

(over one hundred hammerspace slots remaining)

 _X Armor:_

 _x Body:_

-o-

Traditional Miko Outfit ReMiX: Rush - Pink-white traditional shrine maiden outfit. Arm sleeves are maximized to increase control and speed, at the cost of being able to use much if any power. The body itself is also loose enough to promote great speed.

 _ATTRIBUTES:_

Great Sleeves - Massive increase to accuracy when in Tengu Style.

Hastega - Slide dodge technique is easier to control, goes farther, and is moderately faster. Standard running speed is slightly faster.

Quick Draw - Hammerspace is accessed from sleeves.

-o-

 _x Misc:_

Reinforced Apron - A royal red, reinforced cloth apron. Defends Sendai a little against incoming magic and blunt physical attacks.

Nothing.

Nothing.

 _x Weapon:_ Cheap Katana - Nine uses remaining until it breaks - An average-sized blade, made from folded iron and molded into… relative practicality, rather than perfection. Cheap and disposable.

==x==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

 _X Body_

Endured IV - Sendai has forged her body through a long cycle of training and combat. She's still not much stronger, but she knows what immense pain feels like.

Powerful IV - With constant, repeated motions and strength training, Sendai has built up her body to strike fear into the land's youkai. Hits are becoming closer to her former strength...

Dark Affinity - Inherently, Sendai has channeled inner, dark feelings for most of her life. Grants 50% dark resistance.

Nature's Acquaintance - Sendai used to like nature. Grants 25% Wind resistance, when Tengu Style is activated.

Holy Rage - When in Fantasy Nature style, Sendai is 50% weak to holy sources of damage. Also confers 100% dark resistance and curse immunity.

 _X Soul_

Heated Spirit IV - A building fragment of the resolve she used to wield. Allows Sendai to use four item crashes. At the end of every fight, she regains one use. Recharged by sleeping, or gaining new resolve.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Magic is ingrained into her body to allow her to replicate certain objects as long as she has enough mana. Becomes unusable when all item crashes are used up.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

Rebellious Soul - Able to channel her magic to her limbs, which takes on the form of dark enchantments. Reduces damage where she applies it, by strengthening the body itself. Only available in Youkai Style.

Mischievous Soul - Able to channel her magic to her limbs, which takes on the form of loose, windy magic. Allows her to weave, run faster, and jump higher than ever before, at a hefty cost to her power and her ability to use darkness magic. Only available in Tengu Style.

Phoenix Spirit - When angered or at critical health, Sendai's adrenaline rises gradually regardless of her momentum in the fight, letting her pull off critical techniques easier. One may harm a phoenix's body, but they can't harm its pride.

Secret of the Mad Maid * Poise - When Sendai has high anger and adrenaline, she knows how to hide her pain from gunshots or knife stabs, refusing to stagger or wither as easily. However, every one of these attacks she resists will drain from her adrenaline.

Terrain Essence - Sendai can use the environment to deal devastating damage to her enemies. Executable off of walls, the ground, big objects; by lifting tables or chairs, etcetera. Boosts in power the less item crashes Sendai has used.

Weapon Essence - Melee weapons gain decisive maneuvers which deal immense damage. Allows Sendai to use swords semi-properly.

Essence of Finishing - Downed enemies are very vulnerable to extreme attacks, as Sendai's discovered. Follow-ups on downed enemies can now be critical hits, as long as Sendai's spirit remains full. Works with weapons, too.

Essence of Wreckage - When enraged or pushed to the edge, Sendai's follow-up on downed enemies becomes a lethal, relentless onslaught of fists and power. Heavily demanding on her body, and leaves her expended for awhile after use. Wasteful, unskillful, powerful technique. Learned by observing Ex-Keine perform a similar attack...

Essence of Assimilation - When in Fantasy Nature style, Sendai attempts to consume the body of dark-elemental beings. Kills the target. Refills health, item crashes, and Fantasy Nature duration. Sendai inherits target's life force as a result. Bonus power deteriorates over time unless kept fed.

 _X Technique_

 _x Misc:_

Misc Abilities - Skills that don't necessarily go with a style. Often utilitarian or shared.

Switch Style - Changing her stance, posture, and enchantment capabilities, Sendai changes out her moveset and the way she controls. Can only switch to Youkai and Tengu styles, as Fantasy Nature style only works by item crash.

Candy Confetti - If Sendai has candy in her inventory, she can cast it into the air stylishly. Uses 50% of small candies in Sendai's inventory. Skips random encounters with fairies, and lowers fairy aggression levels. Duration and effect depend on how many candies are spent. Works less well on Scarlet Devil Mansion fairies.

Summon * Sakuya Izayoi - Summons Sakuya Izayoi. Allows Sendai to access the item box anywhere. Allows Sendai to request her for recreation. Allows Sendai to summon her to fight alongside her.

 _DETAILS:_ Maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion - Sakuya has a variety of styles. They reflect her progression through life, and as so, ascend in power and utility. Most are rarely seen, however.

o _Dawnstar Style -_ Rarely seen.

o _Assassin Style_ \- Light knife and dirty fighting tactics. Light physical projectiles. High tendency to use danmaku, especially when requested.

o _Solace Style_ \- Wields a Luger and Claimh Solais. Stance for taking down greater youkai and some vampires. Rarely seen.

o _Perfect Maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion -_ Sakuya stops time often and instantly eradicates most foes. Includes powerful counter-attacks, and visceral supplementary damage to her attacks. Rarely seen.

 _x Youkai Style:_

Youkai Style - Sendai's default post-revival style. Has a mixture of youkai techniques and handy things she's learned. Gained its namesake after she defeated her daughter, and unlocked some of her inner potential.

Dark Power - Sendai accents her body with dark magic, reducing incoming damage and heightening outgoing damage when she wills it.

Guard - Sendai guards against attacks. Self-explanatory. Prevents most damage, but doesn't work against blades or bullets, for obvious reasons. Doesn't protect her from angles other than her front.

Quick Step - Sendai slides on her sandals to avoid an attack, jolting her muscles to evade. Pretty much muscle memory to her, at this point. Also known as Slide Dodge.

Dodge Retaliation - A technique remembered through battle against Marisa Kirisame. After quick stepping, Sendai can instantly retaliate with a thrusting punch. _Only_ effective when spirit energy is high.

Flying Kick - When running, Sendai can throw herself into a double-legged kick that smashes through defenses, and is not interrupted by minor sources of pain or knockback.

Mad Maid's Kink * Rolling Kick - Sendai half-cartwheels, and half-flips forward into an enemy, striking with each of her sandals at the end of her roll. Not as effective as Flying Kick, but easier to control, and hits multiple times. Doesn't pierce defenses as easily. Sidegrade skill to Flying Kick.

Slide Leap - One of Sendai's classic abilities, from her memory. Has two parts. Begins with Sendai sliding along the ground, from which she may launch herself into the air with a kick.

Youkai Buster Combo * Brawl - A series of ambitious punches aided by kicks, which gives most foes little time to recover and staggers often. Includes a series of hooks, and finishes with a dark-accented overhead punch that launches most foes.

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Konpaku Shot Stopper - An ancient Konpaku defense technique, first used against matchlock rifles, now adapted to be effective against handguns and shotguns. Allows Sendai to execute a decisive maneuver when near firearms users, as well as disarm them. _Only_ effective when spirit energy is high.

Youkai Cunning: Revenge Value - Enables Sendai to follow-up melee attacks with a strike or a grapple, using the momentum her body receives. Doesn't work if she's knocked back.

Faze Step - Lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward some distance. Makes her highly knockback resistant while it executes. It's not in its true form, yet.

 _x Tengu Style:_

Tengu Style - Sendai's speed-focused style, sacrificing her brutal power for great speed and evasive ability, helping her get further with her combat skills. Learned after she witnessed Aya show off using a similar moveset.

Wind Power - Sendai accents blows with wind. As her attacks ascend in intensity, so does the wind that guides her. Usually weak and does little other than improve speed, but it could also be powerful in its own right…

Wind Dispelling Prayer - Ability to vanquish Air-Toss status and air-related traps and binds, as well as ambient wind and certain effects of weather, like natural wind's effects on the body.

Slide Dodge Plus - Sendai can slide dodge one additional time, and it comes easier, with the wind's guidance. This increases her total dodges to two in succession.

Slide Dodge Plus - Sendai can slide dodge one additional time, and it comes easier, with the wind's guidance. This increases her total dodges to three in succession.

Slide Dodge Plus - Sendai can slide dodge one additional time, and it comes easier, with the wind's guidance. This increases her total dodges to four in succession.

Weave Guard - Sendai can no longer guard, and when she does, it's hilariously ineffective. Instead, she weaves past some blows, or chooses to parry, reducing or avoiding damage entirely. Doesn't work against some moves, or heavy magic.

Youkai Buster Combo * Rush - Fast jabs and thrusts, which are too fast for some enemies to keep track of. Deals very low damage, but is easy to use, accurate, and chains into many different quick attacks.

Flick Kick - Combo finisher. When she's dealt enough hits, Sendai sweeps a leg up in a rising kick to her enemy's torso. Breaks enemy guards, with good knockback and stagger potential. Most effective when bouncing an enemy against a wall, opening them for harassment and punishment.

Stun Drive - Sendai's basic combo attacks have a chance to stun less aware foes with their intensity and speed, setting them up for an easy knockdown. Alternatively, they can just be left amazed.

Feint Taunt - A taunt where Sendai weaves before an enemy, throwing windy, fast punches before them. Has a chance to intimidate foes.

 _x Fantasy Nature Style:_

Fantasy Nature Style - Style adopted whenever Sendai casts Fantasy Nature. Uses dark power and an amalgamation of youkai abilities.

Scratch - Basic attack. Deal dark elemental damage over time on incision, which may expand incisions. May be inflicted by any limb; claws not required.

Anti-Glide - User moves at impossible, awkward angles to avoid attacks and projectiles. Provides limited flight.

Air Giant Wheel - Spinning inhumanly fast on an invisible axis, the user unleashes a torrent of deadly scratches. Prevents retaliation with harassment.

Midair Doom - Arching back, Sendai unleashes a sphere of intersecting slashes. Mid-air finishing move. Launches foes.

Gravity Flash - Skidding along her stomach, Sendai scrapes the floor in a circular motion, before sending out a wave of crushing magic all around herself. Ground-based finishing move. Space elemental magic.

Stun Meteor - Balling up in the air, Sendai comes down on a target, encapsulated in an orb of non-elemental, lovely energy. May stun targets. May launch foes.

==x==Ω==x==

 _Ω Marcus Kirisame, the Middle-Aged Magician_

INVENTORY:

Ω Pocket items:

(2x)Hi-Ether - Restores enough mana for even high-tiered youkai to be able to appreciate.

Paddleball - Here comes the paddleball!

Bottled Artificial Spiritualism - Red energy sampled from a human villager. Seems similar to faith...

(1 slot remaining)

Ω Armor:

-o- Body: Comfy Robes - Familiar, aged robes. Comfy and easy to move around in.

STATS:

50% fire resistance.

50% electric resistance.

50% ice resistance.

-o- Misc:

Enchanted Dreamcatcher - A trinket that halves the effectiveness of debuffs on the user.

Nothing.

Nothing.

-o- Weapon: Magic Bazooka - Collapsible magic bazooka. Can fire lasers in a variety of elemental flavors, but works best with non-elemental magic. Uses currently mastered elements.

==x==

SKILLS:

-o- Soul

Inspire Drive I - Marcus recovers the inspiration that defined his youth. Grants him one use of _Inspired-_ type spells. Use regenerates once per day. _Inspired-_ type spells use no mana. Inspiration cannot be recovered with items, with art or personal revelations being exceptions.

-o- Items

Replicable Packaged Bomb - No one's certain how many he has. Tosses a cardboard package, which detonates into danmaku, with the potential to launch and stagger targets.

-o- Ice Magic

Glacier - Erect a tall ice blade. Heavy physical ice attack.

Ice Shard - Spawn ice in an enemy's form. Moderate ice magic. May freeze targets.

-o- Fire Magic

Firaga - Lob a short-range fireball mortar. Heavy fire magic that ignites. Preceding tiers are homing fireballs that have a chance to ignite.

Fireball - Generate a fireball in an opponent's form. Moderate fire magic that ignites. Not to be confused with Fira or Fire, mechanically weaker spells that precede Firaga.

-o- Water Magic

Bubbles - Summon bubbles under an opponent. Gets them wet and stuff. Might lower their physical attack…! Good setup for electric moves, too…!

Bubble Burst - Expert water magic. Summons a lot of bubbles under a lot of opponents. Still gets them wet. Also still might lower their physical attack…!

-o- Other Elemental

Quake - Disrupt the earth, and create a not-so-sharp spike of rock. Moderate physical earth attack.

Thunderbolt - Summon a myriad of thunder strikes to converge on a single target. Advanced electric magic. May stun foes. Hits three times.

Mana Drain - When able to access the opponent's mana, Marcus is able to pull it away. Magnet elemental magic. Usually initiated by a non-elemental orb.

-o- Non Elemental

Non-elemental Orb - A flexible non-elemental orb that may explode or simply dissipate. When dissipated, the mana may infuse with enemies and intertwine with their mana pool, allowing for Marcus to follow up.

Magic Resistance - Buffs an ally against magic. Starts at forty percent resistance, but tapers off to nothing over time.

Magic Shield - A non-elemental shield which absorbs all magical attacks, as long as they're not draining, death, or magnet related.

Lucky Star - Non-elemental star that bonks people on the head. Very random damage.

Star Shower - A rain of non-elemental stars which hit a crowd of foes for very random damage.

Cold and Gold - A danmaku non-spell which Marcus can create from an influx of magical energy.

-o- Ability

Elemental Control - Marcus has general mastery and control over non-elemental and elemental mana manipulation, allowing him to do some freeform manipulation for whatever he feels. Mastery and flexibility of freeform control depends on how many spells of that elemental branch are known.

Telekinesis - Semi-decent magical control of objects and matter; more specifically, spending mana to move objects. Works on clothes, too!

Magical Mastery - Marcus has access to any lower tier of attack he's currently mastered, if he needs to use such for whatever reason. As in, he knows Firaga therefore the preceding levels come innately, etcetera.

-o- _Inspired_

Voltaic Ray - Marcus creates three rays of electric energy, which carve through enemies by jolting at them in linear, synchronized thrusts. Can end many encounters instantly, and does great electric damage. Uses all inspiration for the day.

==x==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

this took TOO LONG

it was a fun chapter but MAN COLLEGE HAS BEEN BRUTAL RECENTLY

of course by the time readers get this it'll probably be like mid-november or something - w - this is like before halloween by the way

mostly a really fluffy in-between chapter to show off some of the world! there'll be a time and a place for GETTING SHIT DONE but now is not that time nor place - w -

there still needs to be an exhibition of fun things in the village with sendai and her friend pals beyond what we've seen but hoh 'cause i'm sure that will work better than some of my critics have suggested, mostly 'cause that was feedback ai got prior to like meeting reimu where things were more driven by current events, and sendai basically didn't have much choice than to push things forward

which resulted in that boy going "the human village pretty much just doesn't have enough depth or things to do to justify sendai spending time in it" and to that ai say GIVE IT SOME TIME BOY

although sendai will get sick of wasting time once she's wasted enough and push things forward anyway probably - w - mostly because she _does have things to be doing_ , and has some vague direction to pursue it

although i wouldn't call these fluffy chapters total time sinks either 'cause some interesting discourse happens between the neat and fluffy moments - w - it just seems like there's a weird dissonance between readers who're into worldbuilding and like the state of affairs and then readers who see little mentionable value in that and prioritize the state of the conflict or plot events and everything else happens and is fun but is forgettable and pales in comparison to the overarching series of events

which might be in part just because they don't think tsukiko is an interesting character to follow so they place more stake in the narrative - w -

which might prompt me to ask what people think of her, but i'm not gonna particularly do anything with that information since her identity is pretty solidified, and she doesn't have as much reason to be as rambunctiously fickle as certain other main characters i've written XD

this fic is definitely more an exploration of sort of ADULT CHARACTER ELEMENTS and the excess of them might not be what some of my previous readers are looking for but that's fine - w -

this chapter was fun in showing off a little of the mountain's ambience though, it's a fun place with a lot of stuff you don't often come across

...i don't have a lot to SAY about it though 'cause it kinda speaks for itself! the tengu are a weird psuedo-political entity with a fairly unique culture compared to other gensokyo civilizations and that makes them pretty fun to look at. they're kinda different in that they, even now, define traces of gensokyo's old political / cold war game and also kinda upfront let people sort of examine the weird shit that still goes on on the meta level in gensokyo today

the kappa are pretty fun and crazy in their own ways though, they're the good inbetween of slow human ingenuity and batshit insane rabbit lunar sci-fi tech, settling into the good inbetween of slapdash, steampunk-esque screaming metal fantasy death traps; they're NOT SO MUCH POLITICAL, they just want to BLOW SHIT UP, and make LASERS, and GUNS

reimu and marisa are fun accompaniment for all of this 'cause they kind of offset how contained tsukiko can be when she's not pissed off

also reimu's nonchalant experience with new things is always fun to poke at tsukiko's otherwise automatic contentment with - w -

i think i've yammered enough about chapter things!

as always, see you all next time!


	16. Myouren's Guiding Light

The four had left the kappa's laboratory, and were now on the surface again. Nitori had guided them back out after briefly testing Sendai's aim and letting her practice a little.

 _Vrum- vrum- vrum- vrum._ Reimu twisted the steering wheel on her newly motorized sleigh. It now ran on alchemized fuel, and had two big mufflers on the back of it, and two mounted danmaku gatling guns on the front.

' _What the fuck happened to it…'_ Sendai just now got a good visual on Reimu's new 'souped up' sleigh. ' _It's a little battle wagon, now!'_

Marisa gave her a bewildered expression. "Dude. Fuck, now I want one!"

Reimu patted that top of the front dashboard. "By the end of this tour, I'm gonna turn this thing into a tank. Mark my words."

"Hehehe~!" Nitori gave her a big smile. "Oh- that reminded me. All the modifications together are like, five hundred thousand something yen."

...Reimu's eyes expanded twice as wide.

' _Uh.'_ Sendai blinked at that…

Marisa's smile widened awkwardly.

"So!" Oblivious of their rising tension, Nitori gestured ahead. "Up around here is the little range-like place I set up. Most kappa don't put anything on the surface, but I got some targets and stuff out here. Technically public target practice, but y'know, not too many kappa are into running around 'causin' mayhem on the surface often."

' _Considering they can make giant complexes in the earth… goddamn, they're like moles, but worse. Moles with guns… provided, they're more reasonable than moles, maybe. It might be better if they actually were moles. Rather than… you know. Sentient, greedy gunsmiths with extremely gifted crafting talent.'_

 _Shoo~f._ Reimu parked her sleigh, as they reached the end of the frosty gravel path.

Ahead, there was a counter. Nitori came up to it, and plopped a green, metal box of ammo down. "The~re we go. Use what you learned, Reimu's mom!"

...Looking around the clearing, Sendai could see obvious targets colored with red, cyan, and lime green placed around the snowy clearing ahead. ' _Looks like a free practice area. Should be good to test out this gun in.'_

As she passed the ammo box, Sendai claimed some shots. ' _Let's take some spares, too. I might not stick around too long, so keeping stocked up should be good.'_ On top of the four still in the gun, she took seven extra shells...

Fully armed, she marched onto the range, and took a look back at her daughter momentarily. ' _Ah, good, she's not following me. Ah…'_ It seemed she was busy conspiring with Marisa over something in the background.

Since it seemed the range would be clear, she readied her shotgun. ' _Guess I'll start shooting around until I'm happy with it. I've got to get used to making shots count somehow. This is harder to aim than I would've initially thought. It's even worse because… normally, I only have a few shots.'_

She almost couldn't believe the reality, but it was realistic, and this kind of realization was something she made many times before. ' _I only have a few shots, but this thing is that finicky? I may've underestimated anyone I've seen wield a gun. It felt like that pistol was so easy to use… but, I guess that's the difference between a pistol and heavier weaponry.'_

 _Woo~sh._ Wind blew through the nearby trees, which looked like black messes of angles that held up the pastel, winter sky. The breeze also chilled her. ' _The world is just cold in general…'_

' _Now that I think about it, I won't need either wind or darkness to use this.'_ She decided to not use her passive talents with the gun.

With no further preparation, she postured herself to properly fire the gun, and began searching for targets. ' _Alright. Let's begin.'_

-+- _Vs. Metal Cut-outs_ -+-

 _Chi- chik._ Sendai pumped her shotgun. ' _Alright.'_ With her finger tense on the trigger, she began her practice march…

' _Nitori showed me how to shoot without losing control of this thing. I should probably make good use of that…'_

Her arms were rigid as she marched up the nearest snowy bank, the shotgun held firm. ' _Okay, let's get a little closer…'_

Each target was already well-used, but each mark shone with a different hue of teal magic, some smouldering still. Faint cyan mist emanated from the brighter holes. ' _What's going on here? ...Ah. They might've used ragnite or something, which has weird magical decay. Probably just so people can actually tell that they hit it.'_

While approaching the target at the top of the hill, Sendai looked down at the gun…

' _I really have to commit to firing this.'_ She recalled what Nitori told her. ' _Loading a bullet into the chamber-... the details sort of eluded me. But, there's a possibility of an accidental discharge if I leave it there. I mean, I have one ready right now, but yeah…'_

Once at a pleasingly moderate range, she brought the shotgun up to her shoulder. ' _Let's try and fire it.'_

Aiming at the vaguely person-shaped target, she poised the weapon. ' _It also has to be held in a way that accents aiming, but doesn't let the thing smash your face, or other parts. And, this gun's bolt juts back, so if I don't watch my hand, I could lose some skin there by jutting it out. Ugh...'_

 _BLAM!_ She pulled the trigger.

 _KLACK- THWAMP- PI~NG!_ The metal target ahead stood rigid against the ballistic offense, bearing new, neon cyan marks. They smoked openly, a deep sea-green gas almost rolling off upon each impact, which then tapered off relatively quickly.

Firing the gun sent a jolt of force back into Sendai, but it wasn't anything she wasn't able to easily control. ' _Ah. Mmm. ...I have to admit, this kind of force is sort of satisfying. If I was born in a more technological era, I probably would have focused on guns instead of martial arts. After all, I latched onto the first thing I could to get more powerful. I needed it.'_

...Examining the metal cut-out ahead, she found where her shots landed. ' _Kinda-... to the upper left of the center, some ways. Hmm. After I fire everything, I might tell Nitori about these shots. Just like with bows, there's obviously more than meets the eye when it comes to guns, I'm sure. It's not so much 'point and shoot', just like a bow isn't 'point and shoot'.'_

 _Chi- chik._ She pumped the shotgun into readiness again. ' _Well. Hmm.'_ Turning, she began trudging to another target. ' _I won't always get the luxury of potshots on the same target, nor will I often fire more than once… so, I should try switching targets a lot.'_ She'd already practiced plenty at static shooting underground.

Moving along the snowy hillside nearby, she came up to a new group of steel cut-outs. ' _Let's see, here…'_

There were three, aligned sort of evenly next to one another.

Sendai backed up, trying to find good footing. ' _...Some of the bullets of this gun can spread wide, kind of. I wonder…'_

Coming up to them closer, she tried to see if she could rearrange them. ' _If they were more sort of lined up, I could shoot multiple at once. If I ever deal with multiple people at once… a shotgun might be a viable way out of it.'_

 _Crunch._ The snow before her crunched loudly. ' _Wait-'_

 _Cru- crunch._ She took a moment to process what began happening. The target practice cutouts were bouncing towards her. ' _What the fuck.'_

 _Cru- crunch- thunk. Cru- crunch- thunk- thunk._ As she looked around herself, all the metal cutouts began to close in on her. ' _This wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but…!'_

She held up the shotgun, holding it ready. ' _What if…'_ It would be a little unorthodox, but she was curious, and now seemed like a prime opportunity. She wanted to find out what would happen if she flooded the newly repaired shotgun with holy energy.

 _whump._ One of the metal cutout bumped into her aggressively, and she twitched from how cold the metal was against her clothes. ' _Ah. Let's find some ground away from them all, and take aim…'_

 _CRUNCH!_ Bursting from the snow her ankles were caught in, Sendai trudged and bounded with enthusiasm, working to get away from the slower, metal sheet things. ' _Snow is- for some reason, really annoying…!'_

' _Alright…'_ Soon, she was far enough away, on the nearby incline of a large snow bank, which likely masked a small slope underneath.

Closing her eyes for a moment, she drew her dark energy forward, gripping the gun harder. ' _This weapon.'_ She focused on its essence, searching her mind, and using her magic to explore the item itself.

How she and Marcus created item crashes together started as a matter in experimentation, which eventually grew in attempt to capture her inner holy affinities. ' _Although I never explored it further-... it would make sense, if it was the god's one way of getting blessings to me. Hell knows I only use it for talismans and yin-yangs otherwise.'_

' _Then, Hakurei God…'_ She opened her eyes. ' _Reveal this object's potential to me!'_

" _Ha~h…!"_ She felt her arm thrust into the air outside of her volition. " _Slam Storm!"_

 _CLICK._ Her arm, glowing with the colors between white and black, slid a cartridge into the chamber of the shotgun.

She felt her entire self shaking, as she snapped the weapon into a firing posture, and began pumping the slide.

 _BLAM! BOOM! KABAM!_ She held down the trigger, body lightly jerking as she unloaded three shots into the crowd of metal cutouts.

 _BLAM! BLAM! KABAM!_ Each spread she fired from the gun rang off of the walking metal sheets. Some fell back into the snow from the impacts, Sendai rapidly switching targets, barely even concerned by the recoil, or any of the gun's natural clunkiness.

 _BLAM- KABAM! BLABLAM!_ She went well beyond the weapon's natural holding capacity, unloading the magically generated rounds into every target she could see. The back of the hammer mechanism cut across her firing hand generously, but in this instance, simply phased right through, refusing to clip her hand.

 _BAM- BAM- BAM! KABAM- BLAM- BOOM- BAM!_ Her firing session went on for some time. But, before she could stop the last of the walking metal sheets…

Her energy equalized. The gun lost a golden sheen she didn't know it gained, and she felt herself tire, her flesh no longer gleaming like a prism in the glacier edge-esque, glaring sunlight. ' _Wo- woah…'_

...Stumbling back, she found her footing in the snow. ' _Let's keep going…'_ Taking aim, she tried her best to aim a shot at one of the two remaining cutouts…

 _BAM!_ She shot a single, normal round. On impulse from her rapid fire earlier, she immediately pumped the slide back-

' _Ff- fuck, ow!'_ She forgot about the clumsy way the hammer pistoned out from the back of the gun, and it cleaved the skin from the top of her hand. ' _Motherfucker!'_ It was even worse, in that she was immune to this while the gun was undergoing the item crash… but, not anymore.

After shaking her hand about, she let out a breath. ' _Ah, fuck it. I'll get a potion later, or something. Marisa has-... too many, so I'm sure she'll spare one for this. Damn, that smarts.'_

She'd also missed the cutout grievously, only a few bullets nailing the very edge of it. ' _Hmmh. Using an item crash with it-... is already getting way more use out of it than I should be, I'm sure. That was also-... more draining than usual. Like… by a lot.'_

She took aim again. ' _Let's do this one right, and not cut my hand this time.'_

 _Chik._ The sound of pumping the gun was actually audible, now that she ceased slam-firing the shotgun.

 _BOOM!_ She shot at the target she'd missed before.

 _KAPI~NG!_ The echoing, glass-like impact made the thin metal sheet sit down on its back.

"Huff…" No matter how she diced it, she found it satisfying to use, however. Guns were strange.

 _Ch- chik._ Readying it again, she set her sights on the next target promptly.

 _click._ Her body twitched, expecting a little recoil. Instead, nothing came.

 _Chi- chik. click._ There was no more ammo in the gun, the weapon only having the four initial cartridges in it from before Nitori took it apart to repair it.

' _So… I shot twice, went insane with that item crash and unloaded fifteen something shots, and then got another two off.'_

...The last cutout came up to her, now that she was defenseless.

 _KLACK!_ Sendai wound herself up for a blunt kick, and executed it, ramming her snow-laden leg into the sheet, forcing it to reel back.

 _CLUNK!_ As it swung back into standing, she butted the stock of the gun into it, and it gave up, limply falling into the snow. It splashed out, a waft of cold air meeting Sendai. ' _He- hey…'_

 _Sendai learned firearm basics!_

 _Sendai obtained Gun Practice Idol Fragment._

Coming up to the three girls at the nearby counter, she blinked her eyes sleepily.

"...You look kinda done already." Nitori noticed how tired Sendai suddenly looked… "Where'd you get all the bullets from, though…!? And- I _know_ that gun can't hold _that_ many! Unless, you're actually really fast at putting individual carts into the chamber."

"It-... it was nothing." Sendai shook her head. "Just, got a little carried away, I guess…"

"Getting carried away- that doesn't…" Nitori saw what was wrong with this picture, but really couldn't put it into words… "Hakurei are _weird."_

...She turned to Reimu, who was standing behind her. "Oh, right! About those vehicle modifications!"

Reimu gave her a ginger stare. The sun's light made her red clothes shine brighter than usual, and she then began to softly smile.

...Nitori curled her brows up. "Uh. Reimu…?"

"Huh?" Reimu blinked at her. "Oh, hi."

"Where's the sled, Reimu?" Nitori looked around… "It was just here, before your mom went to practice…"

...Reimu furrowed her brows. "What sled?"

Instantly, Nitori gave her a bored look. "What. No, gimme my money, I need five hundred grand fer that. I know like four hundred thousand 'a that might _seem_ kinda funky, but I promise ya, I need all of it. And, right now."

...She looked up for a moment, before giving a smile back to Nitori. "I-... I don't know. Sorry, I don't know-"

 _click._ Nitori drew a big rifle from her backpack immediately. "You're not playing dumb with _me!"_

"Woah!" Grinning widely, Reimu began to run away. "Stop- no!"

"Get the hell back here!" Despite her massive backpack, Nitori broke into a sprint after Reimu, who also dashed into the woods ahead.

...Sendai tilted her head. ' _Something's off. Like, really off. I'm pretty sure-... that was not Reimu.'_

Someone tapped on her shoulder.

Sendai turned, to see Reimu. Marisa was behind her, seated in the motorized sled. "Hey- get in."

"...Whah." This rapid series of events left Sendai somewhat confused. "Where the hell did you, what?"

Reimu explained nothing. "Get in the sled, we're going."

"Um…" While the whole situation made Sendai want to step back and analyze it, there were a few things preventing her from doing so. One was that she was tired. The other…

She came up to the sled, and sat down, cozying in next to Marisa. Reimu struggled to find a seat between their combined legs, as she got into the driver's 'seat'. It was more of a spot, than a seat.

' _This whole sled thing is too cute to resist.'_ Sendai was fine with seeming silly, for now. It also beat walking, being what it was. ' _Let us ride the snow.'_

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

16

Myouren's Guiding Light

 _Vrum- vrum- vrum- vrum!_ The sled chugged unnaturally, making jeep noises as Reimu twisted the steering wheel. It glided gracelessly across the pristine snow of the plains just past the Youkai Forest and Genbu Ravine, a wake of snow kicked up behind it as it vibrated along.

Now, they had the bright, absurdly blinding glory of Gensokyo's most often trodden field before them, and they couldn't bear to do more than squint at it.

"So-...!" Marisa yelled over the hum of the engine. "Basically, I struck a deal wit' a tanuki to strike a deal wit' Nitori! An' she _won't_ be pissed later, I'll just ship 'er some cucumbers some time an' it'll be even. Potions, too!"

' _If you know what you're doing…'_ Sendai supposed they just stole the work that went into these modifications a few moments ago. Provided, it only took Nitori thirty minutes of work to slap it together… ' _Five hundred grand was a pretty big ripoff, I think. Not that I'd know how much goes into… technology stuff. Damn, now I wish Marcus and Kourin were here. They'd know haggling of anybody. Marcus especially, he'd never give up a yen he could save.'_

 _fwoo- fwoo- fwoo- fwoof!_ From the snow ahead, a myriad of fairies rose up, brandishing blue flowers. "Hehehe~!"

"Look at that rumbly thing!"

One of the cyan-haired ones ran up to the front of it. "Look! It's the shrine maiden! It's Reim- _ughu-"_

 _thu- thud- crunch- Pi~chun!_ The sled ran her over. Sendai watched her get dragged beneath the motorized platform, and heard the loud, audible crunch of her body snapping. ' _Ho- holy shit.'_

"Freaking…" Hunching in her pilot seat, Reimu reached for a button on the dashboard. "Worse than flies."

 _vrrr~._ The dual gatling guns on the front began to wind up, ominously spinning to life.

"You- _moro~n!"_ A light-red clothed fairy stuck her tongue out, and used a hand to lower one eyelid. "Little did you know- um, Tear-chan _likes_ getting pi-chun'd!"

"Good." Reimu spoke under her breath, leaning back. "You'll be joining her…"

 _Verrr~!_ The gatling guns were fully wound.

 _PATATATATATAT!_ A mess of blindingly fast, oval-shaped blue danmaku bolts splayed forward in a mess of dazzling, festive light.

From Sendai's perspective, they were a surprisingly merry display of cozy color, which offset the white plain with a mystic cyan tint. It was also a refreshing break from the endless sea of white. ' _Huh…'_

 _Pi- Pi~chun! Pi~chun!_ To the fairies, it was death. " _Agh-_ sto- _shh-"_

"Yo! Wh- Wind-cha~n!" One of the fairies ahead turned, calling out. "Wind- _help-"_

 _Pi~chun!_ One of the bolts clipped through her arm, causing her to spiral into three intersecting ones, instantly blowing her into a splash of fun colors, and then nothing more.

 _Shoo- shoo- shoof!_ Behind the vehicle, the shuffling of snow was heard.

Sendai looked back behind them, and saw a fairy clad in all blue was running through the wake of snow. Her eyes were teary as she fought against the smell of gas and the diamond dust which roared from beneath the sled. "Nnh…"

"Hey." Sendai turned ahead. "Reimu. Fairy behind us."

...Reimu snorted. "One of these buttons oughta do something about that…" So, she began pressing random buttons.

 _click._ She pushed a large, yellow one.

 _cli- cli- click._ Along the sides of the sled, large, yellow needles materialized. From them, a high pitched sound began to assault their ears, as they lit up a bright white. ' _What-... the hell-'_

 _KRACK- FWAA- FWAASH!_ They exploded out into streaming jets of water in an instant, eviscerating a row of snow to either flank of the sled.

"Not-... what I wanted." Rubbing one ear, Reimu reached forward again, and pressed another button.

 _fwi~sh._ From the top of the sled, a single, blue flare was shot into the sky-

 _Pi~chun!_ A yellow fairy went out of her way to zip up and into it with unrealistic velocity. Her death was a streak of light across the sky, as she both destroyed herself and the flare at the same time, with amazing but pointless agility. ' _What- was the idea there!?'_

"Come on!" Reimu punched the next button, this one blue. "How many different weapons does this thing need?"

This time, the back of the sled shone with blue light. The two rear lights on it glimmered bright.

The fairy who was trailing them began to slow. "Aa- aah…"

 _FWSHING- SHIN- SHIN- SHING._ Rings of undulating, weaving blue rolled out from the craft's rear, while it accelerated forward.

The fairy's jaw dropped. "Wha- _whaoh- oh no-"_

" _Whaau~gh!"_ She was caught by one of the rings, and it lifted away from the others, into the air, pulling her along.

 _FWA- FWASH._ She was frozen solid by it, then the ice snapped instantly. Arching back into the air, she screamed while her body was vaporized into absolutely nothing, flickering out in fading, blue-tinted waves. In seconds, it was nothing but a few snowflakes. " _Aaaa! Aauu- nnh…"_

...Sendai let out a single giggle at that method of bodily destruction she'd only scarcely seen before. ' _Why the fuck can this thing-... do that ice death thing to people!? It's a sleigh! Is kappa technology really this fucking wild!?'_

' _...Or, it could be because the targets are fairies.'_ Sendai considered. ' _They do respond way more viscerally to getting beaten up, as long as it's a magic effect, and not goring or gibbing. They have no blood, but they have bones, so you'll only get as far as really bad crunches and squishes. But, since they're made of magic, things like that are usually fucking amazing when they blend with them.'_

She let out a breath, as they neared some woods ahead, now across the whole grand, snowy plain. ' _Fairies really are just parts of nature, aren't they? It's gotten to the point, where I just think of them dying in different ways as a part of the ambience. That kinda reminds me of how Marcus used to make a show out of mass murdering them…'_

...After some time, the sled was driven next to a very well-traveled path, which seemed to go around the side of the Human Village. ' _Hmm? What's this? Are we going to the fort?'_

'The fort' that she referred to was at the top of a hill right next to the village's walls. ' _Never knew why they couldn't just expand the village onto that hill, since it was always a topic of contention. Between the village, the guard, the villagers, and the youkai who kept trying to take the hill… you know, just so they could easily swoop into the village from there. It was always a fucking bloodbath, when the youkai inevitably camped out up there, and no one ever learned.'_

"Heyo~." Marisa finally spoke up. "We're almost at the temple, ze. Weren't we gonna hit the clinic…?"

"We can do that some other time." Reimu decided… "Mom might randomly tire herself out sometimes, but I'm getting tired of running around like this in general. I mean-... introducing her to the moon people would be _fun_ , but really involved. I'd wanna have a plan, or something, 'cause there's a lot to take in."

"And there _ain't_ at the temple?" The contrast made Marisa grin… "I guess they _are_ easier goin'."

"Yeah." Reimu nodded. "At least the temple doesn't have an atmosphere of general uneasiness and distrust."

"...Good poi~nt, ze." Marisa conceded…

' _What temple?'_ Sendai was left a little lost. ' _Since we're nearly there, I guess I'll see.'_

 _vrum- vrum- vrum- thunk._ Reimu slowed the sled, and drove it into the temple stairs. When it stopped, she powered it down, the rumble of the engine returning to peace.

...She stood after a gentle delay. "Yeah, uh, we're here."

Sendai stared up the stairs. At the top, the gate that greeted her was unfamiliar, as well as the walls that kept the crest of the hilltop. Also, she didn't even remember the stairs being there. ' _Uhm?'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

The stairs as a whole were neatly kempt, far much more than Sendai could say of her own shrine. ' _What is the scale of this place…?'_

At the very top, there was a path straight ahead. The temple stood tall and wide, like a small but well-fitting crown for the center of the not-insignificant hill. Each wall was of wood, but a stone foundation in the very midst seemed to keep the structure ordered, along with wood pylons along the outside.

The path was clear of any snow-related obstruction, or otherwise. Ahead, a small, earth green-haired girl sweeped the stone tiles with a little broom…

' _...She's not human, but she isn't really threatening either.'_ Sendai gave her a plain gaze. ' _Pretty cute, but that could be the trap…'_

"Hey, Kyouko." Reimu gave her a casual wave. "This is my mom. Don't ask, you'll learn when- later, you'll learn later."

...Kyouko became immensely confused immediately. "Um-... wait, what? Okay!?"

"Aw." Marisa's hat tilted at how fluffy Kyouko became. "That's not fair, Reimu. You know Kyouko can't handle something as sudden as that!"

"Ye- yeah, I can't!" Kyouko was quick to agree. "When'd you have a mom!?"

"Definitely not when I was born." Reimu jeered. "Anyway, we came to tour. Which is to say, kill some time."

"...Oo- oh." Taking this moment, Kyouko nervously sizes up the bigger miko stationed just next to Reimu. "Um-..."

She waved her arm up and down violently. " _HI, REIMU'S MO~M!"_

' _Oo- geez!'_ Sendai felt herself flinch involuntarily from the volume… _'She's- really loud!'_

...Reimu finished rubbing her ears. "You're gonna kill us like that, someday. You're lucky you're so small and fluffy."

' _She's… a yamabiko.'_ Sendai could now tell what type of youkai she was, largely by her sheer volume, but also by her specific kind of canine ears. ' _They were never an aggressive species. They didn't ever join any other youkai, and-... now that I think about it, they're pretty rare as a whole. I imagine their voice could still be used for evil, if they ever wished it, but...'_

Sendai reached forward, as if to pet her. ' _Even if she was out here as a trap, I'd still lump her with the likes of fairies.'_

Kyouko was receptive of the oncoming hand at first, before closing her eyes and accepting it. "Aa-... why?"

"You're cute." Sendai justified her invasion of her personal space.

"...Well, since you're Reimu's mom, I guess it's fine." Kyouko put up with it. "Just- don't make it a habit."

"I probably won't." Sendai didn't make any promises. "It's also to test how friendly you'd be. I was half expecting you to bite my hand."

"I _considered_ it." Kyouko confessed… "But, I decided it was a bad idea…"

"It probably would be." Reimu decided. Facing ahead, she began to meander towards the grand front of the temple.

It had a slight overhang, held up by a series of large, wood pillars. Within the midst, where the path met the structure, there was a large, open doorway with the sliders entirely removed. This made it seem particularly welcoming. ' _I'd call that bold, but since this thing's just stationed over one of the biggest strategic military points near the village, if not the biggest, it's really not bold at all.'_

While Reimu lucidly gravitated towards the front door, Kyouko turned to Sendai again. "So-... um… tour, huh?"

"Tour." Sendai's response was apt. "...If you'd like to know, it's because, well-... do you know I was dead for some time?"

...Kyouko's brows raised in worry. "Wh- what, do you mean? How? You were dead?"

'... _Maybe I shouldn't have said anything.'_ Sendai supposed she may have been better off not knowing.

"Um, yeah, spiritually." Sendai made up a lie to avoid an awkward explanation. "Really down for some time. Only came around recently."

"...O- oh." The realization made Kyouko smile awkwardly. "Eheh. You know, I thought you like- revived, or something. That'd have been silly of me."

' _Yeah.'_ Sendai gave the temple a blunt look. ' _Pretty silly.'_

...Marisa shot her a shifty look. Sendai got the urge to whap her hat off her head, but resisted. ' _As fun as that'd be, I don't feel like provoking her into mortal combat.'_

Noticing how restless everyone seemed, Kyouko mobilized towards the door more purposefully. "Anyway, I'll show you guys inside. I'll probably bail once we get someone else to lead you… 'cause, I gotta shovel more snow later, and, you know…"

"Why shovel snow, when you can just _blow it up?"_

From the entrance to the temple, a brown-haired man sauntered out. He was distinctly American, his gaze somewhere between anxious and, for some reason, aggressive.

...Kyouko wasn't put-off by the animosity he exuded. "Were you standing inside the door, thinking up a cool line again?"

His demeanor became became mostly anxious. "...Yes. But, if it was a _good line,_ then that shouldn't matter!"

"You use variants of it all the time." She gained a playfully aggressive look, herself. "You don't even _have_ _bombs_ , you maniac."

"I'm getting there." He gave a plain look to the other women in the area…

Reimu was instantly in his face, her gohei raised on her shoulder neutrally. "Keeping out of trouble, guy?"

" _Yes,_ miss-stick-up-the-ass. I-"

She thrust the gohei towards him, and he held his arms up when it stopped just before his neck. "I- I mean, in the context of, you _shoving it-..._ up _other people's_ asses."

"Uh huh." Returning her arm to a less threatening position, she began to walk off. "Well, c'mon guys. Let's go wander around."

"Hold on, hold on." The guy held up a hand, pointing it at Sendai. "Who's miss pointy-dress over here?" He referred to Sendai's pink-white, flared-up kimono-like dress.

"She's _Reimu's mom._ " Kyouko softly gestured to her. "She got back from an exile, I think."

"She- had a _what."_ He took a few steps back, sizing her up anew. "...Was the Hakurei Shrine formerly _pink?"_

"Fortunately not." Sendai clarified.

' _Looks like an outsider.'_ Returning to silence, she sized him up. ' _...He's got robes on similar to the yamabiko's. But, I sense no inhuman energies from him.'_

 _Fwap._ She plainly slipped an ofuda onto his leg with a discreet underhand toss, to find out. It failed to stick, fluttering off of him immediately. "Hmh?" He looked down for a moment, and failed to spot the talisman as it fluttered between his legs.

She got his attention. "You look like an outsider."

Snapping his gaze back onto her, he nodded. "...Because I am. And?"

"What kind of place is this temple?" Sendai figured he was probably the best person to interrogate of anyone, being an outsider. Men of his type would be more likely to let loose secrets they shouldn't, especially under youkai company. "What goes on, here? What is it called?"

He snorted. "The fuck're you, an inspector?"

"Yes." Sendai replied plainly.

...Smiling, he seemed to relax. "Well… this here is the Myouren Temple, home of buddhists and nuns, and happy crap. Disciples learn how to not eat humans, or if they're human, not kill youkai. Also, you can learn how to fight, and defend yourself. And, forget how we're all slowly dying. I'm not good at that last part."

"You're not very good at any of those parts…" Kyouko gained a look of unbelievable smugness that Sendai thought impossible for her.

Once she got over how smug Kyouko looked, Sendai furrowed her brows. ' _Disciples learn… how to not eat humans?'_

"Ah." Quickly, they were greeted in the doorway inside by another new face. "Rainmaker, Kasodani. How goes-..." She paused, seeing the other women.

She was a girl with short, golden blond hair. Her dress was full of autumn colors, and as she walked, she carried a large spear with a glittering, steel tip.

"Oh, hello, Hakurei." She gave Reimu a polite curtsy. "How are things?"

"Goo~d." Reimu replied plainly… "We came to kill time."

"Here?" She raised a brow, and smiled at her and Marisa. "...Could there be, an underlying reason, for this?"

"We're taking her on tour, of newer Gensokyo locations." Reimu gestured to her mother with her thumb. "She's my mom."

...At this idea, the golden-haired woman gave Sendai an examining look. "Your… mother? But, that's… impossible."

Reimu exhaled. "We'll explain over tea, or something, alright? Let us get out of this cold doorway… and, near a fire, or something."

"Oh, sure." At this, the woman turned away. "My apologies."

...While they moved further in, Sendai eyed Marisa, who seemed oddly observant, at the moment. ' _Hmm.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Warmth pulsed from the fireplace. Included was the gentle glow, the thematic _heat_ of flame in contrast to the absolute formality imposed by the cold lands outside.

Sendai sat cross-legged before the wall-mounted fireplace, as did Reimu. ' _Nice and warm…'_

More people had tacked along with their journey to the warm inner room than Sendai had initially considered. There was Kyouko and her friend, as well as the golden-haired woman, and a new associate of hers.

None of them really mattered, in the face of this nice, cozy fire. ' _Mmh. Always pretty good, compared to the outside. Even still, they both have a place.'_

"Stormy." Kyouko spoke up. "You should make us some tea~."

"Why _me?"_ He whined at her immediately. They were behind Sendai, near a fluffy red chair. "I _still_ do not have the life experience required to make a girly batch of _tea._ "

"That's why I'm makin' you make tea." Kyouko sassed him. "So you can learn more, and make more tea for me. It can't be harder than working with all those dumb chemicals you like playing with."

He snorted. "They're not just _dumb_ chemicals. They're _deadly_ chemicals! For a definition of deadly..."

Sendai paused. Something just set in, for her. Turning, she stared up at the man. "Your name- was _Stormy?"_

...After a moment of staring at her, he put his arms on his hips. "Yes?"

She slowly turned back to the fire. Her expression shifted to one of odd wonder, but also incredulity. ' _Eeh. The outside-... has adopted some seriously weird naming conventions.'_

Stormy stepped away, and Kyouko followed him. "Look, _I'll_ come with you this time…"

...When they far enough away, Marisa crouched down next to the two Hakurei maidens. "You guys're real snug, like this."

"Yeah." Reimu looked pretty sleepy, in front of the fire… "I could almost nap here."

"Say…" The golden-haired woman approached them, next. "Actually, let me introduce myself."

Sendai turned to her, and her tall, black-clad acquaintance. ' _As opposed to the guy from earlier, this woman is a youkai. I don't know what type.'_

"I am Shou Toramaru." She bowed slightly before Sendai. "I am the avatar of Bishamonten."

...Sendai turned to Reimu. "Who's Bishamonten, again…?"

Reimu gave a fluffy shrug. "Um."

"I think he's Buddha." Marisa put her hand on her chin…

Shou blinked. "No. That's-... that's not right at all. What could have even _given_ you that impression."

"Be nice to them, Shou." The woman with purple-to-brown gradient hair spoke up. "I doubt the cold of this day has been kind to them, and they have been travelling."

' _She can probably tell by the weathering of our clothes.'_ Sendai looked herself over, where her outfit was stained by the melted snow, from their ride, among other encounters on their way down of the mountain.

Reimu narrowed her eyes, only a little. "How did you know?"

The taller woman smiled. "I could tell by the staining on your clothes. You played in the snow on your way here, didn't you?"

' _...In a sense of the phrase, yeah. Also, I knew it.'_

"You could say that…" Reimu scooched away from the fireplace. "You look like you want something from us."

The next to bow was the taller woman. "I'm Byakuren Hijiri. I am the head priest of this temple. And, if I may be inclined… may I ask you for an introduction? Reimu's mother?"

' _Oh?'_ At that, Sendai began to engage her body. ' _Well… up and at 'em, then.'_

"Nn~h." Standing up, she stretched her back… "Ah." Facing the two women, Sendai stood idle, her great pink-white sleeves swaying with her subtle motions. "I am… the miko who came before."

"Tsukiko Hakurei." Byakuren finished for her. "You didn't like to give your full name, if I remember correctly."

' _And who the hell're you.'_ Sendai resisted the urge to pop a slight grin at that. ' _Someone who's done her research, I assume…'_

"I prefer being called by my occupation." Sendai requested.

Marisa slid up beside her, moving to lean on her shoulder. "An' I prefer callin' her _mommy!"_

 _thump._ Sendai jerked her body forward to evade her, letting Marisa fall aside her. "Nnfh!"

The antic made Byakuren's carefree smile widen a little. "Hakurei, then. I don't mean to appear confrontational, but..."

Sendai knew where this was going. "Not typical, is it? For someone to come back to life. It's as much of an event for me, as it is for everyone else."

"I'd _imagine…"_ Byakuren began tilting her head. "I've been cautioned that you were perhaps a doppelganger, but-... that couldn't be. That body of yours, that soul-... that _darkness._ Nothing about you is very typical."

Sendai put her arms on her own hips. "...Yeah. First time someone's told me that. Nice temple you have here, by the way. Interior decorating could use some work, but it's cozy."

"First time, you say?" Byakuren may have been amused, but Sendai had great trouble reading her eternal poker face. "Hmm. Do you mean that? I'm sorry, it's just that your earlier jest instilled doubt."

Her question made Sendai consider what was on her own mind. Instead of answering Byakuren's question, she asked another of her own. "Well, I'd _like_ to ask about… how it even works. This whole, 'youkai and humans' thing."

Byakuren nodded. "Aah. What would you like to know? Ah…" Turning away, she sighted a near door. "Why don't I illustrate it, with basic tour? If you'd like, of course."

...Sendai moved to follow. "Sure."

 _thu- thump._ Reimu stomped up to them like a trooper. "If I leave you two alone, you're going to get into a fight. I just have a hunch."

...Byakuren's poker face was half-broken for the first time from Sendai's perspective, her brows raising at the idea. "Oh…? Um. If you say so."

Marisa sprung into action, beaming as she ran off. "I'm gonna hit up the fridge! One of 'em, anyway…"

...Wordlessly, Byakuren began to move.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

"How do you see…" Sendai made idle chit-chat while they moved through the odd, plain beige halls. "When your eyes are that closed?" She referred to the way Byakuren's eyes always seemed to be closed, or nearly closed…

Byakuren didn't so much as face her to answer. "I don't."

...After a moment of Sendai's brows being raised, Byakuren continued. "Rather, that would probably be lying. It's more accurate to say, that I don't need them open. I know many ways of sensing presence, and I know techniques of light and color amplification. It's actually quite relaxing, not needing my eyes open. I'd recommend it, if you ever wanted to learn the magic involved. You have an incredibly versatile body, after all…"

' _She's nothing usual, either.'_ As they walked, Sendai sized her up. Byakuren was a youkai, and her body was absolutely brimming with magic, along with holy and dark potentials.

"In honesty…" Facing her as they went, Byakuren made 'eye contact' with her. "I'm very, very curious about you. This tour was sort of selfish of me, but I think it will satisfy both of our interests."

' _Not unusual either, at this rate.'_

Behind them, Reimu was following idly. She looked a little bored, but she seemed to be paying attention.

Soon, they came to a large room. It was mostly decorative, lined with couches, magi-lamps and chairs. The usable floor was in an S-shape, built over an exposed waterway.

As they passed it, Sendai gazed down off the rails of the wooden floor. The water was tinted blue, from lights kept along the wood and stonework beneath the water. ' _It looks deep… and good. Probably really cold...'_ Any room without fireplaces nearby was somewhere between the brisk outside and an actually warm temperature.

"Your dark affinity." Byakuren asked her first question of the walk. "What was its onset?"

"Necessity." Sendai decided to be honest. "I knew nothing of Hakurei techniques. I was faced with learning things, or dying. And… the focus on dark magic wasn't intentional. It was just, very natural. For me, it didn't require too much learning to jump into. It was an immediate tool, and I built off of it.

"Of course, if _my_ mother was alive, she'd probably be rolling in her grave about it. She always said, that I was smart enough to be stronger than her, and be like my grandmother. I never really knew about _that…_ but, I'm still kind of kicking myself for not learning our clan's techniques when I could."

...While she spoke, their walking pace had reduced drastically, and it was just now picking back up.

"I see…" Byakuren took a moment to reply, to all of that. "That felt surprisingly open."

' _Normally I'd be more reserved about it, but… Reimu's here, and I've really kind of stopped caring in general. Here's hoping it won't bite me in the ass somehow. I mean, this Byakuren chick read up on me anyway. There's probably some stupid biography about me out there by some crock or something. Maybe Marcus wrote one, or Akyuu has more on me than she lets on.'_

They stepped through a hall, and immediately came into a large common room…

 _cli- click!_ Two girls were playing ping-pong on a wooden table ahead. "Yeah- yeah!" A blue-haired girl was playing against a shorter, but quicker, grey-haired girl.

' _...Youkai.'_ Sendai gave them an unimpressed look. ' _Well, a youkai and what is probably a human. Playing some kind of sport. Never really seen that before. The sport, I mean. But, it's rather mundane for youkai to be playing it, too.'_

"One of the foremost tenets of our faith here relies on peace." Byakuren began speaking of the temple, as they moved through this common room…

 _cli- click!_ In the other direction, some human was playing pool with a pink-haired youkai of some vague type.

"Alright, lift!" Some phantom girl directed a bunch of humans- and a cat man- to lift an oversized anchor, in a large empty area of the room… "Now- lower it wit' out hurtin' yerselves…"

"Buddhism involves the release of worldly desires." Byakuren went on to explain. "But with this, also the release of vices, which are in essence corrupt desire. Self-defense and action in the name of discipline or justice is one thing, but violence with illicit intent is also very strongly frowned upon. Our faith is not one that is short-sighted enough to be bound to a single species, when at our core, we're simply all people at heart."

When they reached the far end of the room, the sailor phantom girl waved at them. "Oi, Byakure~n! Y'oughta show these new lads how to raise the anchor!"

Byakuren's eternal smile intensified as she waved her off. "Apologies, Murasa!"

...Then, she faced Sendai. "Unless, you would care to lift the anchor."

' _Wait, why are we lifting an anchor.'_ Sendai didn't quite catch that part…

-+- _Vs. Suspiciously Oversized Anchor_ -+-

Still, she was never one to back down from a challenge. ' _How'd I get talked into this…'_

Reimu, Byakuren, the general disciples and Murasa were all gathered around the half of the room where the event would commence.

After taking in the beige wood walls- with odd occasional shoji design interwoven into certain areas- Sendai centered her gaze on the big anchor that she was now right in front of. ' _I'll grab it from the bottom, and lift.'_

The common disciples spoke speculatively. "Who _is_ that?"

"She looks like Reimu-... actually, Reimu's _here!"_

"Maybe one of those freako Reimu wannabes from the village."

"Reimu wouldn't travel with one, would she?"

"If Jorizo _and_ that 'rainy' lughead couldn't lift the anchor, how the hell…"

In the midst of the noise, Reimu slowly wound herself up, raising her hands towards her face… and then, she yelled. " _Go, mo~m!"_

' _I- I think that's enough gauging the crowd.'_ Sendai took the silence after Reimu's yell as encouragement to begin.

 _Cra- crack._ She cracked her neck, then her knuckles. Taking in a deep breath of the temple air, she bent her legs, coming down to the bottom of the big, upright anchor. ' _Let's get started…!'_

Her black-tinted energy crept up her arms, when she slid her fingers under the metal of the giant anchor.

The pull upward began. " _Hnn~..."_

At first, she had great difficulty, only making slow progress. ' _Ho- holy fuck, this is actually-... this is fucking heavy…'_

 _Cr- crea~k._ The floor beneath her groaned, as her dark magic worked into her legs next. Lifting things was far from an unfamiliar sensation for her; a practice well-developed by shrine renovation, stair repair, general village work, trap construction before she knew how to fight, making things for herself to train with…

As such, her body almost inherently knew where to pack the dark magic to make things the easiest for her muscles. The energy pulsed from her purplish, pink pants like a mist. Most noticeably, her fingers too became pitch black, which was actually visible beneath her odd pink-white outfit.

" _Hnn- ngh…"_ She felt her heart pound, her body pulsing with energy as she raised the anchor more and more.

After enough struggle, she got the anchor raised to her waist. ' _Good-... start…'_

"Holy _shit,_ girl…" Murasa came up to her, from the side. "You can ah, stop if ya want. Already got farther than I thought ya would, so fast…!"

' _I'm not done yet…'_ She felt the magic in her body flowing like a stream of water, coming through her with each pulse of her heart. ' _If I time it right-... I should be able to get it up.'_

Beat, beat. Beat, beat. Beat, beat. She waited for the right pump of blood to get things going.

Then, it came. " _Haa~h!"_ Sendai roared, exerting a fraction of the power she remembered. Azure light flared from her chest, black visibly rushing beneath her clothing to meet her hands where they pushed up.

 _woosh!_ Small pulses of black came from her hands, making rings in the air. She made sudden, rapid progress, hefting the anchor over her head. " _Nn- nh…!"_

 _Cr- crack._ The floorboards beneath her just barely crumpled from the centralized weight, her pink sandals shifting uneasily.

 _Cla- clack!_ She had to change her footing quickly, for fear of compromising her balance. But, now that the anchor was above her head, the challenge had shifted entirely. Now it was more about keeping the weight central and at bay, rather than struggling with the actual weight.

' _Alright…! A little rough, but that's good! Thing was way heavier than I thought, but not heavy enough! Ha- haha!'_

"Hell's be~lls…" Murasa stared up at the anchor, which just barely threatened to clip the room's higher-than-normal ceiling. "What kinda youkai're _you?"_

Byakuren stepped up to them. "If you need help putting that down, I can-"

" _Hrah!"_ Sendai slammed it straight down, ignoring her.

 _WHAM- BOOM- CRACRACK!_ The huge, person-sized anchor bounced off the floor, some of the boards beneath it bouncing out of place with it.

Murasa leapt back from the impact. "Holy _shit!"_

 _Sendai obtained Potion._

 _Sendai obtained 1000 Yen._

 _Sendai obtained Strength Training I Certificate._

 _Sendai obtained pocket lint._

...Now just outside of the room, Sendai furrowed her brows at the green-tinted piece of paper. "I don't really have a use for this, but okay." It had been forced into her hands when everything was over.

"No~, take it!" Murasa refused her denial of the certificate. "Fucking hell! You _shat_ all o'er it!"

Sendai chuckled. "Wh- I, no…?"

Byakuren gave her a pitying look. "She… means you went far beyond expectations. Also, Murasa, watch your tongue."

"Ooh, sorry." Murasa very briefly became solemn. "Um. Freaking heck. You-... is _piss_ a curse?"

"It might as well be." Byakuren waved a finger at her. "If I were you, I'd simply start that sentence over. And-... preferably cut out the part about defecating on the activity."

Murasa snorted. "But that's half the fun!"

' _I was about to say, I didn't shit on anything.'_ ...Briefly, she retraced her steps that lead up to such a thought. ' _I guess I'm keeping the certificate. The cash is nice, and so is the potion.'_

"Anyway, see you two 'round, I suppose." Giving Byakuren a firm pat on the shoulder, Murasa marched off. "Gotta whip 'em monks inta shape!"

...Slowly, Byakuren turned in the direction she left. "Be… tactful, now. Oh, well."

It was hard to place the time of day, in here. ' _The magi-lights almost make the halls bright as day, but rooms are oddly dim and cool. Hmm…'_

It felt like a good time as any, for Sendai to make conversation. "Sounds like you got your hands full."

"Mmm…" With that, Byakuren began to lead her forward into the halls again. "You're quite powerful, aren't you?"

Following her, Sendai ran her gaze over her black-white dress. "If lifting an anchor qualifies as power, sure."

Byakuren hummed in agreeance. "Mmm. Well, certainly. Especially considering the reinforcement magic you used to get there. For someone who's lived as long as you, the way you used that magic was quite advanced."

Sendai took note of the way Byakuren's boots clicked against the wood floor. "Was it?"

"Certainly."

One brief hall transition later, and they had arrived at what seemed to be a kitchen. It was rather quaint, and none of the walls became shoji at any awkward points like in some of the previous halls and rooms.

The temple had a predominantly green interior color scheme too. ' _Green and brown…'_

"So." Sendai followed Byakuren to the central table, here. Byakuren herself seemed to move for the counters. "Would you say one of the big ideas here, is youkai-human coexistence?"

At this idea, Reimu perked up, still silently stalking them.

"That would be a basic component, yes." Byakuren returned to the table with a bowl of mandarins. "Mandarin?"

Sendai met her gentle gaze. "Do you think that's really _truly_ possible?"

She paused at that. "...Oh?"

"Some youkai may conceivably integrate seamlessly," Sendai began explaining, "but others are natural predators. Some are by instinct, and others are, at their basest, carnivorous. I don't know how kind this era has been to youkai of-... those kindred sorts, but I see nothing but trouble even trying."

"That's quite audacious of you." Byakuren sat down before her, and Sendai took the seat across from her. "Then, when you passed through that previous room, did you only see enemies?"

"I saw threats." Sendai provided. "Well. That's wrong, actually. I saw possibilities."

Byakuren's brows shifted. "Possibilities?"

"I consider how people might be a threat to me, or those I love." While speaking, Sendai leaned onto the table. "I don't know how long you've hung around here, but I come from an era where nothing was certain. You didn't climb a mountain to have a tea party with your friends. There weren't just meet 'n' greets with most youkai… and, in _my_ experience, as the Hakurei shrine maiden, if you weren't careful, and if you didn't work hard, you could have everything taken away from you."

...Claiming a mandarin from the bowl ahead, Byakuren's smile shifted into a more neutral one. "Were humans of that era not terrible, too? Are they still not?"

Sendai shook her head. "No, they were terrible then. They're still terrible now. I've had just as many issues with the human condition as I've had with youkai brutality. I'm just saying, if there's one thing I've discovered, it's that the mind of some youkai _does not_ operate synonymously with a human's. Some youkai are people, some are almost people, and some…"

She huffed, as she was allowed to continue. "Some are the furthest thing. I consider them less than human. I just can't empathize with an existence that values itself on another level than me, or those I know."

...Byakuren chewed on a mandarin in silence. Reimu had taken a nearby seat, gazing at a pale orange magi-lamp over the interior temple room.

"Myself, I like to not take chances, when it comes to certain things. I don't trust humans _or_ youkai." Sendai expressed. "I'm willing to give this era a chance, 'cause of my daughter here." She gestured to Reimu. "If you'd been here twenty years ago, I might have personally torn this temple to the ground. Depends on the impression I'd get from it."

Byakuren snorted. "If anything, this temple of mine would have had greater immediate use those years ago, when youkai were more volatile. Which is to say, this day and age… you have _less_ to worry about, I would say."

' _Less, huh.'_

"Speaking of threats…" Byakuren smiled at Sendai again. "In truth, I've been honestly scared of you the moment you showed up."

Sendai snorted. "Really?"

"I didn't know how much of the older Gensokyo you'd bring back with you." She stated. "I didn't know if you had some kind of vendetta against youkai, or not. There's not much documented about you."

This was the point where Reimu spoke up. "Why were you reading up about her, anyway?"

...Byakuren slowly met her gaze. "Well, because I was trying to find out more about you. As we're fellow leaders of faith, I wanted to know more, especially when you've been so aloof."

"There's probably a reason I didn't answer any of your questions." Reimu countered. "I don't really have a problem with this place… I just don't want to associate with _you._ "

' _Guess Reimu's not friendly friends with just anyone. That's kind of a relief.'_

There was nothing Byakuren had to say to that, in particular. She kept eating her mandarin.

Once she finished her bite in silence, she spoke up again. "I want to look out for you, Reimu. Sometimes, it just seems like-"

"I never asked for your damn handouts." Reimu frowned at her. "Pushing it's not going to make me trust you more."

...Byakuren looked down at the table. "I know. I'm sorry."

...Sendai let out a breath. "If anyone's gonna be looking out for Reimu, it'll be me."

Both other girls suddenly gave off an impression of ironic surprise, like they'd just noticed her. It was like their tried and repeated argument had suddenly been intercepted by an entirely new dynamic.

"Yeah." Reimu began to grin at Byakuren. "Can't play the saint now, huh? Now _mom_ can look after me. You don't have to feel obligated to do anything."

...Byakuren snorted. "I guess not. Perhaps I'll speak with your mother about it later, then."

Sendai leaned back in her firm wood chair. "...If you mean to tell me I need advice on raising my daughter, I'm not going to be happy."

"Consider it some conversation, then." Byakuren compromised. "I like talking."

Sendai snorted again. "I can see that."

Awkward silence settled onto the conversation's end.

...The dim temple room drew Sendai's idle gaze. ' _This lighting… I always feel like I'm near the outside, but this temple's actually really built into itself. Weird.'_

"So." Byakuren tried to make it less awkward. "I've read of your recent exploits, Hakurei. As well as the disagreement you had with the Scarlet Devil Mansion."

Sendai munched on a mandarin from the straw-woven bowl ahead. ' _Mmm…'_

She made one last declaration. "I don't want you making any trouble here."

...Once Sendai had downed her bite, she collected her voice. "As long as no one here starts trouble with me."

"I doubt anyone would have serious disputes to raise with you." Byakuren smiled wider. "And, with your strength, I'm sure you could set things right. From one physical fighter to another."

...Sendai smirked back. "Oh? You think you're good at hand-to-hand, huh?"

"Mhm." Byakuren's nod was almost eager. "You know. This temple, aside from being devoted to Buddhism, is devoted to the god Bishamonten."

"I _still_ don't know who that is." Sendai shook her head…

"He is a god of treasure, warfare, and the punishment of evil." Byakuren explained. "To that end, our little settlement here prioritizes self-defense in addition to the typical rites. It's sort of lucky, that we fell into Gensokyo with such a mindset. Were we a more pacifist-oriented sect, we might not be as well off as we are today."

' _If he's so cool, why does he only have an avatar here?'_ Sendai's expression became more plain, the more she thought about it…

"If there's ever anything you need help with, let me know." Byakuren assured Sendai.

However, Sendai was getting tired of being serious. "You're beginning to sound like a broken record. You ever do anything for fun around here?" She came to a realization. "Where's the booze?"

"No booze." Byakuren waved a finger at her. "At least, none that I know of. As I've said… Buddhism is about the release of worldly desires."

"Lame." Folding her arms onto the table, Sendai expressed how she didn't really care for something like that.

"Around here, disciples often train or socialize. We offer good food, and as you saw earlier, numerous places of recreation." She gave Sendai two hopeful nods.

"What do _you_ do for fun." Sendai clarified. "As in, you. Hopefully not pray all day."

She snorted. "Well, I pray sometimes. I lead the disciples in prayer, ensure the temple is in working order, and keep the peace. My reverence here attests to my efforts."

"Do you spar?" Sendai wondered.

"...Sometimes." Byakuren couldn't deny it. "Often with Shou. Or, Toramaru, if you prefer."

That seemed interesting, to her. "What of the other disciples?"

Posed with this question, it took Byakuren some seconds to consider the notion. "I spar with them on rare occasion. Usually, it is Shou who handles disciples, for she is better suited at combat education than I. My specialty is magic."

This interested Sendai, to an extent. ' _Magic…? She was making a big show out of being a hand-to-hand person, earlier. Unless… she also spoke of body reinforcement techniques, and my own methods. She must specialize in magic like that, then.'_

"I… might be interested in that." Sendai stated her interests vaguely.

Byakuren stood. "I think I know where to take you next. Follow me."

...While she softly stepped away, Reimu lunged onto the table, stealing from the mandarin bowl.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

 _Crea~k._ This normal door which Byakuren pushed open lead to the outside. The outside sun was far brighter than the interior, day-like lighting.

There was little snow to be seen out on this building-locked courtyard. The temple seemed to be built around this land intentionally, to create the outdoor space. The walls were high, blocking a good fraction of the sun, leaving the clearing with an oddly weighty atmosphere.

 _Clack!_ Ahead, Shou was in the midst of the clearing. She was wielding a regular wood staff instead of her spear, and she'd brought it down on the crossed arms of that Stormy guy seen by Sendai earlier.

He reached forward to grab for it, but Shou had slipped it back too fast-

 _Whack!_ Then, she brought it down onto his head. " _Nghk!"_

 _thud._ He was forced into sitting down from the force. "Aa- an- gh… ngh- damn…"

"You're not focused today, for some reason." Shou adopted a non-aggressive posture, while he sulked. "Why is that?"

"I- I don't _know…_ " His reply was defensive. "I'm just-... I'm thinking of my _other ambitions,_ is all."

"You shouldn't forget your _training."_ She stomped closer. "Your affixation on outsider technology will only get you so far, especially in the face of a youkai like me. Or, do I need to remind you how weak you _used_ to be?"

"That's- okay…" He began to get back up. Wiping his nose with his arm, he stood again. "Alright. I-..."

"Sho~u." Byakuren sauntered up to them, Sendai aside her. "...Reimu's mother here seems interested in sparring."

...Shou pursed her lips, running her gaze up Sendai's form. "Ah. Hmm. All I remember of her, is that she's supposed to be a strong close combatant. I take the rumors with a grain of salt."

"Mmm." Byakuren didn't bother correcting her. "If you doubt her ability, why not pair her up with Stormy, here? He's a strong boy now, after all."

"Why _boy?"_ He questioned her diction…

...Sendai gave him a plain look. ' _Not very impressive looking. About as built as a human villager.'_

Shou smiled. "I think he'd rather like that. This will give him a good chance to train against a bigger, slower opponent."

' _What, hey.'_ Sendai didn't appreciate the underestimation. ' _You're not doing your pupil any favors here.'_

...Since everyone began to stare at Sendai expectantly, she let her body posture sway a little. "Sure."

-+- _Vs. Stormy Rainmaker, the Vain Unenthused Disciple_ -+-

Shou, Byakuren, and Reimu stood together near the front of the courtyard. Across from them, Stormy and Sendai stood opposing one another, arms raised for combat.

"A hand-to-hand user too, hmm?" He began to smirk. "...How _frilly_ your outfit is. Did you pay a tailor good, for that?"

"Yes, actually." Sendai cracked her neck, then her knuckles.

' _Let's see if I can practice my speed, like this. It is a spar, after all. If that doesn't work, I can always just… kick his ass, the old-fashioned way.'_

Now, she stretched her arms, and twisted her torso back and forth. Wind wrapped around her limbs, despite the limited quantity of it there was within the temple-shielded courtyard.

 _Fwish! Fwish!_ His form lit up with orange and gold energy, rings of light now guarding his fists. "Ready when you are, rich girl!"

' _Rich girl…?'_ Sendai was sort of confused by the verbal jab, but ignored it. ' _Alright.'_

She bolted from her standing position, cutting the wind with her run.

He blinked once, and she was already right before him. "Wh- ah!" He thrust a palm out on reflex to meet her.

 _Fwi- fwish!_ With a jerk of her body, her sandals skidded across the grass of the courtyard, kicking it up. She got behind him in two jolts of her muscles, forming a half-circle-esque motion around him.

 _Pap- whap!_ While his attempt to palm-thrust her was still in motion, she instantly began assaulting him from behind. She jabbed two fists into the back of his head, and it seemed to freak him out. "Ow- _what- the ff-"_

 _Pap- pap!_ She hooked either arm into his sides, stopping his first attempt to pivot around. He tried to run forward instead-

 _Whack!_ She slid forward on her sandals, smoothly connecting an uppercut with the back of his head. " _Ghu-_ fuck!"

Finally, he twisted his upper body around, ignoring the fact his legs were still facing ahead, as he tried to fight back by pushing an arm out. "Get the-"

 _Whack!_ She slid her left leg up along his side, connecting it with his ass, which was just postured to receive it.

Before he could fall over, the strike throwing him towards his chest, she instantly flicked her right leg up ahead, higher than her left.

 _WHAM!_ This blow to his chest let his legs slide out from under himself, and he flopped onto his back. " _Ungh!"_

' _...Alright.'_ Stepping back, Sendai walked in place, her limbs seemingly weightless in the breeze. ' _That… wasn't challenging at all.'_

"I'm- not fucking- ngh…!" He fought back onto his legs. "I'm not through with you, _bitch girl!"_

Sendai had an idea. ' _You know…'_

 _woosh._ Her wind left her form, returning to the courtyard in a spiralling motion. Stormy's robes blew slightly in response.

 _Cra- crack._ Cracking her neck, then her knuckles, she felt strength return to her arms, and as she stepped to posture herself, her legs regained the weightiness they used to have. ' _Alright. Let's spook him.'_

"Let me have _one blow_ on you." He shot a sickly grin, as he marched closer. "I'll bet you _cannot_ take it!"

...Sendai poised her arms at her sides. "Alright."

He blinked. "...Wait- really?"

"Yeah. Hit me." She felt her sandals firmly plant themselves into the soil. "Anywhere. Take your best shot."

His grin grew huge. "...We- well, okay then!"

 _Fvi~- Fvi~sh._ He held both arms out wide, rotating them parallel to one another. "First time I'll get good use- outta _this…_ "

 _Woosh._ He held one palm open, facing his left. His left fist was brought back, shaking at his side, as it gained many more gold rings of light around it. " _Hnngh…"_

He met Sendai's gaze, his brown eyes now shining a bright gold. " _Tiger Palm!"_

' _I've seen this before…!'_ Sendai recognized the technique. ' _But- can he really-'_

 _WOOSH._ He thrust forward in an instantaneous motion.

Sendai clenched her gut ahead of time, her magic flooding there on impulse. ' _This is gonna be-'_

 _WHA- CRUNCH._ The palm met her abdomen, a visible ripple of force roaring through her entire body.

" _Fwu- kaugh…!"_ The saliva in Sendai's mouth exploded outward, as she hunched forward. _"Ngh…"_

Stormy held his arm where it struck, as she leaned towards it. "He- heha _ha!_ How- how was _that_ for ya, you wind-britched-... bitchy..."

As she leaned, she very obviously had her own left arm ready at her side, flaring with azure energy. By all accounts, this motion she prepared was telegraphed miles in advance, the flare of her spiritual energy giving it away if nothing else.

He finally noticed the arm. _"Shit…!"_ He dragged his arm back, away from her.

 _WOOSH._ Sendai swung her arm, for a fully primed left hook.

 _WHA- CRA- CRACK!_ Her fist scraped across his cheek, throwing his entire head and upper body with the motion.

 _Woo- woo- woosh!_ The momentum went even further. His form spun around, whisked well off its feet. " _Wh- aa…"_

 _THUD._ He landed awkwardly, upon one of his arms, on his side. "Nnh…"

Sendai's body pulsed. She was about to stomp towards him, and either stomp on him, or kick him in the ribs, but stopped herself before the impulse could come to fruition. ' _I- don't think… that's kosher, here…'_

...Since he didn't get back up, she put her arms on her hips. ' _Wait, was that it?'_

 _Sendai obtained pocket lint._

 _Sendai obtained Toramaru Protein Shake._

The odd brown and white mixture drew an uneasy look out of Sendai. "This-... is supposed to be food?" She twirled the liquid around experimentally, watching how honey-like its viscosity seemed to be...

Shou nodded at her. "How did you sustain such a body, if you're this picky? I assure you, it will help you get your energy back."

Byakuren stepped back up to the girls, smiling peacefully. "I've delivered him to the healers. They said it was nothing big, but he might take a day for his neck to fully recover, with our body-sensitive healing methods…"

Sendai snorted. ' _Man. He gives me one good hit, and he couldn't even take any back. What a wimp.'_

...With nothing else to lose, she brought the shake to her lips. ' _Hopefully this has more of a kick to it than he did.'_

"Mmh…" She tilted her head back, and began drinking.

' _...Oo- oh, fuck…'_ Naturally, the taste left something to be desired. ' _I- I take it all back- fuck, fuck…'_

"Mm- mgh-... kgh…" She coughed a little, downing it.

...Reimu slapped her arm on her mother's back. "Easy there."

Once she had three-fourths of the drink down, she gave up. ' _Holy shit. Now I'm really pissed off…!'_

Sendai had half a mind to chuck the green tempered glass at Shou. "Thi- this shit… oh my god. What the hell is this _garbage?"_

Shou was simply mirthful at her irate demeanor. "It was not made to be consumed for pleasure, Hakurei. It was made to be efficient."

This wasn't an idea that could be agreed on at all, at the moment. "Wh- what the hell's the point of it, then…!? Ugh…!"

' _I don't mind my bad-tasting medicine, but-... the first thing that comes to mind when I think 'winding down after a fight' is not 'brown gruel that tastes like dogshit'!'_

"I think mom's more used to _actual food_ as a meal, or after anything." Reimu voiced her idea to the women. "Rather than, you know, whatever that crap is."

"Food's pretty important, you know." Sendai preached her food beliefs to the women. "I'm happy with a damn good meal any day. This _protein shit_ feels like it's mocking the very idea, by being considered a non-medicinal drink."

"Amen." Reimu wholeheartedly agreed, too.

Byakuren let her brows curl up. "Aren't you being rather unfair, though? Shou put care into presenting you that drink."

"Unfair unshmair." But, Sendai wasn't taking 'no' for an answer. "When it comes to food quality, I'll tell it like it is."

"I won't fault her for her honesty." Shou didn't seem to care, either. "It's not a secret that ease of consumption was not the intent. It's her opinion, really."

"Come to think of it," Byakuren brought a hand to her own cheek, "I haven't talked with Murasa about dinner, yet. Perhaps you two would like to stay the evening?"

Sendai shook her head. "No."

Reimu nodded. "Yes."

...The two Hakurei family members began a game of judging stares.

"They make better real food." Reimu argued. "They also don't let Shou there do the cooking. It's free, too."

Folding her arms, Sendai was placated. "Okay, fair enough. Since this is a large temple situation, will there be a menu, o~r…?"

"Ya _kno~w…"_ That's when another voice joined them. "There's a way t'get people their protein _an'_ have it taste good! S'called feedin' 'em right!"

Shou gave a flat look in the direction of the voice. "Hello again, Murasa. Dinner is not for a few hours, is it not? Shouldn't you be getting ready?"

"Aah, I got time." Murasa waved her off, and adjusted her sailor hat. "I was stalkin' around, ta see how pinkie o'er here was gettin' along wit' the temple! Saw 'er land a good one on ol' Stormboy, too."

Sendai took in the bright sun, while they all stood in the shade of the overhang that stretched all around the edges of the courtyard.

"Big maiden, I'll tell ya what." Murasa spoke directly to Sendai. "I'll be whippin' up a _mean_ miso soup an' steak combo this evenin'. Actually, Reims, why don'cha take her ta meet Ichirin? You guys're good-ish pals, last I remember…"

"Reims…?" Reimu furrowed her brow at the nickname. "And, well, we get along-"

"Cool! See ya t'night!" With that, Murasa sprinted off.

...Sendai tilted her head. ' _I haven't questioned it yet, but why is she a sailor? There's only one good-sized lake in Gensokyo.'_

"I'm probably going to practice my motions." Shou began to stalk off. "Don't wait for me."

...Byakuren came closer to Sendai. "If you don't want to kill time with Reimu and her friend, we could go make some tea elsewhere."

Sendai raised a brow at her strange offer.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Out of curiosity, Sendai accepted what she had in mind. Reimu supposed that her mother couldn't possibly get into trouble at this rate, so she wasn't needed to chaperone their resulting movement.

' _Reimu could probably use a breather, anyway.'_ Sendai figured, as they walked. ' _She's tied herself to my ankle ever since we set out, pretty much. And, spending time with her is fun, but we're also exploring these new locations. New for me, anyway.'_

Soon, they came up to a shoji-style door; as in, one that slid, mounted in the midst of other paper walls. ' _I don't get the interchanging shoji, but it might be because the actual hard wall layout differs from their intents.'_

 _shoof._ Byakuren slid it open. "Come on inside. I have a set for brewing tea."

Sendai followed her in. It was a bedroom, with a large futon kept to the left. On a counter to the right, there was a tea set there as advertised, as well as a boy of some sort.

' _Um…'_ Sendai wasn't sure why he was here. ' _Is this his room?'_

"Oh." Byakuren sighted him. "I didn't know you would be here, Kei."

He had plain brown monk robes on, and short blonde hair. Instead of the generic short-bob cut most boys his age had, his hair was slightly long, styled flat along his head but splaying out near the bottom. It didn't so much as reach past his shoulders, so it wasn't oddly long by any means; just enough to get him a sort of cute flair to the back of it.

He smiled at Byakuren. "Oh, yeah. I've just been working on that device I was talking about…"

Reaching behind himself, he drew a pocket watch-like object. "I've been making use of that magic you taught me. It's gonna be a device that lets people sense when others are near them."

"Um…" Byakuren's smile became more natural than it had been all day, and Sendai took note of this. "That's called a 'radar'. There's numerous spells for that sort of thing, already."

"I know there's spells and tech that kinda do it." He reasoned. "It's just-... I want to make a more self-sufficient device. Something that can't be syphoned away so easily, something that doesn't take electrical power."

...Byakuren's smile became parts adoring, and parts amused. "Well. If that's what you choose."

"Who is he?" Sendai asked.

...They both turned to her, but Byakuren instantly had an answer. "A friend of mine."

He seemed intimidated, as he sized Sendai up. "U- um…"

"A friend, huh." Sendai propped an arm on her own hip… "Is he a brother, or a son, or something?"

"Nn- no, nothing like that." Byakuren shook her head. "Hmm. Although, I can't help, but imagine his resemblance to my brother Myouren. It's really quite remarkable."

Kei blushed. "Um-... hi." Getting out of his chair, he pulled his shirt down to mask something, as he came up to Sendai. "I- I should, introduce myself, right?"

Byakuren shook her head. "She is nothing like Mamizou, I assure you. Don't, um- she's a 'proper guest', you see?"

"Oh!" He nodded gladly. "Well, don't mind me, then. I'll just be… here."

...This exchange left Sendai with more questions than answers. ' _Something is weird between these two, but I can't place what.'_

Moving up to her bed, Byakuren patted the side of it. "Do you mind if I called you Tsukiko?"

"Yes." Sendai nodded. "I mind being called Tsukiko by anyone."

Byakuren briefly shot her an inquisitive look, or at least as well as her poker face could hint at one. "Even your lover?"

Sendai frowned. "Let's not bring him up. Especially when you know nothing of him."

 _Cr- creak._ Byakuren sat down, and locked gazes with her again. "I read that he was a kind and caring husband."

"Congratulations." Sendai cued silent fanfare. "Unfortunately, you're not my lover, so you don't have that privilege."

"Mmm." She hummed back. "...I apologize for being so abrasive. It's just, seeing the parallels between myself and you, I'd figured you would have been less raw about the ordeal."

...Shifting uncomfortably, Sendai let out a breath. "It really wasn't that long ago. What do you mean, 'parallels'?"

"I lost my brother some time ago, you know." Byakuren informed her of her own loss. "...Even though it's been so many years, I can't help but still feel sad, sometimes."

"...What, you want me to cry about it?" Sendai wasn't sure where this was all going. "That sucks, but it really means nothing to me."

...The two girls looked ahead at the boy, who was giving them an odd stare.

"Forgive me, Byakuren, but um…" He gained a lopsided grin. "This is the least smooth one of your negotiations has gone ever."

Byakuren nearly broke her smile into a grin, at that, which almost made Sendai flip out. ' _Woah. Now that I'm used to her stone face, seeing her emote is kind of weird…!'_

"You'd be surprised." Byakuren countered. "I don't know why I'm so tactless, today. Perhaps I'm too used to dealing with more formal types of people, at this point."

...Since no one was using it, Sendai moved to make the tea herself. ' _Might as well get this started. Damn, this is awkward!'_

"Ah- let me help…" Byakuren got up from the bed, to assist her.

And so, they silently got to work on the tea set, occasionally bumping hands as they both impatiently worked it.

' _This is getting ridiculous.'_ It was after the sixth time they pushed their arms against one another that Sendai began getting incredulous… ' _It's like some cosmic force is at play, here. Like- how could this be going this unevenly…?'_

"Um. Look." Byakuren seemed to drop all of her defensive, rigid posture as she turned to her, even letting her eyes open. "I get the feeling we'd probably have some things to talk about, and your whole situation seems-... while not the _exact_ same, a little similar to mine. And, as an older woman, you're more mature than your daughter. I think we could be friends."

' _That's at least direct.'_ While unsure of where the tone change came from, Sendai appreciated it…

"Are you really this desperate for someone relatable…?" Sendai furrowed her brows. "I'm forty, and I get by just fine on my own, mostly. You seem to have some cool friends, like I do, and that should be enough. Unless, you're more extroverted than me."

"I'm over a thousand." Byakuren clarified. "I keep track of my age by the decades, now. Even if my friends and followers have become oddly familiar with my actual birth date..."

...That sort of changed things. "Oh." Sendai blinked at her. "...Alright, I guess I can see how things would get old, then."

"You came back from death." Byakuren stepped back from the tea set. While they talked, they'd actually managed to sort it out. "That's something even more remarkable than the complete luck by which I was freed from eternal imprisonment."

Sendai snorted. "Eternal imprisonment…? What the hell did you do?"

Byakuren smiled. "Well. The humans of the area had witnessed my magic, and the way I befriended youkai. After years of resent, when I patrolled this land and did what I did, they demanded help from a shrine maiden I'd even befriended, to use a power I leant to her to seal me away. My ideas of human-youkai coexistence were… mutually unwelcome by both sides, at the time."

' _Ah. If what she says is true, then she was trying to go around vouching for peace. I might want some more opinions on that, because it almost seems too idealistic to be true. I could totally see it, though.'_

"How many years ago was that?" Sendai wondered…

"Around one hundred years ago, if not a little over…" Byakuren shook her head. "It was before the land of Gensokyo had formed, but as my sealing was conducted in this area, it must have been some years before tensions escalated. The one who sealed me then was a young maiden of incredible power."

Sendai had a hunch. "What was her name?"

 _Cre- creak._ Byakuren sat down on the bed again. "Kiyoko."

' _Grandma.'_ Sendai had suspected it, from her description and from the era this happened.

"I remember when I met her, too." Byakuren stared into the air. "She was a sweet young girl. Very aloof. While she was treading along a path outside this large village, she was assaulted by a youkai, and had her possessions stolen. I'd convinced the youkai to return her possessions, and travel with me. It turned out she was desperate for survival; the local village's youkai exterminating religion having driven those unaffiliated with a faction or family to barbarism.

"When I returned her possessions, I granted her a jewel. She told me she was of the Hakurei clan, and she wanted a solution to the violence. The jewel let her seal any youkai she sufficiently weakened or syphoned, banishing them to Makai, so that they may have another chance at living."

 _Creak._ Sendai sat down, next to her. "...Backfired pretty hard, huh."

"Four years later, she was a young teenager." Byakuren nodded. "She faced off with me, clad in full Hakurei maiden regalia. Gensokyo wouldn't be made for… some decades after that day. She cleaved through my associates; Shou, Murasa, Ichirin, Nazrin. She wasn't happy, but she was certain that sealing me was an immediate obstacle in her path of becoming a true shrine maiden. So, that was what she did. She at least had the courtesy to spare my followers, and friends."

"Kiyoko would be my grandmother." Sendai considered. "...I don't know a whole lot about her. Just, that she was very brutal, very efficient, and very smart. My mother said she was… not always ideal for a mother, but was very efficient in arming her with knowledge as a Hakurei."

...Byakuren's brown eyes met Sendai's again. "Aah… it's funny how it turns out, isn't it? I don't like hearing about her. It's a really crushing story."

Sendai rose a brow. "Is it? I mean, it's kind of weird. You said she was trying for peaceful resolutions, right?"

"Yeah." Byakuren nodded. "That's why it's depressing. She grew up quiet, of herself, and just-... despite my intentions, and the contact I kept with her, she became a nightmare. She's killed more youkai than any exterminator that I know of in history. She became exactly what the clan wanted of her, and then some. And then some, and then some..."

' _Kiyoko Hakurei. The woman-... who lead the clan to seal the oni beneath the earth, and the woman who created Gensokyo. I kind of wish I met her… but at the same time, maybe not. Considering she named my mother Seinarubeki, or 'holy weapon'. It's about as shitty as the name she gave me. 'Child of the moon'. Egh.'_

"I just wish, it could have been different." Byakuren simply looked displaced. "...But. It's in the past now, I guess. And, if things hadn't gone the way they did, I don't know if we would have the Gensokyo we do today."

"...Probably not." Sendai supposed. "I guess that'd kinda suck. Not existing, and all."

Byakuren grinned. "Kinda? I feel as though not existing would be particularly… I don't know."

"I'd feel nothing, because I wouldn't exist." Sendai supposed. "But, not feeling anything would also suck. Because, you know, life has its highs and lows. It'd take some shitty luck for me to wish I'd just die, and even shittier to wish I was never born."

"What kind of shitty luck?" Byakuren began to lean back… "Unh." She flopped onto the bed.

"I've heard stories of shrine maidens getting raped, back when there was actually a Hakurei clan." Sendai provided. "Usually by getting caught by youkai, or trapped, or jumped. Modern days, there was actually something really fucked up in the village going on. If anyone knew what chloroform or good sleep spells were, I probably coulda ended up _someone's_ bitch before even getting my bearings. Woulda really wished I was dead, then."

...Byakuren sat back up, looking worried. "That's-... _really_ morbid, actually. Is the village that bad?"

"Was." Sendai stated. "We sort of smoothed it over. Keine should be on top of it, now. I had to crack some skulls, but… we'll see."

"Ah…" Byakuren slowly lied on her back, again… "Well… I always knew the village was a degree of terrible. But, I could never do anything significant about it. It was very set in its ways, and as an outsider to their culture and area of action, I had no place in suddenly demanding changes. I only have as much influence as the faith allows."

Kei spoke up, from the table ahead. "And-..."

He turned to face them. "I requested, that she not put herself in danger. There are far greater powers at play in the village than- I think- anyone understands."

Sendai's expression was vague. "If it's about that rabbit team, we kicked its ass in one night."

He shook his head. "Rabbits? I knew of them for some time. No, I implore you to ask-... er, I mean, think about it. Who could have orchestrated such a thing? ...If- if you don't know, it's really not my place to say. Just, be very careful in the village. Don't poke around where you shouldn't."

' _I'll poke around as I damn well please.'_ ...Still, she heeded his advice. ' _Carefully.'_

"Well." Byakuren heaved a sigh as she lied, her legs still off the edge of the bed. "If you have it under control, I guess it's out of my hands. Are you too compelled by a sense of righteousness?"

...It took Sendai a second or two to figure out what the hell she meant. "You mean like, 'compulsive hero disorder'? Yeah, it happens."

Byakuren giggled. "Ehehe."

...After a moment, she spoke again. "I think I know what made Kiyoko change."

"Hmm?" Sendai turned to her, and looked over her body.

"There _was_ an old Hakurei tradition." She retold. "There _was_ a common coming-of-age ritual. They had to cut the throat of a bound youkai, to acclimate their young to the idea of death."

"That's… kinda fucked." Sendai didn't really agree with the idea. "I don't imagine that'd change me, though. I'd probably just think it was fucked up."

"Tru~e." Byakuren consented. "Even so, it was indicative of the climate. Considering what she became… she embraced it hard."

"Mmm." Sendai nodded. "I'm not sure if we'll ever find out what did it. It was probably pretty screwed up. That, or she was just so weak-hearted it wrapped around into being psychotic."

...Sendai met Byakuren's eyes, as she lied there, her gaze soft, arms spread. ' _She's-... a little comfortable there, isn't she?'_

"Do you ever get lonely?" Byakuren asked of her.

"You know that's not a fair question." Sendai shifted her stare, still meeting her eyes. "Obviously. But, I deal with it."

Byakuren's chest shifted, as she breathed in and out again. "As have I. But, even I have my limits. I've indulged myself more than ever, these past years. And, speaking like this, I sound like such… a hypocrite. But, it takes hypocrisy to mend the hearts of the misguided, you know? Or, as they say… 'it takes one to know one'."

Sendai snorted, and scooted back on the bed, bringing her legs up onto it. "Oddly honest, of you. I think friends make you weaker."

Byakuren rose a brow. "Oh?"

She went on to argue her point. "When they're in pain, you attempt to empathize with the pain they feel. When they act out unexpected, they run the risk of hurting you, if you get the wrong impression of the situation. While that may be your own fault… well, one solution is not being friends with anyone to begin with."

"But, you share their joy as well." Byakuren countered that philosophy. "Their dreams, their love and their hope. That surely can't be an unjust thing."

"Justice and morality really have no place here." Sendai shook her head, and leaned against the wall next to the bed by scooting back far enough. "It's preference and perspective. Sure, you have fun with them-... but, depending on how close you let them come, there's always a risk. And, personally, I feel like I'm tough enough to take that risk, but a lot of idiots have never considered such a thing."

...At this, Byakuren stared at the ceiling.

"I say this, about the villagers." Sendai considered. "Even at their most harmless, they think about little other than surviving, and their family. Their life can be thoughtless and simple. Of course, that's not all of them-... but it's a _lot_ of them."

"Ah, society." Byakuren spoke almost wistfully. "You would hate the outside world."

"...I bet."

Sendai began to get relaxed, lying down onto the bed, too. ' _This place is cozy… and, when she's not freaking out, this nun's awfully peaceful to be around.'_

' _How I tire-... thinking of caution, and strategy. I hope Reimu's right about this new era. If it's not as peaceful as she said, she'll be the first ass I kick.'_

"Tsukiko." Byakuren spoke up.

"Don't call me tha~t." Sendai chastised her. "Do you ever learn."

"No."

Rolling onto her side, Byakuren slung her left arm forward, and wrapped it around Sendai's abdomen. This simultaneously pulled her closer, and Sendai towards her.

It took Sendai a moment to realize what was going on. ' _...Wait.'_

Byakuren hugged her from the side, her fluffy breasts pressing into Sendai's own, as well as her side.

While Sendai didn't sense any hostility, she still felt her heart pump in excitement, and that made her uneasy. "Wh- hey, hey! Too peaceful, too peaceful!"

 _thump._ She pushed Byakuren away from her, who then flopped on her back again. Sendai re-oriented her outfit. "Yeah- hey, no. I'm not one to just fool around like that."

"Fu- fufu…" Byakuren let out an oddly heartful chuckle. "I thought you said you were okay with such a risk."

"Yeah- when it comes to _friendship…!"_ She shot her an incredulous grin. "I didn't mean I was gonna lez out all over you! Where'd _you_ get that idea…!?"

"Fufu… well- I thought _I'd_ take a risk." Byakuren held up a hand, from her lying position. "...I'm sorry if you didn't appreciate it."

"Mmm." Sendai shook her head. "We literally _just met_ too. Just 'cause we had one heart-to-heart doesn't mean we're gonna be bumping clits."

"Wouldn't it be liberating, if we let loose such tensions?" Byakuren argued honestly. "If you phrase it like that, the only reason we wouldn't keep one another company, is because of your conceptions of relational pacing."

"...Not quite my point." Sendai supposed. "It's more like, 'I don't just fuck anyone'. What would that say about-... those I've done that sort of thing with? Like my husband?"

Sitting up, Byakuren exhaled. "Well, it shouldn't say anything. Sanctity in relations is as one makes it, and values can be disassociated from how one relates with certain people. Such actions are surely no one's business."

...Folding her arms, Sendai smirked at her. "You know, for a _nun-..._ isn't that kind of a slutty way of thinking?"

"Oh, hush." Byakuren didn't seem to want to hear that. "I believe in degrees of freedom."

Sendai's mind felt like something clicked. ' _Wait…'_

"You're promoting the pursuit of desires." She pointed at Byakuren. "But, your faith is about the release of desire. What gives?"

...Finally, Byakuren hugged her legs to herself, as she sat on the bed. "Well… that's what I said about being a hypocrite."

' _...Huh.'_ She turned to her, again. ' _Really letting all her dirty laundry hang out there, huh.'_

...Sendai got up. "Well, your secret's safe with me. As long as you don't act like a shithead later. Myself, I don't have any super secret religion heresy going on. It's always been pretty open that I think our god's a crock of shit."

"Thank you." Byakuren gave her a nod. "...Um. Dinner might be ready, now."

' _Ooh.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

==x==

x / Sendai Hakurei No Miko, the Shrine Maiden who Beats People Up

INVENTORY:

 _X Sub-weapons:_

Magic Replicable Mana Molotovs - A Marcus Kirisame invention. A simple prefabricated spell that allows the user to conjure holy/water elemental mana molotovs. The liquid creates a swath of holy flames on contact with any non-treated surface.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Hydro Storm - Holy/water elemental rain, though it doesn't burn like the molotov's mixture. Basically a modified rain spell; it lasts a few seconds and can only be used outside. Deals holy damage to youkai.

Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb - It makes a mean pinball when maximized! When at terminal velocity, the orb also does magical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Fantasy Heaven - Tapping into her dark mastery, Sendai temporarily becomes more youkai-like at the expense of her sub-weapons and becoming more vulnerable to holy damage. Her attacks become partially darkness elemental.

Hakurei Talismans - Throwable projectiles. Also referred to as ofuda. Deals holy damage. Most effective on youkai or other greater dark/moon beings.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Talismans - Sendai throws a lot of talismans at once straight ahead. Cheapest item crash for Sendai to cast, but leaves her vulnerable and is difficult to aim.

Hakurei Axe - An origami axe created from folded talismans and reinforced by holy magic. A heavy weapon that breaks easily, but can deal high physical holy damage when used well. Also able to be thrown as a makeshift heavy projectile.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Blades - Sendai floats into the air and creates a revolving ring of Hakurei Axes.

Chronicle of Gensokyo - A copy of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, lended to Sendai by the Hieda family. Some magic work from Marcus let Sendai replicate it as a projectile to throw at enemies. Spins around and flails its pages everywhere, which deal holy damage when they cut foes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Holy Spark - Summons multiple copies of the Chronicle of Gensokyo, creates a magical circle in the air, and fires a huge, rainbow colored laser. Takes awhile to set up…

Rusty Stopwatch - It doesn't seem to work anymore.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ It's probably best not to experiment…

Dragon Palace's Flintlock - Shoots a weak stream of electricity which arcs into an enemy. More useful as a distraction or last resort accuracy weapon.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Vol Fulger - Generates a ball of lightning around Sendai's form defensively.

Rebound Stone - A magically replicable stone that bounces off surfaces. Doesn't work well with soft surfaces or open spaces. After awhile, it breaks, too. Deals physical holy damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evil Sealing Circle - A series of rebound stones are cast into the air, creating a shaft above Sendai which is filled with powerful holy energy. Once the attack ends, the holy energy splashes through the entire room. May seal foes.

Holy Salt - It's holy salt. Deals holy damage when you throw it in someone's eyes.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sodium Geyser - Creates a geyser of holy salt. Sendai'll never run out of cooking salt again!

X Pocket items:

[Global Item Box] - Pocket-fillers that grant Sendai unlimited inventory space, as long as the item fits. Takes up no inventory space.

[Elementary Backpack] - Young student's backpack. Really tiny, and looks cute on Sendai. Uses no inventory space- being inventory itself- and provides four item slots.

(2x) Potion - A potion used to restore health. Basic, but the best choice for human users. Provides heavy health regeneration for some seconds.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Evolution - Heals the entire party, as if they were all given a potion. Equal to a Mega Potion, but consumes an item crash use to produce these effects.

Plain Cloth - It used to be a tiny bag, but it came apart and died. Basic synthesis item.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ With Like A Cloth Or Something - Sendai whips the cloth at an enemy, forcing them to turn around. Reflects projectiles, too.

Tauriner - Experimental medicinal restoration item. Restores 'spirit energy'. In Sendai's case, it restores a single item crash use upon consumption.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Yukkuri Production Kit - A kit used for creating yukkuri, which obey the user. Consumable with ten uses. Comes with DNA kits for Reimu, Marisa, and Alice types. Life catalyst is bundled with this item.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

High-Quality Bottled Water - Refreshing and pure.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

(x8) Pocket Lint - Dust friends. Uses no inventory space. Can be combined with nine hundred ninety four other Pocket Lints to create something cataclysmic...

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Ragnarok Theorem - Inflicts a random status effect on a random target. Cannot instantly kill or doom. Cannot cast Auto-Life.

109,260 Yen - Money used to purchase goods. Takes up no inventory space.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Midas' Rain - Makes it rain money in a wide radius. Value of currency is proportional to damage done on impact. Does more damage the wealthier the user is, up to a cap of one hundred thousand yen. Has more range and duration the wealthier the user is. Deals non-elemental physical damage. Not fun to clean up afterwards…

Blue Flexi-suit - One-piece swimsuit with removable parts, for easy access to bodily regions. Offers no protection. Made of a mysterious, ticklish material…

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Oni Fight & Drink Guide - Brutal text that archives some oni traditions, as well as one's personal bias to the sword. Teaches Sendai Gravity Flash and-

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Ruby - Takes up no inventory space. Has no practical value, but may be sold for 250,000 Yen to the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and for ~300,000 Yen to a jeweler.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Firaga Burst - Summons an orb of flame over the battlefield, which rains down balls of fire that ignite everything. Expert-level fire magic.

Daffodil - Common white or yellow flower. Most common flower in the universe.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Purify - Heals party of all status ailments.

(x20) Snowball - Common synthesis item. May be thrown at a target for pitiful ice-physical damage.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Thousand Snowballs - Sendai throws all the snowballs in rapid succession. Easy way to win snowball battles. Not very fun to fight against.

Gun Practice Idol Fragment - A piece of the odd youkai that inhabited the firing range. Useless on its own, but…? Imbued with ragnite dust.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Ragnite Grenade - Kappa-made grenade, with a destructive, non-elemental flare. Doesn't break most terrain, and excels at non-lethal, anti-infantry combat. Powered by lunar energy, but the way it's used is too destructive to actually use the natural affinities of the magic, oddly…

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Winchester 1897 Shotgun - 7 rounds remaining - Deadly shotgun with amazing firepower, which cleaves through fleshy enemies. Expensive to use. Has a chance to make the user bleed, if they pump it carelessly.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Slam Storm - Some seconds of infinite ammo. Depending on how many shots are fired, more item crashes are used. Uses one to three item crashes.

Strength Training I Certificate - A green piece of paper, indicating that Tsukiko has passed the basic Myouren Temple strength training course. Probably useless.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ What? - This item is too odd, specific, and rootless. As such, when divine power works to bring forth its true purpose, nothing noticeably happens. Uses no spiritual energy. Floats Sendai into the air for a moment, before refunding any spent energy and dropping her back to the ground. Leaves the user confused.

Zephyr Bolt - Gift from the wind goddess Yasaka. When filled with wind energy, it may be tossed like a homing lance at targets. Has more chance to hit the more the target evades. Can only be used in Tengu Style.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Goddess's Blessing * Kanako Yasaka - Summons the wind goddess Yasaka. She'll either increase the party's evade, provide resistance to various statuses, or dispel the enemy with ominous wind. Advanced wind magic. Uses two item crashes.

Frog Statue - Gift from the earth goddess Moriya. Passively decreases random encounter rate, increases money gained from fights, and slowly adds uses to weapons outside of fights, up to their logical maximum. May aid in fixing objects, too.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Goddess's Blessing * Suwako Moriya - Summons the earth goddess Moriya. She'll either strengthen the party, cast earth magic on foes, or create earthy eruptions to defeat enemies. Other times, she may be summoned to re-orient objects or architecture. Uses two item crashes.

-o-

Hakurei Maiden Combat Outfit: DP - The shrine maiden outfit of the miko who came before. Made for a large bust, and bolsters both martial offense and blunt defense. Features a hakama bottom for easy leg movement, and a black leotard so the upper body can move easily.

 _ATTRIBUTES:_

Yin-Yang's Light - Draws forth the wearer's true worth?

Last Hakurei's Darkness - Draws forth the wearer's true worth?

Youkai Exterminator - Balanced, miniscule boost to strength, speed and defense for all styles.

Pockets - Hammerspace is accessed from the pockets.

-o-

Hakurei Maiden Combat Outfit: Brawler - Blue-black Hakurei outfit with white accents. Arm sleeves are minimalized to make punching easier, and the cloth is a little heavier than normal.

 _ATTRIBUTES:_

Hard Cloth - Slight increase to knockback resistance, and stagger resistance when in Youkai Style.

Dynamic Sleeves - Slight increase to attack speed and power when in Youkai Style.

Armory - Hammerspace is accessed from the inner face of the blue apron.

-o-

(eight slots remaining [Elementary Backpack])

(over one hundred hammerspace slots remaining)

 _X Armor:_

 _x Body:_

-o-

Traditional Miko Outfit ReMiX: Rush - Pink-white traditional shrine maiden outfit. Arm sleeves are maximized to increase control and speed, at the cost of being unable to use much if any power. The body itself is also loose enough to promote great speed.

 _ATTRIBUTES:_

Great Sleeves - Massive increase to accuracy when in Tengu Style.

Hastega - Slide dodge technique is easier to control, goes farther, and is moderately faster. Standard running speed is slightly faster.

Quick Draw - Hammerspace is accessed from sleeves.

-o-

 _x Misc:_

Reinforced Apron - A royal red, reinforced cloth apron. Defends Sendai a little against incoming magic and blunt physical attacks.

Nothing.

Nothing.

 _x Weapon:_ Unarmed.

==x==

GROWTH ABILITIES:

 _X Body_

Endured IV - Sendai has forged her body through a long cycle of training and combat. She's still not much stronger, but she knows what immense pain feels like.

Powerful IV - With constant, repeated motions and strength training, Sendai has built up her body to strike fear into the land's youkai. Hits are becoming closer to her former strength...

Dark Affinity - Inherently, Sendai has channeled inner, dark feelings for most of her life. Grants 50% dark resistance.

Nature's Acquaintance - Sendai used to like nature. Grants 25% Wind resistance, when Tengu Style is activated.

Holy Rage - When in Fantasy Nature style, Sendai is 50% weak to holy sources of damage. Also confers 100% dark resistance and curse immunity.

 _X Soul_

Heated Spirit IV - A building fragment of the resolve she used to wield. Allows Sendai to use four item crashes. At the end of every fight, she regains one use. Recharged by sleeping, or gaining new resolve.

Sub-Weapons - Sendai's gathered a lot of stuff over the years that she can throw at people when she's out of ideas. Magic is ingrained into her body to allow her to replicate certain objects as long as she has enough mana. Becomes unusable when all item crashes are used up.

Item Crash - Draining attacks that create stronger casts of Sendai's sub-weapons. Usable with any item in Sendai's inventory, although if she's not ironed it out it can be unpredictable...

Rebellious Soul - Able to channel her magic to her limbs, which takes on the form of dark enchantments. Reduces damage where she applies it, by strengthening the body itself. Only available in Youkai Style.

Mischievous Soul - Able to channel her magic to her limbs, which takes on the form of loose, windy magic. Allows her to weave, run faster, and jump higher than ever before, at a hefty cost to her power and her ability to use darkness magic. Only available in Tengu Style.

Phoenix Spirit - When angered or at critical health, Sendai's adrenaline rises gradually regardless of her momentum in the fight, letting her pull off critical techniques easier. One may harm a phoenix's body, but they can't harm its pride.

Secret of the Mad Maid * Poise - When Sendai has high anger and adrenaline, she knows how to hide her pain from gunshots or knife stabs, refusing to stagger or wither as easily. However, every one of these attacks she resists will drain from her adrenaline.

Terrain Essence - Sendai can use the environment to deal devastating damage to her enemies. Executable off of walls, the ground, big objects; by lifting tables or chairs, etcetera. Boosts in power the less item crashes Sendai has used.

Weapon Essence - Melee weapons gain decisive maneuvers which deal immense damage. Allows Sendai to use swords semi-properly.

Essence of Finishing - Downed enemies are very vulnerable to extreme attacks, as Sendai's discovered. Follow-ups on downed enemies can now be critical hits, as long as Sendai's spirit remains full. Works with weapons, too.

Essence of Wreckage - When enraged or pushed to the edge, Sendai's follow-up on downed enemies becomes a lethal, relentless onslaught of fists and power. Heavily demanding on her body, and leaves her expended for awhile after use. Wasteful, unskillful, powerful technique. Learned by observing Ex-Keine perform a similar attack...

Essence of Assimilation - When in Fantasy Nature style, Sendai attempts to consume the body of dark-elemental beings. Kills the target. Refills health, item crashes, and Fantasy Nature duration. Sendai inherits target's life force as a result. Bonus power deteriorates over time unless kept fed.

 _X Technique_

 _x Misc:_

Misc Abilities - Skills that don't necessarily go with a style. Often utilitarian or shared.

Switch Style - Changing her stance, posture, and enchantment capabilities, Sendai changes out her moveset and the way she controls. Can only switch to Youkai and Tengu styles, as Fantasy Nature style only works by item crash.

Candy Confetti - If Sendai has candy in her inventory, she can cast it into the air stylishly. Uses 50% of small candies in Sendai's inventory. Skips random encounters with fairies, and lowers fairy aggression levels. Duration and effect depend on how many candies are spent. Works less well on Scarlet Devil Mansion fairies.

Summon * Sakuya Izayoi - Summons Sakuya Izayoi. Allows Sendai to access the item box anywhere. Allows Sendai to request her for recreation. Allows Sendai to summon her to fight alongside her.

 _DETAILS:_ Maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion - Sakuya has a variety of styles. They reflect her progression through life, and as so, ascend in power and utility. Most are rarely seen, however.

o _Dawnstar Style -_ Rarely seen.

o _Assassin Style_ \- Light knife and dirty fighting tactics. Light physical projectiles. High tendency to use danmaku, especially when requested.

o _Solace Style_ \- Wields a Luger and Claimh Solais. Stance for taking down greater youkai and some vampires. Rarely seen.

o _Perfect Maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion -_ Sakuya stops time often and instantly eradicates most foes. Includes powerful counter-attacks, and visceral supplementary damage to her attacks. Rarely seen.

 _x Youkai Style:_

Youkai Style - Sendai's default post-revival style. Has a mixture of youkai techniques and handy things she's learned. Gained its namesake after she defeated her daughter, and unlocked some of her inner potential.

Dark Power - Sendai accents her body with dark magic, reducing incoming damage and heightening outgoing damage when she wills it.

Guard - Sendai guards against attacks. Self-explanatory. Prevents most damage, but doesn't work against blades or bullets, for obvious reasons. Doesn't protect her from angles other than her front.

Quick Step - Sendai slides on her sandals to avoid an attack, jolting her muscles to evade. Pretty much muscle memory to her, at this point. Also known as Slide Dodge.

Dodge Retaliation - A technique remembered through battle against Marisa Kirisame. After quick stepping, Sendai can instantly retaliate with a thrusting punch. _Only_ effective when spirit energy is high.

Flying Kick - When running, Sendai can throw herself into a double-legged kick that smashes through defenses, and is not interrupted by minor sources of pain or knockback.

Mad Maid's Kink * Rolling Kick - Sendai half-cartwheels, and half-flips forward into an enemy, striking with each of her sandals at the end of her roll. Not as effective as Flying Kick, but easier to control, and hits multiple times. Doesn't pierce defenses as easily. Sidegrade skill to Flying Kick.

Slide Leap - One of Sendai's classic abilities, from her memory. Has two parts. Begins with Sendai sliding along the ground, from which she may launch herself into the air with a kick.

Youkai Buster Combo * Brawl - A series of ambitious punches aided by kicks, which gives most foes little time to recover and staggers often. Includes a series of hooks, and finishes with a dark-accented overhead punch that launches most foes.

Dark Uppercut - Sendai can uppercut to get to higher places, and also deal high dark damage on impact. Launches foes.

Konpaku Shot Stopper - An ancient Konpaku defense technique, first used against matchlock rifles, now adapted to be effective against handguns and shotguns. Allows Sendai to execute a decisive maneuver when near firearms users, as well as disarm them. _Only_ effective when spirit energy is high.

Youkai Cunning: Revenge Value - Enables Sendai to follow-up melee attacks with a strike or a grapple, using the momentum her body receives. Doesn't work if she's knocked back.

Faze Step - Lets Sendai move forward while being immaterial to intruding entities for a short time. She can only go at a set distance and speed when she does this, and she's vulnerable afterward. Does not let her pass through walls. Probably some mangled version of the regular Hakurei teleportation technique...

Tengu Rush - An old Tengu technique. It's a charge accompanied by two whirling wind blades, propelling the user forward some distance. Makes her highly knockback resistant while it executes. It's not in its true form, yet.

 _x Tengu Style:_

Tengu Style - Sendai's speed-focused style, sacrificing her brutal power for great speed and evasive ability, helping her get further with her combat skills. Learned after she witnessed Aya show off using a similar moveset.

Wind Power - Sendai accents blows with wind. As her attacks ascend in intensity, so does the wind that guides her. Usually weak and does little other than improve speed, but it could also be powerful in its own right…

Wind Dispelling Prayer - Ability to vanquish Air-Toss status and air-related traps and binds, as well as ambient wind and certain effects of weather, like natural wind's effects on the body.

Slide Dodge Plus - Sendai can slide dodge one additional time, and it comes easier, with the wind's guidance. This increases her total dodges to two in succession.

Slide Dodge Plus - Sendai can slide dodge one additional time, and it comes easier, with the wind's guidance. This increases her total dodges to three in succession.

Slide Dodge Plus - Sendai can slide dodge one additional time, and it comes easier, with the wind's guidance. This increases her total dodges to four in succession.

Weave Guard - Sendai can no longer guard, and when she does, it's hilariously ineffective. Instead, she weaves past some blows, or chooses to parry, reducing or avoiding damage entirely. Doesn't work against some moves, or heavy magic.

Youkai Buster Combo * Rush - Fast jabs and thrusts, which are too fast for some enemies to keep track of. Deals very low damage, but is easy to use, accurate, and chains into many different quick attacks.

Flick Kick - Combo finisher. When she's dealt enough hits, Sendai sweeps a leg up in a rising kick to her enemy's torso. Breaks enemy guards, with good knockback and stagger potential. Most effective when bouncing an enemy against a wall, opening them for harassment and punishment.

Stun Drive - Sendai's basic combo attacks have a chance to stun less aware foes with their intensity and speed, setting them up for an easy knockdown. Alternatively, they can just be left amazed.

Feint Taunt - A taunt where Sendai weaves before an enemy, throwing windy, fast punches before them. Has a chance to intimidate foes.

 _x Fantasy Nature Style:_

Fantasy Nature Style - Style adopted whenever Sendai casts Fantasy Nature. Uses dark power and an amalgamation of youkai abilities.

Scratch - Basic attack. Deal dark elemental damage over time on incision, which may expand incisions. May be inflicted by any limb; claws not required.

Anti-Glide - User moves at impossible, awkward angles to avoid attacks and projectiles. Provides limited flight.

Air Giant Wheel - Spinning inhumanly fast on an invisible axis, the user unleashes a torrent of deadly scratches. Prevents retaliation with harassment.

Midair Doom - Arching back, Sendai unleashes a sphere of intersecting slashes. Mid-air finishing move. Launches foes.

Gravity Flash - Skidding along her stomach, Sendai scrapes the floor in a circular motion, before sending out a wave of crushing magic all around herself. Ground-based finishing move. Space elemental magic.

Stun Meteor - Balling up in the air, Sendai comes down on a target, encapsulated in an orb of non-elemental, lovely energy. May stun targets. May launch foes.

==x==Ω==x==

 _Ω Marcus Kirisame, the Middle-Aged Magician_

INVENTORY:

Ω Pocket items:

(2x)Hi-Ether - Restores enough mana for even high-tiered youkai to be able to appreciate.

Paddleball - Here comes the paddleball!

Bottled Artificial Spiritualism - Red energy sampled from a human villager. Seems similar to faith...

(1 slot remaining)

Ω Armor:

-o- Body: Comfy Robes - Familiar, aged robes. Comfy and easy to move around in.

STATS:

50% fire resistance.

50% electric resistance.

50% ice resistance.

-o- Misc:

Enchanted Dreamcatcher - A trinket that halves the effectiveness of debuffs on the user.

Nothing.

Nothing.

-o- Weapon: Magic Bazooka - Collapsible magic bazooka. Can fire lasers in a variety of elemental flavors, but works best with non-elemental magic. Uses currently mastered elements.

==x==

SKILLS:

-o- Soul

Inspire Drive I - Marcus recovers the inspiration that defined his youth. Grants him one use of _Inspired-_ type spells. Use regenerates once per day. _Inspired-_ type spells use no mana. Inspiration cannot be recovered with items, with art or personal revelations being exceptions.

-o- Items

Replicable Packaged Bomb - No one's certain how many he has. Tosses a cardboard package, which detonates into danmaku, with the potential to launch and stagger targets.

-o- Ice Magic

Glacier - Erect a tall ice blade. Heavy physical ice attack.

Ice Shard - Spawn ice in an enemy's form. Moderate ice magic. May freeze targets.

-o- Fire Magic

Firaga - Lob a short-range fireball mortar. Heavy fire magic that ignites. Preceding tiers are homing fireballs that have a chance to ignite.

Fireball - Generate a fireball in an opponent's form. Moderate fire magic that ignites. Not to be confused with Fira or Fire, mechanically weaker spells that precede Firaga.

-o- Water Magic

Bubbles - Summon bubbles under an opponent. Gets them wet and stuff. Might lower their physical attack…! Good setup for electric moves, too…!

Bubble Burst - Expert water magic. Summons a lot of bubbles under a lot of opponents. Still gets them wet. Also still might lower their physical attack…!

-o- Other Elemental

Quake - Disrupt the earth, and create a not-so-sharp spike of rock. Moderate physical earth attack.

Thunderbolt - Summon a myriad of thunder strikes to converge on a single target. Advanced electric magic. May stun foes. Hits three times.

Mana Drain - When able to access the opponent's mana, Marcus is able to pull it away. Magnet elemental magic. Usually initiated by a non-elemental orb.

-o- Non Elemental

Non-elemental Orb - A flexible non-elemental orb that may explode or simply dissipate. When dissipated, the mana may infuse with enemies and intertwine with their mana pool, allowing for Marcus to follow up.

Magic Resistance - Buffs an ally against magic. Starts at forty percent resistance, but tapers off to nothing over time.

Magic Shield - A non-elemental shield which absorbs all magical attacks, as long as they're not draining, death, or magnet related.

Lucky Star - Non-elemental star that bonks people on the head. Very random damage.

Star Shower - A rain of non-elemental stars which hit a crowd of foes for very random damage.

Cold and Gold - A danmaku non-spell which Marcus can create from an influx of magical energy.

-o- Ability

Elemental Control - Marcus has general mastery and control over non-elemental and elemental mana manipulation, allowing him to do some freeform manipulation for whatever he feels. Mastery and flexibility of freeform control depends on how many spells of that elemental branch are known.

Telekinesis - Semi-decent magical control of objects and matter; more specifically, spending mana to move objects. Works on clothes, too!

Magical Mastery - Marcus has access to any lower tier of attack he's currently mastered, if he needs to use such for whatever reason. As in, he knows Firaga therefore the preceding levels come innately, etcetera.

-o- _Inspired_

Voltaic Ray - Marcus creates three rays of electric energy, which carve through enemies by jolting at them in linear, synchronized thrusts. Can end many encounters instantly, and does great electric damage. Uses all inspiration for the day.

==x==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

this was a PRETTY FUN CHAPTER

it went a lot of different places but they were all pretty varied

another KINDA misc. chapter but it gets sendai established with the TEMPLE GOERS and also demonstrates how much of a people's people person byakuren really is

also the good fight with stormy man

q: "who the fuck is this" says everyone

a: he's some guy don't worry about it

outsiders are just kinda sprinkled about because yeah but they're pretty much side mooks / background people for the most part

the last one we saw was dieter so this time we saw one that wasn't batshit insane!

this chapter had a hell of a lot of talking bits but that's good - w -

it also got produced at a surprising rate compared to my college schedule! that probably won't be a trend until the semester ends but honh

there's a bunch of ways to kill time at the temple but considering sendai's stance on the place i dunno we'll see if she cares about hanging around

i might hafta touch this chapter up at some point to make it more convenient for those who dunno / care about the temple at all to adapt, 'cause since it's one of the more down-to-earth and less vibrant places sometimes people tend to overlook it or underestimate the potential it's got, when really a lot can be done with the characters; they just both don't get a lot of screen time

often their setting's not a focus of my works and they _are_ kinda in and of themselves; ichirin's given format in-game that seems to imply her status is comparable to the touhou heroines, but even zun kinda set her apart as unzan's hitbox in a way, so she really doesn't get a lot of love

to this end, you don't see so many bold distinctions in how the temple operates in many fics

as always, see you all next time!


	17. Myouren Magic, Momentum's Melody

Sendai sat next to Reimu at the long, wide dinner table. "There you are."

Whipping her gaze to her, Reimu appeared surprised. "Aa- aah…? Where'd _you_ go? You were gone for _awhile!"_

"Oh." Byakuren stepped up alongside the two of them, moving to sit at the other side of Sendai. "We were just discussing adult things."

Reimu frowned. "If it was about caring for me, you can both shut up. Unless it was cooking advice, or food, or something, then uh, yeah…"

...Sendai rose a brow at her. "Hmm? What, you wouldn't let _me_ care for you?"

Reimu snorted. "Well-... yeah, 'cause I can fend for myself. You're cool to have around, and everything, but you know… if anything, I'll be looking out for _you_. Like what happened at the mansion."

' _...What a way to look at it.'_ Such a sentiment set Sendai aback for a moment. ' _But-...'_

Once she processed it, she had a problem with it. "Well, sure, but… I'm still your mother, you know. I still beat you that one time, and I'm not even a fraction of my previous strength."

Reimu centered her gaze on hers. "If I was really serious about fighting you, you wouldn't even be a challenge. Your focus on melee combat seriously disadvantages you. You haven't seen a fraction of what I can do."

The way she stated it was uncharacteristically objective. Sendai's brows twitched, attempting to furrow.

"The only reason I held back that night-..." Reimu resisted looking away from her. "You looked like-... part of me, was telling me you were mom. I wanted to see you prove it. And-... you proved it well enough, I think. Your body is definitely nothing like a doppelganger's. That, and-... you _shouldn't have_ known anything about new danmaku in the first place, so challenging you to a play duel was pointless."

...Something about the way she said it left Sendai wanting, however. Something was missing, it was wrong, in a way. Unfulfilling.

Thinking on it, Sendai knew just about why, too. ' _If I was stronger, I would've been able to prove it then and there. If I had the power I used to, whatever it felt like...'_

Quietly, Sendai looked down at her steak, and the accompanying soup. ' _At least I can mull over this with some good food.'_

Byakuren was giving her an irritatingly pleasant smile from her side. Now that they were in public, she'd taken on her carefree appearance. ' _Yeah, shut up with that…'_

" _Om."_ Aggressively, Sendai dug into a piece of her steak immediately.

' _...That sailor wasn't kidding. This steak's well-seasoned. Another irony, for a place where desires should be null. Buddhism…'_

Now that she thought about it, the idea of faiths were never very appealing to her. ' _I can't deny the powers the Hakurei God does grant me. One of those powers being… the ability to bring forth the true purpose of any item. Now that I think about it, Kourin was actually able to help a little with that. One of his abilities was to ascertain the purpose of items, so he was able to give me context as to what some things would do before I mana-charged them.'_

' _I've been thinking about the old gang a lot, recently.'_ Raising her head from the plate, she took in the warm, dim ambience of the inner-temple dining room. ' _I probably wouldn't be this reminisceful… if I hadn't just died and everything. That, and now my relationship with them just-... really feels like a lot of loose-ends. We really do need to kill more time together.'_

She turned to the miso soup that was near her plate as well. ' _I've got so many things I want to do. Despite her-... arrogance, I'm glad my daughter's on top of things, at least. Gives me time to-...'_

This was the first time she thought about this prospect in awhile. ' _Gives me time to spend doing the things I want to do. I may be a Hakurei maiden, but-... she's got things under control. I'm sure she wouldn't complain if I took a little more time for myself, for awhile. Once this is all over, I'm heading down to the village and getting everyone together. We need beer, too- a lot of it. Man...'_

The dining table was spacious, giving a pretty healthy breadth between the various patrons of it. ' _For some reason, It's like not everyone is here.'_ There were only a fraction of the temple's populace at this relatively small table, she was certain.

' _...I'll ask Byakuren about it later.'_ Now finished with her soup, Sendai slid it back, and returned to the last of her steak. ' _Even with just this many people… I still don't like eating with a lot of random people. Feels ripe for disease, especially with the youkai around.'_

Once she was entirely finished, she stared up at the dim, orange candle-esque magi-lights over the dining table. They hung like oriental lamps, except they featured square designs. The cloth that made them up was folded in an accordion-like manner.

"We feature multiple places to eat, and multiple times of eating. Dinner isn't mandatory to attend either, of course." Byakuren smiled over at her, inadvertently answering her question before it was asked. "But, we do encourage disciples to attend, for both their physical and emotional well-being."

' _Hmm.'_ Something about that sentiment seemed ironic. ' _Emotional well-being advice, from you? I guess you'd know how to give it of anyone here. Not that I really know anybody at this temple.'_

Reimu flopped back in her chair, happy. "Mmh… that was _good._ "

"Tsu-... um, Hakurei." Byakuren faced Sendai fully now. "Would you like to head to the training yard with me, again? I heard you were a magic practitioner, of a sort… and, I would like to discuss your abilities with you further."

It was a rather abrupt request. "Sure." Even so, Sendai supposed it wouldn't be a bother.

Reimu rose a brow, at that. "...Guess we're gonna stay the night, then."

...Sendai gave her a look as she moved to follow Byakuren. ' _Yeah, not a big fan of the idea myself, but… well, we'll see.'_

As the two women quietly proceeded outside, Reimu saw Marisa bound up out of nowhere to tag along behind them.

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

17

Myouren Magic, Momentum's Melody

The temple yard was dark, the night's shade allowing the lamps strewn across it to softly illuminate it.

"Tsukiko." Out here, as they stood at the stonework-adorned edges of the courtyard, facing the entire yard, Byakuren began referring to her by her name again. "What do you know about magic?"

The question made Sendai pause. "...Mmh. Some."

"Some!?" Suddenly, Marisa's voice was behind them. "The shit you can do ain't just 'some', ze!"

Running before them and skidding to a stop on the grass, Marisa threw her arms up, pointing both fingers at Sendai. "...Yer a freakin' maniac!"

Byakuren pursed her lips. "...Ah? You- seem like one to talk, Marisa."

"It takes one ta know one!" Marisa began to visibly wind up, marching right up to the two of them. "C'mere, Mommy-chan! I'm gonna kick yer ass!"

"Ex- excuse me…?" Sendai almost let herself gain a small smile, at that. "Could you retrace your logic, on that one?"

"I'll show ya!" Marisa beamed at her, holding the mini-hakkero up to Sendai's face. "That my spark's _bigger!"_

 _whunk._ Byakuren used her hand to gently chop Marisa on the head. "No _sparks_ in the temple courtyard."

"Wh- awh…" The set condition made Marisa deflate. "...Well, I guess that'd apply ta _her_ too, then." She glared up at Sendai. "Me, you, ten meters behind me, ze."

Byakuren discouraged this, however. "No. I'd prefer it if you sparred with her _later._ Be mature about this, Marisa."

...At that, Marisa began to smirk wryly. "Ooh? What's got _you_ interested in her, ze?"

However, Byakuren was the master of polite stoicism. "Hmm?"

"S'not often like you to _directly_ confront people, ze. Ya did it in the past, but _these days,_ yer always… selective." Marisa twirled a finger around, playing with her single front braid. "So? What's the occasion?"

"She's Reimu's formerly dead mother." Byakuren's reply was flat. "I think that alone is a warrant for interest. What was the interest _you_ were thinking of?"

...Slowly, Marisa raised her arm, and aimed the mini-hakkero at her. "I'm gonna freakin' shoot yer criss-crossy dress off."

"Please don't." Byakuren's poker face began to look slightly worried.

"Most of what I know about magic…" Sendai began trying to get everyone back on track. "I learned through trial and error, or found out by accident. I've never studied anything in my life. Except, for physical arts, and self-discipline."

' _...Well, I did read books. Mostly for pleasure.'_

At that, Byakuren waded towards the midst of the temple courtyard. "Is that so…? Then, your body enhancement arts are... coincidental?"

"I suppose." Sendai summarized. "...The wind-styled one, I just-... remembered, recently."

' _I know I was able to use wind magic in some way, before. Some of my memories of my movement wouldn't make sense otherwise. I was really fast, even if not quite in the same way as I am now...'_

Her speed before was more practiced, more disciplined. Now, when she channels speed, she can _only_ channel speed, and it feels a lot more playful as a whole, compared to her memories. ' _Weird. I'm also even faster when channeling wind now, except-... a lot weaker.'_

"I do notice… that you can only seem to channel one element at a time." Byakuren noted.

Pausing, Sendai searched for the nightly wind, closing her eyes for a moment. When she felt the cold creep up her features, she also felt her mana expand out to latch onto it. ' _There…'_

Stretching her arms, she felt the wind carry her weight for her. "Yeah. Thing is, my dark energy-... it's only good for one thing at a time, it seems like. When I try to do both, either I can't get enough wind for it to stay, or my dark enhancements are too weak to be useful."

As Sendai stepped across the clearing and up to her, Byakuren spoke further. "Not only that… but, the way your body handles _both_ is so natural, so automatic and fluid… it's unlike anything a novice practitioner could hope to do in decades. What's even more curious, is how your body houses both dark and holy energy in tandem, and they seem to not disturb one another at all."

"Holy?" Sendai questioned. "...I guess there would be. Actually, yeah."

' _Holy energy… is what should be fueling my item crash magic. It's definitely not dark energy. Even so, I can't really feel it anywhere.'_

Her demeanor made Byakuren blink. "You didn't know?"

"I did." Sendai looked over her limbs, as her great pink-white sleeves billowed in the wind that surrounded herself. "...When I think of it, I like dark energy more. It wasn't until way later in my life, that I found out the Hakurei god was even _useful_ for anything, and even then, it's sure not helping me now, in my one damn time of need."

"Ah…" Byakuren nodded, at that, before staring at the starry sky above. "Considering your form… have you ever considered that dark energy flocks to you, because you shine so brightly?"

"That sounds immensely cliched." Sendai furrowed her brows at the notion. "...Since when have I shined, either? I hit people for a living. Then, I was a mom who hit people for a living. And then I was dead."

Byakuren's smile intensified awkwardly. "I mean- there's triumph and improvement through adversity, you know…"

"That doesn't mean I'm a paragon of virtue." Sendai shook her head. "I've killed youkai for no good reason, before. Probably at least accidentally killed one human, and probably more in self-defense. I'll beat people into an inch of their life, just so they leave me and what I care about alone. By this era's definition, I'm paranoid to a fault, and now that I don't have any direction, I'm not even good for much anymore."

"Aw, shut the _fuck_ u~p." Marisa broke her silence to step up to her, in the dim courtyard's light. "You've barely just gotten started. An' if _anything_ annoys me, it's an asshat who mopes in their own misery."

Sendai let her lips curl a little, at that. "Can I have _one_ negative retrospective in your company, without you getting uppity about it? Marcus was the same damn way, when he was younger. It's not good to _always_ be looking up. Trust me, life balances things out later."

...Marisa wasn't really sure what she meant by that, but the sentiment sedated her nonetheless.

"Well." Byakuren's smile shifted awkwardly. "I didn't call you out here, to have another soppy discussion with you. Show me some magic, Tsukiko."

...Sendai considered her options. ' _It's been a little time. I can use, maybe… one item crash. Should help me get to sleep easier, too.'_

She drew rebound stones from within her sleeve, by a handful. They were crystalline, and shimmered with vague, holy light. ' _These things are better weapons than I'd imagined.'_

Closing her eyes, she searched them. Letting her mana flood through them, she then snapped them open.

" _Evil Sealing Circle!"_ Recalling this technique she'd read about, and emulated with these stones, she thrust the arm with the stones in them into the air.

Silently, they splashed out of her palm, before being taken into the air by a mysterious power. The visual was oddly featureless, making it seem strange.

Then, as the stones ascended into the night sky, their paths were drawn as holy lines of white in the evening. They'd made a cylinder-like shape above Sendai.

 _FWASH!_ And then, the entire cylinder was flooded with a single flash of light, before the lines and the holy energy were gone.

"...Ah." Byakuren blinked at the platinum-tinted visual. "Impressive syphoning technique. I'd expected you to use talismans for it. What were those stones?"

"...Crystal-like stones which bounce." That's all Sendai could really remember of them. "I found them way under the shrine, one time, and brought them to Marcus so he could help me replicate them."

"I see." Byakuren settled for that answer. "Admittedly, that was… more than I was expecting. It seems to have taken from a strange reserve within you, too. It's not mana-... is that _faith?"_

Sendai wasn't sure what to make of it, herself. "I was told it was something similar to faith."

"How-... strange." At this notion, Byakuren was genuinely puzzled. "Is this something familiar, to you?"

Only sort of, Sendai figured. "I only recently learned it was faith… or, faith-like."

"She can do other things, too." Marisa propped her arms onto her own hips. "Like make it _rain,_ or shoot a _master spark-like thing…"_

Coming closer to Sendai, Byakuren took note of something, too distracted to take in what Marisa said. "I also noticed…"

She held up Sendai's arm, which currently had wind caressing it. She paused a little at the feeling of the lapping wind, but continued to hold it. "You flooded that object full of mana, before the faith powered through it and forced you to move. Do you do that for every one of these skills, of yours?"

"...Yeah?" Sendai was a little surprised she'd guessed that much from a single display.

"...I suppose that's enough, for today." Byakuren decided. "Oh, _actually_... I haven't shown off what I can do, yet."

 _Woosh!_ From behind her back, Byakuren drew a scroll. It sprawled open, runes of prismatic, rainbow light flaring ominously in the evening air. They hung like paper between the two ends of the scroll, but seemed to rest on an invisible sheet.

' _Woah…'_ Sendai took a few steps back, before stumbling, her body moving quicker than anticipated. ' _Holy shit, calm down, me.'_

 _Fwish!_ Azure energy flooded Byakuren's form, and she beamed widely, letting her eyes open. "I always have a general strength enhancement active… but, this is me at my full power."

 _woo- woosh._ She held her arms up strategically. "I want you-... to try hitting me, Tsukiko."

-+- _Vs. Byakuren Hijiri, the Sealed Great Magician_ -+-

' _This blue energy…!'_ Sendai's eyes traced the aura along Byakuren's body… ' _It's overwhelming!'_

"I won't fight back." Byakuren's face returned to an inexpressive, gentle smile. "Feel free to experiment."

...Stretching her arms, then her neck, Sendai took in a deep breath. ' _Alright. Let's do this!'_

 _woosh!_ She came forward, meeting Byakuren instantly with all the force of a fierce breeze.

 _pap- pap- pap- pap!_ As she jerked her arms forward to jab and hook her, Byakuren's palms caught every blow.

 _wap!_ Sendai attempted to uppercut her, but Byakuren caught the rising fist.

"Hah!" Changing tactics, Sendai flicked her left leg up along her side. Byakuren didn't budge from it, even when it brushed her thigh.

" _Hyah!"_ Landing on her left leg again, Sendai flicked her right leg this time, sending it higher than the other, and with more force.

 _whap!_ Byakuren only budged a little, the resulting slam of wind against her side ineffectual.

 _whi- whi- whish!_ Sendai dodged around her instantly, using three jerky motions of her muscles to half-circle around her.

 _whish._ Byakuren did a similar sliding dodge, pivoting her entire body around to face Sendai at the same time.

' _...Damn.'_ There weren't any openings in the defense that Sendai could exploit as she was, right now. ' _She's rigid. Smart, too...'_

 _whish._ Sendai's wind was dispelled from her form. Letting out a breath, she cracked her neck, then her knuckles, feeling weight return to herself. ' _Let's do this the old fashioned way, then.'_

 _Whap!_ Thrusting her right arm forward, Sendai met Byakuren's waiting palm with a fist.

Then, Sendai drew her left arm back, intending to ram it into Byakuren's nose. ' _Get outta my-'_

 _whap._ When she unleashed it forward, Byakuren parried it with her forearm, defending her face.

Thrusting her right arm forward like it had claws, Sendai grabbed onto her collar. ' _Got you- wha- fuck-'_

Byakuren pulled back on the arm, awkwardly tilting Sendai forward.

 _Whunk._ Her knee met Sendai's gut, with only enough force to send her stumbling back. " _Kh- unh…"_

"You don't seem to even have the force to pierce my defenses." Byakuren tilted her head… "That's very strange."

"Ye- yeah…" Nursing where she was kneed for a moment, Sendai raised her fists again. "Where the hell'd you get that strength _and_ speed?"

Byakuren reinforced her smile. "I did say I was over a thousand. I suppose it'd be strange if you _could_ keep up with me. But, I was curious, you being the previous Hakurei, and all. I suppose you would rely on your tools first, and strength second. Just as it is with most humans, and their firearms."

' _Damn it.'_ Sendai was really wishing she had her strength back, now… ' _There's got to be some way to pierce her defense. I don't think a flying kick's a good idea, and using items would just be cheating.'_

She thought back to her fight against Sakuya. ' _...The essence of doing anything to win, huh.'_

She broke into a sprint, running away for a moment, before turning around and running towards Byakuren again.

"Oh…?" Her defense ready, Byakuren stood in wait to see what Sendai had up her sleeve.

 _whish!_ Once she neared, Sendai flung herself into a cartwheel, throwing her legs above herself. "Haa~!"

 _Wha- whap!_ Leaping from her hands, she pelted her legs down sideways into Byakuren, making her body shake from each impact. Sendai's legs pounded into her guarding posture, and not only that, they brushed off upon impact on their own, so she would land upright.

 _whish!_ Once she was on the ground again, she was able to press against the floor instantly, sliding back from Byakuren by jerking her muscles.

"That-..." Byakuren couldn't put her finger on that technique. "That was more wild than I expected of you, but competent nonetheless."

' _Good.'_ Sendai was somewhat impressed by herself, from how she'd pulled that half-assed cartwheel off. ' _Maybe not the right tool for the job, but the fact that worked at all was pretty cool.'_

' _But, how the hell… would I have broken a guard before?'_ Sendai furrowed her brows… ' _Better question: how do youkai break guards?'_

Byakuren still had her arms postured defensively. "Do you wish to stop, now?"

"Nah." Sendai stepped up to her, almost casually. "How often do you fight youkai?"

Almost as if reading the strategy Sendai had thought of, Byakuren reinforced her posture. "The time I've spent in active combat-... is likely longer than your entire life, from birth to now."

Sendai nodded. "Ah."

 _Whap!_ She thrust her fist forward with sudden, great intensity. Byakuren caught it with a palm, simply stopping it.

' _I was able to grapple her before, and she didn't stop it.'_ Sendai had an idea. ' _So…'_

 _pap. pap._ She sent a mean left hook forward, only for it to be stopped. She did the same with a powerful, telegraphed right hook.

She thrusted a hand forward fast, through Byakuren's defenses, and it rested on her face. Ink-black magic flooded through the grasping limb.

The motion surprised Byakuren, who just superficially tried to clasp the arm which gripped her, gaze blinded by the pure black of Sendai's palm.

Crushing her grasp tightly, to get a grip on the face, Sendai twisted her whole arm right. She was able to do it even through Byakuren's tightening arms, since it was just a twisting motion.

' _When I slip past their defenses like this-... I can do anything I want.'_

 _CRACK!_ Byakuren's neck let out a painful sound, and her eyes snapped open. " _Oo- ou-... ke- kaugh-..."_ Her whole head was twisted right, opposing her neck; heads weren't quite supposed to tilt like that.

Sendai let her go. When she fell onto her knees, grasping her throat, Sendai raised her right leg past her head, and-

 _WHACRACK!_ She sweeped it down, the sandal's bottom meeting Byakuren's cheek, aggressively stomping her head into the grass. Blood spattered out of Byakuren's mouth.

When Sendai lifted her leg, Byakuren's eyes were glazed over, as she rolled onto her back. " _Khh- kaugh-_ hua~h…!"

Stepping back, Sendai felt her rushing mind slow. '... _Oh. Wait- oh shit. Um.'_

 _Fwish!_ Despite her building panic, she saw Byakuren spring off the floor. ' _Oo- oh?'_

 _Cra- crack._ She snapped her head back into place, and wiped the blood from her mouth. "Kh- kauf, nnh." It took her a few moments, for her to find her voice. "...Wh- well-... I didn't expect that, certainly."

"I didn't realize it'd be that effective." Sendai confessed, letter her posture drop...

Byakuren snorted. "Aah. I applaud your effort. Provided… it has been some years, since I've tangled with the types who would use such straightforward tactics. Thank you for reminding me."

 _Sendai learned Essence of Face Twisting._

"...But, I think it's time for bed." Byakuren seemed to have had enough fun, for tonight.

Smiling, Sendai steps back. "Fair enough. Did it-... hurt?"

"Yes." Byakuren let her eyes open, giving her an actual, flat look. "Don't consider doing that to anyone who doesn't deserve it, now. I may be resilient… but, not everyone is as durable as I am. I've had experience being assaulted in uncouth ways, in the past."

"Is that so…" Her wording left Sendai a little curious.

"Mmm. But…" She paused, a thought coming to her. "Where would you like to sleep, tonight?"

Marisa wrapped her arm around Sendai's side. "With me!"

...Sendai gave her a plain stare. "Are you _sure_ about that."

"Hehe- yeah!" Marisa gave her a big thumbs-up. "Me an' Reimu have sleepovers all the time, ze! We pull up a _futon,_ take each other's _clothes_ _off…_ "

"For some reason, I doubt that." Sendai shook her head.

' _...Sort of. I don't actually know what her sexual preference is, at this point.'_ It was actually an odd subject, for Sendai. ' _I mean… I don't mind women, I think they can look good. But, if Reimu's not into men at all, that'd be awkward for the bloodline. Not that I'm a purist or anything, but-... wouldn't it be bad if the bloodline just died? Should- I be thinking about another kid at some point…!? Gods, I don't think I could do that without Keisuke...'_

"Really?" Marisa stepped directly in front of her, and sized up her body. "Yer _bigger_ than Reimu, certainly… but, I wonder if yer skin's as _smooth?"_

"Probably not." Sendai stated simply. "I mean, if you _really want to sleep in my bed,_ since you're Reimu's friend, sure. Still, I'd have thought you would have grown out of such a thing." She tried to implicate a more childish situation, to make Marisa indignant.

"...I didn't expect ya ta actually say _yes_." Marisa admitted, completely ignoring the childish undertone. "But! I'll never grow outta bein' cuddly!" Suddenly, she gave Sendai a big thumbs-up. "Don't ya agree?"

"It'd mostly be for you. Since you probably need the security, or something." Sendai was still intentionally going for an antagonistic angle, here…

Not willing to be outplayed, Marisa leaned towards her. "Oo~h, yeah. Bury me in your sarashi-hugged pillows, Tsukiko-chan. Make me feel safe."

"Should I-... leave you two?" Byakuren started to pace away… "I'll see you again in the morning, Tsukiko."

"Aah… see ya." Sendai saw her off.

Quietly, they both watched her navigate across the dim temple yard, as her room rested on the other side from where they spoke and sparred.

Marisa turned to Sendai. "Hey, you gay for her?"

...Sendai slowly faced her. "Not-... what. Not really. I should be asking _you_ that, except with _me."_

Shrugging, Marisa paced about in place. "Hey, I was just _wonderin'._ Reimu told me 'bout how she took ya off to her room, and ya _didn't_ punch each other's brains out. Which, y'know, considerin' you, that's a notable event!"

It took a moment, but Sendai suddenly realized something. "We never got shown to a room. I blame you."

Smirking, Marisa began to saunter off. "Eheh. C'mon, follow me! Reimu's already got a room settled fer us."

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

 _pat, pat._ Reimu patted one of the two beds the room received. "They gave us a _couples_ room, because the people I asked were dumb about it, and it's a little late to change it."

Marisa jerked her head back. "...Whah, y'mean you _didn't_ hide one of the beds yerself?"

"...Why _would_ I." Her question made Reimu curl her brows up at her… "Whatever."

Smiling, Marisa reached up, and tilted her own hat in a fluffy way. "I guess this means we gotta _share,_ ze."

The room wasn't particularly tiny, but it had only a dresser, and some basic necessities, like a vanity, a small table and chair combo, and the two beds. Day-like light emanated from the magi-lamp panes in the ceiling above. The whole room was made of shoji, which made Sendai feel at home, until she noticed this was abnormal compared to the rest of the rooms…

' _Feels dainty. Probably a bunch of temporary rooms, as the flow of people to this place demands it. Still, these shoji look like they haven't been moved in some time, so traffic must be… samey.'_

Marisa turned to Sendai. "So! Which of us is gonna nap wit' Mommy-chan?"

...Almost hesitant, Reimu met her mother's gaze. "Um. Isn't it kinda awkward, for you? We're a lot younger…"

Sendai scratched her own face idly. "I've had to sleep in more awkward situations before. I really couldn't care."

Snorting, Reimu lowered her brows. "Oh? And, the thing that happened with Sanae wasn't worth caring about?"

"...I mean, no?" It took her a moment, but when she realized what Reimu was talking about, Sendai tilted her head curiously. "Kinda weird, but young girls are weird. Hell, I even ribbed her about it when she woke up, and then I just kinda forgot about it."

"What if we _groped ya._ " Marisa gained a playful, aggressive look… "What if ya woke up, an' we were gettin' it on with you between us."

"...A little weird." Sendai began to grin, at that… "I mean-... I've been through _worse._ I was just thinking earlier- Reimu, if you're a lesbian, that's gonna be weird regarding the Hakurei bloodline…"

"Wh- when did I become a _lesbian…!?"_ Reimu began to look alarmed. "I- I mean-...!"

Sauntering up to her bed, Marisa smirked. "I mean sometimes, y'coulda fooled me, y'know…"

"Not that there's anything wrong with it." Sendai didn't particularly care, but… "Just-... are you _into_ men? At all?"

"Well- _yeah!"_ Reimu was immensely guarded. "...Yeah."

"Pretty sure most of us are bi!" Marisa announced. "Neat guys are ki~nda rare, though. An' girls can be pretty hot, an' we're friends with a lotta girls, so mix that all together, and y'know."

...Looking embarrassed, Reimu shifted into one of the very plain western beds that were organized in this room, still all dressed. "Geez… you- just _had_ to bring that up _now?"_

"I mean…" Sendai had to take pause, for a moment.

' _She's really awkward about this. I understand, but- I should express that I understand, really...'_

Coming up to her bed, Sendai smiled. "Look, I know it's-... weird for you to talk about, especially since I'm your mother and everything. But, there's nothing to be ashamed of. I mean, hell."

 _Creak!_ Flopping down onto the opposite bed, Sendai rested her arms on her knees. "Nnh. Some years ago, me and Marcus had to share a sleeping bag, in the depths of the Forest of Magic. We kept our backs to one another, and we were both well-armored, at the time. We were traveling with a guard company."

Marisa blinked. "Wa- wait, what. Well-... from the way you put it, it was kinda, uh…"

"Necessity." Sendai put it simply. "We barely trusted each other at the time, and we sure as hell didn't trust the guards, so with our limited provisions, we slept next to one another. Plus- you couldn't just _stroll_ through the Forest of Magic, at the time. We were there for a job, and it was gonna take a few days to get it done. You couldn't _walk_ there, let alone _sleep_ there, but with the amount of people we had, it was doable. Lots of men on vigil."

She grinned up at Reimu. "That, and it saved money. We were _both_ huge scrooges when it came to provisions, which kinda bit us in the ass later, but… we lived."

"...I guess I haven't ever had to do something so awkward." Reimu admitted. "But, that wasn't really by _choice,_ was it?"

"It was hell of a lot more uncomfortable than just sharing a bed with my daughter, or something." Sendai stated simply. "...Which does remind me. We _did_ used to sleep together, so this can't be that different."

"Mom- I was _four,_ or something." Reimu shook her head fervently. "I'm eighteen now."

It took a moment, but Sendai thought over what she's been trying to express. "I mean, it doesn't have to be _weird_ unless you make it weird. Is it not necessity in this case, too?"

...She turned to Marisa. "Of course, I could sleep with your friend here. I've got a feeling she's just going to make it weird."

"You bet!" Marisa gave her a big thumbs-up, before attempting to look more compromising. "I mean hey, I can't control what I do in my sleep, ze."

...Reimu looked pensive. "Well… just this _once,_ I guess. No funny business, or I'm pushing you out."

"I'm not a pervert." Sendai looked plain. "...Unlike your friend, here."

Marisa had her arms folded. "I was hopin' ya'd say _no,_ Reimu-ze."

Gingerly, Reimu shook her head. "...It's no good if you just... sexually frustrate yourself, midway through the evening."

 _Creak._ Sendai flopped onto Reimu's bed. "Unf."

' _That's enough awkward, vaguely homoerotic talk for today. I wanna sleep…'_

...Taking a moment, she got off, flipped the covers open, then shoved herself back onto the bed. ' _Weirdly cold, in this part of the temple.'_

"Hey- save some blanket for me…" Reimu got off the bed, before pausing. "Wait, does this place have pajamas…?"

"I checked!" Marisa piped up from her own bed. "...And uh, _sort of._ You know how they are, ze. We got _one pair._ "

"Two beds and one pair of pajamas." Reimu furrowed her brows. "Dangit. I forgot about how little effort they put into the non-permanent rooms."

...Sendai slowly rolled out of the bed, herself. ' _I should probably get this pink-white outfit off, because it's not any more comfortable than my regular one. Which is to say, it's not very comfortable to sleep in.'_

Undoing her pink sash, she began to unfold the kimono top, and raise the purple undershirt.

Reimu blinked at her. "Um. You're not-...?"

"I'll just sleep in my underwear, like usual." Sendai announced, half of her outfit off. "The cold's no big deal, because the place is still plenty warm, really…"

Marisa gave them a thumbs-up. "I'll get naked over here, on my island! Unless, ya wanna sleep nude wit' yer mommy, Reimu."

Reimu was already digging through the dresser across the room. "Have fun with tha~t."

' _...Does anyone know how to turn these magi-lamps off?'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

After the day's exertion, Sendai had found sleep quickly. It was already the next morning, and she found herself stirring…

In her sleep, she'd rolled over, leaving her slightly facing Reimu. ' _...Hmm.'_ In this state, her mind slowly began wandering again. ' _What exactly-... did, I used to fight like?'_

Now that she really thought about it, the vague patches and blank spots just felt more and more weird. ' _How can't I remember, some techniques? How come, like-...'_ She felt the urge to start practicing jabs into the air, before realizing that'd be a bad idea, while in bed.

Turning, she focused on her daughter's form. The temple's plain brown pajamas were obviously too big for her, so it was like she had a big blanket on. ' _Cute. I can understand her current skepticism towards me, though…'_

 _Cr- creak._ Getting out of bed, Sendai felt the cold air of morning meet her skin. ' _Ah…'_

Standing between the two beds, she began thrusting her arms forward.

 _whi- whish._ Instead of fist-driven jabs, she tried thrusting her palms forward. ' _This just doesn't feel as powerful as it should! It's really not as fast, either.'_

 _Whi- whish!_ Even after affixing her arm muscles with dark energy, she found herself throwing her body into each thrust, like they were punches, rather than whatever she had in mind. ' _Ugh… this just feels so weird. Maybe it's a lack of practice? But- if I don't even remember what exactly I practiced-... hell, I practiced it one of the days before I died! Why the hell can't I remember…!?'_

 _woo- woosh._ Letting her dark energy become vague, wind began to wrap up around her features.

 _fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Instantly, she began thrusting her palms into the air again, making a rapid, intimidating-looking but forceless wall of strikes.

 _whi- whi- whi- whish!_ She jerked her muscles to slide around out of frustration, and stirred up the room's air current, the nearby blankets billowing slightly as she dodged in a square pattern. _'Wo- woah…'_

 _Cr- creak._ Suddenly, Marisa sat up, in her bed… "Nn~h. Ghood mohning…"

 _whish!_ Sendai pivoted around instantly, still half-naked. ' _...Maybe I should get dressed.'_

Marisa was still rubbing her eyes. "...Aw- keep dancin'... when ya slide around like that, yer boobs go everywhere…"

"No." Sendai refused. "It's _cold."_

' _...This is probably the last day we'll be spending 'on tour', from what I remember. When we get back to the village, I'll probably break away from Reimu and Marisa, and go about my own things for awhile. I still need to get the gang back together, and-... do a little living, before we find out about the mystery shit. Probably doesn't need to be very immediately dealt with, especially now. We'll see.'_

...Sendai stared at her clothes, as she retrieved them from the dresser nearby. ' _And, now that I think about it, I still have to do my morning pushups…'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Now outside the temple, the three girls meandered down the large, straight stone path on its grounds.

"Come back any time." Byakuren gave them a gentle wave, as they idled there. "Are you sure you won't stay for breakfast…?"

' _I still have a lot of money, and the village usually has some good food, if you know where to look, so… personally, I don't feel like eating in a big commune like they got here.'_

...Reimu tilted her head, a little. "It's tempting."

"We can bumrush Alice fer quick eats later, ze." Marisa was ready to rumble, however. "I'm feelin' ready to move!"

Through the overcast sky, dim sunlight was cast upon the snow-crested landscape. For some reason, this also filled Sendai with energy. ' _It's still really cold, but that's nothing new…'_

Today, Sendai had tried on her blue outfit variant. This was an ironically bad idea, considering this outfit had next to no superfluous cloth to keep her warm. Instead of arm sleeves, there were thin, plain black sleeves of cloth to accent tossing her arms, and she had a blue-styled version of her cloth apron on.

' _Feels like it'd be great to just punch things, like this. It's overall less situational than that pink one…'_

"Well. Come back anytime you feel like, now." Byakuren gave them a bow, as they began to get ready to move… "If you ever feel like working on your reinforcement techniques, don't be shy, Tsukiko."

"That's 'Hakurei', damn it." Sendai gave her a strained grin…

Byakuren's smile grew. "That doesn't work as well since there's two of you now, hmm?"

Reimu snorted, and began trotting off. "C'mon, mom, Marisa. Actually- since you've got money, mom, we could hit a diner in the village, actually…"

Marisa perked up at that idea. "Ooo~! S'been some time since we've eaten out! Aw…!" Marching closer to Sendai and Reimu, she beamed dangerously. "We're gonna be sleddin' fast, an' _eatin' ass,_ ze!"

Sendai let her brows curl up, at that. "What…?"

With that, they exited the temple's front gate, and came upon the vaguely de-iced front stairs…

Marisa's broom came up along her side out of nowhere. "And, whelp, looks like we've be flyin' down the stairs today."

Sendai moved for the snow aside the stairs, instead. "I'll walk down the side, instead."

"Won't you slip and slide?" Reimu faced her gingerly. "Unless-..."

"That's the idea." Gazing down the snowy decline ahead, Sendai marched into the snow, her blue hakama becoming stained with particles of white as she poised herself.

Dark energy crept up her flank, and her legs, as she plunged herself forward. " _Hyah!"_

 _fwi~sh._ Reimu watched gently, as her mother accelerated down the hillside on her legs and butt, snow splashing out of the way in her trail.

…Nearing the bottom of the hill, Sendai pushed her arms against the snow as she slid. "Ha~h…!"

 _whish!_ Leaping from the ground, she shot off the slope and into the air.

While she made for the plain of snow aside the trail beneath the stairs, she decided to experiment. ' _What if I…!?'_

Dark energy visibly receded from her shoulders and hands, and she very easily latched onto the wind as she fell. ' _Wo- woah!'_ All of a sudden, she found a wealth of it, as she soared forward in the somewhat breezy day.

Her fall suddenly became way slower with the wind as her friend, and she blew past the sled parked at the bottom of the hill. ' _Wait- oh, shit. Umm.'_ She was still half a tree's height above the ground.

 _Fwi~sh!_ She came down into the snowy field way past the path junction ahead, having flown way, way farther than she'd bargained on. ' _Holy shit- aah!'_

 _Cru- cru- crunch!_ When she touched down in the snow, still gliding forward, her legs were briefly swept out from beneath herself by the snow itself, forcing her to flip around.

 _woo- woo- woosh._ Articulating amazingly fast mid-air, she eventually was able to make an axis of one leg, while she twirled ahead-

 _WHAM!_ She came to a stop against a fairy, who was working on a snowman. ' _Ow!'_

 _Pi~chun!_ The blue-haired fairy became part of the snowman, then exploded, the snowman being consumed in the magical blast.

"Oh my go~d!" One of her friends nearby leapt back in shock. "...Flake-chan got _assassinated!"_

"Assination!" A different, pastel-haired fairy pronounced the word wrong. "... _Dang._ I hate getting assinated. _"_

' _It's- cold! Holy shit!'_ While in the snow, Sendai felt her body jolt from the unpleasant sensation…

While some fairies gathered around over her, she rammed her elbows into the snow.

 _Wha- whap!_ Her legs shot up and outward from the ground, instantly meeting the two fairies and ramming them away by accident. "Wh- _ow!_ Hey- _"_

 _WOOSH!_ Spinning herself, Sendai rode the momentum of her kicks and the wind, to skid off of her back and onto her legs, flicking them beneath herself. Like this, she righted herself, still spinning.

 _WHAP!_ "Back _off!"_ Her spin stopped not when she stood, but when she held her left fist out, eventually hooking it into a nearby fairy, which finally cancelled her windy momentum.

 _Crunch!_ A blue-haired fairy was buried back-first into the snow. " _Nhk- uhf…"_

 _whish._ Leaping from the tiny enclave her movement dug in the snow, Sendai ran across the top of the white plain, making her way back to the sled in record time. ' _I'm- so fast, and light! Holy crap…!'_

...The pastel-haired fairy who remained held her cheeks with her hands. "Tengu assinators are _scary…_ "

 _Sendai learned Rising Tornado!_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode: _Marcus's Perspective_ -+-

' _Y'know, why'd the human newspaper have to cut down on the funny sections. I mean, the Bunbunmaru's pretty much entirely a funny section, but still!'_

Marcus had a paper splayed out on Keine's coffee table, the chair scooted up a little closer so he could use it better. Peacefully, he raised a glass of milk…

Keine sunk into the couch, across from him. "Aa~h. That _third_ class... geez. I don't think I've ever had a class that poorly behaved."

Marcus snorted. "Y'know, with the guard an' villager scene we got in some places, it ain't much of a surprise. All everyone thinks about now's coin, and it really don't make a lick 'a sense, considerin' how small this village is."

...Keine gave him an unenthused stare. "You're one to talk. I mean-..."

Marcus grinned. "Right!? I'd know that better than anyone! Y'know what they say, takes one ta know one! But the sad part's that a lotta these fops don't really even _get_ anywhere wit' their dough. I coulda kept bein' a dumbass and still lived alright with all the cash I'm rollin' in, but these boys're livin' in-... well, the housing climate improved a hell of a lot, but everyone's still livin' like it's five hundred years ago."

"Not even." Keine shook her head. "...From what I can tell, anyway. The recent climate's more of a-... it's more of a result of how the human village has progressed, really. My school can only do so much, when, you know… certain virtues aren't valuable anymore, and, I know it sounds bad to say it like this, but under some of the policies Yakumo instated, the… _worse_ people just don't get reprimanded for their behavior, often enough. That, and the fear tactics are-... effective."

...Marcus nodded. "Can never tell what that chick's thinkin'."

It was a rather cosy day, he felt. ' _...With how the house market changed, the price a' tax on my shop actually went down by a stupid amount, 'cause I didn't opt fer a two-story deal like everyone else. I pro'lly got enough shit to live quietly fer the rest of my life, at this point.'_

 _Knock knock._ Someone was at the door, again. ' _If it's that guy in the doofy hat again, I'mma beat 'em wit' a ladle…'_

"I don't think I'd want to know what she's thinking." Keine shook her head, gazing into the table. "Considering some of the things-... I've fixed, and heard about-... ugh."

Raising his hand, Marcus telekinetically turned the door knob, and pulled.

 _Crea~k._ As the door swung open, a pink-haired women stepped inside curiously. "...Um? Hello?" She looked around for who opened the door, only to see no one at first…

"Ah-..." Keine stood up suddenly, and faced the doorway. "Oh. Hello, Kasen."

Marcus rose a brow. ' _Aah. It's-... that one hermit I heard a li'l about. Not irregular fer her ta run inta Keine.'_ His eyes were drawn to her hair buns...

"I came to visit." Kasen explained simply. "I heard about… some administrative changes, in the village, and the reports. Among other things."

Keine's smile was plain. "A business visit, is it?"

"Well-... not entirely." Kasen shook her head. "I'll hang out too, if you want me to. You look tired."

Keine flopped onto the couch again. "Nnh. I _am_ tired."

...Stepping around the table, moving for the second couch, Kasen saw Marcus. "Hello to you too, mister Kirisame. How's the economy?"

"Big." Marcus grinned. "Little. T'be honest, I haven't really been payin' attention too much..."

...Kasen furrowed her brows. "Really? That's… unlike you. What of your shop, then?"

Marcus snorted. "What _of_ my shop? If I retired now, I'd have more than enough money ta live out the rest 'a my entire life, s'long as I'm not an idiot wit' it."

"...I suppose so." Leaning back into her seat, Kasen let her arms shift behind her head, as she reclined. "If you're fine with that. Usually, the profit-minded-... you know, never stop collecting. I didn't think you'd ever change, either."

Marcus shrugged. "Hmh. Just got bored 'a it, I guess. I've only been unfocused fer like a week, so if I never needed ta get the gears runnin' again, I could."

He took a big sip of his milk. ' _Mmm…'_

...Kasen stared down at the table. "Not that I'd know much of the village economy, I suppose."

Things returned to a peaceful quiet. Slowly, Kasen's gaze shifted towards Keine…

Marcus scanned Kasen's bandaged arm, then her brown, vine-adorned tabard. ' _I suppose it's a little more like a front panel thing than a tabard. Hmm.'_

"So…" Kasen spoke up. "About that-... Hakurei miko. Tsukiko Hakurei."

"Yeah?" Keine moved to sit up. "Nn- nh. What would you like to know…?"

"Are you _certain_ she's who she says she is?" Kasen was immediately skeptical. "Impersonation of many forms isn't uncommon."

"I'm very certain." Keine nodded at her. "What she knows, and how she behaves, is unlike anything I've seen before. She feels like, well, her. When I looked into her history on the full moon, her accounts of her past few days were genuine. I just-... couldn't get anything of her actual revival, other than the fact that she does indeed lack history past some days ago."

"...I see." Kasen stared down at the table again. "I wish to meet her. I kept a-... _cautious_ distance of her in the past, but…"

Keine refocused on her. "Oh, you did? How did you guys get along?"

...Kasen brought a hand to her own chin. "Well. Not very much, or very well. She seemed always distrustful of me, and sometimes I was afraid she'd attack me. If I tried to loiter around the shrine during her era, she'd probably attack me out of paranoia. I probably should have introduced myself to her when she was younger, but I didn't have any business at the shrine at the time…"

"Ah." At that, Keine smiled a little… "That's unfortunate. When you get to know her-... she's actually really nice, you know?"

"Perhaps…" Exhaling, Kasen seemed to catch Keine's drowsiness. "I'm kind of concerned, though. At the time, I wasn't extremely confident in her ability as a shrine maiden, aside from being a peacekeeper-... and, Reimu only instills any confidence in me because she's _at least_ more personable than her mother, which isn't saying much. But, it is at least progress."

...Keine furrowed her brows at that, somewhat, but didn't press her on this.

Marcus was curious, however. "What would ya say a shrine maiden's responsibilities _are_ , then?"

...Kasen stared at him for a moment, before replying. "Beyond peacekeeping, their role is to act as both a servant of their god, and as a resource to the public. Not that they can't have integrity, but the idea is that they help others out. In this sense, they are also meant to be a guide for the people in terms of spirituality, magic, and matters of the spirit in relation to youkai."

Marcus nodded. "And, do ya _really_ think bein' that straight-laced woulda helped anyone out? Even supposin' her mother gave 'er a _shrine maiden's_ education?"

...Her expression back at him wasn't quite resolute. "...It may have at least helped offset the degrading nature of the public on the surface, here. Although, that may be more of Reimu's fault than it is Tsukiko's, considering everything that happened to her. But, even if only Tsukiko was armed with that knowledge-... I think everyone would have been better off."

' _...Hmh. Maybe, but as someone who worked wit' 'er, that's not really fair ta say. S'not like it was her fault the dice fell as they did. I mean, considerin' everything, she should be dead. Hell- she even was dead, but now she ain't! Holy shit!'_ He meant to consider how crazy her teenage years were, but quickly ended up thinking about how her reviving for seemingly no reason was also pretty wild.

 _Knock, knock._ Someone knocked at the door, again.

Keine stared at the ceiling in wonder. "Now _who_ could that even _be._ "

Kasen smiled at her sympathetically. "I'll get it, for you…"

Marcus stood, too. ' _If it's the doofy-hatted boy, I'm gonna get my beatin' stick!'_

Making her way over to the door, Kasen swung the door open leisurely. "Hey. Um…"

At the door was a woman in a red-white outfit. Marcus recognized her as Tsuruko Aoyama. ' _Wh- dangit, her again? I thought I humbled 'er the other day…'_ She was the woman who boldly declared herself to be the next Hakurei shrine maiden.

...Kasen's gaze immediately became blunt. "Who're you?"

"Tsuruko Aoyama." She announced herself. "...You're Ibaraki, correct?"

Keine exhaled. "Not _her_ again. She's persistent…"

Smiling, Marcus turned to Keine, stopping in the midst of the room. "Y'know her? I saw 'er just the other day."

Keine sat up. "Ugh. Yeah, she's one of the-... prized members of the Hakurei-something-something experiment, or whatever the guard is wasting money on these days." Her face soured. "I hear she's awfully mistreated at home, too."

 _Creak._ Getting off of the couch, she seemed to wind up with energy. "Tsuruko. Why don't you _stop_ this? If you need help, I'm all ears. Really."

Tsuruko smiled in the doorway. "...I thank you again for your offer, Kamishirasawa. But, I will not spend my life running. The human village needs me."

"Does it?" Coming up to the door, Keine took Kasen's side… "Look. I _taught_ you, I know that-... your home situation, and your new occupation, both don't really treat you well, but if this is about defending yourself, we _can_ help."

"Helping me won't solve anything." Tsuruko shook her head. "For others, and for the best life for myself-... I must become a Hakurei shrine maiden."

Kasen's brow twitched. "...I know this is some kind of new weird occupation, but-... are others as zealous as you, about this?"

Tsuruko shook her head. "No. I bear a large fraction of responsibility, when it comes to the project. The other girls are simply there to assist my efforts, in my opinion."

"You can't be a Hakurei shrine maiden." Kasen put it simply. "...Or, well, that's sort of a lie. If you went and asked to help them, they'd probably let you, if you seemed well-intentioned. But, you wouldn't truly be of Hakurei blood, I'm sure."

"I do not wish to negotiate with the faux-maiden entities that inhabit that shrine." Tsuruko shook her head. "...In any case, I've come here to request information about Tsukiko, again."

...Everyone was fairly silent, at this. The manner she went about asking questions was pretty jarring.

"Tsuruko…" Keine shook her head. "I'm sorry, but we can't help you in _that_ way. I just-... I can't _agree_ with the way you're going about things. I don't want anyone to get hurt. Among those who don't deserve to be hurt, at least."

Marcus meandered up to them. "Lem _me_ handle thi~s. I feel like I got somewhere wit' 'er the other day, kinda."

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Once again, Marcus stood in the dirt 'lawn' outside Keine's abode. The snow around them was well-trodden to extents, conveying the traffic the village often experiences.

"Hello again, Kirisame." Tsuruko spoke to him casually. "How are you?"

"A little tired, but alright." He nodded…

Kasen was also out here. Her gaze towards Tsuruko seemed concerned. "So, what's your end goal? Aside from becoming the Hakurei shrine maiden, somehow."

...Tsuruko nodded. "Well. First, I would abolish the village guard, and create my own council of warriors. The current system promotes monetary games and lazy exploitation over actual effort. Most guard roles assigned on jobs are a way to exercise and spend funds; that is to say, they're excuses. Next, I would probably take steps to abolish the village council as well. Likely, I would create a new one more centered on public opinion, ideally operating in such a way so that more minds may weigh in on it."

...Kasen held a hand to her chin, fixing her other arm under the first. "Oh? How do you plan to abolish them, then? Legislatively…?"

"No." Tsuruko shook her head. "I'd hold a coup. Kill them all."

...Kasen nodded for a moment, before jerking her head back. "Wait- hold on now…!"

Marcus slid his hands into his pockets. "Y'know, some of them ideas aren't too shabby, honestly. But, how would they run _just_ as ya expect them to?"

Not entirely expecting him to be so considering, Tsuruko blinked. "Well, I'd just kill whoever got in my way. The public might become afraid, but considering the abrasive nature of our populace, and the lack of communication, they won't realize for some time. Killing the right individuals should be child's play, after I kill the Hakurei."

...Kasen shook her head. "No. No, we're _not_ doing any of that. There are ways to make these things happen- and mass homicide _really shouldn't be one of them…"_

Tsuruko rose a brow at her apprehension. "Why not? If you're fine with the rape, murder, and youkai domination as of now, what is stopping me from conquering my adversaries in ways more brutal than theirs? In my opinion, it's me doing the job that the Hakurei are neglecting to pick up the slack of."

Kasen shook her head. "People don't even die that often. And, you may not see it, but more members of this village are content than you realize. Major structural changes would serve to instill fear in those who get by perfectly fine as of right now. Changes need to be made, yes, and _some force_ may be admittedly okay, but-..."

"Screw them. They don't know even know what they want." Tsuruko declared. "We would all be better off with my ideas in place."

' _Da~mn, this is gettin' long-winded…'_ Marcus really appreciated how nice the overcast looked with the snowy world around him.

"He~y, girl." He spoke up, and decided to try a shortcut to get to the heart of the issue. "What kinda life do ya wanna live?"

...Tsuruko seemed to seriously consider the question. "...I wish for peace. My life hasn't let me learn many skills-... but of the ones I have learned, I will use them to act. It just seems easier to kill the people who are in the way of my peace, and of other's peace. Especially long-term..."

' _I remember her gettin' teary-eyed the last time we talked. She was afraid 'a losin' her status and gettin' fucked around with. Just makes it even more perplexin' that she's refusin' to hear us out at all. She did say she didn't really trust us, so fair enough.'_

Amidst the snow before Keine's home, Kasen stepped forward. "I won't let you act on anything that will endanger others. I'm not confident you fully know how your decisions will impact the village. I don't feel confident you're not getting these impressions and ideas from somewhere unstable, or dangerous."

...In the warm glow shed by the houses around the yard, Tsuruko smiled and nodded. "That's okay. I'll just kill you, too."

Marcus snorted. "She tried killin' me the other day, actually! I put 'er on ice, but apparently she still don't think that demonstrates how far apart we are in skill…"

 _Crunch, crunch._ Tsuruko stepped forward in the packed snow, moving towards them. "I've considered what I learned from our last skirmish, Marcus Kirisame. I've kept tabs on what Tsukiko Hakurei has been doing. And-... I thought hard about how you acted."

 _cri- krack- krik- krik!_ From the center of Tsuruko Aoyama, an amethyst, pink-white energy began to crackle.

Kasen put up her fists. "What…? Is it a fight, then? Is this _really_ what your ideas all boil down to?"

"Yes." Her smile was almost peaceful. "I love the idea of killing idiots."

-+- _Vs. Tsuruko Aoyama, Artificial Hakurei * Momentum Style -+-_

Putting her fists up boxer-style, as playful energy bloomed forth from her heart, Tsuruko bounced in place energetically. "This new strategy of mine is a leap and a bound above my other. You have been a good source of knowledge, Marcus."

Marcus grinned at her. "That's Kirisame ta you, miss psycho lady…!"

...After they stared one another off for a few moments, Tsuruko snapped from her position.

 _Kra- krack!_ Amethyst light bellowed from where her heart would be, as she roared towards the two at a speed almost rivaling the tengu.

 _pa- pap!_ She came up to Kasen, and punched her twice in the stomach with almost untraceable speed, purple afterimages dotting her path.

Kasen stood resolute, the blows doing nothing to her as she frowned back. ' _Woah, shit. Kasen can sure take some brusin'!'_

 _whap!_ Flicking herself into the air with hyper-aggressive force, Tsuruko kicked Kasen across the face in a simple, sudden motion. Kasen's head only tilted slightly.

 _Wham!_ Landing, she immediately thrust both fists forward with unnatural velocity. Tsuruko connected them both with Kasen's stomach, the pinkish energy flaring off of their impacts.

 _Pap._ Kasen grabbed her by the collar. "Are you done?"

"This- strength…!?" Tsuruko grabbed onto the hand that held onto her. "My speed- should be unrivaled, by humans-...! Wa- was my skill-... lacking!?"

"You're like a tengu, only slower." Kasen began to walk forward, pushing Tsuruko in the process. "It's impressive that you've attained such speed in your youth. But, you surely don't have the skill to back it up. It's as if you've literally just adopted this fighting style."

...Tsuruko smiled. "Aah-... I see. I didn't think you would be this powerful."

Kasen smiled. "Do you see yet? This is one of the reasons why being all-... gung-ho on killing people is a terrible idea. At least, this is the logical reason why you wouldn't."

"Maybe." Tsuruko admitted. "But, if I become stronger, I can kill you."

"You just never learn, do you." Kasen's expression became more awkward… "Don't kill people, you idiot."

 _WOOSH._ Pulling her by the collar, she threw Tsuruko up, behind herself.

 _CRUNCH!_ She hit the snow behind Kasen hard, clumps of it exploding into the air from her impact. " _Unh-..."_

...Slowly, Tsuruko stood back up, her outfit caked with snow. This time, she set her eyes on Marcus.

Marcus shook her head at her. "There's somethin' ta be said about dedication, but I think yer really overdoin' it, yeah?"

Tsuruko exhaled.

 _woosh!_ Then, she ran forward, closing the distance between herself and Marcus nearly instantly.

 _KRI~NG!_ On reflex, he thrust his arm up, a blade of ice erecting from the snow before himself.

 _pap!_ She weaved to the right, parrying the side of the blade with her leg as it emerged, allowing her to land right before him.

 _Pap- pap!_ Her fists connected with his stomach, rattling him. ' _Oo- oh- whoops-'_

 _WHAM!_ Both of her fists plowed forward suddenly, punching a bolt of energy straight into the midst of his ribs. ' _Oo- ohp- sh- shit…!'_

 _Crunch!_ He landed in the snow before her, and she slid on it towards him-

 _whap!_ "Yah!" Her sandal clipped his side as it slid up into a big, exaggerated kick that almost gave her air time. The blow sent him rolling. "You know-... playing with your prey is rather fun. I see why you both do it, too."

"Marcus!? I mean-..." Kasen came up to his side. "Are you hurt!?"

' _What's it look like, ya freaking-...!'_ Marcus gave her a hard grin, as he moved to sit up. ' _Still, I can take-... a few knocks!'_

" _Thu- thunderbolt!"_ He thrust an arm out, in Tsuruko's direction.

 _THWASH!_ Suddenly, a rain of moderately powerful lightning bolts came from the sky, frightening and fierce.

Somehow, Tsuruko weaved out of the way, having begun when he yelled the spell out, her grin building-

 _THWASH!_ This was a spell that attacked more than once, so the next series of bolts nailed her dead-on. " _Eegh- ehaa~!"_

 _THWASH!_ The final bolt array jolted her where she stood splayed out in agony. " _Uu- ohn…"_

 _crunch._ She flopped face-first into the snow, her outfit charred and hair frizzed out.

...Fighting from the snow, onto his legs, Marcus patted off his robes. "Damn, simple-minded-..." He faced Kasen, gesturing to himself. "She dirtied my robe, she did!"

Kasen blinked at him. "...You took a few hits, there. Are you sure you're fine?"

"I'm more than fine!" Marcus yelled. "I'm mildly inconvenienced! And lemme tell ya- that's the _worst_ kinda inconvenience!"

Strutting up to the fallen Tsuruko, Marcus taps her side with the tip of his shoe. "Hey- hey, if you ripped these, yer payin' fer new ones. Ya hear?"

' _...These're actually my crappy ones, but y'know, if I can make double back on the value pack I bought, ho ho ho!'_

"Mrgh." Tsuruko confirmed she was still alive, as she rested in the snow.

 _Marcus obtained Bottled Artificial Spiritualism._

-+- _Tsukiko Hakurei's Thoughts -+-_

 _chug chug chug chug._ The motor-sled slowly came to a stop, as Reimu drove it to a stop in the midst of the village road. "This is like a horse, but so much better…"

Marisa grinned at her. "An' flyin's like this, but so much better! Only upside's that it _might_ be able ta hold a big box 'er two, but I'd imagine it'll run outta fuel at some point…"

"Oh, yeah, fuel." Reimu was reminded fuel was a concept that exists. "That's lame."

They'd stopped at this little diner that Sendai and Marcus had eaten at just the other day, across the way from the Kirisame Magic Shop. ' _I recommended us this place, because it's pretty good.'_

 _clunk._ Reimu turned the sled off, and it made a blunt clunking noise when it shut down, invoking a gentle stare from her.

' _...There's something surreal about watching Reimu operate complicated machinery.'_ Sendai smiled at the visual. ' _It's about as surreal as me operating complicated machinery. It just feels wrong.'_

Getting up, and out of the sled, Sendai sauntered for the front door. ' _...For some reason, people aren't giving us many weird stares for this, even. Not that many people are even out, since it's cold and snowy.'_

 _Di- di~ng._ The shop bell chimed as she entered, and she made for one of the window-focused tables. ' _I'll probably order some meat. Irregular breakfast choice, but I'm not a regular girl…'_

"Hey- hey, wait for me." Reimu almost had to open the door herself entirely, since her mother went so far ahead.

When they were all seated before a bright window, Sendai reclined in her seat as well as she could. ' _Mmh. Gonna be one of those cold, slow mornings…'_

"That remi~nds me…" Marisa also began to look lazy… "You guys ever hear 'a the Artsy Hakurei Project, or whatever it was? Some fashion trend in the village, where people dress up like Reimu?"

"Yeah, actually." Reimu perked up at the mention… "We ran into their… base, I guess. Bunch of freaks. None of them have any talent, nor are they connected with the god, so… whatever. It'll probably go out of style, like all the other dumb guard projects."

...As Sendai scanned the storefront idly, her gaze ran across someone in off-colored red-white clothing. ' _Speak of the devil._ _She's watching us, too.'_ Her gaze was directly focused on their table, and didn't so much as falter when Sendai stared back.

The waiter came by; a plain-looking guy with brown hair. "Hello~. May I take your order?"

"Mmm." Sendai nodded idly…

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

"An' then I was like-...!" Marisa only ate half of her pancakes, getting too into a story she was telling to finish them. "'Princess, don't shishkebob yerself on that mega-dildo'!"

"We're trying to _eat_ , Marisa." Reimu looked partially deflated… "You're really not helping."

...Marisa gave her a flat look. "Whah, a mega-dildo doesn't make yer mouth water?"

"Not when it's being run straight through an immortal!" Reimu retaliated. "...Or- when it's _that big_ , for that matter. That's like- a _polearm,_ not a sex toy. Why'd you even start _talking_ about sex toys. Marisa- who _are_ you…!?"

"Hehehe~!" Marisa beamed back at her. "Y'know what ya need, Reimu? A gohei- except, instead of a gohei, it's a big, _purple-"_

"No- shut up." Reimu leaned forward on the table… "I'm gonna shut you up, Marisa. That's a _stupid_ idea. It's a _terrible_ idea."

...After a few seconds of quiet, Marisa held two hands up. "Dude! Ya could like-... stick the paper streamer bits _into the hole on the tip-_ "

"Okay, that does it." Reimu got up from her seat, and rounded the table towards Marisa…

"Hi." Marisa smiled up at her gingerly.

...Reimu took her big witch hat, and put it on.

"You people are immensely bored." Sendai gave them both a hopeless look… "What do you guys even do for fun."

Marisa beamed at her. "Fight! An' _eat._ An' _sleep._ An' sometimes tease each

other-"

"Marisa." Reimu slowly progressed back to her seat…

' _Makes a lot of sense, actually.'_ Sendai supposed that was pretty much her own routine, when it came down to it, except she also trained in between those activities…

...Her gaze switched to the red-white imposter in the background, who'd already paid her own tab it seemed like, and was now just loitering so she could watch them.

Since they were all about done with their food, Sendai got up, herself. "Marisa, scoot. I'm gonna pay the tab."

"Ah? Yeah, sure." Marisa got out of her seat.

Now that she was unleashed, Sendai moved towards the front counter. ' _...Tab seems to be just two thousand yen. That steak was pretty good.'_

 _Cli- click._ She placed the applicable yen on the counter. "He~re."

The fwoofy waiter girl nodded in response. "Thank yo~u. Normally, you shrine maiden impersonator types are pretty poor..."

Sendai snorted. "That so. Well, not this one."

...Once she'd paid her tab, she began to walk over to the table where the actual fake miko was seated. ' _Let's see what she's up to.'_

She was an auburn-haired girl, and as Sendai neared, she began to glare.

"Hey." Sendai loomed over her. "How's things?"

"I know what you did." The auburn, twin-tailed woman declared.

...Sendai let her brows curl up, as if concerned. "Eat food?"

...The girl snorted. "Nn- no… I mean- I heard about how you and Reimu beat up those villagers. And- the times you fed people to youkai…"

Sendai almost chuckled. "Wa- wait, what the fuck." ...She also realized she thought aloud. "Oops. Still, what the fuck."

"Don't um, 'what the fuck' me." The auburn-haired girl almost broke her own harsh demeanor with her own statement. "We keep a close eye on you. People from the temple, and we read the paper, sometimes…"

"When have we ever _fed someone_ to a youkai." Sendai slowly shook her head, disbelieving. "Are you people just making shit up about us, now?"

"No!" The girl yelled back. "Tsuruko-chan- she _saw_ you! In the alleys!"

"Who the _hell_ is Tsuruko." Sendai only got more confused with every question. "So what- you just _heard this_ from someone, and you believe it?"

"Yeah!" She nodded. "Tsuruko-chan's been a real team player since day one, and I trust her _way more_ than I'd trust some pop-up youkai like _you._ "

Sendai rolled her eyes. "Alright, fair enough. So, what, she's some kind of authority on what's real or not? How about this: _why_ would I lie to you?"

"'Cause you don't wanna get _caught._ " She pointed her finger into Sendai's face. "But you _will."_

"Youkai, for the most part, attack humans to generate fear." Sendai spoke of what she knew… "This is true, yes? If so, why would a powerful, Hakurei-whatever youkai like me actually be afraid to announce my deeds?"

...At her words, the girl shied back into her booth. "Stop trying to-... _convert me,_ or whatever it is you Hakurei youkai do."

' _...What a fucking mess.'_ Sendai really wasn't sure what to say from here. ' _I don't know about your village, Keine, this girl's a lost cause.'_

"Alright. Have it your way." Sendai was done trying to talk with her.

Turning away, Sendai saw Marisa and Reimu near the door. ' _...Looks like they were listening in.'_

...When she caught up with them, Reimu gestured for them to follow. "Let's just go. See what I mean? Freaks..."

...Marisa grinned at her. "But- I was the one who brought it up…!"

 _Di- ding._ The restaurant bell chimed on their way out.

' _...You know, the villagers are usually the ones calling us freaks.'_ Sendai remembered. ' _Kinda ironic that we're doing the same.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

In the center of the cold village, Reimu stood, gazing upon the myriad village stalls. Snow was everywhere…

"Well." She turned to her mother, and Marisa. "I guess that's it for our tour, for now. So…"

Sendai nodded. "I'm probably gonna hang around the village some more, and meet up with my old friends."

...Marisa grinned. "Ain't that wild? 'Meet up with my old friends'. Freakin'... how often do people say that? The very idea's super weird, too! Person gets put back onta' the earth, rolls up to their old friends, and then is all like 'yo', and they're like 'what the fuck'."

Reimu snorted, then smiled. "...Yeah, that is pretty weird, now that you say it like that."

...Also smiling at the discussion, Sendai looked over the girls. "What will you two be doing, now?"

"Sleeping, probably." Reimu smiled, as she leaned back… "Sleeping sounds good. These cold winter days, are just-... eugh. The kotatsu's nice and warm…"

Sendai smirked, at that. "No training, or anything?"

' _Also, nothing about anything related to the village? Hmh. Not that she cared in the first place, I guess.'_

"Why would I." Reimu grinned the idea off. "Especially not _today._ Too cold."

' _I mean- you should be training because it's cold. Make a fire and then warm yourself up. I mean- c'mon…!'_ Sendai's mindset was a few bounds away from Reimu's.

"I'll be around, and stuff!" Marisa announced. "Consider our truce done after a li'l while, Mommy-chan!"

Reimu let her brows raise, at that. "What's with you and my _mom…_ "

...Then, stifling a yawn, she began to drift off. "Well. See you later, everyone…"

"Stay safe, now." Sendai gave her a wave. "And- think about doing _something_ today?"

Before she drifted out of range, Reimu turned and gave her another grin. "I should be telling _you_ to stay safe."

Marisa began to saunter down a random road. "I'm gonna get inta _trouble,_ ze!"

All of a sudden, she began to sprint off, her boots stomping into the snow. "I'm makin' fuckin' _mac and cheese,_ and _nobody can stop-...!"_ Her voice trailed off as she went along the northern road, the wind carrying her words away.

"Oo- oh." Sendai watched her leave. "Huh."

"Bye, mom." Reimu lingered, giving her mother a wave. "...Will you be back at the shrine, later?"

"Ah…" This wasn't a question that Sendai particularly expected. "Uuh. Maybe? Depends on if I end up crashing at Keine's place, or someone else's place, or not…"

' _Usually, I always returned to the shrine because no one I was friends with actually owned much for property, aside from Marcus. Boy, have times changed. Plus, the place always coulda been ransacked if I left it alone, so..._ '

"Alright…" With that, Reimu gently departed from the village's center.

...A soft breeze blew through the village's square, and Sendai was caught by a moment of peace. She was alone, again.

"Ha~h…" She exhaled, taking in the wind, even despite the lacking nature of her outfit.

' _I can go wherever I want, and do whatever I want, huh…'_ She still wanted to train, but she'd never need to attend a mandatory patrol again. ' _Or, so I think, anyway. I'll have to find out more about everything to really determine whether or not Reimu's pulling her weight or not. But-... from what it seemed, everything really is oddly peaceful.'_

She began to stroll towards one of the bars on the cusp of the village square.

' _Let's pick up some booze, for later. Especially now that I got these deep pockets, so I can just-... buy a whole lot, and pull it out whenever I want to throw a party.'_

Warm light shone dimly from the inside of the ornate, two-story inn she approached. This had the village's biggest bar, as far as she could remember. ' _Let's see if that's changed at all. I remember getting into more than a few fights, here...'_

 _Fwi~sh._ It had a new, warmly illuminated sliding door, which Sendai slid open to enter. It was already mostly open, and colored lamps hung from the ceiling to give it a unique look. ' _Cool. Place really got upgraded, over the few years…'_

As she stepped in, she was greeted by the familiar scent of alcohol and smoke. A warm fire blared from a fireplace across the room from the stairs. The dim light of the green and cyan lanterns near the door quickly gave away to the dim, warm glow within.

At the back of the room, the bar counter sat where it always did, looking almost identical to how Sendai remembered it. ' _Layout didn't change at all. Neat…'_

To her left, there was a table of town guards, only partially-clad in armor. "An' tha's when I ran- and the archer company _shot_ his ass!" ...The somewhat aged, brown-haired man telling his story turned to a younger man beside himself. "...Ah, dohn- don't gimme that look. Y'got yer whole damn company fucked by a _girl!"_

The black-haired man swung his arm at him, but when it met his shoulder, it didn't do anything. "Fuck _you._ Goddamn- you _know_ how youkais are…!"

"But ya said she just _punched_ ya!" The older man beamed at him.

The youth glared back harder. "Wha' fuckin' youkai _don't_ have super strength!?"

Tuning them out, Sendai continued forward, before sighting a table full of very mixed faces.

"Take-chan." Some brown-haired guy had a black-haired girl dressed like a Hakurei shrine maiden in his lap. "You said you were preparin' for a youkai hunt…?"

"In the _village,_ actually…" She nodded, her arm wrapped around him. "Me and the girls heard about it just recently. We're um, not supposed to talk to anyone about it, but uh-"

Suddenly, the brown-haired guy spoke up. _"Hayabe!"_ He turned to the 'Hayabe' in question.

A blond-haired man sitting next to them froze, his hands returning to his sides. "Wh- what- fuck off…"

"Keep your hands to yourself, you slippery-... _fuck."_

Tuning them out as well, Sendai kept moving towards the front counter, still hearing idle pieces of chatter in the background as she did so.

"Didja hear? Like, three women, and two guards were found dead 'round Okane's blown-out-... what was it, a condo? Y'think the _youkai_ did that? I heard they finished off Okane right after, too."

"Why would a _youkai_ have done it? 'Cause if ya ask me- they did us a _favor._ That's like, the opposite of how youkai work, man... _"_

"Oh- shit. Tha's the girl from the paper. ...Yeah- might still be a uh, good 'ol 'Shameimaru Stunt', yeah. Y'never know."

Sendai reached the front counter, occupying the space over a stool between a redhead and a blonde-haired man without sitting down.

' _Oh my god.'_ She grinned in vague surprise. ' _The same fucking tavernkeep still works here. Un-fuckin'-believable.'_

He was a fairly well-dressed man, with somewhat fluffy black hair that was vaguely swept towards his right side. On his chin, there was stubble for a beard that may eventually grow in. ' _...Wow. That-... beard still hasn't grown, huh. Holy shit.'_

She watched him place drinks down expectantly. Eventually, his gaze caught onto her, and he paused.

Sauntering up to her place, he blinked a few times, before continuing. "What'll it be?"

"Ten large bottles, sake." She announced. "...I see your beard _still_ hasn't grown in."

He snorted. "...Awfully perceptive, of you. Which is funny, because you remind me of someone."

"Do I?" Sendai considered sitting down, but wasn't sure how long she wanted to spend lounging here… "Nice to see that the place's finally had upkeep done on it. How much that run you?"

...He rose a brow at her. "...You remember the general housing reform, don't you? If you meant tax-wise, we're certainly paying more than we used to, but it's still fine. I'm sure you know we still receive a lot of business. The housing reform didn't cost us who owned property anything, as it was to the village's collective benefit."

' _Guess there's some things about this housing thing I don't know about.'_

She continued anyway. "That's nice. I thought you were planning on opening a clothing store, at some point. What happened to that?"

...Shifting his posture at that, his gaze narrowed a little, "...You know- am I going crazy, or-...? You just- _really_ remind me of someone I've seen before. A customer here, actually."

' _Quite a memory. I suppose it'd be a good service to remember, as a tavernkeep. Especially when youkai roll around town, sometimes.'_

Sendai looked over her own blue-white-black Hakurei outfit. "Ah, right. I'm usually wearing red and white, aren't I? You see, my daughter showed me to this clothier, in the woods. I was skeptical at first, but it all turned out alright in the end."

"Who would your daughter be, then…?" The tavernkeep had a suspicion…

"Reimu." Sendai stated plainly. "...My outfit got torn up when she took me down to the mansion, and, yeah. Real hospitable, those people."

...Brows raised, he seemed to stop for a moment. "I know strange things happen, but-... if I remember correctly, you're _dead._ As in, you died. You're-..." He looked around for a moment, as if taken off-guard by the situation. "You're even saying things like it's just another day at the pub."

"'Cause it is." Sendai gave in, and slowly sat down, since the conversation seemed like it would continue. "Man, it's a long story. You know, even longer than the ones I'd usually tell, coming back here. Not like I'd have an audience, anymore…" She looked around at the other unfamiliar faces amidst the tavern's pub…

"Wh-... I mean-..." Slowly, he grew more incredulous. "You- _really_ just came back to _life_ …? Do you know what this _means?"_

"People can stop being dead?" Sendai guessed. "It wasn't voluntary, y'know."

"Yeah- but…!" Leaning forward, he seemed to get more excited, which was actually something she seldom saw. "There's a way to bring people back from the dead! And, not as a worthless zombie!"

"There's more than a few ways to try that." Sendai responded plainly. "...Of course, what happened to me was unlike anything I'd ever heard of. But, there are hermit arts, youkai arts, and more than a couple strategies for one's soul to persist after death. If one wanted to prevent themselves from dying, or to continue after death, it'd be well possible."

...He exhaled. "That's right, actually. I remember hearing about that… but, I also know villagers-turned-youkai, sometimes even turned-immortal, see no mercy from the Hakurei shrine maiden, let alone their fellow villagers. In fact, it's one of the few things she's deathly serious about."

' _Is that so? Usually, I'd leave it up to villagers to ostracize the youkai amongst their ranks. I mean, they exposed themselves well enough in short order usually, anyway. Since the village never helped me, I never got in depth on a problem unless it really threatened everyone… or if they paid me enough.'_

"Interesting." Sendai nodded, at that… "I haven't learned too much about my daughter, yet. I'd really like to get to know her better, even though she's already eighteen."

' _...Sort of sucks that I didn't get to see her grow up, now that I think about it.'_ Sendai stared down at the counter. ' _Good thing I'm already in a bar. But, on the bright side, I get to see her at all, and not be dead.'_

"You know," Sendai caught the tavernkeep's gaze suddenly, before he could go fulfill orders. "Why _do_ people call my daughter 'the youkai maiden', anyway?"

...He considered his words for a moment, then spoke. "You hear- well, not _you,_ but one would hear often how she lounges and spends time amongst youkai. And-..." He leaned closer, talking quieter. "Just between you and me, she's not _actually_ very popular among youkai either, for um, obvious reasons. But, she has some powerful friends, which frightens people."

"I see." Sendai nodded…

' _She doesn't even use dark magic, like I do, which makes it especially ridiculous. Like-... I hung out with youkai that had been expelled from the village, used dark magic, and fought youkai with my bare fists. It was kinda fair to call me a youkai in turn. Reimu, though? Flinging ofuda around, and resting at her shrine all day? A youkai? Really?'_

...She looked down, considering taking a drink, before realizing she didn't have a glass set up at all. ' _Damn. Muscle memory, almost. Anyway-... political propaganda is probably strong, these days. Especially with these villagers...'_

...That's when Sendai noticed the blonde-haired man seated next to her glaring at her. He had a white undershirt, with a tacky brown jacket.

"...You good?" She addressed him.

"Yeah." He brought up his beer bottle. "...Just struck me curiously, is all."

' _Whatever the hell that means.'_

 _Clack, clack, clack._ The tavernkeep began placing her requested sake bottles onto the counter. "...Also-... what do you plan to do with these bottles? You ordered a lot."

"Shove 'em in my ass." Sendai jeered. "That clothier gave me storage space inside my clothes. It'll be like a party in my pocket."

The tavernkeep grinned. "Well, fair enough… this'll run you five thousand yen, altogether."

 _Clack._ Sendai slipped the yen onto the counter. "Gotcha."

...Once he placed all the bottles down, Sendai began to slip them into her cloth apron. Her hammerspace was there instead of the outfit's sleeves, since this one's sleeves were contained and fit to her arms tightly.

...Turning to the left, Sendai saw a redheaded woman, with two fluffy pigtails. She was giving Sendai a smug look.

 _shoof._ She slid over an extra glass from her seat, which she obtained somehow. ' _Where'd- that come from…?'_

"Heya." The blue-white dressed redhead began to pour some of her alcohol into the spare glass. "Reimu's mom, huh?"

Sendai snorted, before looking down at the glass she poured for her skeptically. "...Yeah?"

 _Clack._ The woman sat her bottle down, after filling Sendai's glass millimeters shy of the overflow threshold. "Drink's on me, yeah? Y'seem like ya've had a rough go of it. Y'know, bein' off the _radar a' death_ now, and all."

...Sendai blinked at her. "And, what's that supposed to mean?"

She returned some blinks, albeit lazier ones. "Whaddaya _think_ it means…? Wait- do ya 'member me, at all…? Wh- wait, tha's right, ya wouldn't..." She began to grin at herself. "Whoops."

...Sendai let her brows curl up. "Now I feel like I'm the one going crazy. Who are _you?"_

Smiling back at her, the woman leaned into the counter. "Name's Komachi, honey. I ferried ya 'cross the river… an' boy, the _story_ you had ta tell. S'no wonder yer sittin' here in a bar wit' me! Hehehe~!"

"...Oh." Sendai nodded, at this…

' _...Wait- what the hell's a shinigami doing, just sitting here in the village!?'_

"Are you here for me?" Sendai wondered.

...Komachi gave her a level stare for a moment, trying to fight the urge to grin, before failing. "Fu- hehehe~! _No~._ I'm here fer _beer!"_ She thrust her bottle into the air. "Ooh- you oughta try the new musky stuff! I knhow it don't sound appealin'- but s'real _rich,_ actually…"

Tilting her head back, she chugged right from the bottle. "Mmh-..."

... _Clack!_ Pressing it back into the counter hard, she beamed. "Yea~h!"

...Sendai became relaxed. "Do you know if anyone is after me? For any reason?"

Komachi just snorted. "How the fuck'm I shupposed ta know… I- I chan't even see when yer gonna die anymore, which is _fuckin' weird_ , bu' who cares…"

She pointed at the glass she poured. "If yer not gonna drink that, I will!"

At this threat, Sendai claimed the glass. "Yeah, okay…"

Bringing it up, she tilted her head back. ' _Smells like some of the cheaper stuff. Not unusual.'_

She closed her eyes, the burn of the alcohol meeting her throat hard. ' _Oh, man, it's been awhile…'_

 _Clack._ After downing half of her glass, Sendai exhaled, setting it down. "Huu~... cheap stuff, huh."

Snapping her gaze to her, Komachi gave her a wry look. "Ooh? A~nd, whah 'bout it? A fix is a fix, yeah?"

"I see you're a woman of culture as well." Sendai began to grin at her…

"Hehehe~!" Breaking into a big smile herself, Komachi slapped her on the back. "Aw~, we're gonna get along real well, I- I ch-... I can tell!"

...Sendai's attention was caught by the tavernkeep's presence. "So-... do shinigami _always_ roll into the human village to get drunk, or…?"

"Just this one." He smiled, nodding. "Frequents everywhere. Life of the party, most days."

' _...Huh.'_ Considering everything she'd heard, and some of her previous encounters with death's police force, it was almost anti-climactic for her to come across a shinigami in this way. ' _I mean-... I'm glad she's not out to kill me, but… what, is she around to harvest the morons who drink themselves to death? Meanwhile, she's drinking herself to death in the process. Death is-... drinking-... to death? Drinking with death- death is drinking- ah, fuck, that's confusing.'_

"Is it possible for a shinigami to die from alcohol poisoning." Sendai needed to have her question answered.

...Komachi held a finger up. " _Yesh,_ actually. An' it really sucks, 'cause you get eaten out tha' _ass_ fer it, an' not in the good way. But, we take a lo' more ta take down than humans, lemme tell ya!"

' _...Note to self: never challenge an avatar of death to a drinking competition. Although, on that note, that confirms my suspicion that shinigami can't die. It wouldn't really make sense if they could.'_

' _But… while they're immune to death… are they immune to life?'_

Sendai had another, contrasting question, which just popped into her head. "Can shinigami-... have _kids?"_

...This actually made Komachi pause. "Uuh. Hmm. Y'know, I-... couldn't even tell ya if I chould either. I had ta sign some kinda contract, 'bout that…"

"Contract?" Leaning into the counter herself, raising her glass, Sendai tilted her head…

Komachi snorted. "Aw, yeah. Don'cha know, the afterlife's _fulla_ fuckin' paperwork. You'll pro'lly die 'a natural causes 'fore anyone's even told ta come an' stab ya. Everyone's way more worried 'bou' hermits, an' _necromancers,_ an' faux-celestial dudes. I~t's… ish really slow…"

' _Huh.'_ In just this brief chance encounter, Sendai gained a whole new perspective on life after death.. ' _I knew souls went to get judged-... but I thought that was like, metaphorical in a way, and somewhat symbolic. She's making it sound like it's actually just-... it's just court. Like- mundane, human-tier court.'_

"So, what do you do, as a reaper?" Sendai's smiled picked up again. "Considering you're here getting drunk…"

Komachi smirked at her. "Ooh? I'm-... captain 'a Gensokyo shinigami division! No one tells mhe wha' ta do! 'Cept uh, the yama- the yama tells me wha' ta do… an' I also _ferry people,_ 'cause there ain't actually that many native shinigami in thish divishion _..._ "

...At that, Sendai brought her glass up to drink from it again. ' _That's my cue to down the rest of my booze.'_

"Truth bhe told- I think- _hic-_ ooh, s'cuse me…!" Komachi's face had a red glow to it. "I think we're a _li~ttle_ unda' staffed… bu' y'know, the otha' regions kinda see us as _the sticks_. Which is ghood fer me, 'cause I don't gotta work half the time!"

"How do you even _get_ more shinigami." Sendai never thought finding out information about the greater workings of life and death would be as easy as talking to a reaper in a pub.

"Aw, that's a cute queshtion, actually…" Komachi's smile became peaceful. "So, when regular people die-... they go ta get judged, ri~ght? Shometimes, the council, or tha' yama, looks at 'em, and is like-" She pointed at Sendai playfully. "We~ whant _you._ "

...She licked her lips, then continued. "But, we also give some shitheads a whay outta gettin' assfucked by oni in the pit 'a hell As in uuh… the yama's all like, 'we'll fuckin' break ya, and you'll hate yerself, but ya can work ta get your ass outta condemn-... con _damn-..._ condoms'."

"...Quoted directly from her, I'm sure." Sendai finally began to sip from her glass.

The burn of the alcohol was familiar, but also new. ' _There we go…'_ It was a bitter, sour tonic, like most alcohol. ' _Damn. Feels like I just started drinking again, almost. Normally I can filter out the crappy part. Maybe it's just too early? Mmh…'_

"Hehehe~!" Komachi chuckled at her jest. "Basically, we let some sinners do some've our dirty work! The whole idea was like-... 'usin' the biggest monsters ta hunt the other monsters', 'cause who knows sin better than sinners? But, usually we just hire pencil pushers… 'cause we don't gotta pay 'em a lot."

' _...You get paid for being dead? How.'_

Sendai had to ask this, too. "How do you get _paid_ for being _dead."_

...Komachi shrugged. "Afterlife's got an economy too, y'know."

' _What the fuck.'_ Sendai felt like she was gonna have fun, tonight… ' _Wow, shinigami are-... weird!'_

"...Was _I_ doing something like this, while I was dead?" Sendai wondered aloud, to her reaper drinking partner.

Komachi gave her a wry look. "Y'know. Hakurei ain't allowed- both on the council 'a anything, and as uuh-..." Her face fell, as she searched her thoughts. "They get their own little afterlife space, ta uh… shtop things like this." She gestured to Sendai's presence. "Ya broke everything. Congratulationsh!"

Sendai nodded peacefully. "...Good. I don't remember anything like that. Although, for some reason, I can't remember certain other things I know that I _should_ , and _did_ remember."

Komachi was drunk enough to just keep rambling on her previous topic. "Ya kno~w-... if they're gonnah hate'cha fer anythin', s'not gonna be fer breakin' the rules… s'gonna be 'cause ya made more _paperwork_ for 'em!"

' _Good.'_

 _shoof._ Sendai slid her glass closer to Komachi. "I'll have another."

Making a smug expression, she sat her own nearly empty glass down, and lifted the bottle grandly, her chest bouncing in the process. "Hehehe~!"

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

"Al- alright…" Sendai shook her head. "I think-... that's enough beer."

' _I've got a buzz, and should probably leave it at that. Still gotta hit up Keine's later, for the evening-... and, it won't be charming if I'm dead drunk, I'm sure. Besides, I'd rather be drunk with friends.'_

"Wha~...?" Komachi gave her a skeptical look. "Bu'-... beer…?"

"No." Smiling, Sendai shook her head at her. "I got someplace to be."

' _Not that this lady here's not a friend, but you know… she's no close friend. Clarification: I like drinking with close friends.'_

...Komachi sighed. "Aw~right, fine. Well, if ya change yer mind-... ya know where t'find me! Yer an alright gal, y'know?"

"So I've heard." Sendai began to stand. "Well, thank you for the drinks, Komachi."

"No~ problem!" Komachi swayed, holding up her latest bottle. "Cheersh- shrine maide~n! Whatever yer name i~s…!"

 _Tap._ The male tavernkeep gave her a confident smile. "Good seeing you again. Somehow."

"You too." She waved back at him briefly.

Moving from her seat, she gazed across the dimly lit bar room. The crowd had changed some from earlier, but not by too much. ' _It's still pretty early in the day, after all. This would be abnormal traffic for most bars, but this place does also have sleeping accommodations, so… that, and it's also the most popular bar. One of them, at least.'_

The door outside was blocked, however, as Sendai approached it. "Take-chan…" The vaguely young, brown-haired man from before had his arms on the faux shrine maiden Take-chan's shoulders. "Yh- ya know- I never shaid ih- bhu-... tha' outfit's _sexy._ "

"You're _dru~nk,_ Kano-kun." She smiled affectionately, as he nuzzled up against her in the doorway. "C'mo~n, we gotta go home, so you can _sleep._ No naughty stuff until you're _sober_ , mister."

"Awwh…" He leaned out of the way exaggeratedly-

 _pap._ He walked back into Sendai, as she tried to slink by them. ' _Ah. Good job.'_

 _thud!_ Not expecting her there, he fell forward, landing on his knees. "Eh- ah…"

"Wha- hey…" Take-chan skirted out of the way, before pouting. "Hey- hussy! Look out some time, will ya!? Man…"

"Hh- _hey!"_ Fighting into standing, Kano-kun glared back at Sendai, as she continued walking out. "...Ah- she- looksh like a shrine maid-..."

"Actually, wait!" Take-chan called out, jogging up to Sendai…

A hand clasped Sendai's shoulder. ' _Can never just walk out of here, can I…'_

"Who're you apprenticing for? I'm gonna have some words for _them._ " Take-chan pulled, trying to turn Sendai around, but failing. "When you bump someone, you say _sorry_."

...Slowly, Sendai panned around, tiredly glaring straight into the black-haired Take-chan's gaze.

"...We- well?" Take-chan doubled down. "I'm training to be a shrine maiden, you know. I fight youkai for a living. I haven't seen you around here, before."

"Can't I just walk out the _damn_ door?" Sendai's voice was a little strained, after the light drinking she did. "Ngh. I've got somewhere to _be._ "

"Not until you know who's who, around here." Take-chan announced, smiling up at Sendai. "It'll look bad for all of us if you make a scene, yeah? Get that blue-... _stuff_ off, and come with me and Kano-kun. Um- not in that order, preferably."

"Why should I listen to you?" Sendai's posture became lazy, as she spoke to her. She was a head shorter than Sendai, which just made this even more plain of an encounter for her...

Take-chan was still smiling. "'Cause we control your future. Tell me… you got into the shrine maiden biz 'cause you didn't wanna shack up with some idiot, right? You didn't wanna do _carpentry,_ you didn't wanna do _desk work…_ you didn't wanna make _food,_ or _farm..._ "

Now, her expression was one of gleeful superiority. "You're _worthless._ Human garbage. If you can't cut it as a shrine maiden-... well, what will be left of you? Come-"

"Pft- hehe- he…" Sendai burst out giggling at how abrasive she sounded. "You- you look like such a pretty girl, too. It's a shame to hear such ugly words come out of your mouth."

"Don't talk down to _me!"_ Take-chan verbally lashed out at her insolence. "Idiot! Don't you feel scared!? How long've you even _been_ a shrine maiden trainee!?"

Sendai looked peaceful, at that. "My entire life, from birth."

...Her words made Take-chan twitch her brows, before shaking her head. "What- do you even _mean._ "

"Can we stop being stupid?" Sendai changed the subject. "I'm just going about my day. It wasn't me who decided to make a big deal about this."

"Oh- you _did,_ though!" Take-chan was really not taking no for an answer. "You did! You _so_ did! You saw us in the doorway, and you didn't wait your damn turn!"

Sendai snorted. "Wow, boo- fucking- hoo. Whatever." Turning away, she began to march off, into the crunchy, unevenly tread snow.

' _Wonder why someone this stuck-up goes to bars in the first place. Well-... I already know the answer. Everyone hangs out here, so, mmh. You get your good and your bad.'_

"Ka- Kano-kun- gimme your bottle!" Sendai heard Take-chan yelling from somewhere behind.

"Wh-... bhu- I'm _drinkin'_ from- ah- hey…"

 _Cru- cru- crunch!_ The snow behind Sendai made loud noises, as she tried to simply graze off. ' _Don't tell me…'_

 _Woosh._ Sendai leaned to the side, sighing, as a half-full alcohol bottle whizzed down along her side, coming shy of the back of her head.

-+- _Vs. Artificial Hakurei Project, Drunks_ -+-

"Eep-...!" Take-chan jolted back, eyes wide after she missed her swing. "Uu- um…! Bitch! Uhm, don't just walk away-... from me!"

"Are you _serious._ " Posture sagging as she rotated to face her, Sendai cracked her neck, then her knuckles. "You're going to just fucking _bludgeon me?"_

"I- I didn't do anything!" Take-chan stepped back further, moving to hand the bottle back to her boyfriend. "Seriously, just, leave me alone!"

"Ta- Take-chan…" Kano-kun slowly turned to his girlfriend, after watching her make an attempt on someone else. "...Ya- ya missed! That woulda been _wicked_ if it hit!"

"You're both drunk." Sendai announced. "...So, what. Is it a fight you want?" She began to step closer.

Take-chan hid behind her boyfriend. "Ka- Kano-kun's a badass village guard! He'll knock you the fuck out!"

...Kano-kun looked around, all of a sudden, as Sendai marched up to him. "Uu- um… whaht!?"

 _thump._ Sendai pushed him over effortlessly. "Wh- _whoa~h!"_

 _crunch!_ He flopped onto the light layer of snow on the ground nearby, laden with shoe and sandal prints. "Oof…"

...Take-chan drew a gohei from behind herself. "Sta- stay back! I'll-... hit you!"

Sendai continued marching up to her, while she continued to step back-

 _clack!_ She flicked her gohei against Sendai, but she'd raised her forearm to brush the strike off.

Soon, Take-chan was pressed against the outside wall of the bar. Sendai simply kept walking forward, until she was staring straight down at the smaller girl.

At first, she punched, and rammed herself into Sendai's stomach, but all Sendai had to do was tense her abdomen to take the feeble slaps. ' _A girl like this really shouldn't be starting shit. Honestly.'_

...After some moments, she stared up at Sendai. Letting her gohei drop, she pressed her back straight against the bar's outer wall. "Loo-... look, I'm- I'm sorry, okay…? Just- don't um, eat me, or-..."

"Just give me your money, and I'll forget about this." Sendai bullied her. "Seven thousand yen should do it."

 _Sendai obtained 7,000 Yen!_

Her full name was Takeno, as Sendai discovered. She now leaned up against the bar's wall with her hand to her heart, shaking…

Treading away from the scene, Sendai slipped the yen into her blue apron. ' _No use in talking to people like her. At the very least, I'll be courteous enough not to hurt her. I'll assume she just got a little too buzzed.'_

The overcast had made the day become a dull grey, making it almost like night, even though it was noon. ' _Also, this weather. I kinda like it, but-... you tend to see a lot of it, over the winter. It's probably gonna get old, once it stops being fall.'_

Despite the cold and the gloom, there were some faces out on the village roads. The stalls seemed to be running, although they were largely the ones which sold candy, warm foods, or clothing.

' _The dim lights-... are really nice, actually.'_ She was attracted by the few different colors that lit up the village stalls, and the warm glow of lit windows.

While she stepped down the village square, she closed her eyes. ' _Cold-... and cosy. Why'm I so tired…'_

' _I guess it could be 'cause I'm winding down from the high I got while pushing around those kids.'_ She referred to the fake shrine maiden she stole money from. ' _I wonder-... how are the actual tiny shinto things in town doing?'_

From what she remembered, the Hakurei weren't the only true faith amidst the village, but other small shinto factions were fairly small and didn't mean much to anyone, either. ' _I'm actually surprised how well that one on the mountain seems to be doing. Unless, the gods are getting their faith from youkai there.'_

She began to move for the west road, where the school was, and where Keine's house would be found on a branching path. ' _Well, that's enough sightseeing…'_

Moving down this road, passing by a familiar bench, she continued forward in the dim cold.

"Hey-..." Coming up from the side of the road, a blonde man approached her. "You. In the blue Hakurei-like outfit."

Sendai turned to him. He had a somewhat tacky brown jacket on, with a white undershirt. "...Yeah?"

"I'm lookin' for information." He smiled at her. "And, help, maybe."

"Is that so." Sendai slowed to a stop, and so did he. "What kind of information?"

"...For context, I'm a youkai exterminator," he began, "and some strange things have been happening. Strange village happenings, the recent terror activities, and such… well, someone as out of place as you seemed like an obvious person to question."

He held a hand out towards Sendai. "And, pardon my rudeness. What's your name, miss?"

Sendai was at an impasse. ' _...Hmm.'_

"Tsukiko Hakurei." She figured the best lie would be the truth, in this case.

Fittingly enough, he snorted at that. He also let his hand drop, since she didn't respond to the handshake offer. "Who? Better question, I suppose: are you in the Artificial Hakurei Project?"

"I'd like to think I'm not." Sendai fought that impression as hard as she could. "I don't even know what that's all about. Actually-... since it's on my mind, are the other Shinto shrines of the village still in operation? I know they were around, some years ago. Over a decade ago."

...At that, he rose a brow. "The-... old shrines? Their property still stands. No one's claimed it, or updated it. Common hangout for hobos and crap. At some point, they were disbanded-... for some reason. Not sure. I do know that some of their shrine maidens are used for the Hakurei Project thing."

' _...That's a shame, actually.'_ Sendai didn't really like that. ' _They were actually pretty chill.'_

"Who started that crappy project thing, again?" Sendai wanted to know… "Wasn't it the guard captain?"

"Well, he overlooked it…" The blonde man scratched his face, above his lip. "Pretty sure it was a collective council thing. None of us at the guard're particularly fond of that _actual_ Hakurei maiden…"

Sendai snorted. "Is that so? Why is that?"

"She sides with youkai." He folded his arms. "Simply put: I hunt youkai, and she _befriends_ them."

...This idea made Sendai wonder. "What would you do, if you found a youkai child?"

The question was odd, so he raised a brow. "Shoot it. You know, before it shoots me."

"An _actual_ child." Sendai countered. "Not like that one darkness youkai, or those spy maiden children. Maybe a young beast-type, or magi, with nothing more to their name than their species and, whatever's on their back, I guess. No power, and no ability to really put up a good fight. Is that still worth shooting?"

...He looked less certain at the idea. "I mean-... I'd _have to_ , wouldn't I? Call me heartless if you want, but you can't take those chances. Nothing says they won't come back for revenge later, or that they won't bring friends. And, you know, they're youkai. They could probably live through being shot once, yeah?"

...Sendai flicked her gaze up, at that. "I suppose so. Well, fair enough. If there's anything I've learned throughout the years, it's that not everything is as cut and dry as it seems. I don't think this village really understands what youkai really are at all."

' _Some youkai are inhuman, unrelatable monsters, but some are just as if not more human than the average human. If not, something greater, in some ways. The term 'youkai' itself is just a branch term for all kinds of inhuman entities. A defensive approach is appropriate, yeah, but the village takes it way too far.'_ She knew she was no saint in her treatment of youkai either, but this situation was not those situations.

Smiling at her, he waved the idea off. "Aa~h. Well, you don't need to worry about that. I know everything I need to, to keep us all protected."

' _...Uh, huh.'_ Sendai was unimpressed by the non-response. Either he didn't listen, or he had just weaved past her response. ' _Well, if you say so.'_

"If you're not with the village maidens…" He suddenly furrowed his brows. "Well-... why are you all dressed up like a shrine maiden?"

...Sendai decided to play dumb. "Well, I originally thought the outfit looked cool, so I got a blue one made for me, but it's been more trouble than it's worth. You'd be surprised."

His grin grew, and he put his arms on his hips. "Ahah, rea~lly? That's really funny, actually. So, what're you normally, then? I guess you're not a shrine maiden?"

...Sendai smiled casually. "I'm a carpenter, yes."

' _...Not technically a lie, but I'm not a formal carpenter by a long shot. I can make a chair if you gave me a few hours and some wood, though. And, you know, a saw, hammer, nails… an axe… ugh. Thinking about it makes me not want to. Those arm sleeves of mine always got in the way, too. Shrine maiden outfits are not made for advanced handy work.'_

"Carpentry, huh?" Moving, the man began to step towards the village square again. "You sure look like you were made for it. I mean-... you have muscles that'd make a guard envious." He could see from the exposed leotard under the blue cloth apron, and from Sendai's general stature.

"I'm sure." She nodded, smiling. "Carpentry is my passion."

' _...If carpentry was my passion, oh man…'_ Smiling, she only vaguely thought back to the last depressing piece of furniture she tried to make. ' _I'll stick to training dummies and homemade obstacles.'_

...Idly, as their conversation slowed, he took in the winter air, for a moment. "Anyway. The name's Albus. Is your name really Tsukiko?"

Sendai searched the villagers nearby them with her gaze. Since this conversation took up the right edge of the road, excessively clad villagers weaved past them along the more center area of the road. ' _Such a cool, grey day.'_

"Um, it's Tsuruko, actually." When she refocused, she lied again. "Slip of the tongue. Not a name I'm really fond of."

The half-truth Sendai slipped in worked, and he smiled in seeming recognition. "Oo~h, gotcha. So-... you're Aoyama, aren't you?" Eyes sharpening, Albus faced her again. "...Weren't you with the village's maidens, though?"

"Who?" Sendai rose a brow. "...You're probably thinking of a different Tsuruko, I guess."

Now with just a slanted, knowing smile, Albus snorted. "...Alright, then. Well, I've got some friends who'd like to ask you a few questions, too. If you have time, it'd be nice if you could follow me there."

...Sendai shrugged. ' _Sure, what the hell.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

On the village's eastern road, Sendai followed the rather cheesily dressed Albus to a quaint, two-story private home on the main road. ' _Who would even wear that western-styled jacket. It doesn't even look warm...'_

 _Crea~k._ He swung the wood door open. "Make yourself at home. We're using this as a makeshift meeting place, after the guards kicked us out to make room for the _not-maidens._ "

"I see." Sendai nodded… "Doesn't look like too raw of a deal, though." It was a proper, two-story house, after all.

He acknowledged that. "True."

The first room of the house had a somewhat ornate coffee table placed under a window to the left, and to the right there were some chairs which sat at either side of a central door.

' _Warm…'_ Sendai noticed the house was a lot warmer than the cold air outside, even without a stove in this room. The lighting provided by the interior magi-lamps was bright and energizing.

A short-haired, blonde kid was at the coffee table inside, mixing batter in a bowl. "Aye wrote the _book,_ ma~n! On how ta _cook_ , ma~n!"

"Hey- _Fred!"_ Albus instantly barked at him. "What the fuck're you doing, man?"

Despite momentary surprise, he retorted quickly. "I'm- makin' _food,_ y'git!" Fred was a stout, blonde male of vague age, clad in blue-ish mage robes of some description. "Y'know I _don't_ got a kitchen, man."

"Don't fuckin'- _sing_ in the _common room._ " Albus shook his head at him. "You'll scare off our latest lady, here."

...Fred turned his gaze to Sendai, and he instantly lit up with a smile. "Oo- aye- gods. She's a beauty. Aa- is that _Tsuruko_ …!?"

Albus snorted. "Not the one you're thinking of. Sounded like it was a huge coincidence. This is Tsuruko the _carpenter."_ He gestured back to Sendai with his thumb. "She's built kinda like the other one, though. It's actually kinda weird, the coincidence…"

He turned back to her. "You're not her, are you."

"I don't think I am?" Sendai tilted her head… "I've never so much as met her, if that matters."

Fred went back to beating the batter in his bowl. "Aah, Tsuruko'd never be 'ere in tha' first place, mate. She don't really sound the part, y'know."

"I suppose no~t." Albus meandered towards one of the four chairs, in the room. "Where's Yoroi and Mike, anyway?"

Fred rolled his eyes. "Aah, they went ta get tha' other parts 'a the cake mix. Uuh- hey, Meira! Meira~!"

 _fwoo- fwoof._ Two women pushed through a curtain-covered door in the midst of the room's right wall. "What's up…"

Sendai recognized Meira. ' _She's_ _that ballsy red-headed samurai girl that I smashed against the gate, a few days ago…'_

A short, blond woman of also dubious age came up to Fred, equal with his height. She had a black eyepatch on for no reason, as well as a casual blue dress. "Fre~d. Did you use the _right milk this time?_ I swear to _fuck,_ if ya _fucked up_ again-"

"I _remembe~red."_ He smiled, shaking his head at her. "...Did I?" He stared into the batter for a good moment. "Ah- yeah, I did-"

" _Fred!"_ She grabbed the bowl from him, and stared in herself. "...You did, huh."

 _Crea~k._ The back door slowly swung open, and an armored man wandered in. He had a bell-shaped helmet, and an immense greatbow on his back. It got caught on the top of the back door as he entered, so he had to tilt himself awkwardly to shift inside.

' _Wow.'_ Sendai began to realize how much of a mess this tiny room became… ' _This is kinda what my old team would have looked like, if we were all idiots.'_

...Slowly, the bell-helmeted man made his way in. Sendai stared at him, and he stared back.

...She offered a wave. He offered one back, as well. ' _The hell're we doing…'_

"You-..." Meira recognized her, speaking up from where she stood in the room's midst. "You're-..."

"Hey." Sendai smiled at her. "How's things."

"Tsukiko…" Meira wasn't quite as dull as everyone else. "What- brings you here…?"

"I was invited." Sendai summarized. "...I'm not sure _why,_ but I was." She was sort of curious, about when Meira learned her name.

Sitting on an uncomfortable looking wood chair, Albus stared up at her. "Well, with your physique-... I was wondering if you were looking for work elsewhere. Namely, here."

His conscious focus on being accommodating made itself known to her. ' _He didn't even notice that she said my real name.'_

"...Is that so?" Sendai rose a brow.

' _Also, if I took some by-chance work here, I could get some quick yen. Provided, I could just do jobs off the board if I was hurting for yen too, so… or, I could mug thieves, but they do get wiser after enough of that. Only works 'cause I'm new in town again.'_

"Why shouldn't I just take jobs off the job board and do them?" She wondered aloud. "I shouldn't need you guys to back me up." They especially didn't impress her.

"We- well…" After a moment, Meira spoke up, now seated on one of the poor quality chairs as well. She began to clear her throat, getting her bearings.

The weird positioning of the chairs stood out to Sendai just now. Around the central door, two of four chairs sat on either edge of it; Albus on one side, Meira on the other. ' _What kinda shitty audience room is this supposed to be…'_

Finding her voice, Meira tried speaking again. "Sit, if you'd like. We... have access to some jobs, that others don't. Vendors, village support, weapons, supplies, you name it. That, and you can tackle jobs with other hunters easier, and not just-... other farmhands, or what-have-you."

' _...That does make it sound tempting. Mostly for the supplies, maybe.'_

Albus smiled up at Sendai. "We can train you, too. You ever fought, before?"

"She'll be fine." Meira interjected immediately, and bluntly. "More than fine."

...Albus gave her an odd look, but didn't comment.

...While the lights were nice, the furniture's overall clashing styles and odd chintsyness put Sendai off. ' _What a crappy little living room…'_

 _Creak._ She sat next to Meira. ' _Oh, damn, these little wood chairs are awful. Hope my ass isn't too much for this one to handle.'_

"What- are _you_ doing here…?" Meira turned to her, and spoke too quiet for the rest of the room to hear readily.

"You been training?" Sendai changed the subject immediately, and made the conversation about her instead. "I remember last time, it was _way too easy_ to get close to you."

"Ye- yes." Meira closed her eyes. "Well-... with how you fight, are you in a position to lecture me, like this?"

' _How's she know how I fight? She might be making an assumption, but…'_

Sendai almost agreed with her, before then thinking of something. "We're all learning one way or another. And-... if _I_ was able to easily beat you up like that, you would have been in big trouble otherwise."

"...I- I guess I _was_ careless." Meira frowned at her. "Don't think I'm _always_ as tactless as that."

"S'about fuckin' time Meira found a friend…" Fred muttered, despite standing right in front of the girls, still beating the batter bowl… "Bloody, stick in the ass…"

Meira still frowned, now in his direction. "Fred- I _heard_ that, you skinny little coward."

"Wh- ah, I- what!?" Fred froze, turning in her direction. "Heard whah? I didn't hear nothin', musta been the wind!"

"You're a kiss-ass, Fred." Meira relaxed into her chair… "Have you even learned any new spells, in the past couple months?"

...He shook his head. "I- I mean, _no._ Look- I've been helpin' Sarah wit' the house, gettin' settled an' all- I just haven't had _time._ "

"You've been doing that for a _year now,_ you ass." Meira countered. She stomped her sandal down while still seated. "...Ngh. I'm too tired to care."

...She turned to Sendai, again. "I forget if I found out-... you're a youkai yourself, right?"

Sendai shook her head. "Wasn't I compared to that Tsuruko chick? Is _she_ a youkai? What about the idiots in the other shrine maiden outfits?"

"...Point." Meira consented. "Well, sorry for trying to stab you, I guess. You've got a bad sense of fashion."

Sendai smirked. "That doesn't really make up for anything, but alright."

She smiled back more aggressively… "To be fair, I'd probably be fine with having a sword accident with some of them, too. And, you also didn't namedrop them, at the time, when you really should have..."

' _Why do half of the people here have English-type names? Fred, Albus-... Mike. What the hell…'_

"...We should send her out to track down Mike and Yoroi." Albus jested, grinning at everyone. "For all we know, they got lost in the bakery."

Fred sat his bowl down onto the rich, ornate wood table on the room's left. "Pftah. Y'know, tha's pro'lly not a bad idea, yeah. Um, Tsuki-tsuki or whatever your name is- would ya be a dear wit' that?"

"Are-... this _is_ the youkai hunting team, right?" Sendai forgot who she was in the company of, for a moment. "Actually, how many people are even members?"

 _Fli- flick._ Meira reached into her own kimono. "Uuh. I carry our documentation, as well as copies, for legislative reasons. Here."

Sendai received some papers, from her. ' _What's this? Staff roll call…?'_

...She read down the list, gaze scanning over the names and information. ' _Albus, location, south-east sector. Fred, location, east main. Meira, location, north-west sector. Yoroi, Mike, Sarah… Brad, location unknown? George, location unknown? Hmm…'_

"Interesting." Sendai handed her back the paper. "I guess I'll go see what happened to your-... cake mix fetching people."

...Meira smiled slightly, at that. "Huh. Well, thank you, I guess…"

' _I'm more curious than anything, and if I get free stuff out of this, that'd be cool.'_ Standing up, Sendai made for the door outside… ' _Actually, if I get certified, maybe that'd give me some kind of political authority. Right now, I'm just gonna bet on free beer and cake mix, or something. I should have Keine make a nice cake, later…'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

== CHAPTER RESULTS ==

 _Sendai Hakurei no Miko:_

NEW SKILLS:

x _Youkai Style_

Essence of Face Twisting - Dirty attack where Sendai thrusts her palm past the enemy's defenses and twists their head, before slamming them into the floor with a sweep of her leg, once they're vulnerable. Used to completely bypass an enemy's guard.

x _Tengu Style_

Rising Tornado - When slammed onto the floor, Sendai may spin her body around, using wind and momentum to roar back into standing and immediately counter-attack, to make enemies back off.

NEW ITEMS:

Sake(x10) - Cheap alcohol. Good for getting tipsy, and not much else. Makes Sendai more drunk.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Shots for Everyone - Provides everyone with a magically-generated shot glass, and the contents of the bottle are distributed to each glass. Theoretically able to serve unlimited people, but the alcohol starts to really thin out per person around the ten people mark.

 _Marcus:_

NEW ITEMS:

Bottled Artificial Spiritualism - Pink energy sampled from a human villager. Seems similar to faith…

== Full inventory summary in: ~3 chapters ==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

this chapter ended up being really varied in terms of range and scope - w -

reimu and marisa are pretty fluffy dude

although it's about time we did some misc. fun village activities! it might be a little packed of a place, but it's got some fun things going on if ya keep yer eyes open

also the band of misfits that is the youkai exterminators club in the village is fun

komachi was fun to talk to especially since in vanilla sendai she didn't get to be characterized as much as she was here

ai don't currently have a lot to say at the moment but - w -

that DOES remind me, i decided to go with this inventory summary thing similar to FG's because it's just more efficient since sendai's own skill list and the party general list are going to end up getting pretty massive eventually, so honh

rising tornado's introduction was kind of abrupt, but sendai'll probably have to figure out more about it later - w -

the ESSENCE OF FACE TWISTING is fun, especially now that youkai style is getting diversified in terms of what it can do

i'm reminded again of how tengu style becoming a thing seemed abrupt and like too much to a couple people but we've yet to see it really used in a serious-serious fight, that and i think we can all already tell that, without additional skills, despite the speed, sendai kinda becomes a ragdoll towards any attack thrown her way

that and it's pretty significant in that it's both an entirely different moveset and pretty sharply changes sendai's core methods of how her body handles; rather than adding to her actual power or total skills it's kind of just a different way to approach situations

hoh

anyway, as always, see you all next time!


	18. Crash Addiction

Sendai stopped in the village square. ' _I was told they'd be perusing the stalls, looking for some kind of premium cake mix, and generic confectionaries.'_ She was searching for some youkai exterminators sent on an errand...

The dim, cool day was accented by the uneven banks of snow on the edges of the village square, and roads. The grey sky, and warm lights of the village filled Sendai with a sense of contentment. ' _...Maybe that's why I'm so content, right now. Both with this fool's errand I took for no reason, and-... maybe it's the beer, too.'_ Earlier, she got a buzz from the town bar.

Smiling happily, she began to stroll towards the stalls. They were set up all along the edge of the town square, against buildings. The Eientei stall rested in the north west corner, taking up a significant amount of space there.

The south west corner was dim, none of the vendors choosing to light it well. Moving over there, Sendai heard the sounds of townsfolk…

"Accessories! Hey- you! Trinkets! Agh- _blast…"_

"Uu- um… Shimaru Bakery~! We- we, um…" A small girl's voice was heard somewhere nearby, catching Sendai's ear…

"Christmas lights! What's Christmas, you ask!? Glad you asked! Feel free, to buy my lights!"

Sendai approached the stall where she heard the young girl. ' _She sounded timid, for someone yelling over the crowd…'_

On further inspection, she noticed there was a short, black-haired girl kicking her legs back and forth, sitting atop the stall.

Within it, a taller, black-haired woman smiled, standing still. "...Our delivery should be back, soon."

"Ghh…" Before the counter was an absolutely _massive_ man. "How long will I have to _wait?_ I have youkai to kill, ma'm."

"I'm sure your youkai stomach will be able to wait." The black-haired woman, her hair done up atop her head in a big bun, smiled up at the truly massive, armored man. "I didn't expect our business to be this profitable. Sega-kun will be back with supplies, soon. Please be patient."

"What if…!?" Next to the tall, golden-armored grey-haired man was a smaller, still large man, clad in plate armor. "What if the _frankenstein youkai_ got him!?"

The middle-aged woman smiled patiently. "Probably not, Mike."

"How do you _know!?"_ Mike was a man with dishwater blonde hair, cut very short, and obviously foreign, appearing to be a european. "I was taught under youkai exterminator Francis- those with the _hollow skull fragments-_ they're the ones you have to watch out for! Especially- a _cake maker…"_

"Probably not, Mike." The woman didn't seem to actually listen to him, and just repeated herself. "We have some cookie dough back here for you to try, though. Um, Tami-chan, will you show him…?"

The short, bobby-haired girl got up from the top of the stall, and began to climb down. "Sure thing, mom…"

...Mike seemed placeated by the idea. "Thank you, ma'm… you are a force for good in the world."

"Mike." The massive, seven foot tall man turned to him. "Have I ever told you, that you are _fucking retarded?"_

"Yes." Mike grinned at him. "Chikara, I can't help it, you know that."

He snorted. "...You really _can't,_ can you."

...Sendai gingerly stared at the big, armored men. "...I take it you're Mike and Yoroi?"

...Yoroi panned towards her slowly, glaring down at her. "I don't have time for your _shit,_ shrine-fuck. I'm buying _cake mix,_ and you can't _stop me."_

Sendai grinned, at that. "...Well, I didn't come to stop you, and I'm not a shrine-fuck. I was sent by Meira, to make sure you didn't get your dicks caught in a drain pipe. Her words, not mine." She lied.

...Gradually, gazing ahead again, Yoroi huffed. "Really, now. Tell her it can't be helped. This bi-... this _baker_ doesn't have her _supplies in,_ at the moment. Can you believe it. We've been standing here for _thirty fucking minutes._ " His voice was sort of gravelly, but also constantly indignant-sounding, for some reason.

...Sendai faced the baker woman, whose daughter was fetching cookie dough in the background. "Your supplies haven't come in?"

She nodded back. "Mmm. My husband does the back-and-forth, for us. He should be coming from somewhere along north main."

...Sendai looked in that direction, as did Yoroi. There were people moving back and forth, but…

Yoroi huffed. "I can't see shit. He's probably not coming."

"He'd have a wagon, right?" Sendai wondered aloud.

"Mmm." The woman nodded. "Yes. Do you see it?"

...Sendai shook her head. "Not-... yet." Then, she parted from the stall.

' _I might as well go look for him, before someone asks me to go look for him. Not many people are just moving wagons in the snow, right now, so… he should stand out like a sore thumb.'_

Yoroi and the woman watched, as Sendai marched off for seemingly no reason.

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

18

Crash Addiction

 _Crunch, crunch._ The lights along the north road were, collectively, a little dimmer. The almost rainy day-like overcast made everything feel much sleepier than usual...

' _What the fuck…'_ Sendai stared to the right, paused in the street for a moment.

A massive five-story building stood there, with rigid, square architecture that clashed harshly with the two-story storefronts around it. The grand, neon-lit sign midway up the front of it read 'Golden Grin'.

' _...Name's still the same, but…'_ Sendai shook her head, at the sight. ' _Damn. I didn't really notice this until now, but-... that's a truly massive building. Looks like it's made out of stone and metal, and not wood, too. What the fuck.'_

At the well-lit front door, bunny girls stood out in the snow, shivering. Sendai could tell at a glance that these were real, youkai ones, too. ' _...I ought to check that out, at some point. Because, um, holy shit? All this talk about youkai, and what the fuck is this? Seriously!'_

"Whatever." Sendai supposed that'd be a trial for another day. For now, she was trying to find a guy with a wagon full of confectionery and cake mix.

' _Something about walking these streets, especially when they're empty, feels good.'_

When she looked around, up the road, she saw something that vaguely fit the description. ' _Ah, hey…'_

She got closer into range of it, and then she realized what she was watching.

"Hey- _please-_ ugh…" A black-haired man held out his arms, trying to keep women away from the wagon. "Go away!"

"Come _on…"_ Before him, a brown-haired faux shrine maiden stood, arms on her hips, with a gohei in one hand. "It's just a spot check, guy. How else will we find out, if you're carrying anything bad?"

"You've- never done this _before."_ He frowned, and stood as tall as he could. "You just walked up and started _ripping stuff open._ Who- even _are_ you people?" Then, he grimaced. "Are- are you _youkai…?"_

"What…!?" The brown-haired girl's expression flared. "Master Tomomi- _you_ talk to this idiot!"

A stout, black-haired girl sauntered up from behind her. "Look, guy-"

Sendai had a terrible idea. ' _If he thinks they're youkai-... oh, shit.'_ She had a terrible, awful idea.

Grinning smugly, she brought her arms along her sides. " _Thousand Talismans!"_ Feeling her holy energy bubble up from within her, white light pulsed from her sandals, as she took root in the snow.

The short Tomomi turned to her. "Wha-"

 _-+- Vs. Artificial Hakurei Project_ -+-

 _Fwi- fwi- fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Sendai's arms were windmills of white and azure, her body feeling the cold day's breeze as she constantly slipped talismans out from within her short sleeves. In nearly no time after drawing them, she lobbed them forward with bullet velocity.

 _FWA- FWA- FWA- FWAP!_ They struck the taller, brown-haired faux-shrine maiden in the stomach, sending her sliding down the road. "Wh- _woaa~!"_

 _SLA- SLAP- SLAP- FWAP!_ They rammed against Tomomi's hair and face, staggering her back and towards the side of the road as they blew past her flailing arms. "Aa- _shit- ohwahaha~...!"_

"Oo- oh…!" A different, black-haired shrine maiden with shoulder-length hair stumbled back, hands defensively near her face, even though nothing hit her. "What-... the _hell…"_

 _Crunch, crunch, crunch!_ Sendai stomped down the road like a hooligan, towards her. "I see, you, youkai! Are you _next!?"_ She thrusted her arm forward assertively, letting her hair flare in the wind.

"What- I'm…!?" The girl's eyes lit up, like a deer in headlights.

 _crun- crunch!_ She turned away, and fell into the snow, before scrambling away. "I- _I'm shorry-_ mistress Tomomi…!"

" _Ngh…"_ Tomomi herself lied in the snow, feverishly clawing at the fiercely glowing talismans she was pelted with. "What-... what-..."

 _Sendai obtained Shogi Cookie._

...With the fake shrine maidens taken care of, Sendai stepped up to the man. "There. Are you hurt?" She knew he wasn't, but it made her sound like an authoritative and good person, so he wouldn't get the wrong idea.

He blinked, before relaxing. "Um-... no. I'm not. Who-... who are you?"

...Sendai searched the dark sky for a moment, before answering. "No one important. Your wife was worried about you."

"Aah…" He smiled. "Well, she ought to, I guess. I didn't know _what_ I was gonna do, about those-... youkai?" He stared at the shrine maidens on the side of the road, as they fought to get back up from the snow.

"You- _yhou…"_ Tomomi marched back onto the road, while her goon simply idled in the background in an upset manner.

Sendai aggressively jerked towards the smaller girl, once she was in range. " _Hu~h!?"_

"Ee- eh…!" Tomomi flinched back. She was two heads shorter than Sendai. "What the hell was that-"

"You had enough, yet!?" Sendai pounded a fist into her own open palm.

...Tomomi turned away, and began to walk off. "Fu- fucking-... youkai _psycho…"_

...Once she began to move off, Sendai exhaled. ' _Looks like that worked. Sort of embarrassing, but whatever.'_

After some quiet moments, she looked to the guy dragging the wagon. He was digging through it, for a moment…

"Here." He draw a really big cookie from somewhere, in the shape of a shogi piece. "...There's not a lot else I can do for you. Um-... maybe a discount, if that'd work?"

"Oh." Sendai was kind of surprised, as she accepted the cookie. "...Um, it's fine. I'll just take-... this." She stared at the cookie, which was bigger than her hand…

 _Cla- clack._ He began pulling on the wagon again, staring at Sendai while he did so. "Nngh-... an- anyway, thanks for your help."

"Here." She moved towards him, pocketing the big cookie. "Lemme pull it, for you. You look like you're having trouble…"

"Oo- oh?" He blinked, and moved out of the way…

 _Cla- clack._ Sendai gripped onto the handles, and began to move. ' _Aah, there we go. This is the strength training I needed… sort of. The square's just ahead, so… this is gonna be short-lived.'_

"Yeah, um…" The black-haired guy began to speak, as he walked alongside Sendai. "I- I just began dragging the cart into the village myself recently, when traffic picked up. Until then, I um-... didn't leave the house much. So- getting stopped like that, by youkai, was kinda-... bad. Y'know?"

Sendai smiled at how plain he sounded. "...Yeah. The village is sometimes an unkind place."

"...Tell me about it." He stuck his hands in his coat pockets.

' _Winter coats seem to be in fashion, fortunately.'_ Sendai began seeing more people in proper outside-style coats and thicker kimonos around this time of year. ' _They're actually pretty good, efficiency-wise. Admittedly, it sort of… gives the village an industrial feel, though. Kinda feels weird, to say that.'_

Soon, they pulled into the village square. Sendai dragged the wagon up to the applicable stall, on the other side of the clearing.

"Oh…!" The black-haired woman who worked there perked up. "There you are!"

"Hey, Eri-chan…" He parted from Sendai, stepping up to her. "This woman helped me out."

"Did she…?" Eri-chan smiled over at Sendai, and rose a brow. "What happened?"

Sendai answered. "Some youkai got inside, and stood in his way. I took care of them."

"What? Really…?" The woman's eyes widened. "Are you okay?" She immediately moved up to her husband, and began looking him over…

"Ye- yeah." He nodded. "They opened a few things, which was bad, but before they could do anything more, I stopped them- and this woman came up, and-..." He turned to Sendai. "She-... threw a _lot_ of talismans, and stopped them."

...Eri-chan smiled at Sendai. "Did you, now? Well-... thank you. Do you want anything? It'll be on us."

...Sendai considered this.

Yoroi was still here. He leaned towards her, grinning widely. "Get the deluxe cake. Save us the trouble of makin' it."

' _No, fuck you.'_ Sendai really didn't care about the youkai extermination fun club.

"I'll have one of the small cookie bags, I guess." Sendai felt like chocolate chip. Reaching forward, she took one preliminarily…

The woman nodded. "Sure thing."

Yoroi spoke up. "Ho- hold on, she's a _youkai exterminator_ , like us. Let me just-..."

 _woosh._ Reaching forward, he pulled Sendai by the shoulders with both arms, dragging her back. ' _He- hey- what the fuck…!'_

 _Shoof._ Her sandals skidded in the snow, as he positioned her a few paces away from the stall, gazing into her eyes. "Order the _fuckin'_ cake already."

...Sendai glared back. "Fuck _off._ I'm not having them make your idiot parade a whole fucking cake."

"Do you _know_ who I am!?" Yoroi yelled into her face, attracting attention from nearby villagers… "Do _you!?"_

...Sendai just frowned harder. "Honestly? No. I don't really care, either. What's up?"

...He let out a deep exhale. "You have some _balls_ for a _girl._ "

"It's not gonna look good if you punch me, or anything." Sendai reasoned. "Especially now. It wouldn't end well for you, either."

...He tried a different strategy. "I'll-... how long've you even _been_ in the guild?"

"About one hour." Sendai theorized. "Why."

...He let go of her shoulders. "Nnh. You're not worth my _time._ Don't get in my way again."

"Don't get in _my_ way again." Sendai countered. "Asshole."

With that, he turned away, ignoring her. Sendai glanced down at his large, fur-adorned, faded purple cape. ' _What a dick. I'd love to smash his head against a table.'_

...When Yoroi turned back to the stall, the woman there gave him a pained grin. "...Um. I'm afraid we still won't be able to get you that cake mix…"

...For a few moments, he processed this, before blinking twice. "What. Why."

"You're disturbing our business." She gave him a nod. "I'm sorry."

Glare intensifying, he panned his gaze around, noticing the way villagers around him were staring. "...Fuck this." Shaking his own head, he sighed, and began moving to leave.

...Sendai blandly watched him stomp off, snow splashing as a result of his every step. _'Good.'_

When Sendai turned back to the stall, Eri-chan smiled at her. "Next time, we'll give you a discount, dear. You're Tsuruko, aren't you?"

...Sendai shook her head. "No. My name may not be worth saying, but I'm not Tsuruko."

"Huh." Eri-chan shifted her tired gaze to the counter… "Hey- before you go…"

Sendai's stopped wandering over the shop's items, centering on her again. Eri-chan bended down, reaching for something…

 _thump._ She stood, and patted the top of a big, good-looking orange bag that she dropped onto the counter top. "This is the bag and recipe for one of our deluxe cakes. It's a recipe we inherited from the Yamada family cookbook, when their daughter left town formally."

"Um…" Sendai _did_ suppose she wanted Keine to make a cake, at some point. "Thanks, actually…"

' _Even the bag looks yummy…'_

When Sendai had everything inside her hammerspace, she nodded at Eri. "Well, thank you so much. I'm- kinda guilty, not having to pay for any of this..."

Eri waved her off. "It's fine. Business has been great recently, anyway. We only prepare those deluxe cake mixes on special order, and we usually negotiate the price with our customers."

"Well… alright." With a smile, Sendai began to stroll off… "Have a good night, guys."

"You- you too…" The husband waved at her, followed by Eri.

' _Took long enough, to find some more sane people.'_

With that, Sendai walked into the dimming, overcast evening. She was supposed to go back to the youkai exterminator makeshift guild room, but she kind of forgot about them after everything that'd happened.

 _Sendai obtained Small Cookie Bag._

 _Sendai obtained Deluxe Yamada MagiCake Mix._

Sendai stood on the west main street of the village, taking in the atmosphere. ' _Really nice day, today. Man…'_

Ahead of her was an assortment of villagers, and the occasional guardsman, going about their daily activities.

' _Let's get off this busy road.'_ As the traffic increased into the evening, for some reason, Sendai turned towards the alley that lead to Keine's house. ' _It's time to laze about… or, do furniture lifting, or something.'_

When she turned for the alley, someone stepped out of it.

A slightly-charred, black-haired woman with a disheveled shrine maiden outfit stumbled forward. She had a copy of Sendai's regular outfit on, in fact.

' _Wait-...'_ Sendai noted this as irregular. ' _Usually, everyone dresses up as my daughter.'_

She paused, seeing Sendai there.

"Hi." Sendai greeted her plainly. "...I see you're a woman of culture, as well."

"...Hey." She greeted Sendai equally plainly. "Thank you?"

...Slowly, Sendai stalked to the side of her, and she did the same with her.

"Who are you?" Sendai wondered. "You don't seem like the other fakes."

"...Tsuruko." She answered. "You're Tsukiko."

"Congratulations." Sendai praised her in monotone.

...Smiling, Tsuruko began to step back, away from her. "It was nice meeting you."

Sendai snorted, raising a brow. "Yeah...?"

With that, Tsuruko turned, and began walking away.

"Hold on." Sendai wasn't going to let her just leave it at that… "Hey." She began to step after her.

' _Is she the one I've been hearing about? Who the hell is she? Is she a high rank in that dumb shrine maiden thing, or whatever?'_

...As Sendai tailed her, she saw she was heading for the guard headquarters. She quickened her pace, until she was able to get into her way.

Tsuruko just stood there, as Sendai stood in her way.

"Um…" Sendai supposed she should start talking. "What _are_ you, to the-... Hakurei thing?"

' _I refuse to call it fuckin'... the 'Artificial Hakurei Project'. Too much of a mouthful for something so dumb.'_

"I don't have much to say." Tsuruko monotoned. "Though, my advice to you would be… to leave the village alone."

Sendai blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Leave." Tsuruko restated. "The human village is a dangerous place. People are attacked in the night, and those with political affiliation are never safe. If you begin disturbing the forces at play, they will push back."

...Sendai let her gaze flick up. "Rather melodramatic way of putting it. It's just the villagers. You can't tell me about 'forces at play' until you try doing shit about youkai. It's messy and dumb, but fully possible."

' _I also just-... collapsed the entire illegal drug market half a week ago.'_

Tsuruko nodded. "You have courage. That is commendable." She began to step around Sendai. "Have a good evening, Tsukiko."

"...Thanks, I guess?" The whole encounter simply left Sendai with more questions than answers.

' _Kind of a weirdo…'_

Since it seemed like talking with her wouldn't get anywhere, Sendai simply began walking off. ' _She was kind of big, like me, but not quite so. She's shorter, and obviously younger, so she's not as practiced, or had as much time to hone her body. Oh well.'_

...She took a deep breath of the dim day's air. ' _So good.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

 _Knock knock._ Sendai knocked on the door to Keine's home. ' _I'm ba~ck. Sure has been awhile._ '

 _Crea~k._...After a few moments, the door swung open.

A woman with pink hair stared out at Sendai, two paper buns affixed to her hair. Her outfit was largely white, with a green skirt, and a brown tabard with a vine-like pattern.

...Slowly, she turned to the inside of the house. "I take it _she's_ Tsukiko, then…?"

Sendai saw Keine stand up, inside. "Oh, hey!" Keine spoke up.

Soon, she moved from the couch inside to the door. "Kasen, this is Tsukiko Hakurei. And, Tsukiko, this is Kasen Ibaraki."

...Sendai pursed her lips together. ' _Have I seen her, before? Wait-... maybe I did. Kinda hard to forget that outfit, and the pink hair.'_

"Yeah." Sendai's gaze hung on Kasen. "I _do_ remember seeing her. You're one of the youkai sages, yeah?"

"That hasn't changed, yes." Kasen gave her a small smile, in return. "...I've heard that you've, um-... come back from the dead. Isn't that-... something?"

...Keine gave them both a sympathetic look. "Come inside, Tsukiko. I'll prepare dinner."

Grazing inside, Sendai made for the rightmost couch immediately. "Thanks, Keine."

 _Creak._ It groaned naturally when she sat on it. The room was comparatively bright compared to the outside, if only because the kitchen's light was infectious, spreading through the open divide into the unlit living room.

Kasen took the central couch, giving her a clearly interested stare. "...So. How has-... life been?"

Sendai snorted. "Good. A little confusing, but alright. You're friends with Keine, I take it?"

"Yeah. I'm a friend of your daughter's, as well."

' _...Guess she has better intentions than I thought.'_ Sendai never really could connect with her, in the past. ' _Always felt like some kinda stalker to me, but…'_

"Yeah? What do you and Reimu talk about?" Sendai wondered.

"Training." Kasen stated plainly. "...As well as, getting her to take her shrine maiden responsibilities a little more seriously."

Sendai snorted. "She sure took her responsibility in dealing with _me_ seriously."

...Looking to the side, Sendai noticed Marcus was _still_ in that one chair, reading books. ' _Are you freakin' kidding me, Marc. I'm gonna make you exercise, at this rate.'_ He was illuminated with ironically bright light, despite the room's pleasant but dim gradient. He seemed to be using a magi-light to help himself read.

"Is that so…" Smiling lightly, Kasen continued. "When it comes to her duties, I always feel like she doesn't try hard enough, sometimes."

"I'll see about that." Sendai figured. "I do have the feeling she shirks in some important areas… but, she _is_ her own person. If everything turns out fine, it's not _so_ bad."

' _She needs more physical training, certainly. That teleport makes up for a lot, and I don't know what she uses magic-wise, but I'm going to… assume not a lot? Those yin-yang orbs are fucking deadly, however. If she just used those on me, I probably would've crumpled eventually.'_

"Hmm?" Kasen became interested. "If I remember-... you weren't the pinnacle of discipline, yourself."

...Sendai leaned back in her seat. "Hah. That so? I trained my body, and taught myself the skills I needed to survive. I don't even know how my daughter survived without me, but she seems to have found a way. Times are different, and the demands of our environment… are different now, too."

"It's not about _surviving."_ Kasen scooted onto the edge of her seat, invested now. "It's about being a strong shrine maiden; a holy figure, for the village to lead itself by, and for the good of Gensokyo."

...Sendai furrowed her brows, scanning her gaze. "Who gives a shit about that…? The village never did anything for me. The people in it, sometimes, but I was not received well by it, collectively."

Kasen's eyes hardened, a little. "But-... you have a duty to uphold. You could have given them the strength they lost. You could have given your daughter this ability, at least."

...Sendai let a brow raise. "Wha~t? And how the fuck would I have done that? Dying wasn't really a _choice._ Unless, I just, should have _not died,_ which is fair enough, but sometimes, life just rolls ya. Sorry for being dead."

...At that, Kasen let herself make an awkward half-smile. "Well-... your own mother didn't do this, but traditionally, essential shrine maiden training began when they were five. You could have at least shown her to your mother's documentation, if you remembered where it was. I know that she told you once, at least."

...Sendai frowned to accent her disagreement. "I don't believe in most of that shit. I remember what my mother said, about how the clan was, when it existed-... and why she didn't choose to force me through anything, even through my teens. There may have been some things I lost in that process, and she probably could have taught me _some things,_ but-... if I was raised on superficially formal values, I don't think I would still be here today."

' _That, and I didn't really want to be put through the effort, at the time. I really should have learned the bare basics, but I didn't know how things would pan out.'_

"You don't _know_ that." Kasen disagreed, leaning forward in her seat… "You wouldn't be the _you_ now, yes-... but, humanity-... _Gensokyo_ would have so much more hope. Because-... you'd be able to truly spread peace. You'd have the knowledge, discipline and power. Even suggesting this idea to you, as you are now- it's dangerous, you know?"

' _Do you think a candy-ass could've survived my life? Really?'_

...Sendai gave her a vague look. "Really, now. And, why is that?"

"Because you might get your own ideas, about what the minimum for _peace_ is." Kasen seemed to get more tired, as she spoke… "Sort of-... like now, where danmaku is used to uphold the standard. And yet, the village suffers… you've seen it. You blame it on them, when-..." She seemed to cringe at herself, as she spoke. "It's- not _fully_ their fault, and it's something you should be preventing. Even if they're very frustrating, as they are."

...There was a lot of context for Sendai to unload, in those statements. ' _Geez…'_

She shook her head. "What could I do, that _my mother_ _couldn't?_ Considering she had all that shrine maiden shit down pat-... she was obviously doing _something."_

At that, Kasen seemed to gaze at the table almost regretfully.

"Was the village and its people really any better when she-... or, better yet, when my _grandmother_ was around?" Sendai questioned.

"...Yes, and no." Kasen supposed. "There was more knowledge. Intellect-wise, there was still a share of those who couldn't understand others, and peace-wise, the village was violent. Not towards one another, but in the hunt of youkai, they were relentless, merciless. This village used to belong to the Hakurei, you know?"

"So I've figured." Sendai nodded… "Why'd it get shittier, then? Or, in some cases, better?"

Kasen's expression became neutral again, almost. "The knowledge of the past was obscured, for one thing. This created greater fear. The Hakurei were culled strategically, to accelerate the loss of knowledge. Which, as you've probably experienced firsthand-... is a practice that has repeated itself until recently."

' _Culled strategically…? That's-... worrying.'_

Sendai's gaze snapped to Kasen's. "Do you know who killed me?"

...Kasen shook her head. "I couldn't say. But-... if it's any consolation, it wasn't an accident, as far as I'm aware."

It wasn't an unexpected answer, but Sendai still didn't like hearing it. ' _Good.'_

Frowning, almost in disappointment, Kasen leaned back in her seat. "So- this is why passing on that knowledge is so important. If only I'd been more hands-on, sooner. Damn it..."

...Sendai almost smiled at that. "Why're you acting like this is the end of the world…? I mean, it kinda sucks, thinking on it, but most of that shit doesn't affect me. Aside from, y'know, the part where _I died for no reason,_ but..."

' _We've gotten along just fine without whatever it was that we lost, so…'_

"Because, Gensokyo would know _true_ peace." Kasen repeated her idea. "Youkai could exist, without needing to generate fear. And, with the technology Eientei has to offer- we could sate carnivore characteristics, as well. There would be no more human slaughter, and no more foolish ire against youkai."

...Then, a moment later, Kasen exhaled. "And, if I put my hand in this too far, now-... well. Let's just say-... I have reasons for biding my hand. Some personal."

' _...What a fucking evening, huh.'_

Sendai stared into space, feeling displaced. ' _Not a conversation I thought I'd be having tonight, of all nights.'_

"We can't do that shit now, why…?" Sendai refocused on Kasen. "I mean, if it's too much trouble, I probably won't care, but if you've got all these big plans about changing the world and peace and happy-crappy shit, why not just, like-... do them?"

Kasen gave her an almost sickly smile. "Aah… well. There's a reason why shrine maidens keep dying, you know. If I told this to Reimu, she would be dead by the time her child reaches the age of five."

...It took a few seconds, but that statement energized Sendai. "Wh- _what!?"_

"Ca- calm down…!" Kasen held her arms up, cringing. "As far as I can tell- it's all stable as it is! I mean- _theoretically-_ "

"What the fuck!" Sendai stood up. "...I've got a feeling you _do_ know who offed me!"

' _And- they're after Reimu, too, then! Gods damn it!'_

"I mean- I _can't_ say for certain!" Kasen waved her hands feverishly. "...Um, calm down? I misspoke, it probably wouldn't even-"

"Who?" Sendai marched up to her, rounding the table. "I want names. Where should I go- to ask questions?"

"I- I wouldn't _know!"_ Kasen held her head with her hands… "Please- just-...! You can't just _walk out there_ and fight the world!"

 _Thunk!_ Sendai kicked the side of the couch Kasen was on. "Fucking watch me!"

...She clenched her fists. ' _The way she said that-... like there's just- someone fucking out there, waiting. I always felt like that kinda shit-... like, that- that was how it went down-... but to actually know there's someone, or something out there-...'_

"Fuu~." She let out a sigh, and stomped backwards towards the couch she was at earlier. "Fine. I'll calm the fuck down."

 _Creak._ She plopped down, and folded her arms. "So…" She furrowed her brows harder. "Why would Reimu-... be _killed,_ from your idea?"

"...I don't know how she'd react." Kasen figured. "If she was rambunctious about it, or prolific, and went about the idea the wrong way and potentially disrupted Gensokyo's balance in the process-... well, that could end badly. I don't know if she knows about the-... _trimming_ of her family members, either."

' _...I don't really know how she'd react.'_ Sendai stared off, to the left, at the closed front door. ' _I've-... only hung out with her for like, two days. I don't know how serious she is with every problem, or if she'd react in a dangerous way. What even would be a dangerous way to react? Ugh...'_

"That sucks." Sendai summarized. "...Isn't it kind of bad to tell me all of this, then?'

"Probably." Kasen figured. "That's why I was reluctant. But-... you did come back to life. For some reason. I really have no idea why."

"Yeah." Sendai supposed life was just confusing. "Fuck."

...Keine walked into the room, holding steaks upon porcelain plates. "...Not to um, interrupt-... whatever you had going, but I have food."

"Yes, please." Sendai was more than hungry after both her anger and her blood pressure spiked just now. "I am a whirlwind of anger." She monotoned.

Keine grinned, at that. "Well, as always…"

...In the background, Marcus lowered his tome, smiling in a somewhat bewildered manner.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Sendai downed the steak quickly and efficiently. Still, she paced herself long enough to taste it. ' _Keine's cooking is fucking good. Which reminds me…'_

 _thump._ Sendai seemingly found a big bag of cake mix from the folds of space and time, instantly and unexplainably. She'd softly deposited it on the table before herself, and the way the bag met the table made Sendai feel satisfied... "Hey, Keine. I got a bag of cake mix, from the village market."

"Oo- oh?" Coming from somewhere behind the couch Sendai sat upon, Keine gave it a wry look. "...Oh, huh. It's one of the special orders from that new bakery. You already know about them…?"

Sendai shrugged. "Well, I got manhandled by a walking suit of armor while waiting in line, so they gave me his order, which was awfully nice of them. I also helped her husband avoid being raped by angry fake shrine maidens."

Recognizing the faction, Kasen rolled her eyes. "What, ugh. Those fake shrine maidens…"

Caught by Kasen's need to comment, Sendai slowly panned to look at her...

' _I still wanna know why this chick won't just bring about world peace in her own way, without using Hakurei shit, but whatever. I-... probably won't care, because I have bigger things to worry about, for the most part. I'd still like the door number of the piece of shit who killed me, because I don't think I'll let that go. And- if they also killed Keisuke, or at least, arranged it-...'_

Sendai brooded in her seat. _'I'd like to have a long damn conversation about it, at least. It's probably for a completely shitty reason, too, if any.'_

"That reminds me." While staring at the empty seat next to Sendai, Keine brought a hand to her own chin… "We've been running into one particular fake one, haven't we? Tsuruko. She-... well, she needs help, I'd say. And, perhaps, restraining."

' _Restraining…'_ Sendai was snapped from her vague, building anger, and withheld the urge to smile at the language...

Sendai brought up her own experience with her. "I keep hearing about her. Who the hell's she supposed to be? I tried talking to her, but she was just-... cryptic, and weird."

Keine snorted at that. "...She always was a quiet girl. But, when she keeps coming to us, she's kind of shown-... that she has some twisted ideas. She wants to kill you and become a Hakurei maiden herself, for one thing."

...Sendai smiled up at her. "Tell her she can have the job. Also, why _me._ She should be talkin' with Reimu about that-... and Reimu would probably let her have the job, too."

"If only it were that easy." Keine began to grin as well. "She seems _insistent,_ that she _must_ kill you."

Smiling wider, Sendai casually held her arms out. "Well, she can try me, then…! I don't know what she's expecting, but sure!"

Grinning at their blunt discussion, Kasen spoke of Tsuruko too. "From the sounds of it, she-... seems to want the title for power reasons. She also said she~... wants to hold a _coup_ , and overthrow the village government with deadly force."

...Before she could react to the sheer audacity of the idea, Sendai had a thought from that. "Couldn't you just, convince her to help you out with your peace stuff, then?"

Kasen shook her head. "I don't know about that. She's-... quick to resort to violence. When me and Marcus wouldn't agree with her, she wanted to kill us, too. She even said she'd kill us, before we laid her out flat."

"Wow." Sendai was still vaguely impressed by the audacity… "So she's crazy, is what you're saying. 'Cause it sounds like she just wants to murder everyone for no reason."

"...I mean, she's crazy alright, but she has motivation." Kasen figured. "According to Keine, her life isn't very good."

"...Specifically?" Sendai inquired. She looked to Keine, who was still standing to the right of her seat. "We talkin' general poverty, o~r…?"

"Her parents weren't… _good,_ I suppose." From the way her legs and posture shifted, Keine didn't look like she liked talking about this. "She doesn't trust people. She was very intelligent in the classroom, on written examinations, but-... as you said, she was often cryptic and strange when asked to speak."

' _Weird.'_ Sendai wasn't sure what to make of that. ' _Not that I'd know what the classroom situation's really like. I'd probably be a weirdo too, if I had to sit in those tiny ass rooms all day. Overall, not really enough information for me to go off of.'_

"She seems obsessed with power." Kasen leaned back in her seat, again. "I can't really understand why."

' _...I mean. I'm sort of obsessed with power too.'_ Sendai didn't see that as bad in and of itself.

' _It's because I've needed it. As an actual shrine maiden, my life's been filled with people trying to fuck me up for absolutely no good reason. Also, youkai. I'd rather not think of what would be happening, if I wasn't going around and doing what I prefer to do, or looking for power.'_

"She told me to get the hell out of the village, actually." Sendai remembered what Tsuruko told her. "If anything, it sounds like she's the one that should be getting the hell out. Especially since she doesn't sound happy here."

Coming around the side of the couch, Keine finally had enough of just standing, as she looked for an open seat. "We _said_ we could help her." She decided to get closer to Sendai, taking the seat next to her. "Nnh. But-... she wasn't having any of it. I don't know if it was a trust issue… or, if she just-... I'm not psychic. I can't tell what she's thinking."

...A clock ticked in the background, quietly. Sendai looked over at Keine idly, since she'd sat nearby her.

Leaning over the stout wood table, Keine picked up the cake mix that Sendai sat down. "...Even the bag looks good."

Sendai snorted. "Right? I'm hoping it's as snacky as the bag. That's gonna be fun."

"There's even a recipe, here…" Keine began to read the side of the bag, where there was a small notepad taped onto it, with a number of pages. "Huh. It _is_ a Yamada recipe. I've never had the time to try any out, but…"

Marcus spoke up from his chair and book. "Why not tonight…!?"

Keine furrowed her brows. "Well, I don't know about _that._ We'll _see._ Maybe. We just ate, but-... with the time this takes to prepare, hmm…"

"Anyway…" Kasen began to change the topic, again. "Yeah. I've also been hearing about your combat... _styles_ , Tsukiko."

"Is that so." Sendai began to lean against the rightmost couch arm. "Good things, I take it?"

"I've just been thinking…" Kasen looked pensive, again. "They're very different from how you used to fight, right?"

Sendai snorted. "Oh, hell yeah they are. Revival is a hell of a drug. I'm having a big problem trying to use wind and dark energies at the same time."

...At that, Kasen pursed her lips a little. "No holy?"

Sendai smirked. "How the hell'm I supposed to use _holy._ It does _not_ mix with my body."

...Kasen looked oddly excited, for a moment. "But- you used holy before…"

"I did?" Sendai gained an awkward smile of her own. "Did I…?"

Keine also smiled awkwardly. "I mean-... you _did,_ I was pretty sure. Some of your techniques weren't possible without some mastery over it."

' _...What the fuck.'_ Sendai felt partially bamboozled. ' _When. What'd I miss…!?'_

Marcus lowered his book, grinning up at her. "Aw, yeah, actually. Kinda slipped my mind, but ya did use holy in some 'a yer punches, sometimes. Ya liked to switch things up… which is kinda why I didn't think just usin' _dark_ fer awhile was weird."

"What the _hell…_ " Standing up, Sendai looked down at her hands. "I'm more fucked up than I thought, then. Well-... I _did_ forget about wind, for awhile, somehow. But, I still don't know anything about _holy magic._ I just, really don't know _how_ I would've gone about that."

Kasen let out a sigh. "Wow. That's-..."

 _Knock, knock._ Someone was at the door.

Marcus got up, and began to look excited. "This's _gotta_ be that doofy-hatted guy! He was here the same time yesterday!"

...Keine smiled innocently. "Who?"

"Mokou _tol' me_ ta look out fer 'em!" Shuffling towards the door, he reached behind the couch Kasen was seated at, and pulled up an oversized ladle. "Dude tried ta sell me _deer repellant!_ An', he made me forget where I was in my tome!"

Kasen stood up, too. "Um-... what're you planning to do with that ladle? You know what- let _me_ answer the door…!"

Also standing now, Sendai began to graze towards them. "Who're we talkin' about, now…?"

 _click._ Kasen opened the front door before Marcus could beat her there, and swung it open. Him and Sendai huddled behind her, trying to get a look outside…

There was a moustached man with a brown coat, and a similar-colored doofy hat, huddled behind a village guard. "Aa- aah! See!? You see, now!? They have taken over Kamishirasawa's home!"

The guard was tubby, standing almost six feet tall, with a large belly to add to his physique. "I-... don't know what's going on here, but I'm gonna have to ask you all to step outside."

"Don't do it!" Marcus cautioned everyone, with more excitement than necessary. "The doofy guy just wants ta steal Keine's hats!"

Sendai snorted. "Wh- wait, what…"

"What- that's not _true!"_ The doofy-hatted man staggered back, as if hurt by the statement. "Sir- you _have_ to do something! Kamishirasawa is in trouble!"

 _shing._ The tubby guard drew a small knife. "Look- everybody quiet! Step outside, right now! I'll figure this out!"

Kasen curled her brows up… "What-..." She was just confused. "What's going on…? I mean- we're not stepping outside. It's cold."

...The tubby guard slowed down, and gave her a big, almost mechanical nod. "I got a, uh… anonymous _tip._ Told me that youkai shacked up in Keine's place. Boys were talkin' 'bout it, too. Thought it'd be the perfect chance to serve Keine, and kick some youkai ass at the same time."

He held the knife closer to Kasen's face. "You see this?"

Kasen snorted. "Well- yes, it's basically a toy. But, you just- _believed_ him?"

"Well, yeah." The tubby guard nodded grandly again. "Thought it'd be a false alarm. But, it's not, which is even better. I don't know what brought _you_ here, but-... I signed up to stab rowdy bitches like _you._ "

' _Geesh. Trigger-happy.'_ Sendai was slightly awed by how eager the guard was. ' _At least he's trying to protect Keine. I think?'_

...Kasen gave Sendai and Marcus a bewildered smile, before smiling ahead again. "You-... know who I am, right? I'm here on aid duty, and as a friend. Us youkai sages have diplomatic immunity in all territories, sir."

"Oh- you're a youkai sage…?" The big man let his smile drop… but, only for a moment. "That makes it even better! I'm gonna be a hero! You youkai fucks will never bother Keine again!"

Kasen blinked. "Wh- whah."

 _Cla- clack!_ The armored big boy bounded forward, ready to drive his utensil-proportioned dagger into her. His smile became contained as he committed himself to combat.

-+- _Kasen's Demonstration -+-_

Kasen staggered back before he reached her, pushing aside Marcus and Sendai as she reeled one arm back. " _Hnn~..."_

 _WHAM- CRACK._ She plunged it forward, her bandaged arm meeting the guard's big armored stomach, as he tried to defend his face with an arm while wading inside.

Sendai's eyes widened, from the abrupt motion, and the noise. ' _Woah! She really reeled that one up…!'_

 _CRA- CRACK._ His metal chestplate shattered from the one blow. " _Gh- fu-..."_

While he stumbled back, feeling at the broken metal almost skeptically, Kasen searched the floor near the door.

 _Clack._ There was a wooden peach crate near there, full of tissues and crumpled newspapers, which Keine seemed to have been using as a paper trash disposal. Kasen hefted the whole box up with one hand.

"Nh- hu~h…" While the guard caught his breath, he held the knife out defensively.

 _WHAM!_ Kasen moved out of the door, and whipped the entire small crate across his face. " _Gnhk!"_

"Please…" She marched outside, after him. He half-stumbled, half-fell down Keine's front porch, knife still held up as he landed on his armored limbs. "You should be seeking _peaceful resolutions,_ sir, not _excuses to kill people._ "

"I- eh- I wasn't!" Back on his legs, the black-haired man held his knife up shakily… "Like- um-...!"

He thought he saw a moment to strike, Kasen simply standing confidently on the porch's edge. Running forward, he held the knife with both arms. "Hrrh-...!"

 _WHACK!_ Kasen whipped the crate up with her left arm again, tissues and paper balls flying out as she smacked it against his face. " _Ngh-"_

 _WHA- CRACK! KRACK!_ Kasen spun slowly around like a hurricane of force, wood fragments snapping off of the crate she flicked against his head repeatedly. While she progressed, she gracefully tapped down the stairs at the same time, as if she'd made bludgeoning a guy with a peach crate an art form.

 _Thud!_ He fell onto his back, after the two strikes. "Nh- da- damn…"

 _woosh._ Kasen leapt off the ground, the half-crumpled peach crate held over her head with both arms. " _Hrrh…!"_

 _KA- KRACK!_ It exploded into shrapnel, when she brought it down on his head.

" _Ngh- aagh…!"_ Faltering at the pain of the crate's brittle shattering, he scrambled back into standing. His face bled along his forehead, and the bridge of his nose. "I- _won't die ta you!_ Retahrded- _youkai~!"_

 _WHAM!_ Raising from the ground, he thrust his whole body into Kasen. She stepped back slightly, from the force…

"Rrgh- _aa~h!"_ Kasen's anger seemed to boil over, all of a sudden, after this simple tackle from him. She held both of her arms out, and lunged them forward.

 _CLA- CLACK._ Clutching him by both elbows, she seethed out a question. "Why- are _all_ of you so _bloodthirsty?_ Why don't you ever try to _media~te!?"_

"Fh- _fhuck you!"_ The tubby guy bellowed back at her. "I'ma _youkai kille~r!"_

 _CRA- CRACK._ Kasen pulled down, on his arms. His shoulders gave sickly cracks; she'd dislocated both of them. " _Hh- aaaa~h!"_

 _WHUCRACK._ She whipped her left arm around, slapping him. From the force, his entire torso shifted on his pelvis, awkwardly twisting him around while his body and arms limply jiggled. " _Uu-..."_

 _woosh._ Gripping his back hard, Kasen lifted him over her head, pulling by the collar and waist.

 _THUD- CRACK!_ He landed in a crumpled heap on the house porch behind her.

' _...Talk about mediation. Damn. This Kasen is-... so fucking strong! And-... maybe a little hotheaded, too.'_

Keine fought her way past Sendai and Marcus, running outside. "Wh- _woa~h!_ Kasen- oh my god…!"

The doofy-haired guy was gone, because he ran away while this all happened.

...Kasen let out a shuddering sigh. "Da- damn, it…"

Looking back at Sendai and Marcus, Keine held out her arm. "Wh- can you _believe_ this!? Kasen- what did you _do_ to him!? Wh-..." Leaning down, she tried to lift the man up by the arm, only for it to flop around limply. "Oo- _ooh…!"_

"Um-..." Kasen looked horrified. "I-... I'm-..."

Sendai thrust her whole arm forward, pointing at Kasen. "That's _rad!"_

...Keine and Kasen stared at her owlishly.

' _That-... that really takes me back!'_ Sendai remembered her younger days. ' _The strength-... of peace.'_

-+- _22 Years Ago_ -+-

Tsukiko Hakurei was eighteen years old.

The sun stood bright in the sky, and its warmth made up for the wind and cold, especially when compared to the wind that grazed the shrine's ugly, disfigured roof.

"Nnh…" She stood atop a huge ridge carved into the shrine's shingles. Most of them had fallen off over the past three years, in her mom's absence.

This huge ridge was made a year ago, but Tsukiko only thought to use it for something now. It spread across the shrine's entire rightmost roof, exposing some of the interior. But, it was also flat, and Tsukiko considered it part of the rafters; especially since she could get to the beams inside the shrine from here.

"Mmh…" She lifted a medium-sized chunk of wood with both of her skinny arms.

' _I need more power…'_

Gazing off the edge of the horribly dented roof, she saw the tiny, simple catapults she'd made to get the wood of varying sizes up here.

She remembered what one of the looters she'd captured had told her. ' _Lifting stuff, and exercising my body…'_

Tsukiko Hakurei herself was a tall, lanky girl. She had miniscule muscle mass, even after the past three years.

' _Let's get down from here…'_ The breeze began to discourage her from remaining on the roof, here.

Coming to one of the gaps in the rooftop, she curled her body up and crawled into it.

Inside here was one of the wood beams that composed of the shrine's roof. A fallen shoji wall sat leaning against the other side of it. Nimbly squeezing between the broken roof wood, she crawled across the rafter, and got onto the fallen shoji.

It worked like a step ladder, letting her walk down into the outside. Here, sensitive plates were placed around the base to defend the shrine's 'second story'.

Tsukiko stepped forward carefully, so as to not walk on the shiny steel plates. ' _I'm gonna screw up and hurt myself on those, one of these days…'_

Around the cusps of the Hakurei hill, there were tiny wood platforms. Tsukiko had built fifty of them, each and every one a unique platform. Atop each one was a barrel of water, all of them now partially frozen, since it was beginning to be winter.

She came up to the catapults along the shrine's right again.

This is where he was. "Rgh-..." He refused to tell Tsukiko his name, so she'd named him 'fuckass'.

"Hey, fuckass." Tsukiko frowned, coming up to the captive, tanned man.

He was one of the most recent looters she'd captured using her new binding traps. This was the first time she'd also actually captured someone, instead of just spooking them off.

"He- heh…" He was also bald, beaming as Tsukiko even though he was bound with rope. "Got a mouth on ya, kid."

"And?" She frowned harder. "I- I'll rip your head off, and shit down your neck."

"Then _do it,_ bitch…" He grinned wider. "Got nothin' left to live for, anyway."

...Tsukiko huffed. ' _The nerve of this guy.'_

Glaring, she found more resolve. "I'll ask it again-... why do you-... _evil_ guys keep trying to loot my shrine?"

...He refused to say anything, still grinning at her.

' _Ugh-...'_ This was her one time to find answers, and while it was natural that he'd say nothing, it irritated her to no end. ' _This piece of fucking shit…!'_

 _Clack._ Reaching down, she took a sharp piece of metal from the crate nearby.

Hardening her gaze, she ran it across his cheek. He shut his eyes at that, but kept grinning.

"I just want to be left alone." Tsukiko returned. "...Why won't you people leave me _alone._ "

"You _really_ don't fuckin' know…" The guy snorted. "Your mom musta _hated_ you."

Tsukiko's glare returned full-force. ' _Don't talk about mom like that!'_

 _swish._ She drew another cut in the same one she made before, drawing it deeper through his cheek this time. He winced harder.

"If- if you tell me why you men keep coming…" Tsukiko exhaled. "I'll stop hurting you."

"It's 'cause a' the Hakurei treasure." He remarked, plainly. "You didn't know that? The _yin-yang orb._ "

' _...What?'_ She hadn't even _seen_ something like that. ' _What the hell…?'_

She wanted to know more. "Why do you old losers want _that?_ I haven't seen that since mom was alive. _"_

He snorted. "...It'd let us get ourselves outta the poor life, that's what! Lemme guess-... you dunno how bad your bitch of a mom fucked the village up?"

"St- stop talking about her like that." Tsukiko looked sad, again. "She was-... she was really cool."

"T' _you_ maybe!" He barked back. "But-... rrgh-..." He was getting frustrated just thinking about it. "She forgot all _about_ us. The youkai're taking _everything._ That whore-... cost me my _fuckin' wife._ She coulda _fuckin' saved her!_ She coulda saved a lotta people! _"_

"She- she did what she could!" Tsukiko really had no idea what her mother did with the village. "But-... I always heard, she was different after dad died. Maybe that was it."

...The man had a mixed look himself. "...Shouldn't 'a been an excuse. Just 'cause her man died-... she shoulda expected as much. Dumb whore."

Tsukiko hardened her eyes. ' _Everyone hates mom, for some reason…'_

...Noticing her upset look, he continued. "I didn't think the Hakurei clan was even still 'round anymore. Everyone calls this place abandoned-... 'cept for this one youkai who's rumored ta live here."

Tsukiko blinked, at that. "Who?"

The man grinned at her. "You."

' _...Me? Wait…'_

Tsukiko looked at the shrine. Inside, in the center, sat one of her old, reliable tricks.

It was a red-black cloak, given to her shortly after her mother had died. Whenever Tsukiko cast herself in it, she looked like a being of darkness, and it helped scare off humans.

' _...I still don't know why that darkness youkai didn't just kill me.'_ The blonde, greatsword toting queen of the night was still burned into her mind. ' _I- I have to be ready, if she ever comes back… I need more traps and stuff.'_

"That, and…" The man spoke again. "Some people've said yer a _girl._ Looks like those guys were right."

"Yeah?" Tsukiko blinked… "Do those people try to loot the place?"

He snorted. "Hell yeah. Non-village human girl, already all lost in a place wit' a mad youkai and a ton of treasure? Since yer no villager, no one'd have a problem if someone just kept ya or sold ya."

' _Then-...'_ She was right, in being suspect like that. ' _They really do want to hurt me and break me-'_

 _Snap!_ The man stood from the beam he was tied to, the ropes undone. He'd just freed himself.

"Aa-" Tsukiko thrust her metal shard forward, stumbling back-

 _Slap!_ He met her with a rough hand across her left cheek. " _Aa- nh-"_ Containing her voice, she began to bolt, moving for the cloak in the shrine. Maybe she could scare him-

He got her by the arm. "Gotcha- _bitch!"_

' _No!'_ She looked back-

 _thud._ He thrust himself ahead, and rammed her to the floor, onto her side. " _Unh…"_

While she tried to crawl ahead, it was too late, as he fell onto her, and tried to constrain her with his limbs as much as possible. She felt his left arm across her chest, and his right pulling back her own right arm. "Nn- _ow- ow-..."_

"Ww- wow…" He rasped out, struggling to keep her in place. "Yer so fuckin' _soft…"_

"Le- let go…" She kept crawling, making a little progress at a time…

' _Wait-... the plates- near the shoji ramp…'_ She knew where to go. Since she couldn't climb the raised way into the shrine like this, she'd settle for the next solution…

"Just- _stop,_ girl." He requested. "Look- my place is warm an' shit-... you want food, right?"

"Fu- fuck off!" She slid her knees against the sunny grass and dirt, using her left elbow and chin to slowly, surely, inch and wiggle ahead.

' _If-... if I was stronger, this wouldn't be happening.'_ She supposed what he first said to her was right. ' _I really am worthless and weak.'_

"Come _on."_ He huffed. "...Yer body's gettin' me all worked up, here."

She felt him grind his waist against her butt, while caressing her chest with his whole arm.

...She huffed. "Guy. Um-... let me roll over. So we can get in position."

...He waited, considering this, in this moment. Then, he agreed. "Shit. Sure…" Getting off of her, releasing her right arm, he settled for standing on her knees, looming down at the younger girl's body.

Rolling over, she lied there in the grass vulnerably, pouting up. "Fine. Lift my shirt."

He beamed. "Ye- yeah! Alright-"

She still had the metal shard held, in that right arm which he released.

"Mm- mmh." She glared up, while he settled for kneading her clothed chest instead. "Please-... wh- why? Go away..."

"Nah." He leaned closer to her, smiling. "Ain't no law outside the village, honey. An' yer so damn sexy..." Licking his lips, he moved to kiss hers.

' _Nn- no- I won't let myself die here!'_

 _Shink._ She drove the metal shard into his left eye, almost in an instant.

" _Rgh- raa~gh!"_ He roared, coming down on her with physical force this time, slamming his body against hers.

Tsukiko rolled over again, her butt meeting his gut. "Uhf!" He couldn't stop her, as she scrambled away-

 _Rip!_ His grasping hand met her sandal, tearing it off as she sprinted away. "Yhou- _fucking whore!_ I- _ugh!_ Lhettin' my damn _dick think again-_ "

He got up, sprinting after her. She rounded the corner of the shrine, and he bolted hot in her heels.

She weaved past the metal plates around the shoji ramp. He sprinted straight after her, sliding a dagger from his pants.

 _Clack._ Except, he didn't avoid the metal plates that she skirted cautiously past. His right foot met the edge of one, intent on tackling her as she stood right there.

 _BWOOMP._ A small pulse of energy exploded from the metal, launching him off his feet, soaring forward. " _Uu- aa-...!"_

She watched him land on his ass on the one past her-

 _BWOOMP._ This one flashed with teal light too, expelling him. " _Hwua~h!"_ He flipped backwards, rolling airily ahead…

 _Thud!_ He landed on his back again. " _Uhf…"_ Winded and shocked, he just grinned at the daytime sky, one eye shut and bleeding.

Tsukiko kneeled down above his head.

 _shink._ She drove the metal into his throat. Red coated her hand, and she drove it as deep as possible.

" _Hrrk-..."_ His eyes widened, tired arms shooting up to try and stop her.

 _shink- shink._ She didn't stop. Shutting her eyes, frowning hard, she carved through his neck, cutting as much as she could. The only way he wouldn't be a threat, is if he couldn't come back.

" _Khh- kh-"_ He began choking on his own blood, as he rolled away from her-

 _Shink!_ When he shot into kneeling she accidentally cleaved a whole chunk of something from inside his neck. ' _Oo- oh…'_ Tsukiko was crying, eyes wide.

" _Huu-..."_ Standing, the man stumbled around, his head flopping around, blood pulsing from the huge gash in his neck. " _Ku- hua~ ngh… kaug- kaugh-"_

 _Thud._ He fell onto his side, writhing. "Aa- a-..."

...Then, he stopped, except for some twitching.

' _Oh-... oh my god…'_

Tsukiko shut her eyes, and cried. Dropping the metal fragment, she rubbed her palms against her eyes, stumbling back.

Opening her eyes, she looked over her bloody hands, and back at the dying man.

' _...I killed him.'_ She swallowed. ' _I'm sorry, mom. Mom…'_

"Hk-..." She began to sob, crouching down next to the broken shrine. "M- mom… I- I miss you, mom..." She missed the days of reading books and eating breakfast. For someone as young as her, three years since that day felt like a lifetime.

' _I miss-... I miss being able to be happy, when it's sunny out.'_ She stared at the warm, winter day's sun. It was currently shone upon the corpse in front of her, which was bleeding out on the shrine lawn.

Now, the sun was a reminder. It was a sickly reminder; of the joy she felt she'd never feel again, and the mother she'd never see again.

" _Mo~m!"_ Reeling back, she roared.

-+- _Tsukiko Hakurei -+-_

"One-... one hundred."

As she'd expected, youkai had prowled the shrine grounds, and ate the corpse of the dead man right up. She spent the night hiding in the secret compartment in the roof, so that they wouldn't make a plaything or food of her as well. Traps only worked so well on them, and when they smelt blood, nothing she could do would stop them.

She sat on the rafters atop the shrine. It'd been a few months since that day, and she took it to heart.

Her arms ached, as she dropped the big chunk of broken wood to the shrine floor below.

 _Clu- clunk._ It bounced off of the old wood. ' _Damn. Didn't dent the floor.'_

...Steeling herself, she leapt from the rafter. "Hup…"

 _Clack!_ Her sandal-clad feet met the ground hard. She winced, her legs nearly buckling from the impact, but they didn't. ' _...If they broke, I don't know what I'd do. Die, I guess.'_

She moved for the front door. ' _Time for my daily run. Let's see if I can catch another deer today, too.'_

Leaning down, she effortlessly lifted a small floorboard up, which used to be a procedure. Inside was a long piece of metal she used for crafting and skinning.

On the ground nearby were live Hakurei talismans; the one of few Hakurei techniques she'd carried over.

' _...I need to get stronger.'_ She thought this passively, as she got ready to hunt. ' _...I'm already kinda lot stronger, but…'_ She couldn't hold a candle to a youkai. She thought back to that one day a few months ago, where that man felt at her chest; before she outright killed him.

' _These people aren't going to stop…'_ She stared out into the sunny day outside the shrine, again. ' _So-...'_

Wielding the long metal fragment, and a bundle of Hakurei talismans, Tsukiko marched outside. ' _I'm not going to stop either. I'm going to take back the happiness I felt in daylight-... and I'm going to take it away from them.'_

She looked back into the crumbling, empty shrine. "I- I miss you, mom. But-... but, I'm not going to let you down."

-+- _Tsukiko Hakurei -+-_

With nothing better to do, Tsukiko spent every day getting stronger.

"Three hundred, twenty three." She hung upside down off the edge of a shrine's upper roof beams, using just her stomach to pull herself up, arms behind her head. "Three hundred, twenty four." She was almost nineteen, now. She'd spent every day, for upwards of ten hours at a time, doing strength training.

She couldn't preserve meat herself at all, so she just went running whenever she felt hunger about to occur, and by the time she'd killed a deer or a few bunnies by slapping talismans on them and then carving them up, she was ready to eat.

The shrine still got raided now and again, but Tsukiko had made training out of trap construction. Humans hardly came by anymore; huge, monolithic barrels sat outside, filled with gallons upon gallons of ice water which would avalanche down the hill at Tsukiko's command.

Every time they came by, Tsukiko would raid their wagon if they had one while they scoured the shrine. Since there was nothing to protect at the shrine, Tsukiko always made a habit of stealing their food and magic goods.

"Nnh…" As she neared the four hundred mark, she looked up, which was actually down. On the floor, there was a huge bubble stone that she'd taken off with from last night.

' _Maybe I can rig it up under a floorboard. Someone steps on the board, the whole floor fuckin' explodes into a big bubble eruption. Heheh…'_

Next to her on the beam was her toolbox, of stolen implements. Hammers, screwdrivers, and some other crap she didn't really know the point of.

Her long black hair hung in the sunny shrine air. A breeze passed through the broken walls, kissing her skin. ' _Aa- fuck, yes…'_

-+- _Tsukiko Hakurei -+-_

Tsukiko Hakurei was nineteen and five months. Humans hadn't come to raid the shrine since before she'd turned nineteen.

That was all about to change tonight. Tsukiko stood on the cusp of the Hakurei hill at dusk, staring down the broken stone steps, the years of weather unkind to them.

There were four long wagons down there. Men with bags, swords and charms stood, staring up along the hill's grass. Some of them even had toolboxes and belts of accessories; it'd become well known that the youkai that stood on this hill was a master craftsman too.

Below the torii gate, Tsukiko stood, her cloak of darkness worn. A pitch-black, muscular woman stared down from above.

There were no traps set up. Tsukiko had nothing but a rusty metal fragment in her right arm.

' _I miss you, mom.'_ Tsukiko stared at the raiding party who were ready to dismantle the whole shrine in their search. ' _I wonder if you'd have been proud of me… if you knew what I was about to do.'_

Turning around, she moved to step back into the shrine. ' _They want to fuck me. They don't care at all. They want to piss on your grave, mom-... undo the love you put into me- and they wanna undo all the work I've put into surviving this long. This fucking human village place…'_ She'd visit it after tonight.

' _I'm going to make them fight on their own turf, from now on.'_

As she stood on the shrine's front porch, before the doorless front passage, she had her back to the torii gate.

 _Cla- clack, clack, clack._ Men stepped up the broken steps, some up the grass, all of them giving a cautious look at the dark girl from the distance.

"...He- hey." A man with long, slick brown hair spoke up. "Youkai. Why don't you come wit' us? We got foo~d. All you can eat."

All the emotion that she felt the day she killed her first human was distant and dull, now. It was dull ever since that day.

Nothing could get dimmer than that moment, where the sun's light confirmed the reality of her sad life. The life where she didn't have her mom, nothing was fun, all her fun hobbies were just memories, and everything seemed to play against her survival.

Seeing all these men, her body shook.

' _Mom…'_ Tsukiko cried. Tears ran down her black cheeks. ' _These-... these men want your daughter.'_

"Hey." The brown-haired guy meandered closer. "...You- crying? The fuck…"

...He turned beside himself, facing some green-clad men with katanas. They were just in cloth clothes, with big pockets. "Surround her. If she lashes out, just start swingin'. I'll fetch the rigging men, too."

"I'll ask you this once." Tsukiko spoke. She shook, her body afraid.

...Blinking, the brown-haired man met her pitch-white gaze. "...Aa-... huh. She _talks._ "

"Please leave my shrine." Her voice was shaky, and uneven. "...I- I live here."

...He had a simple look on his face. "Nah. You live with us."

' _...I- I won't just kill them again. I have to control myself.'_ She took in a deep breath. There were so many of them, she didn't think she'd survive a fight, and even if she did, the blood afterward wouldn't make it worth it.

The guy began to turn away again. "Alright- you guys…" He pointed at the guys with the tool belts, making a pensive face.

"No." Tsukiko retorted. "...I live here. None-... none of you are welcomed here."

...The guy turned to her, and exhaled.

Drawing a dagger from his belt, he twirled it around, stepping closer.

"You think any of us give a shit what you have to say." His gaze was plain. "You already locked the village in place. What's one little hut on a hill?"

' _I won't lash out. I have control.'_

"It- it's really important to me." Tsukiko stated plainly, her voice a little whiny. "I-... I just wish you'd leave me alone. I want to live on my own."

...He smiled at her. "Yeah. You and me all. But we're all sinkin' together. Get on the ground."

"Wh- why?" She stepped back.

"We're tying you up." He rolled his eyes. "Don't put up a fight, and we'll treat you nice. I'm sure an aristocrat guy'd like a pretend daughter or new mistress, or something."

' _...Looks like this is it, mom.'_

 _Fwish._ With her free arm, Tsukiko gripped her own ripped up, scuzzy red-white kimono by the shoulder.

 _RI~P._ She ripped all of it off in one tug. She cast the kimono-top aside, now standing in just her hakama, her chest free. Her binding had grown loose and worthless over the years, and she couldn't replace it, so she had greying rags floating out around herself, just barely keeping her chest in place.

' _I- I won't lash out…'_ She saw the brown-haired man's grin. Her anger flared. ' _I'll-'_

Keeping his knife ready, he grabbed her free hand, and began pulling. "Come on-"

' _If I let him take me-... everything will be over. All the work I did, all my mom did-... it'll just be erased, so these-... these idiots can keep doing whatever the fuck they do. Everything I did-... everything I could do.'_

That was the most scary thing. She'd lose her freedom, and a whole lot more. If she thought sad freedom like this was hellish, she would dread what these men could do to her.

 _SHUNK._ She drove her own rusty, long metal fragment through the man's chest. It pierced his stomach completely, blood splaying out from his back where the metal poked out.

' _I'm not letting our family end. Even if it's just me.'_

" _Aa-..."_ He dropped his own knife in surprise, feeling at her arms-

 _WOOSH._ She pulled on the metal hard, intent on cleaving through him as much as she could. She accidentally brought his entire body along her side, tossing him aside.

 _Thud._ When his limp form rolled along the porch beside herself, Tsukiko felt herself stop.

' _He-... he was so light.'_

She shot her gaze to the katana-clad men running up to her.

' _They want to kill me.'_

 _SHINK._ Blood splayed into the air. Tsukiko had bounded off the porch, her long fragment slicing straight through a man's neck.

' _These pieces of shit-... don't know me and my mom's love.'_

 _SHU- SHUNK._ With his katana, she twirled around, cleaving it like a club into another man's flesh.

' _And yet-... the- they've made me so sad- and ruined everything…'_ She thought of the silent days she spent now, alone, sad and bored. She thought of the mother she never saw again, of the days she spent being comfy and glad she didn't have to even go outside some days. She saw the blood spreading everywhere.

' _I wo- won't lash out.'_ She felt her energy bubble. ' _I- I'll fucking_ EXPLODE-'

-+- _Tsukiko Hakurei -+-_

" _Hehehe~!"_ Tsukiko beamed.

 _WHAKRACK!_ She slammed another new corpse face-down in the cracking floorboards of the shrine. This was the thirteenth dead man tonight, his head exploding against the floor.

" _You cannot kill me!"_ She was alive with adrenaline and mania. " _I am youkai!"_

 _CRA- CRACK!_ She ripped a shoji pane off the wall, and spun around, stumbling. "Hra~h!"

 _WHA- WHAM!_ A man with a tool belt was flung, and another man with a knife recoiled, flopping onto his side after being rammed by it. " _Ough-"_

 _WHABAM- CRACK!_ She cleaved the whole pane straight down, shattering the rotting wood on him.

A man with a knife ran at her side, and she turned at him as he came-

 _WHACRACK._ She clotheslined him after jolting aside his form. But, she also held onto his face.

Hands on his jaw, she spun on her heel, pivoting around. " _Hrua~!"_

 _WOOSH._ She flung him around like a doll, his legs and sandals sweeping more men off their feet as he was rammed into them.

" _You ca~n't kill me~!"_ She roared, her whole body shaking. " _Ih- I losht control!"_

 _CRACK!_ She leapt off the shrine grounds, holding the limp man by the waist.

As she fell to her knees, she flung both arms down, swinging the so his skull would meet the wood floor.

 _CRA- CRUNCH._ She landed on her knees. He landed on his shoulders; his head smashed straight through the wood floor, a layer of blood having been displaced from his whole body, into the wood panels of the floor.

"He- hahaha~!" She stood up, arched herself back, and roared. " _Mo~m! I'm- gonna explo~de!"_

The forty men raiding party was overrun by one maiden. No more would Tsukiko's shrine be overrun, be it by man or beast. She had mastered the Essence of Overrun.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

 _Sendai was inspired to learn Oni Style!_

' _The earth…'_ Sendai remembered it; how to shut everything off, and commit. Dedication to force, and the ultimate edge of discipline. The unyielding wall of a cliffside, and the essence of rigidity.

Once, she truly knew what it meant to be unyielding, and to stand like a mountain against the elements and the force of her opponents. Sometimes, she just didn't want to put up with shit. She knew the essence of overrun.

Sendai opened her eyes, and a ballistic, amber, napalm-like flourish faded from her vision.

" _Shaa~h!"_ Letting out a primal roar, she hunched over, holding her arms out wide, one above herself, and one below.

' _Every mountain started as a stone…!'_ She was pumped. ' _...Or- was that the other way around…'_

Standing tall, she whipped her arms out with explosive force, yelling into the sky as her body shook again. " _Mm- hra~h!"_

' _...I- I was about to yell 'mom, I'll fuckin' explode!' but looking back, that phrase seems kinda stupid now. I was a weirdo when I was nineteen…'_

...Marcus laughed. "Wh- what the fuck. I think ya broke her, Kasen…!"

 _Sendai learned Resist Guard!_

 _Sendai learned Fat Roll._

 _Sendai learned Youkai Buster Combo * Beast!_

 _Sendai learned Primal Charge!_

Sendai and Kasen stood in the front lawn, atop the snow and dirt.

The tubby guard was now healed up, after Kasen had cast a powerful healing spell on him. He still looked traumatized, however. ' _He hasn't said much, since he got pulverized.'_

Keine quietly attached a sixth band-aid to his face, while he stared into the snow beneath the porch. "...You both _really_ need to be careful with villagers. I'd thought better of you, Kasen."

In the midst of the snowy yard, Kasen slouched. "I'd thought better of myself, too… but, I guess the stress of everything's getting to me. To be honest-..."

She faced Sendai again, and strutted closer. "My ideas of peace probably don't even really mean much, in the grand scheme of things. And, it's probably not pertinent enough for it to be as serious as I made it out to be. Still-... I can't help but be disappointed, you know?"

' _Yeah, whatever.'_

"Who wants to kill me and Reimu?" Sendai felt her anger inside again; it was fresh and new, like the day she killed her first human.

Kasen was surprised, feeling her new flush of emotion. "Um... Maybe I shouldn't have told _you._ Now that I think about it- Reimu probably just… wouldn't care, and therefore no one would care that she would know. You, however-... I dread to consider if you're being aggressive enough to warrant attention."

"Who cares." Sendai's head ached. "...I'll have control. I won't erupt."

...At that, Kasen huffed. "Yeah, I doubt that. You _can't_ be so forward about this. You- really, _honestly_ can't! This is the kind of reaction I feared from Reimu."

' _...She'll tell me later. Persistence is more powerful than you'd think.'_

Sendai stomped closer. "If you won't tell me-..."

' _Wait-... I don't really have the strength to just wallop her, right now.'_

Kasen snorted. "What? You'll fight me? You're in no condition to do that, Hakurei."

...Keine watched them with a worried look, brows furrowing.

...Sendai sighed. "Damn it. Twelve years ago, I wouldn't have had to take shit from a prude. Especially about something _this_ important." She began to look upset, even…

Kasen got a little worried, at that. "...Loo- look. I'll tell you later! Please, don't-... make a _scene._ I didn't mean to make myself out as an enemy…"

' _...She's right.'_ Sendai sighed. ' _I'm not nineteen anymore. I can't just go around dislocating people's arms like she just did, anymore.'_

' _Also-... we went outside for a reason, yeah. Kasen wanted to show me something.'_

"Well." Sendai propped her arms on her own hips, committing to change the subject. "What'd I supposedly use holy magic for?"

A gentle breeze blew across the dimming lawn's darkness. This sudden change in direction made Kasen blink. "...Mmm? Um… I was never that close to you, to inquire about how you fought, or anything. I always simply observed from a distance."

' _Hmm.'_ Looking back at the large guardsman sitting on the sidelines, Sendai seemed contemplative… ' _Damn.'_

Suddenly, that tubby guardsman began talking. "...Man." He stared up at the darkening sky. "I've got a lot to learn, huh."

Properly sitting down on the creaky porch next to him, Keine snorted. "What Kasen said to you wasn't wrong, despite her um, _hypocrisy."_

Kasen seemed to close her eyes, at that last word.

Marcus leaned onto one of the porch's rails, staring out at everyone plainly. He looked peaceful.

' _Such a grey day…'_ Sendai finally felt at peace, too. ' _It's really calm… despite all this shit this Kasen's talking about. Not the worst day to spend thinking over things, to be honest.'_

The tubby guardsman spoke up again, when the girls least expected him to. "But-... Ibaraki, was it?"

...Kasen faced him sort of questioningly. "Um-... yes?"

"Why'd you hurt me so bad, if you're trying to stop fighting and stuff, too?" He questioned, calmly. "...At least, that's what you kinda implied, when we were fightin'."

...At that, Kasen sighed. "Well. I'm just kind of…"

Sendai spoke over her. "Sometimes you've got to fight back for peace. It's an expression of how done you are with shit."

...Both the guard and Kasen met her gaze.

"You both gave that brief thing your all." Sendai smiled, but her face was hard. "You're both really fed up with your oppressors, aren't you? Not even oppressors; opposition in general, annoyances. It's a trying time, right?"

...He nodded, and Kasen unsurely looked away from everyone. "Mm- mmh…"

"Sometimes-..." Sendai exhaled, letting out hot air. "Sometimes, you can't help it. You just _explode._ And yeah, bad shit can happen because of it. S'usually what discipline is for, and why you learn to control it. But sometimes, even with that…" She beamed. "You just lose all control."

' _I know I'll get that strong again. No-... I'll get even stronger than I ever was.'_

"Ss- so." Looking somewhat drained herself, Kasen faced Sendai, again. "Have you ever tried searching for holy energy within yourself?"

' _...Hmm. It comes out during item crashes, I know, but-...'_

Closing her eyes, Sendai searched herself, both to relax, and to see if she could catalyze some kind of holy power from within. ' _Let's see… I remember the feel of the wind, and how my dark influence can goad it. But, holy?'_

Her mind spread to the core of her being, where her dark energy largely resided. ' _It's dark.'_ She made a gentle observation, mostly to entertain herself…

She opened her eyes. Kasen was within an arm's distance, and had her unbandaged arm to Sendai's abdomen now.

' _Wo- woah, hey!'_ Sendai's danger senses flared for a moment, but for some reason, her body wasn't responding. ' _Damn it- what the hell-...'_ Then, she relaxed, unnaturally. Something about this felt good, actually. ' _Fu- fuck off…'_

"I see it." Kasen spoke softly. "It's there. Can _you_ see it?"

"Nn- no…" Sendai was only able to fidget her limbs, a little. "Wh- what the hell, are you doing…"

Kasen smiled. "Searching your body, for you. I'm just wondering, how _can't_ you see it? It's right here…" She felt the area around Sendai's heart, which entailed pushing one of her breasts up inadvertently.

"He- hey." For some reason, Sendai felt out of breath. "What-..."

"Relax." Kasen stated with force. "You're not going to see what I'm doing if you just keep getting angry or alarmed."

Despite the weird, churning sensation in her chest, Sendai closed her eyes, and searched her mana again. ' _I- don't really trust what's happening, but…'_

The motion she felt within herself was almost hypnotic, and she felt vaguely like her torso should have been moving in response to the momentum her mind experienced. ' _It's-... almost like a massage, in a way…'_

"Do you feel it?" Kasen questioned her. "My mana's playing with yours. It should be pointing out where it is. It's really bright, but also pretty hard to see… so, I guess I can understand how you missed it. It's hard to miss it once you see it, though. Sort of like-... a visual trick, I suppose?"

That's when Sendai found it. ' _Wait…'_ She tried to use her mana to channel some of it. ' _When did this-'_

 _Kri- kra- krack._ Kasen stepped back, jolts of holy power traveling out of Sendai's heart like electricity. "Um."

"Oo- ow, ow…" This process hurt. "Wh- _fuck-..."_

 _Kra- krack- krakrack- crackle!_ Sendai felt her body convulse, the holy energy catalyzing out from herself like an electric storm; and it felt like one, too. "Gh- agh! _Nnh…! Fu-_ fu- fuck…!"

Her hair splayed out, dancing with particles of white and amber; the holy energy pouring from her flaring up with a ballistic, orange tint to it, which shone brightly off of the snow all around.

" _Hh-..."_ Slowly, the pain started to recede, while she stood there, arms splayed out as she took the vague, flooding pain head-on. "Hmph…!"

 _CRU- CRUNCH!_ She stomped down in place. Snow exploded out from the ground around her, and her whole body sagged. ' _Ho- holy… shit.'_

 _CRUNCH. CRUNCH._ Each step she took was a deliberate action, as she tried to move closer to Kasen. When she looked down at her arms, she noticed whirling, white-orange, almost gold light pulsing around them.

A shell of light was around her body, brilliant and radiant. Not only couldn't she feel the pain anymore, but she couldn't feel the cold. It was as if she'd just finished a jogging mile marathon in the snow, on a breezy day; the same kind of numb after the cold had chilled one's features to just before the breaking point.

 _CRUNCH. CRUNCH._ She stomped up to Kasen, taking a full second to take two, big stomps.

"Are you-... okay?" Kasen was somewhat amazed by how much effort Sendai put into moving. "You look-... heavy."

Since Sendai's sense of touch had all but shut itself off, she could only register her sluggish, almost unfamiliar actions. "I- I-... feel heavy."

 _CRU- swish!_ Stomping forward again, she slipped, the great force she put into walking betraying her. Since she had no sense of feeling, she could only see herself flick face-down into the snow.

 _THOOM._ The snow around her splayed out, a flourish of amber energy accenting the way she flopped down. " _Nn- nnh…"_ Seething out a grunt, inadvertently, her body pushed itself into standing, the shell-like magic flaring off her form like water as she stood, before reforming.

 _Sendai learned Ravenous Soul!_

 _Sendai learned Holy Rage._

 _Sendai learned Ultra Heavy Lifting!_

 _Sendai learned Essence of the Oni * Heavy Hit._

 _Sendai learned Auto-Equip!_

"That holy shell…" Her eyes darting Sendai's form speculatively, Kasen began to smile. "You can't feel anything anymore, can you?"

"You- you can tell…?" Sendai stood with her black hair splayed out in the air behind herself, form repeatedly bobbing as she sagged and then reinforced her posture repeatedly. Her arms were at her thighs, shaking with hands spread. "My body- still, feels- like it can't handle this, for some reason-..."

"It probably can't." Kasen stated simply. "Maybe you should-... turn it off? If you can."

Sendai felt where the holy energy poured out from, within herself. ' _...I- I think I can. But…'_

 _CRUNCH, CRUNCH._ Instead, she continued to stomp forward, this time simply moving into the large space of Keine's alleyway yard. It was more like a clearing amidst the houses, and Keine's house happened to be facing it.

 _CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH._ Slowly, as she continued to stomp, she picked up pace, eventually returning to walking speed. But, instead of walking, she seemingly bounded with every step, dangerously lurching ahead, as if she could stop at any moment.

' _Let's… try attacking.'_ Sendai supposed…

 _WOOSH!_ She tried to punch. Her body reacted violently, whipping the whole of her forward in perhaps the most greedy left hook ever. ' _Um…'_ It was less of a hook and more of a flail, even.

 _WOO- WOOSH._ She tried to punch using her other arm, and bring the first one back. To do this, her left arm was flailed back with violent velocity, and she hooked the right one forward hard enough to force herself to step ahead. ' _This is- so weird…!'_

 _WOO- WOO- WOOSH!_ Flailing her right arm back, she hooked her left arm overhead, cleaving it down with decisive velocity. "Hnn- nh…!"

As she flailed and swung, the snow around her was noticeably being blown away, folding to the mere impression of her movements, which never even touched anything.

' _Holy shit. How hard am I swinging them…? This reminds me a lot of how I fought when I was just learning to fight-... except, with way more power. Kinda makes up for the lack of technique.'_

"That's-..." Kasen pursed her lips, somewhat bewildered by the force she suddenly used. "That doesn't look good for you. But, that's some phenomenal power, for a human…"

' _That third hit- of that string of attacks… I remember loving doing shit like that. That hook'll bounce a man off the fucking floor with enough power.'_

Sendai got an idea. ' _Let's try dodging. Somehow.'_

Her arm muscles all tensed together. Steeling herself, Sendai put as much power into her arms as she could, and jerked herself in the direction she intended.

 _Cru- cru- crunch!_ Dropping onto her side, she curled up automatically almost. She'd simply fallen over immediately, rolling over her side, her back, her other side, before finally stopping in a crouched position, not very far from where she started.

She stood from her clumsy, ill-timed dodge roll. "Fuu~..." As she stood, her body heaved a great sigh.

' _Guess I'm not dodging.'_ Sendai summarized how strategically useless that evasion technique was. ' _I wasn't that retarded at moving, twenty years ago! Wait-...'_ She paused. ' _I was eighteen, and there's an extra twelve years on that since I freaking died. Twenty two years, plus twelve… thirty four. Damn.'_

 _CRU, CRUNCH._ She came up to a garbage can, across the clearing from Keine's house. She intended to attack it, to see how much force she'd smack it away with-

 _WOOSH!_ Instead, as she passed by it, she only barely managed to clip it with one arm, the can nearly magnetizing to her grasp. Spinning around, she swung it through the air like Kasen did earlier. ' _Ho- holy shit…!'_

 _WOO- WO- WO- WO- WOOSH!_ She put as much force as she could into a great swipe, and spun around like a hurricane of destruction. A spiral of snow was drilled from the ground beneath herself, before she stopped.

 _KABLAM!_ She tossed the trashcan straight into the floor. It met the snow with enough force to bounce off of it, a geyser of diamond-like particles exploding up after it. The crumpled can's contents were ejected out of it, splashing out magnificently into the snow.

...Sendai watched it fall back down, after it almost cleared a roof. ' _What the fuck. Why'm I so strong, like this…!?'_

 _CRUNCH._ It rolled into the snow bank against a house, finally stopping.

Kasen giggled. "Oo- oh, gods. That's-... that was something."

Keine's steps in the snow were almost inaudible, by comparison to the embodiment of loud and startling noises that Sendai had become. "I don't think I need to recommend that you be _careful_ , with-... whatever you've done with your holy magic. That kind of power could seriously injure somebody, if not yourself."

"Fuu~..." Sendai let out a breath again, like her body was a steam engine. "Ye- yeah, I- I gotcha-... Keine. I ain't dumb."

...Then, Keine looked casual. "It _is_ really interesting, though…"

' _...If I used holy energy before, I'm pretty sure this isn't how I used it.'_ Sendai didn't really remember roving around, flailing objects around like a maniac. ' _But, it still feels… really good.'_ Just seeing the visceral impacts of her attacks on objects, and the environment, was extremely satisfying for her.

' _I could afford to cut loose like this, more often.'_

 _crunch, crunch._ Snow was heard crunching elsewhere, as the day began to darken. The overcast had made the transition to sunset especially gloomy, the world almost becoming night instantly.

Sendai saw a rusty bicycle resting against Keine's house. ' _...Oh, man. Imagine if I could swing that around. That'd be so fucking stupid. Wait-...'_ It took her a moment, but then she remembered it. ' _Keine used to use that bike when she was younger. I can't imagine her needing it now, but…'_

"He- hey." Sendai pointed ahead at that bike. "You-... still got that- old bike…"

Keine smiled. "Oh? Oh, yeah. I'm-... sort of surprised, that you noticed. I don't use it a lot anymore, but-... it's still there. I don't really have the heart to bring it back to Kourin. I'd also have to admit I let it rust, a few times…"

' _Huh.'_ Sendai smiled, at it. Or, at least, she intended to. She wasn't sure if it came out, because she couldn't feel anything. ' _Cute thing. Bikes are a weird concept…'_

"When I think about it..." Idly, Keine sort of meandered towards her house, away from the girls. "We could probably have that cake later tonight. It was a little early for dinner, and the night is still young."

 _thunk._ Meanwhile, Kasen had put the trash can that Sendai tossed back where it should be. "...There."

' _Let's-... jog back. I think.'_

 _CRUNCH, CRUNCH._ Sendai found her stride back to Keine's porch was painfully, agonizingly slow. ' _I-... can't haul it for the life of me, like this. Holy shit.'_

Keine was able to keep up with her by just walking. "I don't imagine lumbering around like that is doing any good for your appetite, either."

' _I don't know, 'cause I can't feel anything.'_ Sendai would have to see, in a moment.

 _CRUN- CRUN- CRUNCH._ It took some moments, but Sendai graduated to a brisk walk, despite making immensely wasteful, lurching strides.

Upon reaching the stairs onto the porch, she faced a challenge. Stairs were now a daunting obstacle.

... _CLACK!_ She slid her foot forward, and into the first stair, without raising it.

' _Alright, um…'_ Sendai tried to move both legs at once-

 _thu- thud._ She succeeded, slipping them both out, and kicking them ahead clumsily. She ended up sticking her butt into the snow, and her legs onto the stairs.

 _shoof._ Splaying out in the snow, Sendai stared up at Keine and Kasen…

Kasen looked somewhat pitying. "Um… it was a good try."

Taking her blue, rectangular hat off, Keine kneeled down, and put it on Sendai's face. "You're not walking around the house with _that_ enchantment active…"

"Aa- aa." Sendai's body let out an awkward noise in acknowledgement.

The tubby guard stared down at her blue hakama, as her legs lied on the stairs. The cloth pulsed along with her holy, white-amber shell. "So, um, who is she? One of them village maidens…?"

...Keine looked up at him, and shook her head. "Aah… no. It's a long story. To keep it short, she's with us, and she's not a village Hakurei Project thing."

...He smiled. "Ooh, I get it. Like a double agent, right?"

...Keine shrugged. "Um, exactly."

Marcus held a hand up. "Uh, yo, girls."

...Keine and Kasen stared at him gingerly. Sendai would have too, but turning her head made it move ninety degrees, half-embedding it into the snow. ' _Man, this holy thing-... is way more oddly specific than I remember it being…!'_

 _fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish._ Spreading his arm out, Marcus sent magi-lights out from himself, which spread to the darkness of the surrounding snowscape.

"We got company…!" He grinned over at the girls. "Ya might not hear 'em yet, but they're comin'! I got scryin' spells up the wazoo around here, and a lotta them're goin' off…!"

At that, Kasen shifted her posture, to rest on one leg. "Ah, right. I wasn't going to say anything, but Keine, I'm pretty sure everyone you can think of is watching your house in some way. ...That's still an overstatement, but..."

"You know, I sort of figured." Keine had already resigned to that idea. "A Hakurei reviving is a big deal, after all."

"Um…" The tubby guardsman began to stand. "What're you guys talkin' about? What's coming? Who's watching…!?"

 _cru- crunch, crunch._ Slowly, the idle crunching of snow grew louder, coming from all directions.

Fighting into standing, Sendai stumbled around as she got onto her knees, then her legs. "Wh- whah…?"

Marcus's magi-lights revealed figures, their light shining beyond the dim, ember-tinted torchlights the figures seemed to carry. From numerous alley paths, red-white clad figures marched, brandishing varied implements. Some held gohei, while others had actual katanas, others carried bats, and some simply carried numerous backpacks. Many more were unarmed.

' _...Huh.'_ Sendai gazed around, at the thirty-fifty faux shrine maidens who emerged from the village's woodworks.

"Um…" Kasen sized them up, looking disbelieving… "What."

Realizing what was going on immediately, Keine marched out, away from the porch. "Are you _serious…_ nn~gh."

...The crowd of variously sized shrine maiden figures paused. Eventually, an auburn-haired girl marched from their ranks, coming up towards the three women, holding a not-so-large banner in her hands.

"What's this." Keine flatly gestured to around forty nine other fake shrine maidens.

The twin-tailed, auburn-haired girl glowered at her. "Don't you _know?"_

"Yeah." Keine nodded. "No. What's this supposed to be." She made the same gesture again.

"There's a traitor, on the town council." The girl probably couldn't glare harder if she tried. "I can't _believe you,_ Keine."

...Keine idly nodded. "And, I can't believe _you._ How many of you are even old enough, to be out like this? Do some of your parents know about this? _Any_ of them?"

"We're members of the town guard, by trade." The smaller girl announced. "We don't have to do anything like that. And- that doesn't matter! I want you, and your _goons_ on your knees."

Keine sighed. "...You know, if I just flew _up,_ would you even be able to hit me."

...After pausing for a moment, the auburn-haired girl responded. "Well- _yes._ We have danmaku, and talismans."

"You mean danmaku talismans, which aren't _real_ talismans, and none of you even know how to _throw_ real talismans." Keine shook her head. "You and your clique are _really_ not going to like what happens next, if you threaten us. Go home, _now._ "

...Then, the girl smirked. "Fi~ne, then. We _won't_ threaten you. We'll have a _danmaku duel!"_

...Keine smiled. "Oh? Well, why not? What rules do you propose, then?"

" _Twenty_ cards." The girl beamed viciously. "If we _win,_ you leave the village."

"And if I win, you're all going to bed, and reporting to my office first thing tomorrow morning." Keine announced, propping her arms on her own hips. "Does that sound fair?"

"Yeah!" The auburn-haired girl thrust her gohei forward. "I, Kaneru Kazuko, stand in your way!"

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Sendai snacked on a chocolate bar retrieved from inside, as she sat on the porch, staring up at the lights. "So, this is danmaku, huh…"

Marcus nodded. "Aw, yeah. Well, issa bit more pitiful than normal, but uh…"

 _ti- tick, tick._ Slow, lame, but pretty spread shots of fake talismans drifted into the air from below. They were tinted all colors of the rainbow, some moving with strange patterns, but for the most part, they were disorganized and scattered.

Sendai was still really impressed by the colors in the night sky, especially with how they contrasted against the white of nearby housing. ' _It's really pretty…'_

In the air over the fifty-summod shrine maidens, Keine jerked about erratically, in no seeming danger of getting clipped by anything. She seemed to have a rhythm to her jerky movements, so it was more like she was taunting them…

The shrine maidens ahead yelled various disorganized orders to one another. "He- hey! I'm almost outta mana…!"

"Ugh- Chinami-chan, why'd you bring the retarded spread…!?"

"Ow- _ow!_ You stepped on my- _ow!"_

" _Ngh-_ I'll fuckin' _stab_ the bitch that- _oof…"_

"Ee- _eee!_ Stop shooting _me!"_

Sendai found a smile, from how ironic this situation looked… ' _It really does feel like, just some playful game. Which fits, because half of these girls don't even look like they wanna fight. The other half, well… just because they're rarin' to go doesn't mean they wouldn't regret it later.'_

"Great Fire!" Keine yelled out the name of her first spell card. "Flower of Edo!"

 _fwoom._ Softly, cartoony arrows of red, magical light began forming around her. As they built up, yellow ones joined them, as well as piercingly bright, pastel-orange ones…

The edge of her whirling mass of bullets grew larger, and larger, until it stretched out, sweeping down onto the girls.

" _Aaa~h!"_ Their collective, shrill, excited yell grew in volume, drowning out Sendai's ears.

' _Ow.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

...Keine stood on the ground, again. The auburn-haired girl, Kaneru, stood slouched before her, idly clutching one of her own shoulders weakly. "...Ugh."

"...Cool." Keine nodded, looking tired again. "Looks like I was able to resolve the problem."

"You- you didn't resolve _shit…"_ She seethed back at Keine, now also tired… "That- wasn't even _fair…"_

"Did you do _a~ny_ danmaku study?" Keine spoke to her plainly… "I think my terms were pretty fair compared to yours, too. Even if you're human, if you're going to try and take the shrine maiden's likeness, expect people to treat you like her. Can you really handle that weight?"

...Kaneru faltered, stepping back. "We- well…"

"Would you climb a mountain, and fight _actual gods_ to preserve your shrine's already meager standing?" Keine stepped closer to her. "Would you dare to explore the plains of Makai? Trade shots with a vampire before the bloody full moon, or endure the cold tinge of death? Come back to me, when you too have accomplished these things."

...Kaneru let out a snort, and turned away. "Bu- bullshit…"

"In fact…" Keine moved to follow her. "Who _encouraged_ you all, to be so aggressive? I know _I_ didn't. Was it the captain? This 'Tsuruko' girl? Money?"

"Wh- why the _fuck_ would we tell _you."_ Kaneru glowered back at her, stopping again as she slowly half-lost her footing in the snow. "Bu- but-... well, it might be money, for some of us, but it's not for me. No one cared about that crappy captain-... and, Okita's hotter anyway. Um-..."

...Keine grabbed her ear, and shook it a little. "Stay away from that man, too."

"Ow." She began to look more passive… "Le- let go~..."

...It seemed like most of the shrine maidens were gone, now. A paltry few lingered, mostly simply collecting themselves, or listening to Keine.

Sendai noticed one marching towards the house instead, however. She was a somewhat short, black-haired girl. ' _Wait…'_

Kasen held up her bandaged hand, as the girl neared. "Shoo, you." She tried to wave her away.

"Mm- mmgh…" The girl was half-drowning herself with a potion bottle's contents, fizzles of danmaku energy leaving her form. "Fwa~h!"

...Once she finished the bottle, she centered a cocky glare on Sendai. ' _It's the one from the bar.'_

 _woosh!_ Takeno hurled her potion bottle through the air, at Sendai.

 _Crack!_ It exploded somewhere behind Sendai, as she stood, leaning past it like she leaned past the booze bottle that was swung at her earlier. "Al~right…"

As she marched forward again, Takeno stepped back, eyes wide… then, she called out. _"Tomo-chan!_ Now!"

 _cla- clack- cru- crunch!_ Sendai heard someone leap from the porch behind herself. ' _Wait-...'_

 _Woosh!_ As Sendai quickly stepped back, the shorter black-haired girl that she lobbed talismans at earlier in the day was there. She was recoiling, after failing to bludgeon Sendai with a glass ashtray. "Mm- uhm-" Holding it up, she began to step back-

 _WHA- CRACK!_ Sendai lunged forward viciously, punching the ashtray from Tomomi's hands, making it explode against her face. " _Ngh-_ aa-...!"

The crunching of snow made Takeno's new advance audible. Sendai turned to face her, tensing herself for another surprise attack that she couldn't dodge this time…

 _Shing._ Takeno was simply standing there, however, as she shakily drew a sharp, long knife from her skirt. "Hehe- hehe…"

' _That's- dangerous…'_ Sendai noticed the shaky way the girl held it, both hands knuckle-white almost. ' _She's panicking, too.'_

Kasen stepped up. "That's enough."

"Nah." Sendai stepped sideways, and into Kasen's way before she could intervene. "I've got this."

-+- _Vs. Takeno Shoyo, Artificial Hakurei Project Maiden -+-_

 _fwish._ Wind crept up Sendai's features, and she began to stretch her limbs restlessly. ' _If anything's gonna help against a knife, it'll be speed… I can get cut up flinging my arms around some other time. And-... that's not to say I won't need more power later.'_

As Kasen got out of the way, and the tubby guard at the porch stood eternally awed at the surreality of the evening, Sendai raised her arms in a boxing-esque posture, ready to use them.

 _Swi- swish._ At first, Takeno just swiped forward at her greedily and wildly, when she wasn't even in range, to try and be intimidating. "He- hehe…"

' _Huh.'_ Sendai was at first skittish, at the knife's presence. ' _She's not paying any attention, but a knife is still a knife-...'_ She took a breath. ' _But, I'm so fast…'_

 _Swish!_ Takeno swung one more time, lashing out wide. "C'mere!"

"Hah!" Sendai snapped forward after her last swing.

 _Whap!_ She kicked her leg up unbelievably high, clipping Takeno in the face as it rose. " _Nh-_ wh- ugh…" The impact was ironically weak, only barely grazing Takeno's face with the sandal's bottom, only leaving her nose red.

 _fwi- fwi- fwish._ Sendai dashed straight past her, accidentally using three motions with her own jumpy senses. ' _Eheh, whoops…'_ She was now some meters from the house's right side entirely.

' _...Wait- did I only hit her nose? Wow!'_ She began to grin. ' _I wish I could do shit like that on purpose!'_

 _Cru- cru- crunch!_ Irritated, and slightly confused, Takeno ran at her. "Ge- get _back here!_ You think you can esca-"

 _fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Sendai slid ahead again, across the snow, ending up behind Takeno within another second. ' _Hey there. Woah-'_

 _fwish!_ She slid back one last time, as Takeno whirled around, knife extended when she spun on her sandal heel. "Gotch- aah…!?"

 _pap- pap- pap!_ Two jabs of either arm, then a facial jab from Sendai met Takeno's side and cheek immediately. "Fu- _fhu- ck-"_

 _Wham!_ Sendai reeled one arm back, and plowed it into Takeno's face as she turned around, trying to face her. Wind blossomed from the blow, snow rippling around the girls. ' _The force I put into that one- it came back, and hard. How'd that work...?'_

Rolling off of the blow's momentum, Takeno stopped herself from entirely landing on her side by using an arm. "Nn-... nnh."

...Standing again after saving herself, she pointed her knife ahead again. "I- I see-... why that bitch- Tsuruko- ish inta ya…" She nursed her face for a moment, with her free arm. "Ya fight _just_ like her…"

Sendai bounced back and forth in place, energized. "Do I?"

"...He- heheh." A greedy, absolutely enthralled smile ran up Takeno's features. "I see- how it is now. I'm not gonna let 'er have the pleasure-... 'a copyin' her answers off _you."_

 _Kra- krack, fzzt._ From the core of Takeno's being, bright, neon yellow energy crackled out, visible jolts running along her features.

 _Kri- Kra- KRACK…!_ It became a violent, yellow storm. A visible golden, star-like light billowed from her chest. _"He- hehehe~!"_

' _What the fuck…'_ Sendai's brows began to raise. ' _Okay…'_

 _Fvrar!_ The energy all instantly traveled into the long knife Takeno wielded, making it glow with the ferocity of neon gold. _"Even Tsuruko dunno 'bout this one…!"_

 _whi- whish._ She zipped towards Sendai like lightning. _"Yeheha~h!"_

 _fwoosh._ Sendai let the wind leave her limbs.

' _I've fought blade wielders before…'_ She searched her memories. ' _Wait…'_

 _SHINK!_ She thrust a palm up, straight into the blade. ' _Ff-...'_

 _FWII~SH!_ As she skidded back in the snow from the force of Takeno's thrust, her legs fighting the ground and her own momentum, she had her other arm out. It was charging with momentum and dark energy, azure light pulsing from it, and from within the black, tightly fitting arm sleeve.

" _Yh- you…"_ Takeno's eyes were now glowing golden, and she saw Sendai's ready arm. She raised a palm to stop the hand, golden light leaving her knife to aid it-

 _Kri- kra- krack…!_ Amber energy poured from Sendai's form for a moment, as she lurched her arm forward, launching a slow, fierce hook in response to all of the force that brought her here.

Takeno jerked away- or tried to, but stopped. Sendai's blade-pierced hand was now holding onto hers, preventing her from escaping. " _Aa-"_

' _I've got her now.'_

 _woosh._ Sendai managed to send out her casually slow right hook.

 _CRA- CRACK._ Takeno's golden hand bent out of the way, blood spritzing out as Sendai's fist passed right aside it.

 _Whump._ The hook met Takeno's left breast. " _Kh- uu…"_

 _fwi- woosh…!_ As Sendai stood locked in this position, she shut her eyes, focusing on the windy evening. _'Now- that she's vulnerable, I need to strike her while she's open, before the momentum takes her away...'_

" _Hnn~...!"_ Her adrenaline was flaring, and amethyst light pulsed from her form, as the wind became an almost calm whirlwind around the two girls.

Her left hand stung with intense pain, a hole left through the middle of it by the knife she stopped with her palm. ' _Let's have some fun with this…'_

She snapped from her posture.

 _Wha- wha- wha- wha- whap- pap- pap- pap!_ She put the entirety of both arms into each thrust, palms striking many angles of Takeno's chest and abdomen. She racked up blow after blow on Takeno, each hit feeble, but wind worked up along her body and arms with every impact.

' _This method of catching the wind…'_ These erratic movements were stirring it, as her mana latched onto it, catching and playing with more and more. ' _Now I can use it.'_

 _BOOM!_ The final palm struck the midst of her being, a shockwave of purple light and wind exploding out. " _Hya~h!"_ Sendai unleashed it all.

 _WOOSH!_ Takeno went flying, rolling through the air. " _Kh- aaa~kh!"_

 _WHAM!_ She slammed against the wall of a house, around twenty meters away.

"Nh- _kauh…"_ She spat out blood. "Tsh-... Tsuruko-... I- I'm th' real-... sh- shrine-..."

 _crunch._ She flopped into the snow, after peeling from the wall.

 _Sendai learned Essence of the Flying Fist!_

 _Sendai learned Essence of Disarming * Prototype!_

 _Sendai remembered Precision Counter Essence * Prototype._

...Sendai lied on the rightmost couch, inside Keine's home. The dim lights were starting to get to her, but she was going to remain awake for the cake, at least.

...Kaneru sat with her arms folded, on the front-most couch, the one facing away from the door. Takeno looked completely wasted despite the healing potions used on her. Yellow energy still fizzled about her body unevenly, and she shivered each time it happened.

' _Wind…'_ Sendai considered the brief encounter. ' _Well, I guess, when my mana flares, I can grab onto a lot of it. But, my mana just-... flares arbitrarily? Hmm. I need to experiment, sometime. Hitting people a lot seems to help.'_

Kasen sat between them, smiling. "...Admittedly, that was fairly illuminating. Perhaps less force _could have_ been used, but..."

Sendai gave her a big grin. "Aw, shut up. Don't talk to _me_ about excessive force, miss 'I-beat-a-guy's-head-in-with-a-peach-crate'."

The tubby guardsman was also still here, taking up a large, wood chair that Keine pulled up near the table for him. "I- I mean… I probably _shoulda_ knew better than to stab her! But-... you know how it goes…"

Kasen snorted. "Ah, yes, innocents being eviscerated through the stomach, you know how it goes. The true irony, is that a youkai would most definitely survive that, and a human wouldn't."

...Quietly, the guard stared down at the table, now with nothing more to add to this conversation. His face slowly fell.

"Takeno." Kaneru spoke up. "When'd you get that catalyzer implanted."

"Bitch…" Takeno groaned from her seat. "I'll kill ya…"

" _Takeno."_ Kaneru leaned past Kasen, glaring. "I thought we weren't going to stoop to her level."

Letting her gaze pan down from the ceiling boards, she smiled back at Kaneru. "Aa- are you kidding… she's obviously _better_ than us. Don't ya _see_ yet?"

Kaneru huffed. "I thought we were gonna talk Okita into firing her…!"

...Letting her gaze drift up again, Takeno sighed. "Since _when_ did Okita get talked into _anything._ I- I'm not afraid ta change my body to get stronger, Kaneru-chan. You shouldn't be, either."

"What a load of bullshit." Sitting up, Sendai piped in on the discussion, resting her arms on her knees. "Have you bimbos ever considered, I don't know, _exercise?_ A _routine?_ Following a _diet?_ Hell, I hate to say it, but, _magical studies?"_

...Takeno slowly let her gaze drift back down, glowering at her again. "Hussy. You-... you shut the fuck up. That stuff takes money."

Sendai held an arm out. "Get a _job._ Make chairs. Till the farms for an old guy who can't do it so well anymore. Be towel-girl on a youkai hunting job, if those even happen anymore. Bake. Deliver water. Think of a necessity or service, and do it. Save up some money. Village isn't big, and we _should all be here_ to help each other."

...Takeno's frown deepened. "You-... don't know _shit."_

At that, Sendai didn't have much else to say. ' _If you won't listen, I can't make you. I mean, yeah, manning up and taking a job is kinda rough, but if you wanna play up your wild side, you can always jump in with the guard. Honestly, two best jobs seem to be being a guard and farming. Food gets made, youkai get-... poked repeatedly, with no effective result. Mmh.'_

...She held up a hand. "You know, what the fuck even is a catalyzer."

...Takeno narrowed her eyes. "Bi~tch…"

Abruptly popping from his chair, Marcus placed his tome down, and shuffled to get around back of the main couch. "Ooh- I think I've got an idea…! Y'see-..."

Once he was around to Takeno's side of the couch, he leaned around its back and pointed towards her heart. "Y'see, when I iced Tsuruko-what's-'er-face twice, I took some samples 'a the energy shit comin' outta her _heart area._ As it turns out, I'm pretty sure these chicks got these like, _metal mana amplifiers_ affixed near their hearts. Except, they make _faith_ , an' not mana."

"You- _what'd_ Tsuruko…?" Takeno looked up at him, blinking… "Wha- wait, you're- old man Kirisame… how the hell would _you_ beat _her?_ _I_ can't beat her!"

Grinning, Marcus moseyed towards Sendai… "Oh, I dunno. Mighta been magic 'er somethin'! Anyway…"

 _creak._ The couch groaned, as he took a seat next to Sendai. "Aa~h."

"You're not allowed to sigh in contentment." Sendai hassled him. "You literally just got up, and you're already sitting back down. You spent _ten seconds_ standing up."

He began to grin. "S'too bad, innit. Yer gonna be makin' weird noises too, when yer sixty…!"

"And-..." Takeno wasn't done being confused yet. "How the hell'd _you_ figure out how our catalyzers worked?"

...After a moment of thought, Marcus let his head tilt. "I mean, all the metal's right _there._ I was also real curious, 'cause usually the odds 'a this kinda crap bein' made without me involved is like, zip. I'm kinda curious why _yers_ took a different magic output- like, maybe it'sa _faith_ ordeal, or uh, belief, or…?"

Stroking his beard, he leaned back. "Lo~ts 'a options."

Kasen had a hard expression. "You know… who even _installed_ these supposed catalyzers?" She turned to Kaneru. "Do you know?"

Kaneru frowned back, the light gradient from the kitchen visible on her eternally negative face. "We just-... really _shouldn't_ tell you."

"Foreign implements in the body are _dangerous_ , you know." Kasen tried to spook her into talking. "If we hardly know what it is, who knows what it's doing inside of you?"

"We- we were ready for that risk." She folded her arms. "It's the only way for us to channel faith-... and to compare with that Reimu chick. I- I mean, _I_ didn't really want to, but… even with that power, Takeno just-..."

' _...If they can't compare with me, there's no way they could compare with her. Also- weren't you just against it? You changed your mind that quickly…!?'_

 _Knock, knock._ Suddenly, someone was at the door, again.

Sendai raised her brows. ' _Who could that possibly be.'_

...A random thought popped into her head. "Marc. Those girls, affected by the aphrodisiac, how'd they turn out?"

...Marcus gave her a blank stare for a moment, before recalling. "Aah. I heard the clinic saw to 'em, an' the boys too. Fixed 'em right up almost instantly, even, no charge."

' _Hot damn.'_

"I'm coming i~n." The voice from the door was Mokou's.

 _Crea~k._ She let herself in, quickly closing the door behind herself before she could let any more cold air in.

"...The fuck." She quickly noticed that Keine seemed to be hosting a small party. "S'it someone's birthday, or something…?"

"You-..." Kaneru's eyes widened, staring up at her as she rounded the table. "You're that immortal. What are _you_ doing here…?" 

Mokou made a dour face at her. "Oh. It's _you_ people. Keine finally having a sit-and-shit with _you?_ It took long enough."

Marcus looked pleasantly bewildered. "Sit an' shit, huh."

Her eyes met him. "...Yeah, I couldn't resist." She allowed herself a slanted smile. "Anyway. You girls been good this year? S'this about me?"

"Wh- _no,_ forest psycho…" Kaneru glowered at her, except hesitantly, giving her a very offended but awkward impression. "Wh- why the hell're _you_ here?"

Mokou wasn't feeling helpful towards her, however. "'Cause I came here, by walking."

...With a big smile, Keine stepped into the room holding a big plate, with a large, spongy yellow cake atop it. "My. There really _are_ a lot of people, here. I wasn't planning on hosting a-... cake and tea party, but this is fine."

' _Oh, hey. The cake's arrived!'_ Sendai began to smile widely… _'It looks really fluffy…'_

...Then, Keine looked around. "Did any of you see Tomomi-chan? She was helping me with the cookbook, but when it began baking, she went to use the bathroom… and- hrm."

Realizing something, Marcus broke out another grin. "Aren't ya used to yer students gettin' away from ya with that excuse, by now…!?"

"But- why, though…!?" Still searching the room, Keine was both parts amused and bemused. "Especially after she went through helping me, like that…"

Sendai stood up, too. "That's weird. I saw her go past one of the couches..." She wasn't paying much attention, but she was certain the girl was in one of Keine's back rooms. "Maybe she's looking for your test answers."

Keine snorted. "Well, I doubt that…"

Getting up and moving around the couch, Sendai approached the doorway behind it. ' _Let's see, where could-'_

 _clack._ Sendai felt the wood floor just behind herself move, through her sandals. ' _What- someone's-'_

 _woosh._ She turned around, leaning to the side. Tomomi was hiding behind the couch, and she'd tried to bludgeon Sendai with another random object, this time one of Keine's plates. ' _What the hell…!?'_

"Oh- _holy shit!"_ Spooked by Sendai's reaction, Tomomi jumped back, her body pressing against the couch-

 _WHA- CRACK!_ Sendai threw a jab on reflex, also spooked by her sudden appearance.

" _Nghk- aa~h…"_ The glass exploded across Tomomi's face, and she was sent rolling over the couch's back-

"Ohp!" Marcus stood, catching her before she could roll onto the table. "Ea~sy does it, now…!"

Keine sighed. "Can we _not_ for once…!? Tomomi- I- _ngh…"_ Her disappointment seemed immeasurable, in this moment…

' _Yeah- don't fucking do that!'_ Sendai felt her adrenaline slowly taper off, again. ' _Haha- holy shit…'_

...Slowly, idle chatter picked up amongst the table's occupants.

"Um." The tubby guard smiled. "You said your name-... what was your name, again?" He spoke to Kaneru…

She scoffed at him. "You're not having sex with me, creep. And _no,_ Okita wouldn't _sell us._ Most of us."

...His eyebrows raised in apprehension.

"Um." Keine gave her strange company pitying looks. "Oh, right. Mokou- you can probably sit next to Tsukiko, if you'd like."

"Why would-..." Kasen faced Kaneru questioningly.

 _thump._ Using his telekinetic magic, Marcus righted Tomomi in Sendai's seat. Her nose was bleeding, and her face was cut in a few places. "Nn- nngh…" She rubbed her cuts, looking dizzy…

...Marcus seemed to want to intentionally look creepy at first, before having a better idea, and grinning. "Ya _know!_ For some people, one broken nose is enough!"

...She hissed out a retort. "Shh~..." Then, she gave him a girly push.

He let himself lean to the side, somewhat surprised she'd bother to get hands-on like that. "Hoh…!"

' _What a fucking weird party.'_ Sendai gradually rounded the couch, readying to give Tomomi the boot from her seat. ' _But, it's pretty fun…'_

 _Sendai obtained Yamada Family MagiCake Slice!_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

 _Sendai Hakurei no Miko:_

NEW SKILLS:

x _Body:_

Holy Rage - When using Oni Style, Sendai is 50% Holy resistant, and 100% Weaken resistant, as well as 50% Dark resistant.

x _Soul:_

Ravenous Soul - When using Oni Style, Sendai loses greater motor control and sacrifices her senses. Her inner holy magic comes out as a shell that floats along the skin of her being, like oil to her dark essence, protecting her from some damage. Grants a good boost to strength, as well as pain immunity.

x _Youkai Style_

Essence of Disarming * Prototype - Sendai grabs the enemy's blade hand, and crushes it a little, so they let go of their blade. Doesn't always work well, and could use some work...

x _Tengu Style_

Essence of the Flying Fist - Sendai whirls up a powerful clump of wind around her arm, and plows it into a stunned opponent. Only really works well on stunned enemies. Once it lands, it sends them flying, and they may blow into other opponents or terrain.

 _x Oni Style:_

Oni Style - Sendai's power-focused style, sacrificing all her grace, speed and strategy for pure, undistilled power and carnage. Learned after she observed Kasen show off a similar moveset…

Fat Roll - Sendai can no longer quickly dodge. Instead, to dodge, she drops onto her arms, and rolls to the side. If moving forward or backward, she'll shuffle slightly faster than walking.

Youkai Buster Combo * Beast - Raw, unskilled flails of her arms. Can be charged for more power, and will very easily break guards.

Resist Guard - Sendai can no longer guard normally. Now, she'll tense her entire body, and tank all incoming damage, from all angles, becoming immune to knockback, stagger and various debuffs. Reduces all incoming damage by 40%, and this resistance increases as she takes more damage. Once she's taken 50% of her max HP, she will no longer take damage unless she stops guarding.

Primal Charge - Combo finisher. Hunching down, Sendai thrusts herself forward like an animal, roaring into enemies like a missle, before doing a forward roll to get back onto her legs.

Ultra Heavy Lifting - While in Oni Style, Sendai may lift huge objects like partial tree trunks, motorcycles, transformer boxes, telephone booths and wooden outhouses. Exerts great physical strain on the body, making her weaker after she's done, and can't be used in rapid succession.

Essence of the Oni * Heavy Hit - Sendai lifts a bicycle, bench or equally heavy object up, and then cleaves it straight down into an enemy's head, smashing it atop them. Very powerful physical attack, which is always critical against regular humans.

Auto-Equip - When in Oni Style, Sendai's hands automatically attract objects from the ground when she flails them around. If she's near objects as she attacks, she will usually automatically equip them, incorporating them into a combo.

 _x_ _?:_

Precision Counter Essence * Prototype - A skill which starts with Youkai Style, then incorporates skills from the others. Stopping a blade by letting it stab into a palm, Sendai then channels her inner holy energy to plow a right hook aided by Resolute Counter into the enemy, piercing their defenses while they're trapped. Then, she dances quick Tengu Style-aided palm thrusts across them, ending with a blow reminiscent of Essence of the Flying Fist. Uses two item crashes.

NEW ITEMS:

Shogi Cookie - A big cookie, shaped like a shogi piece. Not any good for you, but eating shogi pieces seems like a lot of fun.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

Small Cookie Bag - Some assorted chocolate chip cookies. They restore a little MP, for some reason.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Cookie Dream - Everyone has a sugar crash, making them tired for awhile. Affects everyone, even friendly party members, and the user.

Yamada Family MagiCake Slice - A slice of delicious, snackable cake. Restores all of a human's MP, and restores an item crash for Sendai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

another pretty fun chapter - w -

it started pretty slow, 'cause the last one ended pretty slow, but then we got to some fun stuff, like talking with kasen for ten million years, and also learning ONI STYLE

also sendai keeps running into the artificial hakurei project girls, which was actually largely circumstantial but made a lot of sense after the fact

after looking over it, the pace was kinda slow in a number of areas, but kasen + keine = the good level-headed discussions, or at least generally

kasen's really experimental in this chapter and it's probably not super well-representative of her at times, but i feel like it makes more sense after the fact for some reason - w -

at times i feel like there should be more emphasis on the description but i dunno where to put it, and sendai doesn't get as much time to revel in the scenery because of happenings - w - that and it'd reduce the pace even further so i dunno 'bout that

i was excited to introduce oni style though, even if, kinda like tengu style, the introduction wasn't completely graceful - w -

although thinking back on that, it was pretty fun, if a little weirdly placed compared to the good talk between kasen and sendai

also the good shrine maiden squad who keine stops immediately 'cause she knows pretty much all of those girls - w -

DON'T GOT MUCH ELSE TO SAY here have another - w - emoticon

as always, see you all next time!


	19. Unchained

' _...Ooh.'_ Sendai articulated in bed, in a way that felt nice. ' _Yea~h. Let's make womanly noises…'_

"Aa- aah." She let out a creaking exhale, rather than a moan.

' _...Warm beds are nice.'_ It was a contrast to the temple bed she'd spent the evening in before. ' _Sleeping is awesome.'_

The cake she snacked on last night was still on her mind. Something about it had just the _right_ texture and feeling. ' _Normally I'm not really attracted by cakes, but-... I don't know, the flavor and the texture were just really great.'_

 _shoof._ Sitting up in the bed, Sendai displayed herself to the cold room. Light shone in through the one window along a plain wall. ' _Aah. It's really bright out, today. The morning sun always makes the sky really interesting.'_

' _...The fact that I'm thinking about that cake again really says something.'_

Not much else happened that evening of particular note, between some talking and general socializing. ' _That Kasen chick… she's kind of a prude, but she can be fun. We had too many lugheads around to really have any good conversations, but it was fun seeing Keine squirm over the idiots…'_

...The clothes she left on the dresser seemed to have mysteriously been cleaned when she was asleep. ' _Who did this.'_ Keine was asleep when she went to bed, so… ' _Unless she woke up and got them?'_

Briefly, she scanned them for magic, and only noticed the non-elemental hammerspace components. ' _I see. Doesn't hurt to be careful.'_

...She had an idea.

 _whi- whish._ She tried to call wind to her form, but it became difficult. ' _Um? Oh- is it because this room is sealed to the elements? It worked in the temple, though...'_

 _shoof._ She slid the window open. Instantly, very cold air met her. ' _Not-... my best idea.'_

Ignoring the way her body perked up at the cold, she felt the wind wrap around her limbs again. ' _Let's make this quick, then!'_

Snapping across the room, she raised the hakama, and leapt off the ground.

 _Fwish!_ When she raised her legs, she slipped the hakama beneath herself, and landed the legs inside just right. ' _Hell yeah!'_

Fitting her leotard on, she took a moment to make sure all the rubber was in the right places. ' _Sometimes, I forget why I wear the cloth apron. It's times like this that remind me…'_ She felt at her breasts, running her hands up along them, stopping where the cold had hardened certain areas of them. ' _It basically actually does the hiding that my leotard doesn't.'_

' _It's annoying sometimes, how it sways, but it gives me freedom that a regular shirt doesn't.'_ Smiling, she fit the apron on over herself. ' _I can cast it off in a moment if I need to get serious, too. But, it's good for defense, being what it is.'_

...She moved towards the door. Keine's upstairs hall rested outside.

 _Click._ Pushing the door open, she looked down. There was a shattered plate on the floor next to the door. ' _Oo~h. The hell happened up here. I didn't hear anything…?'_

 _thump, thump, thump._ She rumbled down the stairs in her socks. ' _Let's see what's new. I know the guard wasn't allowed to stay the evening, supposedly for space reasons, but the fake maiden girls were.'_

...Downstairs, Sendai saw Tomomi, the shorter black-haired fake maiden. She held her arms outstretched in a T-pose, one bucket hung on each arm. It looked like she was having great trouble keeping those arms up…

' _Explains that plate, kinda.'_ Sendai made an assumption. ' _Probably waited to try and bludgeon me again, this morning.'_

...Keine looked over from the kitchen side of the room, since the stairs lead down into the kitchen, basically. "Good morning, Tsukiko. I figured you'd be up soon, so I'm already partially done with breakfast."

' _Sweet.'_ Sendai saw what was cooking, through the dark, glass door of the magic-powered oven. ' _Looks like meat.'_

...Casually, Sendai turned to boop Tomomi on the nose. ' _Boop.'_

Once her victim was done flinching, she meandered into the living room. ' _What's new here, today…'_

Kasen was still here, looking serene as she leaned back. Takeno sat with her arms folded next to her, and Marcus was reading from a new book, again.

"Marc, you're gonna break your fuckin' eyes at this point." Sendai shook her head… "What book you readin' this time? 'The Theory of Reading More Books in One Sitting'?"

Turning to her, he beamed. "Heh! Nah, this one's a novel! Gotta take a break from the brainy shit sometimes, yeah? Some a' the higher level texts're _ooo~._ "

'... _Ooo~?'_ Sendai wasn't sure what to make out about his mannerism.

...She turned her gaze to Takeno. Takeno glared back.

"Good morning." Sendai offered her a good morning. "How's life rollin' ya?"

"Hussy." Unfortunately, Takeno refused the offer. "Don't pretend you give a shit about me."

"Sorry, didn't know that formal greetings counted as giving a fucking shit." Sendai monotoned her blunt reply. "Why the hell _did_ you go all out, trying to stab me? Were you _really_ that broken up over seven grand?"

...Takeno huffed. " _No._ It's just-..." She whipped her head to the right, looking over the resting Kasen. "Fuck."

"It's just?" Sendai raised a brow.

...After an uncomfortable moment, Takeno met her gaze. "This _shit's_ gone on much longer, than any of us could have guessed."

"...Hmm?" Naturally, this alone didn't tell Sendai anything useful. "What do you mean?"

"I thought this crap would end _months_ ago. This shrine maiden shit." Takeno's gaze was vain. "If you're not the top of the girls, you're not anything. I'm still better than Tsuruko, but- that _bitch_ is on a whole different level. She's a fucking monster. And she's obsessed with _you._ She can't fucking _stop_ thinking about you. The moment you showed up at our place, she became the happiest she ever was in her entire life. She was a different person."

...Moving around the couches, for a seat at the far, empty one, Sendai became focused. "Really, now? I keep hearing she's a real oddball."

"She was piss weak." Takeno remarked, lightly punting the coffee table before herself while she sat. "Hell- she was _my_ plaything, in all this shit! She was my _destressor!_ And then, one day-..."

She met Sendai's eyes again. "She's _unchained._ If I can't kill _you,_ the source of her happiness, nothing will fucking stop her. She says she'll bring peace to this 'world gone insane'- and I just, don't get what she _means!"_ Her elbow rammed down on the couch arm nearby.

...Sendai licked her own lips, before replying. "...Ah." She held a finger up to accent her point.

' _It's too early for this shit…'_

"...I don't even know why it's specifically _you_ either." Takeno gave Sendai an awkward look. "You kind of look like her, I guess? Who the _fuck_ even _are_ you- what the _fuck…_ "

"Well-... first." Sendai had to voice a concern. "What the hell was that with the 'plaything' part. That doesn't sound kosher. The village _funds_ you people?"

Takeno flinched at that, cringing, before reluctantly replying. "...I- I mean, _yeah._ We keep our internal shit _internal._ Some of us are obviously better at magic and danmaku than others, and whoever's got the authority going on is queen. All the submissive types were from the tiny weird shrines around the village, and they usually keep their heads down. They do what we tell them. Tsuruko was one of them, but she tried to be more forward-... so I kept her down."

...Kasen was now alert. Sendai turned to her, brows raised in apprehension. ' _Like, I knew the social girl situation was shit, but fuck it always surprises me.'_

Kasen faced Takeno herself. "Must you?"

Takeno gave her a worn, confused look.

"Must you be so abrasive?" Kasen clarified, and insisted. "Genuinely. It's one thing for me or Tsukiko to be so physically abusive- not that I _often am…_ but even such one-off instances are frowned upon by us. To knowingly press on other's psyches like that-... is _cruel."_

"We do what we _fucking_ have to, alright?" Takeno seethed at her. "You don't wanna become the _mascots for the town guard_ without some bite to your bark. If it makes you feel any better, we just got a flush of maidens back from literally nowhere. Ones the town guard traded off already, even."

"Traded off?" Sendai was morbidly curious… "Like-... _what?"_

"I dunno." Takeno shrugged it off. "Chicks that wanted out, and the most useless ones-... _went away._ I never found out where they went, but the message was clear: if you're not at the top, you're _fucked._ And you know what? We're kind of a _mess now-_ 'cause those chicks that came back are all fuckin' riled up now! It's- ugh…!"

' _Chicks that came back…'_ Sendai thought back to the previous days. ' _Holy shit. Wait-... wait, wait, wait.'_

"You ever seen what happens to a maiden, when she gets… taken out?" Sendai asked casually.

Takeno met her gaze, and smiled. "Well… first, they got more attention than usual from the boys. Really freaky shit; guys come up to them like zombies, and try ta drag 'em off. And, give it a day or two, and you don't see them anymore."

...It looked like Takeno had cringed in her seat while she said that. "It's- kinda gruesome, but, yeah. Life sucks, but it's what you make of it." She grinned back at Sendai. "I ain't gonna stop here. If I don't kill you, she-... hell, _you'll_ become a monster. It'd be two birds with one stone."

"Good luck, asshole." Sendai was eager to accept this rivalry. "I'll tear the roof of your mouth out."

"Hey, hey…" Kasen wasn't comfortable, however… "No. No violence."

"Fuck you." Takeno smirked, facing her now on the couch. "You know what happens, to bitches like you?"

Kasen blinked at her plainly. "...What."

 _shoof._ Takeno thrust her arm, suddenly. Golden sparks danced along her red-white arm sleeve, as she drove her blade into Kasen's side.

The blade cut her dress, but stopped at her skin, making its way in, but actively being repelled by the skin itself. Takeno's eyes widened. "Wh- ah…"

"This is why _I'm_ sitting next to you." Kasen seemed dour, now. "I've got force on a level you cannot comprehend."

Takeno moved to pull her knife back- but she couldn't. Kasen had her bandaged arm on it.

 _KRI- KRA- KRANG- KRK._ The arm pulsed with an unholy, white-blue light, and it twitched, shuddering. The metal dagger came apart between her fingers, the uneven shards speckling the crack between the couch cushions.

Takeno's eyes were wide. "...Th-... that dagger-... was forged by youkai. I- I stole it-..."

Kasen snorted. "The smith means nothing, if the blade is not of quality. If there's anything one of my friends has taught me, it's that all weapons may be broken."

...With that, Takeno's resolve seemed to falter. She looked genuinely regretful now. "...Ff- fuck. It's not fair."

"Mmm. But, you make the most of it, yes?" Kasen used her phrasing against her.

Takeno balled up in her seat. "Damn it…"

' _She's about to start crying.'_ Sendai rolled her eyes. ' _Really, she's too young, for all this shit.'_

...While she sat there, curled up, Kasen reached out to pat her on the back. "Well, um. You don't need to-"

Takeno practically threw herself onto the couch arm, cowering away from her. "Ge- _ghet_ the _fuck_ -..." Her brows were fiercely furrowed, her lips quivering, as she cried openly. Gold light bloomed forth from her heart, like a piercing light in the room's casual, mid-morning gloom. "Stay away from me…"

Kasen's brows raised, as she became apprehensive of her reaction. "Um. You- you don't have to be _worried_ of me, or anything-"

"You're-...!" Suddenly, Takeno shot up in panic, eyes uneven but wide. " _Yhou're after mhe!"_

 _Thu- thu- thump!_ Flaring back off the couch, she scrambled on four limbs towards the kitchen, before launching herself into standing. "I- I won't-..." Her whole body convulsed, her golden heart beating visibly, and bright. "Aa- aah…" Its own energy staggered her, and she held her chest.

"Takeno." Keine now stood in the kitchen's center. "Calm _down._ "

Takeno met her gaze. "...Nn- no. I-... you _won't fucking- nngh!"_ Her hands clutched her own head. " _I won't let-...!"_

 _FVRAR!_ She shot towards Keine like a being of energy, her form snapping towards her in one, non-telegraphed movement.

Before she could do anything, Keine spun around on a heel, to the right.

 _Fvhir!_ Takeno's arms shot up, to block a headbutt.

 _THUNK._ Instead, when Keine had spun past her, she delivered her wrist to the back of her head, just around where the skull and the neck met.

"Dh- uuh…" All of a sudden, Takeno stopped, letting her arms drift lucidly. Her golden energy fizzled unevenly, raging around her chest. "Wh- _ow- ow_ -"

When she stumbled back, Kasen caught her in a hug, after Keine had retreated to the side. "Please… calm down." Closing her eyes, she began to focus.

"Nn- _nrgh…!"_ Takeno flailed her limbs like a wild animal, trying to let her legs go so she'd fall out of Kasen's embrace, but Kasen was just too strong.

...Slowly, after her fighting failed to produce any results, her movements slowed, her heaving noises becoming audible. "Hh-... _hgh…_ "

...Kasen shifted her arms, hugging her more properly. She laxed, looking sort of like a cat when it got lifted, except she was crying.

The resulting silence was palpable.

' _Something's fucky in the village.'_ Sendai's stare towards them was vague. ' _Some kind of weird power thing going on between-... these chicks, and the old random shinto maidens who were scattered around town. From the sounds of it, this maiden shit has something to do with all those girls who got drugged up in that-... artificial hot spring? How'd we even just make a hot spring?'_

In the morning's pale light, Kasen and Takeno were still locked in their embrace. No one made noise, or moved.

"We all need a hug in the morning." Kasen broke the quiet, her voice breathy, relaxed. "And one at the end of the day."

...Takeno's eyes lowered, looking down.

"And as many as possible, squeezed in between, to keep life's troubles at bay." Kasen eased her grip, but kept it firm, no longer restraining her with it.

 _Fwi- fwish._ Above their heads, a large wreath, fit with holly and bells hung over the two, materializing from nothing. "It's my belief-... for instant relief: a hug is the best cure of all."

 _Di- di- di~ng!_ The bells chimed, and a green, healthy aura beset the two girls.

 _FWO- FWO- FWOASH!_ Their bodies flashed with white and green, the power of healing magic making itself known.

' _...A hug, and healing magic.'_ Sendai nodded at the idea… ' _Why she didn't do that to placate that fat guard is anyone's guess. ...Looks like it feels good.'_

...Kasen let the girl rest on her socks. She still looked sad, but she wasn't livid or frightened, anymore.

' _That move Keine used…'_ Sendai also recalled the back-of-neck strike that Keine implemented to slow the girl. ' _That was pretty awesome, too. I should try it, sometime.'_

"So-..." Takeno spoke. "You-... you're not gonna-... get rid of me?"

"We're not those people." Kasen corrected. "We're here to help, not hurt."

...Takeno closed her eyes. "Forgive me, for what I've done. I've-... never felt the need to say that before. This shit's-... this stuff's gone on much longer, than any of us could have guessed."

' _...Guess life's rolling her pretty badly, then.'_ Sendai finally got the answer to her earlier question. ' _Sucks, but, hmm.'_ This whole situation about the shrine maidens was sort of troubling her. ' _It's not my problem, though. Except, this whole whacky-ass situation… it's kind of suspicious. That big building in the village, too. Man, I need to just-... comb the place. Or not. But, it feels like the village will fucking kill itself any day now, so I ought to give it a once over of some kind.'_

She stared at the sunny day outside, the house all quiet, except for the ticking of a clock. ' _The way she described maidens getting nabbed. The random abnormally rapey guys, the way that weird hot spring just accepted me walking in-... it all makes fucking sense.'_

 _Click._ She hardly noticed, when Keine set a plate of steak down before her. "Here, Tsukiko."

' _...I can go wherever I want, and do whatever I want, huh.'_ She stared down at the seasoned, warm meat.

"Thanks, Keine." Sendai gave the meat a firm look. "Today's gonna be a good one, I can feel it."

...After cutting it, she savored the first bite. ' _Aah. Fuck yeah.'_

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

19

Unchained

Sendai meandered outside. ' _Gotta do my daily pushups, before it slips my mind.'_

Stopping on Keine's cold front porch, she dropped down onto her arms, ready to do pushup. "Alright-... one. Two…"

' _The guard doesn't seem to really be doing much crime itself.'_ Sendai felt. ' _There was that rabbit stuff, but they didn't do much for crime themselves, they just seemed to manufacture shit. There was also that creepy looking cannon, but I wouldn't know anything about that. That means, there's still someone actively enforcing this shit.'_

Kasen stared at her plainly. "...Now?" She referred to Sendai's decision to exercise out here on the porch...

"Yes, now." She defended her choice. "Forgot earlier, but there's no use in puttin' it off. Gettin' a hundred in right now."

Takeno stood behind the girls, looking apprehensive.

...Facing her, Kasen made a small frown. "What will you do, now?"

"...I'm-... gonna stay with Keine." She decided. "...Uu- um. If the other girls come looking for me, don't tell them anything, please. If they come here- please, stop them. They're not just gonna let me drop out of everything, like this."

"If any of them were actually a challenge for me-... I'd be impressed." Sendai spoke unevenly, as she did pushups.

' _Fifteen…'_ She mentally kept count, and whenever she lost track, she just did more than necessary to make up for it.

...Still skittish, jittering with nervous energy, Takeno hurried inside.

"You see, now?" Kasen gestured inside, still staring down at Sendai. "This is why I care so much, about peace."

...Sendai lost count of her pushups. "Really, now. Internal crime _bullshit's_ sort of a step beyond youkai-human politics."

"But, is it really?" Furrowing her brows, Kasen crouched down near Sendai. "I'm thinking of all the strange ways this could be-... someone's plot, or the result of a series of misunderstandings, or-"

"We can guess shit all day." Sendai continued her pushups, trying to find count again. "All I know's that the village s'got problems…"

' _...Even if I can kinda see the crime structure, I don't know who could be 'enforcing' anything, if not the guard. It's not the guard, and it's not those rabbits- not that they can do anything now-... hmm.'_ There was still a lot she didn't know, about this situation. ' _I'll have to walk around and hear more.'_

Standing tall, Kasen folded her arms. "We should march up to this Tsuruko person. She really needs to be consulted."

"We're not gonna bother." Sendai declared.

' _...Fifty? I think fifty. I got no fucking idea.'_

"...What?" Kasen blinked. "Why?"

"She's not gonna just _wait around_ for us. She's obsessed with me, which means she knows I like hands-on approaches." Sendai figured. "...But, if she's enough of a freak to keep stalking Keine, then she must be pretty into me. So, we'll wait for her. It's not like she's _really dangerous,_ either. I'm willing to bet, after the message she gave me, she sent all the bimbos down here."

"...You think? Actually, yeah…" Kasen considered the idea. "I think I see what you mean. We can try your idea, for awhile. How long do you think it'll take?"

Sendai huffed. "Long enough for me to finish my morning pushups without you hassling me."

"...Sorry."

' _...I've probably done like-... ugh.'_ She began doing pushups faster, having completely lost count. ' _I'm not supposed to be having conversations while doing pushups!'_

 _Pap, pap, pap._ Marcus bounded from the house, wielding a paddle ball. "You all ready ta go, girls? 'Cause I am!"

 _thump._ Sendai flopped onto the floor. ' _Unh.'_

Kasen stared down at her gingerly. "...You deflated her."

... _Pap- pap- pap!_ Marcus wielded his paddle ball harder, in her general direction.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

The ground was snowy, but the sun was bright, blinding and great.

' _Ow.'_ Sendai's eyes hurt from the neon, pure light. ' _Why…?'_

Kasen took a deep breath of the fresh air. "...Well. Where _do_ you plan to go today, Tsukiko?"

...She turned back to her, and Marcus, looking fluffy, and only slightly perturbed. "I _did_ intend to drag Marcus and Keine with me, so we could kill time, but you know, _that_ happened." Keine had stayed behind to help console the fake maiden girls at the house.

On that note, she faced Marcus. "I didn't even ask you to follow me, but uh…"

Marcus snorted. "I'm kinda curious what _yer_ idea was…! Ya just kinda walked on outside, and started _doin' pushups._ "

"...Nothing in particular." Sendai figured. "I wanna do something fun."

...Kasen furrowed her brows. "...You want to do something _fun,_ with all of _this_ happening?"

"Uh huh." Sendai nodded. "Not the first time someone's said that to me."

"Fun, huh?" Marcus had to contemplate the idea. "Hmm…"

Sendai immediately perked up. "Oh, hey! Maybe we can go back 'round Kourin's shop, now!"

"...We?" Marcus began to grin at her. "I haven't gone there in _awhile,_ y'know…"

Twitching her brows at that idea- remembering the disconnect they'd all had from one another- she shook her head. "Well, mark it on the calendar, 'cause I'm dragging us all together again. Come hell or high water."

"Hehehe!" Marcus giggled at that. "Alright! Lead the way, I guess!"

' _...Is it me, or is Marc less of an asshole now. Guess age does that to ya. Man, when I was twenty, I was such an edgy bitch. And- having Reimu rea~lly put things in perspective… I wonder what's Marc's whole deal, after Marisa left him. Hopefully he'll spill the beans after I get us all drunk enough later.'_

Sendai marched down the slushy road ahead. ' _Let's go!'_

"Wa- wait, really…" Kasen awkwardly meandered after them. "But-... Tsukiko, the village…"

"Later." Sendai waved her off. "...Even if the village does explode regularly, it usually bounces back pretty easily. Come to think of it, this isn't the first time something was a little fucky."

"...Ugh." Kasen shook her head, as she followed her. "If only you'd cared. Things like this could be avoided."

"No amount 'a caring's going to help me convince more than a couple people that they're idiots." Sendai shook her head as she continued. "Well, my fists might, but that's usually not real convincing. That's for scaring people into leaving me the hell alone."

...While they moved under the cold, glaring sun, coming onto the village square, Kasen gained a wry expression. "You might have more in common with Tsuruko than you think. Why don't you at least try talking with her again?"

' _...No comment.'_

Marcus pivoted to the side as he walked, looked as if he wanted to say something, but thought better of it. "...Aah, mmh."

' _The difference is that I keep people away from me, and I get mean when they get mean. From how it sounds, this Tsuruko chick's just going all-out on murdering people, or something. Not even for a defined reason; she's just-... hmm. Do we know her reason, or is she just an asshole?'_

...As they trailed past the village square, now on the eastern road, where the Hakurei path awaited them, a blonde-haired man in a tacky brown jacket came towards them. "Hey- hey…"

He was Albus, Sendai remembered. ' _Oh, him.'_

"Where'd you _go?"_ He began to trail towards Sendai. "Wait-... don't tell me, Yoroi _actually_ scared you off? Damn it…"

Sendai nodded at him. "Yeah. I'm afraid now. I told her, and she's real mad." She promptly gestured to Kasen. "Show him your teeth."

...Kasen quickly became confused. "Wait- what."

"That's-... okay." Backing off, Albus waved at them. "Well-... if you reconsider, pay us a visit, yeah?"

...Once he was gone, Kasen expressed her endless confusion. "Wh- what was _that."_

"Nothing important." Sendai continued to power ahead. "C'mon."

Soon, they'd grazed to the village gates. A path glazed with white sat past it, framed by iron bars that kept the wilds from the society.

The guard there smiled at them. "Oh, hey! How's it goin'?"

...Sendai looked the armored man up and down, before blinking. "Well. Good? We'd like to go outside."

"Sure thing." Nodding confidently, he made for the reel. "Y'know- what's the blue outfit fer?" 

"...I like blue." Sendai supplied, her gaze becoming more vain.

 _Cla- cla- clack._ Slowly, the gate rattled open, as he raised it.

"Say hi ta her for me." He gave her a wave, as he held the reel.

"...Sure." She wasn't fully certain what he was talking about, but she went with it anyway. "Go warm up or something. The cold can play tricks on you."

With that, she marched outside. ' _This was almost a mistake. My eyes…'_

"That guy was awfully chummy…" His gaze lingering back, Marcus quickly rejoined her side. "Who d'y'think he meant by 'her'?"

"At this rate, Tsuruko'll be there asking for a fucking novel about me." Sendai monotoned back, as she trudged the snow-laden path. "Nnh. Guy was pro'lly just-... I don't know."

"Maybe one of the other maidens are out here, doing-... something?" Kasen supposed. "It's dangerous, out here, this time of year. Should we look for her?"

"Wh-... _no."_ Sendai gave her a drained look. "Are you gonna constantly just backseat me, 'cause if you are, what the hell."

"I- I mean, I don't _mean_ to, but-..." Kasen sighed. "I'm sorry. I just-... worry. It was wrong of me to assume something like that. We can't know for certain… and, we'd just exhaust ourselves acting on such a whim."

"Exactly." Sendai agreed with her. "Thank you."

This discussion evoked a raised brow from Marcus, as he proceeded alongside the girls. "...Y'know, Kasen, what do ya do fer fun?"

...Kasen brought her arms together, as she walked. "Well, um… I groom my pets. Animals are really fun. I'm a firm believer of exercise."

"Exercise, hmm?" He nodded grandly… "Tsukiko here's a real fan 'a exercise!"

"Animals are nice." Sendai agreed. "...I had a pet turtle. Wait-..."

' _Genji!'_ Sendai felt a rush of emotion. ' _I can't believe I forgot about him! Oh- oh, shit- ooh… man. Ooh, I am fifteen years too late. Or, twelve. Whatever- man, who took care of him…!? Oh, shit- that's gonna suck to find out. I almost wanna pretend I didn't remember. Uh oh.'_

Kasen smiled at her. "Oh, yeah. Genji was his name, yes? He's really nice. He doesn't have the strength to keep on Reimu anymore, but he's plenty well-off on the shrine grounds. He likes his quiet time."

...Calming down, Sendai blinked at her. "You mean-... he's still kickin'? Holy shit."

Kasen snorted. "What were _you_ thinking of? If you need to know, some kind youkai came along and took care of him in your absence. I say this, because it was not one, but several, who came to help him. He's not helpless, you know."

' _...Wh- what.'_ Sendai wasn't sure, but something felt extremely off. ' _...I guess he's not helpless, but um, any old beast-type could probably walk up and crack his shell open and eat him. Was he really so well-liked by the locals? I mean, he was technically a youkai, but-...'_

Marcus snapped his fingers. "Turn ta tha' Kourindou's here, girls." He pointed down an almost perfect sheet of snow, fit with only one trail of footprints to depict that the path was still there.

"...Oh." Sendai looked down it, confused for a moment, before recognizing the clearing between the trees. "Huh."

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

 _shoof, shoof, shoof._ Sendai stomped up to the door. As she neared, footprints trailed from the woods as well, keying in that someone had recently entered the shop from an awkward, off-path angle.

' _Man, this snow makes getting anywhere a workout. Not unwelcome, but-... it's pretty clumsy.'_

 _Di- ding, ding!_ The shop's bell clattered loudly, as she slammed the door open, half-falling inside because of the snow. ' _Geez, Kourin, would it have killed ya to shovel?'_

...Inside, Rinnosuke stood behind his counter, his arms folded, book at rest on the wood countertop before himself.

"Come o~n!" There were two girls at the counter here already. "Come! With! Us!"

' _...Are you fucking-...'_ Sendai's eyes opened wider at what she saw.

Tsuruko was there, her arms also folded, as she watched a faux-maiden with a long ponytail, and a dusty rose-white outfit negotiate.

His hand was on his glasses, pushing them back up the bridge of his nose. He faced Sendai immediately. "...Oh. Hey."

"Hey." Sendai greeted him in turn. "...Who're they?"

"Corporate raiders." Rinnosuke spoke business jargon. "Or, in short, they've come to buy me out, or something along those lines. Though, of all the things here, _I_ am not for sale."

...The dusty rose-clad faux maiden bounced towards Sendai. "Woah, hey! Tsuruko-chan, _who's_ she!?" She whipped her gaze back to her associate.

"...She is Tsukiko." Tsuruko replied quaintly. "The one I spoke of."

"What's the big idea here." Sendai got to the point. "Unless, you two _actually_ shop here."

"This youkai has connections to you." Tsuruko monotoned back. "I took it upon myself to find out everything I could about this connection."

Only slightly offput, Sendai shifted in the doorway. "...You're a stalker is what you are."

"Uum." The brown-haired, vaguely-Reimu-looking girl used her arm to flourish her ponytail. "I dunno what's going on! But-...!"

 _Woosh!_ Pivoting around on her heel, she spun around twice, before stopping on a dime, pointing to Rinnosuke. "I'm not leavin' here without him!"

...Sendai slightly furrowed her brows. "...Is that so. Why's that?"

She beamed at Sendai, over her shoulder. "He's _hot!"_

' _...Wait- what.'_

"What tha' fuck…" Marcus stumbled in behind Sendai, flecking snow off of his robes… "Yo- Kourin! When the hell'd ya become a lady digger!?"

"... _Marcus?"_ Rinnosuke looked somewhat intimidated by the growing roster.

Tsuruko gave Sendai a casual, flat look. "I took it upon myself to research Morichika's personality. With the accounts I collected, I achieved two things. The first, was to find a suitable partner for him, so that he may hear out our intentions from a non-business lense. The second-... was that I also found a suitable candidate to teach me about the lucid nature of the prevalent and the loose. Or- in short-... how to better have fun."

...During her explanation, Sendai's face dawned with a strange, awkward form of awe. "...You-... you're _weird."_

' _She also just totally spilled her intentions to Kourin, here. What the hell does she think she's even doing.'_

...The ponytailed girl gave everyone a nod so grand it made her whole body sway. "Ee- hehehe~! Ri~ght? Tsuruko-chan, you're kind of a wacko! Yer _cool,_ but yer a wacko!"

Then, she got towards the counter again. "Can I call you Kourin?"

"Probably not, no." He shook his head. "...I don't mean that in a playful way, I mean that in a 'that's vaguely creepy' sort of way. I don't know, this whole situation's got me pretty skittish..."

"...Alright." Sendai was still simply awed. "Okay. What the fuck."

"I've been _huntin'_ for a cute guy all this time!" The dusty rose-clad maiden winked back at Sendai, kicking a leg back to try and look cuter. "And, _man,_ the clubs at the village're all fulla' _slimeballs._ But, _him…!"_ Her gaze trailed back to Rinnosuke. "I wanna climb _all over_ him!"

Tsuruko pursed her lips together. "Is he not half-youkai?"

"That means he's at least half-hunk! And he'll be a real _youkai_ in bed…!" She articulated her fingers greedily. "Rinnosuke- _chan."_

"You people freak me out." Slowly, he became more and more apprehensive…

"Uh." Sendai wasn't sure how to proceed from here… "Girl, knock it off. He's not into you."

She shot Sendai a vain look. "Oh, wha~t? So _you're_ into him, then? Who're _you_ to take control of his life like this? What a sow."

...Expectantly, Sendai turned to Kasen, who was standing behind her in the doorway.

Kasen gave her a helpless look back, which just baffled Sendai further. ' _What the hell're you good for…!?'_

"Yo! Quick, Kourin!" Marcus called out from the sidelines. "Talk fer a paragraph about the internal workin's of a toaster!"

"Wh-..." Adjusting his glasses for the tenth time in the last minute, he searched his thoughts. "...I mean, it was only a few days ago that I figured out what toasters are really called. When'd _you_ learn their name? Regardless- while they seemed like a compact oven, the heated plates within them are more for conventional food-cooking temperatures than they are smelting, ironwork, or anything else. In fact, a toaster _oven,_ as it is more formally called, sometimes, is a device which is explicitly made to prepare small, pre-prepared foods. Um, Marcus, do you remember the industrial nature of the outside?"

Marcus snorted. "Hell yeah, I do! An'- I learned by askin' around…! Y'oughta try it sometime! S'good fer fresh air, too!"

"Stop talkin' about toasters!" The dusty-rose clad maiden objected to this idea. "...I mean, at least yer not a dumbass, but still, who gives a shit!"

"I give a shit." Rinnosuke shook his head at her. "The history of objects is interesting to me. I feel like it really speaks a volume of the contained nature of Gensokyo, and to think about it-... it makes me think of what's past the barrier, yes?"

She leaned to the side, awkwardly. "Eeh. That's kinda romanti~c… but, isn't crap just crap? Look, if you've got a thing fer _toasters,_ the Golden Grin's loaded up on 'em…"

"You misread me if you think this is just about _toasters._ " He shook his head. "...Which, admittedly, annoys me."

"Aa- ah…" She actually faulted at that. "So I'm a dumbass is what yer sayin'."

He snorted. "I mean-... no? I've known you for about ten seconds, if not the equal of less. If you're still totally useless after about two hours, _then_ I might not want to see you again."

' _Huh, damn.'_ Sendai's interest was piqued… ' _Kourin got real selective, over the years. Wonder why…'_

...The dusty rose maiden sighed. "So uncool of me. I'm Aina, by the way…"

Tsuruko became smug, meeting Sendai's gaze. Sendai was marching closer…

"Who the hell even are you." Sendai inquired again. "You didn't tell me shit last time we met."

"I am an admirer of your work." Tsuruko supplied. "Your tale is one of timely courage. I wish to embody the same courage myself, soon."

"Yeah, by what, killing me and everyone I love?" Sendai almost grinned at the blunt way she delivered that… "I mean, you're really sounding-..."

"Well, if it came _down_ to that, yes." Tsuruko nodded. "Still, I'd like to believe I may have ways of convincing at least you."

The statement came off very weird. " _Convincing_ me." Sendai echoed. "Really, now."

"Yes." Tsuruko nodded. "I will work to provide you with accomodations. If you and your daughter leave the village alone, and step down as Hakurei maidens across the land, I will do my best to provide you both with a quiet life."

"...Yeah, that reeks of bullshit." Deeply frowning, Sendai shook her head. "How the hell would we just _step down,_ too? It's a _blood thing,_ not just a shitty title. We're the Hakurei _clan_ for a reason."

"Hmm. We may visit Eientei, then." Tsuruko considered. "...I haven't done any research, but I may be able to carry your blood, too."

' _She's so fucking creepy!'_ Sendai wasn't sure what she just heard… ' _She wants to carry my freaking blood!'_

"Um, no." Sendai didn't want someone else to carry her blood. "Not happening."

Her sandals clicking against Kourindou's wood floor, Tsuruko faced Sendai fully, her arm propped under her own chin. "I suppose you wouldn't realize the benefits of that, all at once, without me talking it over more. You see, I've also been looking for ways to open small passages through the Hakurei barrier. To my understanding, only Hakurei maidens may perform this, yes?"

...Sendai blinked. "We could _do_ that?"

Kasen sighed. "Yes, yes, you can do that."

' _...No one fucking told me. I probably woulda ditched this place entirely, if I was still a kid. Now, Gensokyo's plenty big enough for me.'_

"If I had the power of your bloodline, I may be able to open the barrier, allowing you and your daughter passage out." Tsuruko supposed. "Then, I will be free to shape this world."

Sendai almost chuckled. "Sha- shape this world, huh…? I dunno 'bout _that._ Me and Reimu don't do too much _shapin'_ around here..."

At that, Tsuruko began to glare. "Don't you see _yet?_ The tone of an era changes to the will of the Hakurei maiden. Under Reimu's care, this era is one of ignorance, and idility, and under _yours,_ it was an era of fear and violence, as well as cowardice. I seek to bring back the natal stages of your era, so that I may better the world."

"Can we not." Sendai had heard enough. "I just wanna get my friends together and get _drunk_ today, not start a fuckin' social revolution. I don't know if you noticed either, but have you even seen what the outside looks like?"

...She shook her head. "Admittedly, no. Every time I search for information, I end up with more questions than answers."

' _...Then, why the fuck'd you offer to send me there!? Don't just casually offer me a one-way ticket to another random-ass dimension!'_

...In the background, Aina and Rinnosuke were still talking plainly.

"So, you doing anything tomorrow?" Aina pressed her breasts into the countertop. "I'm _no~t…_ "

"Yes." Rinnosuke nodded. "I'll be manning this shop, maybe. Unless, something else happens."

"Like wha~t?" She circled a finger on the countertop, now. "Even if yer just gonna stand around here all day, I'll be here!"

"If you scare away the customers, I'm not going to be happy." Rinnosuke frowned at her.

Aina blinked. "What customers…?"

...With that, an uncomfortable silence began to bake in the midday sun.

"Regardless…" Tsuruko began to meander towards the door. "I believe I've accomplished what I came to do. Aina, you may continue as you please."

Sendai put a hand on her shoulder. "Hold on. I'd _like_ if you stopped being such a creepy bitch about everything. Also, the whole 'threatening me' thing didn't sit so well, either."

...Facing her, Tsuruko bowed. "I cannot defeat you as I am right now. Please accept this as a token of my current weakness."

 _Sendai obtained 5,000 Yen!_

 _Sendai obtained DieHard MAX!_

 _Sendai obtained ApStimRx._

 _Sendai obtained Small Candy (150)._

...Sendai's arms were now full with a gift basket. "What."

Tsuruko hurried out the door, before she could figure out what to do with it. "Wh- hey! Are- are you kidding me…"

...Marcus and Kasen came over, and casually stared into the colorful gift basket.

"...None of you _stopped_ her?" Sendai looked over them plainly… "I bet this is all shit, too."

"I was just… kind of baffled." Kasen looked for somewhere to sit, before failing to find anything useful. "I mean-... the last time we met her, she was really aggressive. This time, it was-... very strange."

Marcus grinned, and held his arms up. "I mean-... t'be honest, thought didn't even cross my mind! We'll see 'er again eventually, I'm sure."

' _Huh.'_ ...The way Tsuruko went about her business reminded Sendai of youkai. ' _She's really roundabout. Is that part of her strategy, or-... is she just crazy? Ugh.'_

...Aina quickly got back to harassing Rinnosuke. "So, what makes ya hard for a woman?"

"I'm not looking for anyone." He let his gaze flick up. "I'm especially not interested in _you,_ if all you think about is sex."

"Wh-...!" She seemed to fluff up at that, before deflating. "Fuck…"

Sendai walked up next to her. "Hey, Kourin. Me and Marcus here are roving around, getting into trouble. How's about we get the gang back together?"

His brow twitched. "...I have a shop to run, you know."

"How much do you even make a month." Sendai gave him a flat look. "I bet I could shake down more than that from thieves in a week."

Marcus held up his hand. "I could buy this whole place ten times over! Jus' consider this a paid vacation, dude!"

...The offer became harder to deny. "Hrm. Well-..."

"C'mon." Sendai leaned further forward, eyes sharp. "You know you want to. Give into nostalgia."

He exhaled. "Well. Fine." With that, he began to move around the counter. "Let me pack some things for the trip, first. I'll see how long it takes, before we all tire of it…"

'... _Hell yeah.'_ Sendai allowed herself a little fist-pump. ' _Two of three. Plus Kasen.'_

...Aina stared at her in wonder for a moment, before glaring. "The hell's he see in _you?"_

"We've been friends, for awhile." Sendai answered simply. "He'd probably actually be into you if you weren't a fucking slut."

Kasen snorted pityingly. "Tsu- Tsukiko, language, please."

Sendai grinned at that. "What? No, fuck off…"

"I- yeah…" Aina became even further crestfallen. "Hell of an assumption, to make. It's just-... _ugh._ If we met in a different way- I feel like I'd, ugh…"

She began to look angry. "Who the hell do I blame, 'sides myself? _You're_ not helping." She pointed at Sendai. "I bet that bitch Tsuruko _knew_ this'd happen, too. I should've known, after last night. Fff~ _fuck!"_

"Calm the hell down, and start acting like you're not a moron." Sendai suggested. "Maybe you'll somehow stop being a moron accidentally."

Aina half-chuckled and half-whined at that. "Ca- can ya just shut yer fuckin' mouth…!?"

"From how it sounds, she _means well,_ at least." Kasen interjected into the conversation. "I think she just needs to calm down. She needs to realize more about being a balanced person, too, probably."

"That so…?" Aina frowned at her. "I _fuckin' hate_ condescendin' ass speak like that…"

' _...She's pretty young, too. Probably like, eighteen.'_ Sendai figured. ' _...I'm kinda surprised Reimu's as balanced as she is. Well-... maybe she's not totally balanced, now that I think about it.'_

Soon, Rinnosuke returned to the main room, with a baby-barf green backpack. It was only somewhat filled, potions hanging off the sides. He had a offkey brown holster along his waist, where he slipped a pistol in.

"Oh…?" Sendai's eyes perked up at that. "You have an outside world gun?"

"Mmm." He hummed, and patted the unfittingly colored holster. "...It's only got _one bullet,_ and I don't plan to shoot anyone with it. Ideaily, if it ever came down to it, I could intimidate them into submission."

...Sendai tilted her head idly. "Ah. That's if anyone knows why they should fear a _gun_ like that in the first place. Half of the village probably hasn't seen anything but a shitty flintlock."

"...True." He slouched, a little. "...Perhaps I can call on my youkai-side."

Sendai snorted. "That sounds edgy…"

"Well- not in _that_ way." He seemed to get ready, for something. "Just, something like-..."

 _Click!_ Twirling his gun from the holster, he aimed it at a wall ahead. "Surrender _now!_ Or I'll shoot!"

...At everyone's casual stares, he tried a different demeanor. "Pu- put your… fucking arms up?"

Sendai shook her head. "You're not very intimidating, Kourin…"

Aina smiled vaguely at the event, shifting awkwardly where she stood…

"Please don't point guns at people." Kasen disagreed with the idea entirely. "You might just make them angrier."

"...We- well, I'll consider it carefully then." He adjusted his glasses again. "I don't think it'd _always_ be useless."

"Ye- yeah." Stroking her fluffy ponytail, Aina decided now would be the best time to interject. "If- he pointed a gun at me, I'd be scared!"

...Sendai began to grin. ' _This is gonna be so fucking awkward.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

As they approached the village again, Sendai sifted through the gift basket she was forced into accepting. "...She gave me lots of candy. And fucking, a _pack of laxatives,_ too."

Marcus chuckled. "La- laxatives, ah? What a great gift!"

' _Just what I need, in the middle of a fight. The ability to shit myself on command. Thanks for the present, asshole.'_

...She turned to Kasen. "Hey, Kasen. You want some laxatives?"

Kasen shook her head fervently. "Please no."

Rinnosuke trodded behind them, his steps uneven in the snow. "You know- laxatives have more medicinal benefits than you'd think…"

"I know, but-... putting laxatives in a _gift basket_ is uh…" Sendai began to grin down at it. "Was she hoping I'd mistake it for the rest of the candy, or something? Did she put it in here by _accident?_ Did _she_ mistake the laxatives for candy…?"

"Knowin' her…" Aina was still following them, and no one was certain for how long she'd keep following them. "Probably."

"...Probably to _what."_ Sendai had asked more than one question…

Aina grinned at her. "Pro'ly could be any one of those!"

' _...Fair enough.'_

The gate of the human village stood before them.

"Ah…" Meira was there, awaiting the party as they arrived. "I figured I'd see you here."

"Hi." Sendai came up to her, before anyone else. "Wanna try stabbing me again, this time?"

"...I'm uh, good." Meira declined. "I was just wondering, if you were um… gonna continue stopping by the guild house, room, thing… and, if you'd sign up for a badge, at some point."

...Her gaze turned to Aina. "Unless, Tsuruko already signed you up, or something."

"I'll probably stop by at some point." Sendai gave her a fairly neutral answer. "I've got my own things to do. But, if I've got some offtime, and the urge strikes me, maybe."

...Exhaling, Meira moved for the gate reel. "Mmh. Alright…"

 _Cla- cla- cla- clank._ Slowly, the iron bars raised from the dirty, brown snow-laden indents beneath the gate.

"Do you have any idea where you're taking us, today…?" Rinnosuke wondered of Sendai. "Or, have you not thought that far ahead yet?"

...Sendai pursed her lips togetther. "I mean-... we could hit a bar."

Marcus beamed, coming between the two of them. "How's about karaoke…!?"

"I'm still vaguely embarrassed about last time." Sendai shook her head. "So, no. Ideally not, at least."

"Oh!" Aina piped up from beside them. "I know!"

 _Fwish!_ Dashing before them, amethyst light glittered from within her brown hair, for a moment. "Let's hit the Golden Grin! I'm a gold-tier hostess there! I'll getcha the _big_ discounts!"

' _The Golden Grin…'_ Sendai sized up the idea. ' _That giant, five story brick building, coated in neon lights and glamor. I really ought to see what awful shit is probably going down in there.'_

"You know what…" Sendai turned to her friends. "That sounds like an idea."

...Marcus shrugged, his grin vague. "If ya _say_ so… I swear, their slots're _rigged._ Never been in on gamblin' anyway..."

"I've never walked in there." Rinnosuke frowned. "It's not my kind of place."

Kasen also frowned. "...I don't disagree to going there, but it doesn't make me comfortable."

Aina huffed. "Oh, come the hell on. If you don't like it, you can just _leave,_ but at least give it an hour! No- two hours!"

"...Alright." Rinnosuke agreed to it plainly. "We're in the adventuring format, anyway. I doubt we could get into any serious trouble at a gambling parlor dance club."

' _Sounds like that should settle it.'_ Sendai now focused on Aina specifically… ' _Will she lead us, now?'_

True to her expectations, Aina gestured ahead, throwing an arm. "I'm gonna make sure you guys have a _hell_ of a time!"

But then, she began lagging back, and she got close to Rinnosuke… " _Especially_ you, Kourin! I'm gonna show you that I'm _more_ than just some pretty face…!"

"You-... really don't have to." He meandered away, a little. "You could just, you know-... not _try_ to prove anything. You're probably the only person here putting on a front at all."

...Her brows twitched at that, but she continued smiling. "That-... so."

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Everyone stopped before the gold, yellow, pink and purple neon lights of the Golden Grin, which blared down on the village in the form of a total aesthetic clash.

Aina sauntered up to the bunny girls at the entrance, before the other four. "He~y, girls! I'm hosting for _premium clients_ today!"

Snapping upright, the rightmost, purple-haired bunny girl tossed her cigarette into the snow, and locked her arms at her sides, bowing. "Aa- aah, yeah! Have a nice stay!"

"Have a nice stay." The leftmost, pink-haired one bowed more leisurely…

Smirking wryly, Aina looked back at everyone, and gestured for the door. "C'mon."

When Sendai followed her in first, she was immediately overwhelmed by sensations from every angle. ' _Wh-...'_

Loud, blooming music vibrated her immediately, once she took a single step in. Neon lights were everywhere; fixed around rails, hung over a stage in the center-back, and emitting from the screens of slot machines, as well as along their edges and trims.

The glass ceiling over the club sparkled, the partly cloudy, largely blue sky above depicted as dim and purple, but airy. Odd lights embedded in the glass sparkled, dazzling the eye.

Dimmer, regular lighting was only found upon the concealed, upper level walkways and balconies. The flashiest seating was down at the very bottom, where booths and tables boomed with noise, gold and light.

"How's the cool stereo sou~nd!?" Aina yelled over the thumping, vibrating music. It was unlike anything Sendai had ever heard; nothing about it could be placed to a normal instrument, and occasionally she could hear a clap-like sound amongst the weird, tech-y noises.

' _What the fuck is going o~n!?'_ Sendai was somewhere between exhilarated and immensely uncomfortable. ' _It's so fucking lou~d!'_

...Kasen seemed totally unaffected by the chaos, meanwhile Marcus had bewilderment now permanently fixed to his grin. Rinnosuke's body twitched with each rumble of the music, almost involuntarily.

Along the back-center stage, a dance floor was laid out across the top of it, as well as the ground before it. Older men, the occasional younger man, and a whole assortment of youkai-looking women danced there, clapping along.

"...Holy shi~t!" Sendai had the urge to yell over the music.

"Ri~ght!?" Aina beamed back at them. "C'mo~n! I'll get you somewhere- that meets the nice betwee~n!"

' _How do people drink with all this racket…!? I can feel myself getting negative-drunk just standing here! Like- getting more sober than not even drinking!'_

Along the darker, glowing back lanes at the club's immediate front, Aina lead them past tables of fox-tailed women, the occasional non-tengu wolf girl, and well-dressed gentlemen. Men rose arms and smiles in recognition of her, and she waved back, blowing kisses to a few.

At the very back-left corner of the bottom floor, she gestured to a corner booth, which had no one there. The music was _slightly_ quieter here. "Here…!"

 _shoof._ Sendai immediately stole the midst of the big, round couch. ' _Oh- huh, that feels good. Comfy seat…'_

Kasen and Marcus filled around her. Rinnosuke set past Kasen, near the outer edge of the round couch.

Plopping down next to him, Aina's eyes shone dimly with an amethyst light. "Here we a~re! And, now we can kinda hear ourselves _think._ "

' _...This is true. Is it me, or did the music get quieter?'_ Sendai began to search her surroundings…

Then, she noticed it. There was a cyan, glowing circle around the table. Violent, red, pulsing circles surrounded the dance floor's edges, and the front door had an ominous orange circle pulsing around it.

' _Those circles control the volume.'_ Sendai realized. ' _What the fuck.'_

"...People go here for _fun?"_ Rinnosuke looked windswept, his glasses tilted awkwardly now. "Geez."

' _...To be honest, this is pretty fuckin' pumping.'_ Sendai personally liked the sensory overload. ' _If this was around when I was younger, maybe I'd have actually gotten into dancing. Although-... these bright lights and loud sounds really make me just wanna fight something.'_

"So, what _drinks_ does everyone wa~nt!?" Aina yelled at everyone. "We even serve juice and shit!"

"...Water." Rinnosuke settled on.

Sendai knocked on the table. "Hey, hey. You can't get drunk on just water, Kourin."

"Actually, he _can!"_ Aina beamed back at her smugly. "We sell alcoholic water here! It's-... pretty bad, actually, I don't recommend it to humans."

' _...What.'_ Sendai blinked.

"...I'll settle on some _light_ sake, then." Rinnosuke declared. "If you try to get me drunk, I'll know." He centered his gaze on Aina.

She winked at him. "Don't worry~. I know you youkai customers're wise to that, most times. What's up with everyone else?"

"Anything." Sendai offered. "Just don't get me overpriced trash, and we'll be cool."

"Do you serve Oni Killers here?" Kasen wondered. "I'll take just one. With some tea, if that's also available."

...Aina blinked at her. "First uh, first time I've gotten _that_ kinda order before."

"Stock standard sake!" Marcus demanded. "...I am the master of formal drinkin' an' pretending ta be drunk!"

"Is- that really something to be proud of." Sendai questioned bluntly…

"I have high alcohol tolerance, but little taste for it." Kasen explained neatly. "So, I prefer to supplement it with tea." ...She scratched her cheek. "I do appreciate the sake I get from my kit, however."

' _Kit…?'_ Sendai wasn't sure what she meant.

"Ah…" Vaguely registering this, Aina nodded. "Alright! I'll be right back with drinks an' stuff, and then we can chat it up!"

...When she was gone, Sendai began speaking openly. "This club is aflush with youkai. How."

Kasen snorted. "They hide their appearance as they beeline to this place. I don't know if you've noticed how dodgy gate guards are. Even then, when they successfully repel them, they just find their own way through the walls. Such is why the club is largely attended by night's lone wolves; common fox and various canine, non-tengu-type youkai. Personally, it-... makes me uneasy."

"I hate it 'cause when I look out my windows at night, sometimes it's really freakin' bright!" Marcus contested.

...Kasen stared at him plainly. "You have neon lights on your own shop. They're _always on._ "

...He held out his arms, hunching his head down exaggeratedly, as he looked up at her in faux-shock.

"I forgot this existed." Rinnosuke admitted, as he stared up at the slowly shifting rainbow lights above them. "...I half-wish I still didn't know it existed."

"Well, since we're sticking together, it could be fun if you let it be." Kasen supposed, as she grew idle. "Just have fun with it. It might not be a quiet, dingy tavern corner, or a diner's windows, but it's its own thing."

"...That's true." He began to smile. "Maybe I _have_ just predisposed myself to not liking it. I'm not even that old, and I'm already becoming really settled into my ways."

' _Kourin used to be such a little shit when I last saw him…!'_ Sendai was _really_ interested in how he changed so much in around a decade. ' _Now he's way more mellow. Although, he does still have a little of that idiot energy in him…'_ She thought back to him playing with the pistol back in the shop…

 _shoof._ Arriving back at the table, Aina plopped a tray of drinks down, and slid it forward gracefully. It slid to a stop just before everyone, so that they could retrieve their choices…

...Once everyone retrieved theirs, Sendai picked up one of the two remaining glasses. "What's this?"

"Orange Karmotrine!" Aina announced. "It's my favorite, so I got it for you, too!" She picked up the other glass of orange stuff. "It's _really_ good."

"...I see." Sendai genuinely looked forward, to it. "Looks sweet."

"It _is_ sweet…" Aina agreed. "Oh, that reminds me! Any of you girls want a _guy_ hostess? We have a _fe~w,_ and they're real _studs!"_

"Nah." Sendai turned down the offer plainly.

"My days of that sort of thing are over." Kasen shook her head…

Aina smiled. "Aww~. You don't hafta be _shy._ Oh well."

She scooted closer to Rinnosuke. "So… Kourin- if you're alright with me calling you that, you said you were interested in objects?"

"Ah-... well, yes." He gave her an awkward look. "I've already said, about how it makes me think of the outside."

...At that, she put on a tiny, cute smile. "Y'know, there are a bunch of clubs like this on the outside, I hear. Stereos were an outside world invention, even."

...Rinnosuke blinked, at first skeptical of the response, before nodding. "Yes, that's right, actually. I had a pair in my shop, some weeks ago, that I offered to some local musicians. They're quite powerful, aren't they?"

Aina giggled. "Hehehe. You felt 'em when you walked in here."

"Hu~h." He seemed like he hadn't even thought about it. "...So _this_ is the extent of their power."

Sendai stared at Aina. Her eyes were pulsing with an amethyst energy, which overrode their normal brown tint. ' _Every now and then, her eyes change color. She probably has one of those catalyzers inside herself, too… I saw the same energy in her hair.'_

"Forgive me for asking, but, do you get outta the house often?" Aina leaned against the table, smiling at him. "You definitely don't strike me as the adventurous type. Except when it comes ta books, maybe."

...He tried to scoot back a little, but Kasen was there. "Uh, well, not really. And, yes, I do enjoy reading, actually. I'm fully aware of how much of a mess the overworld around Gensokyo can be, and I'm happy where I am, really…"

"Wait…" She pointed a finger at him, bringing it close to his face. "You ever read that one book? About that girl, and a wind god?"

...Rinnosuke let his brows raise. "Ah? I forget the title-..."

She answered for him. " _Ten Miles High,_ that was the name of it. The girl in that book was _so_ cute!"

"I didn't get the impression you actually _read…_ " He looked down at his drink.

She grinned, faking a slightly angry look. "He~y. I _toldja_ I'm not just a pretty face. It's just hard for me ta get in my element, y'know? I kinda like my quiet moments myself. And, this whole club thing is _fun_ and all, but it's as I told ya, all the dudes here are a buncha slimeballs. The male hostesses're _nice and all,_ but they're-... well, they're not my type. I mean, they're _hot,_ I'll _fuck 'em,_ but screw 'em otherwise."

Rinnosuke snorted. "How can you treat _sex_ so casually?"

"You know!" She spoke up louder. "Sometimes, I don't get how people can treat sex as somethin' so _sacred!_ But, I've kinda like… figured that _love sex_ and _sex sex_ is really different. And, I've already kinda had my fill of the latter, t'be honest."

Sendai spoke up, at that. "Have you really, though?" It was rare that she'd see someone so loose and fast commit to anything but that lifestyle.

...She shrugged. "I mean, if I stop blowin' my money and save up fer some good Eientei-brand sex toys an' shit, it oughta be even better than findin' a meat-popsicle, yeah? A _good_ dude takes a hell of a lot of effort ta find. Nothin' loose and fast about waitin' months, or _years_ , for the one good fuck in a crowd of sloppy, awkward, mediocre dumbasses. I dunno."

' _...Huh.'_ Sendai thought on her opinion. ' _Sounds like she's really not cut out for being a hooker. Wait- she's not even a hooker by trade, she's a hostess…'_

"Do you just-... have sex with random people for fun, then?" Sendai wondered.

She nodded. "Well, _yea~h._ The way I see it, it's like-... it could be an icebreaker, or it could just be a little one night stand. Really lets ya get inta guy's heads, too. Basically how I became a hostess, and how I compete with all these like, _sixty year old_ fox chicks that look like they're _twenty._ "

"Why'd you join the village guard as a shrine maiden?" Kasen released something that was on her mind. "Especially since you still seem to be a hostess…"

...She smiled. "Well. Two reasons. One-... is that I got this really sexy shrine maiden outfit, and I don't _think_ ya've noticed, but sexy shrine maidens are in season."

"Th- there's a season, for that, now?" Sendai looked worried…

"The second…" Her smile grew. "Is _this._ "

 _Woosh._ She sprang from her seat in a moment, spinning around on one heel many times, before stopping in front of the table.

 _Woosh!_ Dropping down, she stood up on her hands, and kicked her legs out. " _Hyeah!"_ After-images of amethyst light trailed her legs, as they both kicked out in opposite directions, revealing her bloomers to the air as her skirt fell.

 _Woo- woo- woosh!_ Snapping from her pose, she dropped to the floor, rolling on her back five times in one second-

 _Cli- fwish!_ Somehow, she shot from the ground, snapping to the seat next to Rinnosuke in almost an instant, disjointed afterimages of purple light in the air behind her, for just a blink.

"Hehehe~!" She smiled warmly, at him, the pink-purple energy crackling from where her heart was, for a moment. "How's _that_ for flexibility?"

"...That was more of an acrobatics trick, but okay." Rinnosuke looked flat about the whole situation. "What kind of magic, was that?"

"I dunno~!" She drawled, beginning to blush. "I'm so much more _powerful_ than I used ta be, though!"

"It's a-... energy catalyzer?" Sendai wasn't sure if she even remembered the name right…

"Faith catalyzer, of a kind." Marcus remarked. "Basically, she's chewin' through faith to make her body do crazy shit! The village's puttin' these weird things in- or _near-_ the hearts a' the fake maiden people…"

"Wait, what…?" Rinnosuke looked somewhat disturbed. "Isn't that, like-... a health hazard, of some kind? Also- why to _them?"_

Aina snorted. "Oh, yea~h. I'm supposed to be railin' you right now, big lady." Playfully, she pointed at Sendai. "But, I just kinda signed up for the chest machine an' the outfit. Now, even if I crawled inta bed with a wolf boy, _he'd_ be the one who passes out first! It's fuckin' awesome!"

"Should you be-... shouldn't you be worried?" Kasen looked worried, herself. "We don't know what those devices _do_ , yet."

"Who put those in you, anyway?" Sendai raised a brow… "That machine."

...Aina looked a little sheepish, at that. "Well. To be honest-... it was recommended to me by my boss, here. The floor manager heard about the whole thing, and said the cata-whats-it would be really good for me in general. When it was time ta get it installed, I got knocked the fuck out, and woke up in a chair in one 'a the back rooms. Boss came, said she got called about it, and like-... took me home. That was uh, it."

"...And you're _not_ worried?" Kasen was more worried than last time she asked. "I would be worried…!"

Aina waved it off. "Well, fuck it, this is the best thing that's happened to me since I found out what sex is. If the universe decides I suck, well, that's gonna _suck,_ but I can't do much other than let it come at me."

Sipping from her drink, Sendai found that it was indeed really sweet. ' _Ooo. Not bad…'_

"Anyway…" Aina leaned on Rinnosuke's side, staring at him. "You said you weren't interested in anyone."

"...Yeah, I'm not." He folded his arms.

"Why?" She moved to lean her head on his left shoulder. "Why not try? An' trust me… I know _trying._ "

"I'd rather it be on my own terms." He decided. "To be goaded into it like this… doesn't feel right. Your beginning impression was also fairly weak. I'm still not entirely confident I'm talking to the real you, and not who you think I want to you to be."

Her brows furrowed. "But-... I- I'm really _fucking_ trying here."

"Plus," he looked her over neutrally. "Do you actually like my personality, even?"

" _Yea~h…!"_ She exclaimed. "I've fuckin' said that's why I'm actually givin' a shit about you, ya dense fuck! Hell, I can't even _think_ of any good lookin' guy who isn't immediately a walkin' dildo when I rub up against him! Then ya got the _fat fucks_ who just don't work right, and then there's _you_ , who's just-... _fuckin' impervious_ to hormone reactions! I could be dancin' around _naked_ and you'd just do that stupid thing where you rub yer glasses against yer nose!"

Standing up, she held her arms out. "Fucking…! Crack a smile! Bust a gut! _Be happy,_ damn it! What's _wrong with me…!?"_

 _shoof._ Sendai tried to slide out of her seat, but Marcus was there. "Hey, now…"

He began to scoot, so she could move. "Here, lemme…"

 _shoo- shoof._ After some shifting, Sendai awkwardly stood, while Marcus filed back into his spot…

Aina was vainly staring at her.

...Slowly, Sendai pointed at her. "Hey. Chill out."

"Yeah, go fuck yourself." Aina flipped her a middle-finger. "What's your _problem,_ anyway? This'd be a lot fucking smoother if you weren't here to kill the mood every two goddamn seconds."

' _...This was actually going really smoothly, until she began flipping out like this.'_ Sendai let her brows curl up… ' _What happened?'_

"It was always my intention for me and my friends to go hang out somewhere." She defended her presence. "It was you who decided it was necessary to romance one of my friends _right here and now._ Are you that used to scoring a date within the first three hours of meeting someone?"

" _Yeah!"_ Aina yelled back. "'Cause seriously, what's the fuckin' hold-up? We'd be getting along _fine_ if it weren't for this- _random bullshit!_ A- and I know some stuff takes _time-_ but… nothing's gone the way I thought it'd go… _literally_ nothing. _"_

"Maybe you could be a little more patient." Sendai suggested. "Give it a day. Or, two. Then, come back, and make another impression. All whining about it to us will do is make us cringe, not feel sorry for you. You achieve by doing. Social interaction comes naturally."

"... _Naturally,_ huh. You achieve by _doing,_ huh." She began to march towards Sendai, her amethyst eyes glowing brighter. "Maybe you're just fucking _boring._ Is that it? Maybe you don't know how to give a girl some _fucking space._ "

Sendai didn't move, Aina came up within inches of her. She was also a head shorter than Sendai, so this wasn't really in her favor, as she glared up at the taller girl. "...What do you do for fun? Get buzzed and call it a day? Hehe- I bet you're a _virgin,_ actually..."

"I do what I do." Sendai stated plainly. "Not everyone is suited for your lifestyle. You might criticize other people, and I might do it too, but we don't live their lives. We can't expect them to act exactly as we want them to."

' _I might call mages shitty, or call certain workers lazy, or call guards retarded, but I don't really know what lead to their situation, always. I'd say there's an acceptable margin of dumb behavior that can be attributed to, like… the 'I shouldn't really care about it too much' range. I don't get how Marc can sit down and just read books for three goddamn days, but that's just what he does. He wouldn't be him if he did everything other people expected from him.'_

"...At first, I thought you were gonna be a wacko like Tsuruko." Aina frowned harder. "Turns out yer just a stuck-up _bitch._ "

"Don't take your frustration out on me." Sendai advised her. "If anything, take it out on yourself, for being so impatient. I can understand shit getting in the way of things you want to do, but you also have to learn how to deal with life's shit."

"...This just- feels like a _once in awhile_ kinda opportunity, and you're _so_ not helping." She seethed up at Sendai. "I mean, your gaggle of fucking weirdos doesn't endear me either, but you piss me off especially."

"I mean…" Rinnosuke spoke up. "These are my friends. It'd be nice if you got along with them."

...With that, Aina began to stagger back. "Wh-... fuck…" She vainly glared back at Sendai. "Fuck…!"

 _Woosh!_ Her chest flashed with amethyst light, and she sprinted off, going somewhere else.

' _...Huh.'_

...Slowly, Sendai sat down, again. ' _Well.'_ ...She reached across the table from her new edge seat, retrieving the orange beer. ' _Good thing we're already at a bar, technically.'_

"I didn't think she cared that much." Rinnosuke stared down at the table. "...I suddenly feel kind of bad. I was actually fairly happy- but, I just don't express myself very loudly."

' _...Oh, well.'_ Sendai felt a little awkward. ' _She'll be back around, considering everything. I think.'_

"Ah…" Kasen was also awkward, judging by her smile. "Perhaps you can talk to her later, then. Or, now, if you'd prefer…"

...He shrugged it off. "Not like I'd know where she went. Other than, well, somewhere."

Marcus snorted. "That'd be the kinda random ass chance you should probably take…!"

Sendai's shrine maiden senses were tingling. ' _Oh, man. Should Kourin really-... bother with her?'_

"He _should_ think about it, though." Kasen immediately regarded the event abstractly, facing Marcus. "I- I mean-... not that there should be any pressure on him to act."

He grinned back at her. "Y'know, this is the like, once in a lifetime opportunity some dudes talk about! Like- it _really_ feels like one of those 'I wish I spoke ta her' moments!"

...Becoming extremely anxious and fidgety, Rinnosuke adjusted his glasses again. "I mean-... she works here, right? So, she _should_ be doing something else now, which I could… intervene on? Like, should I-... wait a little, and see?"

' _Oh, boy.'_ Sendai simply observed...

"An' what if she goes ta serve some random table, and ya roll up and crap it all up?" Marcus grinned harder. "Chance has it that ya should probably do somethin' now… Like, right now!"

Kasen nodded. "This-... _does_ feel like a moment to act. Actually-..." She centered her gaze on Rinnosuke, looking sort of expectant...

...Sendai just gave him a very, very passive look. ' _Does he still have the guts, for something like that?'_

...Letting out a breath, he got up. "This- really isn't what I signed up for, but…!"

...When he romped off to find her, Marcus floated up and out of his seat, over the table, and landed before it. "I'm gonna just…!" He vaguely jogged after him.

' _When'd Marc learn how to fly, again…!?'_ Sendai was very briefly bewildered…

...After a moment or two of losing track of the guys, Sendai turned to Kasen. "Wanna get drunk."

Smiling carefree, Kasen held up a wood box. "Wanna drink out of a masu box?"

' _Where the fuck'd you get a masu box from.'_ Sendai stared at it vaguely...

-+- _Rinnosuke Morichika's Perspective -+-_

' _Man, man, man…'_ Rinnosuke was far out of his comfort zone, as he lumbered ahead in the loud, bright club. ' _She's fast- but, it's just a nightclub. She has to be in the back.'_

Pushing past men and women clad in fancy kimonos, he channeled his seldom-exercised half-youkai endurance, as he freely sprinted towards the room's back. Along the left of the center-back stage, there was indeed a door to get behind it. ' _Ah, good.'_

 _shoof._ He pushed open the heavy, pushable door, using his shoulder to ram it out of the way. ' _Alright- let's see…'_

The room back here seemed to be a kitchen. ' _Of course the kitchen would be immediately here. Um…'_ He glanced down the right, which would lead to the secluded backstage area.

There was the opening of a corridor there, lit with bleak white lighting.

"Hey-..." A fox girl came to talk to him, but he hurried off. "Wait- hey! Where do you think you're going!?"

' _Shit…'_ He was now sprinting down a blue-carpeted hallway, with a youkai girl chasing him. ' _That's not very good…'_

As he ran down the odd, round hallway, ignoring locked doors as he followed the curve towards the right, he saw something.

 _BAM- BOOM- BAM!_ It was bouncing down the hallway, off the sides; a glowing, amethyst yin-yang top the size of a person was ripping across the carpet, smashing the walls. ' _What…!'_

"Oo- oh, shit…!" The fox girl behind him slowed. "Oh shit!" She began to run in the opposite direction.

' _Um!'_ Facing it as it came towards him, he braced himself. ' _I'm just going to have to- wing it-'_

 _KRI~NG!_ As he dashed to the left, ironically moving _into_ the top's path of destruction, a blade of ice erected from the floor, stopping it dead in its tracks. The top was half-embedded into the sword, damage spider-webbing across it.

"Ho- ooh…" Rinnosuke wasn't even sure what just happened, but he kept running. "Aa- ah…"

"Hehehe~!" Marcus giggled behind him, jaw agape at the giant amethyst yin yang top. "S'good thing, too...! That woulda been- pretty bad!"

At the very back of the round hallway, before it turned back into a different room and the rightmost staff room, were two big double doorways. One was locked, and the other was smashed open, off of its hinges.

' _Um, yeah.'_ Rinnosuke picked that door.

 _CLACK, CLACK, CLACK!_ He looked up, to the sound of clattering rafters. He was behind the stage, in the completely technical backend of it, behind the rearmost curtains.

"Tha- that _bitch,_ that _bitch…_ " Aina had done numerous side and backflips up onto the top of the rafters, leaping platforms that'd otherwise need an elevator's assistance to access. "Tsuruko fucking _knew!_ That _fucking psycho!"_

 _PA- PA- PA- PA- PAP!_ She delivered a single-armed flurry of blows to a big bag of sand sitting on one of the middle height rafters.

 _WHABAM!_ She delivered a person-height kick to the top of it, sending it rolling off the side of the platform.

...Rinnosuke watched it fall apprehensively-

 _BOOM!_ It hit the ground some distance away, and he felt it. ' _Ho- holy shit…'_

Suddenly, Marcus was next to him. "Hey there, champ! Y'find 'er yet!?"

Rinnosuke only barely registered him, before his brows twitched. ' _...I mean, she can't stay up there forever?'_

 _Krik- krak, fzzt!_ The amethyst aura in the center of her being bubbled, before expanding out like a series of bubbles around her.

"I'll fix this all _right the hell now…!"_ Aina held her head, before beaming dangerously. "An' I'll fix it _my way!"_

 _WOO- WOO- WOO- WOOSH!_ She began spinning with inhuman velocity. Amethyst energy roared off of her like water off of a tire, and she left the side of one of the rafters.

 _BAM!_ Bouncing off of a wall, she came back down to the ground, bouncing off the ground on her pivoting sandal.

 _CRA- CRA- CRACK!_ She shot small, yin yang-affixed tops from herself, which pelted the nearby brick wall like bullets, embedding themselves.

 _Fwi- fwish!_ She shot outside, onto the main stage. ' _Wh-... what, really…!?'_

Rinnosuke registered the sounds of his own shoes, as he ran out after her.

 _Fwi- fwish…_ He fought past the heavy, royal red curtains, treading onto the dance floor that was layered ontop of the hardwood main stage.

 _Clack!_ Aina stopped on a dime, in the center of the main stage. Galaxies of tiny stars billowed amidst her brown ponytail, before it came to rest.

Rinnosuke sized up the entire room. The dance floor had cleared out sometime between now when he got up, and he never noticed. ' _Oo- oh, shit…'_

Over the top of Aina's brown hair, Rinnosuke saw the second floor, and the tables hosted atop it.

A woman in red and white sat alone in the midst of that second floor, her seat facing the stage. ' _...That's that other chick who was at the shop!'_

"...Floor's clear." Aina spoke under her breath, but loud enough for the only people on stage to hear. "At least _that_ was as expected…"

"...Aa- Aina!" Rinnosuke spoke up from behind her.

She froze. Whipping around, she saw him. "...Wh- ah…"

...Unsure what to do next, he put his legs together, and gave her a brief bow. "I-... I enjoyed the conversation we had!"

...Her brows raised.

' _This-... is probably the most off-the-trail kind of thing I've done in awhile…'_

"Ya-..." She had to find her voice. "Ya came up here-... on _stage…_ to tell me _that?"_

...He nodded. "Ye- yes. I'm-... I'm generally quiet, so-... I thought you'd left with the wrong impression."

She let her arms drop from the pose she struck when she got onto the stage. "Re- really…? How- ah, you mean it…?"

Rinnosuke snorted. "Ye- _yes,_ I mean it."

...For a moment, the two stood there on the blinking, glowy dance floor, just awkwardly searching each other's gazes.

Rinnosuke saw someone stand up, behind her. The red-white clad woman on the second floor got up from her wood chair…

She leapt onto the second story railing. Then, she readied herself-

 _Woosh!_ With a flare of azure, she crossed the club's air space.

 _CLACK!_ She touched down loudly, beside the two.

"...It seems I miscalculated."

Aina glared at her immediately. "Tsu- Tsuruko…!? What the fuck. Where'd-"

"I hadn't imagined mister Morichika would have acted in a way, like this." Tsuruko shook her head. "...Aina. You were about to follow my instruction and fight Tsukiko here, were you not?"

...Aina blinked. "I- I… didn't fuckin' tell you _anything_ about that. What the hell? No- not that I have a reason ta do that, now!" She looked over at Rinnosuke, for just a moment. "I thought she cost me a cool dude, but uh-... maybe not. I got things ta _lose_ now!"

' _...Huh.'_ Rinnosuke shifted his focus between the two of them. ' _This Tsuruko… she's-... I don't know. Dangerous? She's been pulling Aina's strings, for sure…'_

"Tsk." Tsuruko sighed. "I suppose the only way to witness your skills, is to summon them forth the most clumsy way, then."

"What-...?" Aina began to raise her fists. "What- do ya mean?"

Tsuruko glared directly into her eyes. "I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill you, take your boyfriend, your job here at the club, and your friends. I will erase you from reality."

' _...Just what have I walked in on.'_ Rinnosuke gave her a vain look.

"Can you, uh, not-... do that." He requested of her. "That sounds like a bad idea."

"...I- I _knew it!_ I _fuckin' knew it!"_ Aina's body shook with nervous energy. "Fuckin' _thank you_ for being so _goddamn forward_ about it! Now I can kill the shit outta you and feel _good_ about it!"

 _Kri- kra- krik- krakrak!_ Both girls began to shimmer, amethyst energy spreading across their bodies…

"Teach me how to dance, Aina-chan." Tsuruko brought up her fists boxer-style.

Aina just roared at her. "Fhuck _yo~u!"_

-+- _Vs. Tsuruko Aoyama, Artificial Hakurei * Momentum Style_ -+-

"Um…" Rinnosuke looked awkward, as he stood aside the confrontation. "Hmm."

 _Woosh!_ In an instant, Aina jabbed her left arm forward. Tsuruko weaved to the right.

 _WAP!_ One of her fists met Aina's chest. " _Nghk-"_

 _Wap- wap- WAP!_ However, Aina endured the force, and began jabbing her own left arm forward. It connected repeatedly, pummeling Tsuruko back with a series of stomach-based blows.

 _Pap- pap- pap!_ Her sandals danced on the floor beneath herself, as she kept Tsuruko at bay with the same, repeated left jab, now switching targets between the stomach and the face-

 _WHAM!_ Pivoting around, she flicked her leg up along the back of herself, pivoting her entire body forward so the kick would sweep up across Tsuruko's features.

 _THUD!_ Tsuruko landed on her side. " _Onh…"_

 _Tap- tap!_ Doing a little shuffle in place, Aina kept her own momentum going with it, before chaining it into a little sweeping kick.

 _Thunk._ It hit Tsuruko while she was down. "Oo- nh…"

"Had enough, bitch?" Aina sneered down at her. "Yer years bein' a _random ass shrine maiden_ made you a fuckin' _pussy!"_

...Taking a deep breath, Tsuruko slowly stood back up. "...I see. You-... treat fighting like you treat your dancing. And- you use your strength to weave along with the blows..."

"...The _fuck're_ you talking about?" All of that went over Aina's head. "I kick ass!"

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Tsuruko dodged a circle clean around her, in three simple jerks of her muscles.

 _Tap- tap!_ Doing her shuffle backwards, Aina sweeped her leg out again.

 _Wha- THUD!_ Tsuruko immediately ate the ground again, and hard. " _Aa- nh…"_ The leg had hooked her's.

"Hah!"Aina beamed down at her. "I ain't even _serious_ yet, bitch!"

...Fighting back into standing, Tsuruko wiped the spilt saliva from her own lip, looking more alert now.

 _Woo- woosh._ Weaving in place, Aina's ponytail billowed behind her, containing an amethyst galaxy past its strands.

 _Whu- whunk!_ Trusting herself forward, she powered two lightning-fast hooks into Tsuruko's stomach-

 _Pa- pa- pap, pap!_ That's when Tsuruko followed up with her left arm, weaving her own single-armed attacks past the blows she took.

 _Pap- papap- pap- pap- pap!_ Soon, they began a messy trade of fists and weaves, doing minimal actual damage to each other because of the quick, hit-and-run nature of their attacks.

"Wh- agh…" Aina began to glare at her. "Why can't I hit you anymore…!?"

 _Tap- tap!_ Tsuruko shuffled back, doing the same dance in place that Aina did-

 _Woosh!_ She hooked a sweep of her leg past Aina's legs.

 _WHAM!_ Aina was rammed to the ground by the sudden movement, just like Tsuruko was. "Wh- ow! Fuck-"

 _Thunk!_ Tsuruko kneeled, thrusting a fist into her abdomen. "Nngh…"

"That's enough." Rinnosuke had enough of this nonsense. "Tsuruko, stop. I don't know what your _actual_ plan here is, but this isn't going-"

 _Whu- whunk!_ She slid two purple-imbued fists into his gut at once. " _Huu- nnh…!?"_

 _Pap- pap- pap!_ Her left fist was like bullets to his gut, before it met his jaw.

"Wgh- nnhuh-..." Everything was spinning after the slap-like attack she landed on his jaw. Stumbling back, he tried to find his vision-

 _WHAM!_ Tsuruko bluntly kicked up in the face, and he was sent flying. " _Wh- aah!"_

 _Thud!_ He landed a few meters away. ' _That-... did not look like that was the power being used- there…!'_

" _Hey!"_ Aina yelped at her. "Nngh…!"

Tsuruko pivoted around to her. "...I don't have the hang of this yet, but I could see this becoming very, very addicting."

"What…?" Aina still couldn't understand the context behind what she was saying. "...Fuck it. Y'know why you'll never be on _top,_ Tsuruko- _chan?"_

Tsuruko snorted. "O~h? Why is that?"

 _WHAM!_ A huge, yin yang top barreled into Tsuruko, spawned from literally nothing, sending her flying " _Wgh- aah…!?"_

Rinnosuke watched her fly over himself, as he got up from the floor. ' _Oh- geez! Holy crap!'_

"'Cause _I'm_ the one on top!" Aina hollered over the glittering dance floor. "I'm the one who'll be writin' history! _Yeah!"_

"...Aa- ah." Tsuruko hastily pushed herself from the floor, looking back with wide eyes. "Not bad at all…!"

 _WOOSH._ Aina slid on the heel of her sandal, spinning inhumanly fast to her side. "You can't _stop-_ "

 _WHAM!_ She rammed herself into Tsuruko, still spinning, rebounding off her form. " _-the rhythm_ a' _victory!"_

"Rrgh- aah…" Tsuruko fell onto her knees, after the impact. "Wo- wow…"

"And _I_ fight fer what I _care for!_ Unlike a bitch like _you_ \- who's never cared about anything, or anyone!"

 _CLA- CLA- CLA- CLACK!_ A whole spread of yin yang tops sprawled across the dance floor around Aina. They circled around Tsuruko, closing in as they all rotated rapidly around her…

Rinnosuke took a step back from the whirling vortex of doom. ' _Um…'_

"You just can't stop _losin'-_ and I can't stop _groovin'!"_ Aina bellowed, when she stopped on a dime.

 _woo- woosh- pap- woosh!_ When the tops convened on her form, Tsuruko weaved with almost inhuman precision. Whenever she couldn't, she rolled off a top's impact with her arms, sometimes doing a dance-like shuffle with her arms and legs to maintain momentum.

" _Spinnin'_ 'round me! Things're finally happning!" Aina beheld her own storm of yin yang tops. "Step up to~ me! This dance fight will be _legendary!"_

 _Woo- woo- WOO- WOOSH!_ She wound herself up, spinning faster and faster in place-

"Yer chances- are _thinning!"_ Aina joined the storm of tops herself, spinning with them. "I dodge _bullets-_ when I'm _spinning!"_

 _Ba- BAM- Whap- BAM!_ Each impact of tops against Tsuruko's form was like a pinball meeting bumpers, her body rotating back and forth, being thrown around on her legs amidst the storm of spinning toys.

 _WHAM!_ Aina's form displaced Tsuruko entirely, ramming into her, then stopping. " _I've hit the top!"_ She bellowed.

 _Thud._ Tsuruko fell onto her knees, again. "Aa-... aa-..."

While she rested on her knees, Aina danced in place. "Don't shoot me~... I'm _dancin'..._ don't shoot me- when I'm _dancin'..._ "

...Tsuruko stood again. "Nn-... _nn- ow…_ "

Aina grinned big. "Hehehe. Tsu-chan-... I've been told I can cut a _rug,_ but tanight it's gonna _bleed!"_

"Tha- thank you…" Tsuruko smiled back. "Thank you for teaching me…"

Aina blinked. "...Mmm?"

"But-..." Tsuruko breathed in, then out. "I'm afraid I'll have to call our spar here."

...Aina snorted. "Spar…? I'm tryin'a fuckin' _off you,_ you _stupid bitch."_

Tsuruko snorted. "Ah."

"I mean-..." Aina began shuffling in place again, beaming. "How'm I gonna lose, when I'm rockin' all the _skill?_ Yeah!"She pumped an arm into the air. "Ya can't _stop, the top!_ Ya can't _stop it!"_

Tsuruko cracked her neck, then her knuckles.

 _FZZT- KRAK- KRACK…!_ Red, violet energy began to bloom from her heart.

"Because _I_ am the next Hakurei shrine maiden!"

 _-+- Vs. Tsuruko Aoyama, Artificial Hakurei * Fighter Style -+-_

 _WOOSH._ Tsuruko leapt from where she stood, touching down behind Aina in almost one second.

Aina's hair resembled a universe once more, as she weaved to the side. "Aa-"

 _WOO- WOO- WOOSH! WOO- WOO- WOOSH!_ Tsuruko began punching, and she didn't stop punching. She kept throwing body-weight addled hook after body-weight addled hook.

 _Pa- pap-_ Aina tried to interject with her mighty left-handed jab.

Tsuruko grabbed her arm, and threw her along her side, keeping hold on it. " _Hra~h!"_

 _Thud!_ "Wh- what the fu- ah…!" Aina's eyes widened, as Tsuruko dropped onto her knees, straddling her, as she'd landed on her back. "Ah-"

 _WHA- BOOM._ She plowed an arm down, into Aina's head. A great splat of blood exploded from her nose, flecking onto a colorful dance floor tile. The raw magical energy from the impact of her single pummeling strike cracked the tile where it happened, a flame-like burst of amber, red, amethyst and azure expanding out.

 _Click._ Now next to them, Rinnosuke held his gun to Tsuruko's head. "That's _enough._ "

...Tsuruko glared up at it. " _Take the shot."_

' _Wh- what…'_ He blinked.

 _WHAM!_ The gun was smacked from his hand instantly, flying across the room. Tsuruko had batted it from his hand, leaving it stinging. ' _What! What the hell-_ '

She stood from Aina's form. Aina quickly rammed her own elbows against the ground, trying to scramble back, but-

 _THOOM._ Tsuruko stomped her with enough force to make the floor vibrate, just a little. " _Oou-...!"_ Aina yelped at the sandal embedded into her body.

"No…!" Rinnosuke came up to her. "I won't let you- _do that!"_

Tsuruko hugged her arms to herself. " _Hrr~h…!"_ Red and searing white energy poured from herself. " _Sorare's Meteor!"_

 _WOOSH!_ She moved to leap-

"Wo- woah!" Rinnosuke had dived into her leg, as she leapt. When she ascended into the air, he came with her.

" _What-...!"_ She felt him, there. " _What are you-_ "

Pushing his muscles for the first time in forever, spiked with alarm and adrenaline, he crawled up her form in an instant, and delivered a raw, simple overhead punch into her face. ' _Ngh! There! Stop, already…!'_

 _THUD._ They landed hard, with Rinnosuke left atop Tsuruko. Her head had hit the tiles of the dance floor as they bluntly met the ground.

"Ha- Hakurei-..." She seemed drowsy, as she stared up at him. "I- I am… shrine maid- en…"

...With that, her eyes unfocused. ' _...Uu- um.'_ He checked her pulse. ' _Okay, good. Holy shit…'_

 _Sendai learned Damage Weaving!_

"Are- are you alright?" Coming up to Aina, as she got up, he put an arm on her shoulder…

She tiredly gazed at him, half of her face flecked with blood. "Aa- ah-... yeah. Bheen- through worsh, yheah? Hehehe… I- I guessh I won shomehow…!"

"Ye- yeah, you won…" Rinnosuke reached for his glasses, but they weren't there. "Ah…"

' _They- must've come off when I got flung. These lights- and the fighting, made me kind of-... shrug it off.'_

"Oo- oh… mahn…" Aina looked sad, as he helped her up. "Mh-... my heart wash beating- sho fast… I- I thought I wash gonna die…"

"Aa-... yeah." Rinnosuke began to grin incredulously. "Well-... yeah."

' _You're not the only one. That was clo~se…! What even is a-... Sorare's Meteor…?'_

Hoisting her arm over his shoulders, he began to lead her off stage. "Um-... come back with us, to our booth. We'll help you recover."

"...Tha- thank yhou." She closed her eyes, to withhold the tears. "Thank yhou."

...Slowly, the audience began clapping politely, pleased by the series of events.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

When Rinnosuke returned to the back corner- after being heckled by random men who were awed that she was actually hurt- he couldn't really grasp what he was seeing. ' _Um…'_

" _Yea~h!"_ Tsukiko was holding up the entire round couch. " _Kouri~n!"_

Kasen was seated atop it, holding a wood box. "Eheh…"

' _...She had Tsukiko drink from the box, didn't she.'_ Rinnosuke recognized it as the Ibaraki Box of One Hundred Medicines. It could heal any ailment, be it wound or illness, but it would replace wounded flesh with oni-like geometry, and it would temporarily make the user's mind behave similar to an oni's. It also gave temporary super strength.

' _Hence, um…'_ He watched Tsukiko clumsily try to flop the couch back down.

 _CRACK- BOOM!_ She just sort of dropped it down, and it broke apart.

Kasen exhaled, still seated on one now-detached segment.. "That's-... gonna hurt the bill."

Aina snorted. "Aa- aa-... akshually- I cahn pro'lly get thish whole thing covered! Boss'sh gonna pay mhe _ghood_ fer today, and I'd _dhare her_ ta make me phay outta pocket fer anythin' afta' thah."

Marcus was nearby, sitting on a wood chair instead. "Here I thought I was safe ta sit down- an' then, Tsuruko used the most _powerful_ skill!"

Rinnosuke blinked at him. "...What sort of skill did she use?"

"She switched fightin' styles entirely!" He informed him. "...Which, y'know, reminds me 'a someone!"

' _...Is that so.'_

He pulled a potion from his backpack. "Aa-... Aina, here."

She took it. "Wassit…"

"Medicine." He described.

...She shook her head. "I- I'h… I'll bhe fine."

' _What, really…?'_ He took the bottle back. ' _Idea.'_

...Hiding it around his side, he pretended to feel around for a moment, before taking it back out. "How about some beer, then?"

She took the red bottle greedily. "Ooo- dohn't mihnd if I dho! Betta' than shitty village mehds…"

 _Pap!i_ "I got enough fer the bill anyway!" Sendai plowed her fist into her own open hand.

 _Kri- kra- krik._ Her knuckles cracked repeatedly, and she briefly looked awed at herself…

' _...I guess it all went well enough, I think?'_ He thought back to everything he just did. ' _...I might not be able to show my face around the village for a little while. Or, maybe I can. I don't know. Being on a stage is mortifying…'_ He'd _refused_ to think about it at the time, because he knew he couldn't afford to scare himself out of anything.

Now, considering the ramifications of his actions was fair game. ' _...I wonder if the staff- well, no, she said we were in the advantaged customer position, 'cause she got hurt, so… they won't be mad about the back room thing. Good.'_

"Wha- what the hell kinda beer is this…" Aina looked over the bottle… "I don't taste _booze._ "

"I tricked you." Rinnosuke revealed. "That's a potion."

...Slowly, she began to grin big. "Aww, you smart a~ss. Well- I'm glad ya actually had the _good meds_ on ya! I thought ya had some of that fruit punch crap on ya- s'why I said _no…"_

She faced him fully, her eyes now a regular brown. "...Wh- why'd you, uh-... do all that, anyway?"

He exhaled. "...Because, you're not a _bad person,_ and-... I said it before, talking with you was kinda fun. I wouldn't mind doing it again, with less things to set you off or make you self-conscious. You could come by my shop, whenever I'm around." ...He looked to Tsukiko's uneven smile. "Or, well, when I'm done doing whatever these guys wanna drag me around for. I haven't met with them in ages-... and, I honestly missed-... I missed shit like this."

...Aina smiled at him. "Hehehe… Well-... I'll hold you to that, _Kourin._ "

The stage lights blared in the background. The dark corner they were in felt far cosier now, and Rinnosuke finally felt himself relax, kind of. ' _...Tha- that rush… was exhilarating, really. I never-'_

Aina rotated around, and pressed her face into his, their lips meeting. "Mmm…"

' _Wait- hold- what.'_

"Hehe~h…" Now sitting amidst the couch's disjointed rubble, Tsukiko had a lecherous look. "S'about time you thought 'bout that sorta thing, Kouri~n. Hell knows ya were pent _right the hell up,_ fer so long."

"Mwah." She broke the kiss with him. "...So~, how long you guys spendin' here? _Plea~se_ tell me another few hours! I wanna at least make 'em _hard-_ ooo!" She looked down, along his chest. "Spoke too soo~n."

"I- I said I'd like to _talk with you again_ \- not fool around…!" He gave her an intense grin back.

"Aw, alright." She moved for one of the separated couch pieces. Tsukiko had essentially broke it into a bunch of little chairs. "Well-... I guess we're jus' gonna sit an' wait fer my boss, fer a li'l while, huh?"

Kasen smiled, sitting on a couch piece that'd been tipped onto its side from the initial impact. "...I suppose that ended well enough."

"Ooh, _really…"_ Tsukiko sneered at her. "I half expected ya to go all white-knight 'bout the _fightin'_ shit. Yer- almost always a fuckin' downer."

Kasen snorted. "Well, I got you _inebriated,_ so that should say something of my actual prude status. I'm not always just everyone's mom, I just overthink things."

"...I- I guess so…" Sendai's mental status left her too intimidated to argue any further. "Well- jus' try not ta kill the mood in the future, 'cause sometimes yer really cool, actually… an'- now that I think 'a it, I can't believe ya just _existed_ all forty damn years 'a my life, 'till now."

"I was also here for the-... twelve? Twelve-ish years you were dead." She nodded. "I've been around, a few times."

...Rinnosuke exhaled. ' _Maybe-... I should actually order a beer.'_

"I think I'll order a beer." He decided, having totally forgotten about that other light sake he ordered earlier. "...Something light. Sake, maybe."

Aina's smile towards him grew. "Oo~h? S'understandable, after a shitshow like the one we had!" She'd also forgot that she served light sake to him earlier...

...He looked to Sendai again, to see her tilting her head back. "Mm- mrmh…" She was chugging from the Ibaraki mansu box.

"Are, uh… you sure you should-..." Looking a little sheepish, he pointed at her while speaking towards Kasen.

She shrugged, giving him a carefree sort of smile. ' _Really, now…'_

"Fwa~h!" Sendai lowered the box, beaming dangerously. " _Hell yeah!_ Ih- I whanna _train!_ We ghotta _punch shit!"_

' _Oh no.'_ Rinnosuke stared at her woefully…

Her arms propped to her sides in excitement, Aina chuckled. "Hehehe- yeah! I'm gonna fuckin' love you, big maiden! Y'remind me of, uh..."

"An' I lohve _yhou!"_ Sendai pointed at her peppily. "Hehaha! Y'know- Kourin _likes 'em_ big!"

"Ooh…!?" Looking down, Aina beheld her own moderate-to-large chest. "Ni~ce!"

' _Oh, geez…'_ Rinnosuke moved to adjust his glasses, before realizing they were gone still. ' _Ah, no wonder the lights are blurrier… and- everything. Maybe I should find those, at some point.'_

...His eyes widened. ' _I- I dropped my gun, too!'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

 _Sendai Hakurei no Miko:_

NEW SKILLS:

 _x Tengu Style:_

Damage Weaving - When Sendai takes damage, she may weave to regain momentum and immediately retaliate or start dodging, if she's not immediately knocked down by the first hit.

NEW ITEMS:

5,000 Yen made this chapter.

DieHard MAX - Old village energy drink brand which is now in limited supply after the small shinto shrine that operated it shut down. Restores 50% of user's MP, 30% of their HP, and restores two item crashes for Sendai.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Unknown

ApStimRx - Dietary laxative supplement, for crazy people who want to enjoy more food at restaurants faster. Helps solve constipation. Hurts Sendai, so she wants to eat more. Won't kill her if she's weak, though.

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sendai doesn't want to find out.

(x150) Small Candy - Really small candies. Usually M&Ms, or fragmented smarties, or small lollipops and tootsie rolls. Best used to calm down the wild fairies. They sell for cheap at inner-village vendors, and at the guard headquarters, so stock up!

 _ITEM CRASH:_ Sweet Storm - Sendai spreads all her candy across the entire current biome, letting her befriend the fairy population there for this visit. Halved fairy aggression next visit. Doesn't work unless Sendai has 1000 candies or more.

==x==

 _Rinnosuke Morichika:_

INVENTORY:

=m= Pocket Items:

(x2) Potion - Heals humans to full health.

Chex Mix - Outside world snack blend, which stays good when packed in regular-quality containers. Not the best for you, but not the worst.

Water Jug - Plastic outside-world quality gallon container, made of clear plastic, and filled with fresh, pure water. Really good-quality water. Restores one item crash for Sendai.

Japanese Mythology Compendium - Really big book about Japanese tales, reproduced by the Hieda family subsidiary businesses. Mostly good for long waits, and dim evenings…

Love Hina Volume 11 - Old romantic comedy manga. Yukari gave him a complete collection just recently, and it's something new to read, so…

Salt - Round container, full of salt. Good for seasoning food, or getting into enemy's eyes. Good counter against slime girls and slug girls.

=m= Body:

Casual Clothing - Rinnosuke's standard daily wear, which he has multiple copies of back at home. Has a blue and brown color scheme, and is generally non-imposing, and easy to move around in.

STATS:

50% dispel resistant

100% confusion resistant

=m= Misc:

A Shopkeeper's Guide to Daily Finance - A book bought from the village some years ago. The spine and pages are worn, by now. Reduces the cost of shop maintenance by 20%.

Nothing.

Nothing.

=m= Weapon:

Pistol - An outside-world styled pistol, except it only holds one really strong bullet, apparently. Boosts the chance of intimidating targets.

=m=m=m=

SKILLS:

=m= Soul

Family Man - Rinnosuke's generally very down to earth, and not quick to change his ways. Confers 50% Seduction and 50% Berserk resistance.

Object Mastery - Rinnosuke may realize the true purpose of any object. This doesn't tell him how to use it, or what exactly the purpose even means in context, but it does let him reveal item crash information if Sendai is around. Specifically, this skill allows him to learn any object's name and technical utility.

Hyper Recovery - Rinnosuke is quick to recover stamina when downed and hurt, thanks to his half-youkai heritage. Native health regeneration is also three times as fast.

Will of The Destroyer * Undying - When Rinnosuke takes a fatal blow, he'll live in critical condition as long as he has any mana remaining. Reduces MP to minimum.

Essence of Wreckage - When injured, Rinnosuke is able to pin opponents to the floor, and ram them in the head repeatedly with one fist. Similar to a move he witnessed from Tsuruko while at the Golden Grin…

Youkai Blood - When injured or alarmed, Rinnosuke's blood begins pumping, and he becomes more resilient against sources of knockback, and harder to interrupt when he attacks. His speed improves, as well as his strength, and his natural recovery time from the floor.

=m= Technique

m _Basic Boxing Style_

Basic Boxing Style - Rinnosuke's standard combat strategy. He really doesn't like fighting, but…

The One-Two-Three - A three hit combo that almost always knocks the opponent down on the third hit. They can block in the middle of it or try to get away, so it's not that good alone. It comes out really fast though, so it can be hard for even skilled fighters to know when he's gonna engage. High accuracy melee attack.

Knee Rush - Rinnosuke jumps into an enemy and hits them with his knee. Usually knocks most opponents down, but also might knock him down too…

Grapple - Rinnosuke grabs the opponent. With his youkai strength, he might be able to toss aside a human or two like this. If Sendai is around, she can help him out a lot when he does this.

Guard - Rinnosuke can block most attacks from the front. Reduces a lot of incoming damage. If he guards the moment unarmed attacks hit him, he takes no damage.

Dodge - Somewhat surprisingly, Rinnosuke can actually do a basic quick evade like Sendai can. He can only do it once in awhile, though.

m _Magic_

Flare - A flickering, vague light which expands as it nears the enemies, blinding opponents in a cone in front of Rinnosuke.

Fake Gunshot Sound - Rinnosuke can make it _sound_ like he fired his gun, which might freak some people out. Chance to instill fear in enemies, working best on large parties, humans, or lunar rabbits.

Dizzy Shot - Rinnosuke holds up his gun, but tosses a nut from the Forest of Magic under his hand. When it hits the ground under the enemy, it explodes, confusing or stunning them. Works best on mook-tier foes.

Sleep Shot - Summoning his limited magical knowledge, Rinnosuke casts a wimpy sleep spell on one target. Works best on mook-tier foes.

==x==

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

THIS WAS A REALLY FUN CHAPTER TO WRITE

mostly 'cause it felt like i broke a lot of repetitious things with it and generally we're getting more like super-contextual insight to this hakurei project thing, and the whole thing with rinnosuke was an unexpectedly brilliant way (not to TOOT MY OWN HORN) to introduce him to the party

also aina was fun because she totally broke the standard set by the chick the evening before

also the BEGINNING OF THE CHAPTER was super fun 'cause we actually had a moment where a noob DIDN'T double down on being a noob, which was actually super humanizing

we didn't get to see her too much after she broke down though

aina was ironically a lot of fun to write because she was just so fucking weird and awkward but also kind of an asshole so i couldn't help but sometimes root for and against her

...even the shop scene at the kourindou was really fun 'cause it was so freakin' weird, and as far as noobs go tsuruko is a real oddball, both in trying to trace her actions, the vibe she's going for, and the vibe she actually gives off; she's just SUCH A WEIRDO

the fight at the end was ironically hype too…! i actually worked myself to a point where i had to SLOW DOWN while writing it 'cause the music i had going in the background HYPED ME UP TO UNCOMFORTABLE LEVELS, and that was actually the first time that sort of thing happened…!

it's a big contrast with how slow and plotty and talky the last chapter was but that's sendai mode for you

for some readers who wanted villains / _antagonistic forces_ written like this, they probably already dropped out around the dieter / aphrodisiac arc

i still wanna rewrite the dieter fight to be more intense and also i wanna do something about the abrupt nature of the underground rabbit facility thing because it's really sudden compared to everything else, even if events-wise it can be justified as passable

also no one except new readers probably noticed, but there's no inventory for chapter one / skill obtained messages for chapter one now! i did this to trap in people who would otherwise freak the fuck out and call me retarded for including my obsession with game elements in the fic, and ironically enough it did boost reader retention (seemingly) so i did actually trap in people who would normally be instantly turned off by that

to the people who don't get that sort of thing: i like to do it for two big reasons

one is that it tracks character progression in the power sense, which is kinda important when they're posed against antagonistic forces, even if in this case it's more like vague happenings or sendai trying to regather strength and stuff, and to me and some others it's just a satisfying way of marking progress

the second is that it lets me better keep track of skills used and obtained for consistency reasons, which is why i'm cutting down on what the reader sees between chapters for the most part and reducing it to new skills, because honestly it's probably gonna get super huge like my other fic's at this point, and it doesn't need to superficially inflate my word count more than it already does / the reader doesn't need to ALWAYS see it

my ideal situation would be making a dropdown menu at the bottom of the page / a collapsable page segment that readers could open if they were actually interested (because we do have some people who just see it as mind bogglingly unfitting horseshit) / style elements to help better imply that kind of fluff is supposed to be there and fits with the narrative, but ff net's not gonna add CSS / HTML styling any time soon; if i wanted that kinda stuff i'd have to host everything myself but then no one would find it and i couldn't monetize the website 'cause fanfiction and wah wah wah

BUT i'm writing this for myself and for the few who're / who will be interested, and to hash out a relatively more "serious" story, so everyone else's gonna have to live with it - w - i STAND BY MY super weird formatting system

although if i made another story someday i'd probably leave it out, especially if it wasn't gonna be a monolithic run like my current fics, it'd really depend

for this one it also especially makes sense because sendai is going through a power/skill progression and there's really no harm in having it since, at its most basic, you can just kinda ignore it and the fluffy guff and nothing is lost

also it needn't be said but that stuff doesn't fly in books for print and other consistency reasons; fanfiction lets ya _experiment_

THAT SHOULD BE ENOUGH META-RANTING NOW

i just proofread this chapter (maybe again i forget) and man it holds up really well still, holy shit

there's a few places where i'd like to slow down and maybe refine how sendai interprets some things but otherwise it's pretty swell; i say "i'd like to" because i can't really like-... what i wanna do with it feels vague at the moment, so i think as it is now it feels pretty complete

so yeah!

as always, see you next time!


	20. Harder than Steel

-+- _Tsukiko Hakurei's Perspective_ -+-

 _Glu- glu- glu- glug._ Now at the counter, Sendai had her glass filled again. _'Fuckin' finally…!'_

They were in the Golden Grin, and Sendai had chugged from Kasen's box of a hundred medicines. Right now, they were at a counter to the left and far away from the entrance, in the club's back.

"Um…" Rinnosuke cringed next to her. "Tsukiko-"

"Aawh- c'mon, _Kh- Kourin!"_ Sendai beamed at him, as he stood levelly next to her. "Ya jus' got a _girl!_ Get _shmashed!_ Li- like, c'mon-... when _yhou_ were a kid- you _lhoved it!"_

"I-... was also not as learned, or reserved, as I am now." He returned, gaze even… "Also- I probably _especially_ shouldn't get dead-drunk after just meeting a girl."

...Aina gave him a smug look, while playing with her big fluffy ponytail. "I mean… I wouldn't _mi~nd…"_

"Especially not around her." He began to grin…

"Pft- hah! _"_ Sendai found the exchange worth a good laugh, and a slap against the bar counter.

 _WHA- CRACK!_ Her slap upon the top of it left a hand mark in the marble. The blue-haired cat man manning it winced at the noise and the impact…

"Um. Dude…" He gingerly reached his hand out… "Maybe you've like, had enough…"

' _Wh- hey!'_ Sendai shot him a huge grin. ' _Aw, 'course…'_

" _Cat ears!"_ Sendai blurted. "S'my first _ghoddamn drink_ since ghettin' _whacked-_ an' I ain't lettin' you shit on it! I'm payin' _mhon- money hehre!"_

Aina poked her shoulder. "Um, technically on _bar tabs,_ so you're not…!"

...Sendai gave her a rambunctious look. "Eh- _hic-_ even-... better!"

 _WHA- WHAM- CR- CRIK…_ Sendai slammed her arms into the counter, cracking the black marble tops. " _Sake~!"_

...Shifting his gaze, the cat man moved next to a black coat-clad fox girl, who was standing nearby. "Um-... get somebody?"

She bowed at him. "Security and boss?"

...Impatient with the service, Sendai made an exaggerated pose onto the counter with her elbow-

 _WHABAM!_ The damage from her smacks spiderwebbed further across the countertop. "Fhuckin-... shitty _service_ 'round here. Aa- Aina- can't _yhou_ serve ush drinks…"

Aina smiled awkwardly at her. "Eheh-... um, where'd you get that idea from? Last time I served ya- I just had kitty there do it for me, yeah!"

' _Aw, shit…'_ Sendai shook her head at the bottles ahead. ' _Fuckin'-... youkai bartenders. Why'd they let youkai bartend. Who thought that was a good idea- who. Wait- when the fuck'd we hire youkai for jobs…'_

" _Yo~!"_ Sendai hollered for no reason. "Youkai ca~t!" She sighted the blue-haired cat man again. "Whoo~...! Who- fhuckin' hired yer _skinny ass..._ "

"That would be me."

...Sendai lurched her head to the side.

A nine-tailed fox stood there, her tails gold, with white at their tips. "...I understand that one of our business associates has treated you unfairly… but, that is no excuse to exploit the trust we place in our customers."

...Marcus came up behind Sendai, and whispered to her. "Hey- _Tsukiko…!_ Y'may wanna pack things up!"

...She gave him an uneven, wry look. " _Wa~i._ Whah- you scared 'a gettin' tipsy…? I- I mhean-... damn, ya look old fer _forty somethin'._ Jus' tha- the other day, I remember ya in yer youth, Marc-..."

"Please." The tall, imposing fox woman in white gave Sendai a bow. "I please ask you all to leave, for today."

' _...Are you fucking serious. Fox-tailed piece of shit… 'course she runs a gamblin' bar thing house...'_

"What-... what if I _don't dho that."_ Sendai smiled at her, and began smiling wider… "He- hehehe. Yhou can't do _shit_ to me. Unlessh- ya can just _hurt humans_ in tha' village… then like, fuck the village…"

The woman snorted. "...Well, you _are_ right. It is company policy: the customer is king."

"Heh." Sendai liked the sound of that. "How 'bouta 'notha bottle 'a sake then, miss 'customer king'...? Promish I'll be on ghood behavia…"

...The woman slid back on her feet, seemingly not moving at all. Fox-tailed woman in black suits with black sunglasses came out behind her. "Security-..."

"Um, hey." Kasen stepped up to the scene. "Tsukiko, here." She plopped another sake bottle down on the counter.

"Hoo~, shit!" Sendai nabbed it immediately. "Thank ya~!"

"...Kasen?" The white-blue wearing fox girl blinked.

"Hello, Ran." Kasen gave her a wave. "...Um, please forgive Tsukiko here. I let her drink from the box, and, you know…"

"...A- ah." Ran let her mouth hang open, for a moment. "Rea-... really? You- let a _Hakurei_ drink from the _box?"_

Kasen snorted. "I- I mean, yeah! It _seemed_ like a good party trick!"

"...If this is some passive-aggressive stunt, I won't be happy." Ran frowned at her.

"Who do you take me fo~r." Becoming a little indignant, Kasen waved her speculation off. "I'm being honest, here."

"...Ha~h." Ran sighed. "Well, it's happened before. And, yes, Aina, you and your _guests_ here are exempt from debt due to the collective assault you've suffered."

' _I- I missed booze…'_ Sendai took in the sheer beauty of the glowing lights and loud noise, as she sipped gently from the bottle. ' _Fer some reason- it feels like it's been so long… hehehe- pro'lly 'cause it has…'_

"He- hehehe…" Sendai giggled to herself. "Hic…!"

"Well, please make your stay short?" Ran hopefully suggested. "...Um, security dismissed."

...The various fox girls took off their imposing sunglasses and sulked as they left.

' _Short? Aah…'_ Sendai frowned at the idea, looking Ran over again… ' _Short…'_

"Yer tails-..." Sendai gazed into their fur.

...Ran raised a brow. "Mmm?"

"Lemme pet 'em." She gained a playful glare… "An' I'll _think_ 'bout it…"

...Smiling a little, Ran shifted her tails closer, and Sendai stuck her hand in.

' _Oh my god.'_ Sendai felt at ease with the world. ' _I was right. Soft…'_

 _Thunk!_ Sendai let her stool fall away, as she moved forward to leap into the tails. "Ye- _yeah!_ So soft!"

"Wh- what…!" Ran suddenly looked disgruntled, and disheveled. "Stop- _stop-_ you- aah- mmh…"

Sendai had succeeded, lying atop the big tuft of nine gentle tails...

' _I could fall asleep here…'_ Sendai couldn't believe how fluffy it all was. ' _If you made a bed out of these-... oh my go~d. Man. If only nine-tailed foxes weren't so goddamn strong…'_ Then, she thought it over. ' _Wh- wait, if ya-... hrrmh, s'pro'lly more complicated- than cuttin' the tails off, 'cause it'd stop bein' soft after that.'_

 _thump._ Ran deposited her on the floor, by flourishing her tails. "Your time's up."

"He- hehehe…" Sendai giggled happily from the floor. "Yer fuckin' _soft…_ an' _shexy…_ "

...Ran gave Kasen an exhausted look, and Kasen simply smiled back.

Rinnosuke exhaled. "...Tsukiko. You're kind of making a scene."

" _Fhuck_ yhou… Kouri~n." Sendai moaned from the floor. "If thish wash a _week_ ago- we'd _all_ be makin'-... makin' a shene. Yhou and Keine- breakin' bottles on each otha's heads- heheha~! Damn- Keine's ghotta hard head…!"

' _Man- bet they don't beat eachother wit' bottles anymore, the fuckin' boring-...'_

"Nnh…" Getting up off the floor, Sendai swayed about as she stood. "Hehehe-... aa- aaw, remember, Marc- Marc-...!" She got Marcus's attention. "Last week! Er- not quite-... last weekish ago- remembher when Keine ghot _so smashed,_ an' we fuckin' _headbutted eachother so hard-_ an'-... an' I broke 'er ribs by accident, but I _won that!"_

 _Sendai remembered Essence of Brawling!_

Marcus grinned. "That was _twelve years ago_ , Tsukiko…! That was like- actually, _no,_ that was way before! Ya didn't even have Reimu at that time!

' _...Wh- whaht the fak.'_ Sendai gave him the most uneven, dubious look to express her confusion. ' _Wait- oh yeah. Got that other drinkup session mixed wit' that one…'_

"Aa- aah, yeah…" Sendai nodded, at that…

She realized she wasn't sitting down anymore. ' _Ah, shit.'_

Kasen hummed. "Hmmhmm. Maybe we _should_ go."

Rinnosuke faced her. "And, unleash Tsukiko on the world?"

Sendai suddenly liked this idea. "Ehe- y'know! Tha- that might be a ghood idea! Oh, shit!"

' _Oh- oh, man- what if we run inta more of those-... dumb maidens, or dumb drugged boys? I wanna put someone in a wall!'_

"Um. You _know…"_ Aina began to speak up, winding herself up for some reason as she began speaking. "I've got this _other_ friend who works at this club-... and, she used to _really_ like fighting, too. I'm thinkin' I should introduce ya two!"

Ran eyed her oddly for a moment, before becoming casual again.

"Oo- oh, tha' so…?" Sendai beamed at her. "Show me!"

Pumping herself up as she stood, Sendai inhaled… then, she exhaled. "I whanna _meet 'er!"_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Aina walked Sendai just across the club, away from the others. "Alright, lemme unload some shit on ya, while yer too drunk ta remember shit."

"Whah…" Sendai looked at her vaguely. "Tha' fuck's yer friend…?"

"Near us." Aina gestured ahead to some tables. "But uh, here's the deal… I'm gonna need yer help wit' somethin'."

"If ya want me ta fuck a dude, I'm gonna fuck _you, wi-_ wit' a _table."_ Sendai threatened her.

Aina gave her a big thumbs-up. "Nope! But that's the kinda pissed-off energy I wanted ta see! Y'see- I'm thinkin' you might _jog her memory…_ "

"Tha' _fuck."_ Sendai grinned big. "If anyone needsh- memory joggin'... ish me!"

"Yeah okay- but-..." Aina shook her head. "Anyway! Here's the thing: she was like-... she and Tsuruko worked in the same house, hear me? Their families shared the place, but they worked at different shrines, so they were kinda buddy-buddy between everything. This girl, uh, Tatsuako, used to be real big on fightin'."

"...An', she losht interest?" Sendai figured. "Happens…"

"Well, no." More gingerly this time, Aina shook her head again. "When the little shrines here fell, and we all became part 'a this big project bullshit, she got fucked up _hard._ I- I mean, c'mon, see what I mean…"

' _...Whah.'_ Sendai didn't get it, but she felt like moving, so she followed her.

They came to a nearly empty booth near the back-right of the club.

"Good afternoon, Aina, mistress." Seated there was a black-haired girl with two long twintails. Her gaze was immensely tired, with visible rings under her eyes. "Another special client today?"

Leaning closer to her, Aina clarified. "Nah, Tatsua-chan. I got a big mean drunk girl ta beat you the fuck up."

Tatsuako blinked. "...Oh, I see. Abuse play…?"

Stepping back, Aina huffed. "No! A brawl! Put yer fuckin' dukes up, Tatsua-chan! She's a _vicious ass drunk!"_

...Tatsuako frowned at her, and bowed as best she could while seated. "I'm sorry, but that is not in my contract, Aina-chan."

Grinning intensely, Aina leaned across the booth table. "Listen here ya lanky motherfucker- I didn't nearly get my skull fucked and ass fired today tryina' net a hubby fer nothin'! Things are finally happening! S'yer time to be _free again!_ Go for the village fightin' title, or whatever ya used ta do!"

"And I'm telling you it's not in my contract, Aina-chan." Tatsuako mechanically shook her head. "...I need to learn more, about being an adult. Fighting will not endear me to men, nor to mistress Tsuruko."

"You _stupid motherfucker…!"_ Aina grinned so hard her cheeks hurt. "I will drag yer ass kickin' an' screamin' into the street, I swear ta fuck…!"

Sendai giggled. "He- hehehe…! Da- damn. Li- like… wow!"

...Aina gave her a vague look in return. "Yer not helpin, Tsuki-whatever-chan."

Tatsuako spoke plainly. "Please only bring me clientele, Aina-chan. You know I am not for hostess work."

 _thump._ Ramming her elbows on the table, Aina glowered at her. "Tatsuako- didn't ya see me _punch the fuck_ outta that bitch, up there…!? Or- well-..." She smiled. "I didn't get ta see wha' _Kourin_ did ta her, but yeah! She's not _invincible!_ She's not the boss of your life! You can be _free!"_

"I trust my sister more than anyone." Tatsuako closed her eyes. "People should remember that. She knows so much more about the world, than I do. I bear a debt I can never repay. And yet, I have to try with my body. It's the least I can do for her."

... _bap!_ Aina tried slamming her fists on the table, but hurt them instead. "Ow- fuck… fuck-..."

Sendai snorted. "He- hahah… here, lemme do it fer ya-"

 _KABAM!_ Sendai practically punched her fists down into the wood table. On impact, it shattered, coming apart into fragments.

Tatsuako stared with wide eyes, as table parts fell into her lap. "Aa- aah…"

" _Hic-..."_ Sendai lost focus for a moment, before reveling in the girl's shock. "Aah-... sh- sho- yer a fighter, huh? _Were_ a fighter, a' least…"

...The girl didn't answer, still staring up at Sendai with vague surprise.

"...I bet ya _suck."_ Sendai gave the best insult she could think up, right now. "...Yehah. Take _that."_

Aina patted on Sendai's blue apron. "She fights-... well, I think!" She spoke quieter to Sendai. "Yh- you know how ta fight, yeah? I've uh, never seen ya actually fight yet- _so I'm takin' a risk here,_ but..."

" _Hah!"_ Sendai let out the big laugh. "Do- _dho_ _I~..._ know h- how ta _fight!?_ S'- ss~- s'almost _fightin' words_ of itself- _dho I know how ta fight-_ hah!"

...Frowning, the girl stood up. "You're nothing." She glared up at Sendai, all of a sudden. "All that strength means _nothing._ Strength means _nothing."_

Sendai beamed greedily. "Oo- _ooh…!?"_

 _Cla- clack._ Getting up, Tatsuako stomped over the table's fragments, revealing herself to be fairly medium-sized, but still a head shorter than Sendai, which seemed to be the trend.

Tatsuako was dressed in a black and white maid outfit, with some mint accents, with white, complex heels. There was a tiny bandolier of condoms around her right leg, and mint-colored lollipops around her left.

"I'll make this quick…" She held up her fists, taking combat posture. "This drunkard wouldn't stand a _chance,_ against mistress Tsuruko. Within the reality I've been shown, physical power has no ability or place!"

"Oo- _oh!?"_ Sendai was overjoyed. "Is- is it a _fight!?_ Dho- yhou wanna _fight!?"_

...Tatsuako's expression was flat. "Of course. I'll dispose of you like _trash_ , and get back to doing what I must."

-+- _Vs. Tatsuako Toma, Artificial Hakurei Project, Golden Grin Pleasure Specialist, Former Bronze-tier Human Village Unarmed Combat Champion -+-_

 _Cr- cra- crack._ Tatsuako cracked her fingers simply by articulating her hands, her whole body laxing, all of a sudden.

Sendai closed her eyes. ' _Wh- what was it again-... oo- oh yeah, the light, where that holy shit is…'_ She searched her mana and her being, for her holy energy…

" _Hmph!"_ She found it, her mana bringing it all out at once. She was too drunk to register the initial pain of the crackling, bubbling holy energy as it roared out from within herself.

 _CRA- CRACK!_ She stomped in place, and the floor under her cried out at her weight, damage creaking across the black outer carpet of the casino...

Tatsuako's frown hardened at the holy shell which pulsed and bobbed unevenly around Sendai's form; random juts and awkward extensions randomly coming and going, her clothes and hair jittering mysteriously and very, very weirdly.

' _Ooh yes…!'_ Sendai held her arms out, reveling in the numb feeling. ' _I~'m so drunk!'_

Her whole body swayed and shuddered, as she propped her arms to her sides, tightening her biceps, as well as her abdomen. "Hehehe~h…! _Hiht me!"_

Aina stood away from the booth, hands to her mouth.

"So be it." Tatsuako was unfazed by the show of force.

 _THU- THU- THUNK!_ She came onto Sendai gradually, trails of amber following her own sliding strikes into Sendai's stomach.

 _WHO- THUNK- WHO- THUNK!_ She unleashed two grand, great overhead jabs, ramming them into Sendai's shoulderplates.

 _WHAM!_ A slow palm met Sendai in the side of her gut, the force of the thrust making her hair blow wildly.

But, with each blow Sendai took, she only flinched in place, her root in the ground growing tighter and tighter, even as her body shook.

" _Mhy turn!"_ Eyes wide, Sendai unleashed herself.

 _PAP!_ She lunged an arm forward when she stopped awaiting attacks, meeting the collar of Tatsuako's maid dress.

"Rgh- aaa…" Tatsuako grabbed onto the arm, and twisted it. She even succeeded, a sickening crack emitting from Sendai's arm, but she kept pulling-

 _woosh._ With a single arm pull, she tossed Tatsuako clear over herself. "Aa-...

 _Thud!_ Behind her, Tatsuako met the ground on her back hard. " _Unh._ Nngh…"

Eyes wide, Sendai searched the booth before herself, before beaming. ' _Yes…!'_

" _Nnn~...!"_ Her body involuntarily let out a yell. " _Hra~h!"_ She lifted the entire booth couch. The whole, C-shaped couch was raised into the air, cushions falling off of it, as amber energy billowed off of her body like a storm.

Tatsuako's jaw dropped. "Wh- what the... _!"_

Aina ran up. "Holy _fucking shit-_ chill the fuck out! Oh my god…!"

" _Hroo~gh!"_ Sendai could only drop it in Tatsuako's direction.

 _KABAM- BOOM- KATHUNK- CRACK!_ On impact with the floor, the humongous couch shattered into a storm of wood, smaller parts rebounding into shrapnel which flew off into the rows of slot machines, and over various guest tables.

The fucking massive impact was mostly for show, however, because it didn't even hit Tatsuako, it just made her flinch violently from witnessing the raw impact.

"I'll-... stop you!" Standing aside the impact, she swallowed a mouthful of saliva, sprinting up to Sendai-

 _WHAM!_ She met Sendai's stomach with a great palm again, forcing her to eject saliva. " _Ghe."_ Sendai merely let out an empty noise at the impact.

" _Rrgh!"_ Already, Sendai gave up on trying to grab her again, and just flailed an arm out, for an almighty, lunging left hook that made her nearly fall over with it.

 _WHUNK!_ It met Tatsuako's side, but she brushed off the might of the ramming attack. "Enh- what a worthless-"

Sendai used both arms this time, her left flailing back into place as she threw a mighty right hook this time-

 _WHU- WHUNK!_ Both plowed straight across Tatsuako's body, and she recoiled hard at the implacable attacks. "Aaa- _fuck-"_

Sendai snapped her whole body forward, right arm whipping ahead as she plowed her left arm down in an overhead thrust, whole body roaring with violent, orange energy.

 _KRAWHAM- KRAWHAM!_ The right flailing motion took away Tatsuako's attempt at guarding, and the downward overhead thrust met her stomach with the greatest, destructive force.

 _Thud!_ Tatsuako was hit so hard, she rebounded off the floor, suspended in the air before Sendai. " _Khh-"_

Sendai hunched over, and just threw her entire body forward, twin spirals of amber accenting the raw absolute state of her most hype, thoughtless attack. ' _Yeaa~h! Oh- shit!'_ She also fell onto her head, rolling forward. ' _Woah!'_

 _THOOM!_ " _Hwu- aah- hua~h!"_ The impact of Sendai's head against Tatsuako's stomach sent her flying the fuck away.

 _BAM!_ Tatsuako's back hit a slot machine. " _Nghk- kaugh…!_ Oo- aanh…"

 _thud._ Softer, she fell to the floor, ending up on her arms. "Wh- what the _fuck…"_

Rolling back onto her feet after a few clumsy seconds, Sendai got up, and stomped up to her. "He- _heheheh!_ Wha- whah was _that!?_ C'mo~n!"

Next to them, Aina held her arms out, waving them around. "Dude- chill out- holy _shit!_ Ho- hoholy _crap!_ You'll fucking break her _bones!"_

 _CLACK, CLACK, CLACK._ While Tatsuako tried to get up, Sendai rounded her, getting around back of her…

Reaching down, she tugged on Tatsuako's leg with both arms, pulling her for a few meters. Then, she stopped, and _craned_ her arms in, pulling Tatsuako up and over herself entirely.

 _THU- THUD!_ She slammed Tatsuako down into the floor on the other side of herself, dust blooming out from the carpet that even the cleaners couldn't catch normally. " _Gfu~hk!"_

 _Woosh!_ Sendai tugged again, swinging her back the other way. "Haha _ha~! Yea~h!"_

 _THU- THUD!_ Tatsuako hit the other part of the carpet again. " _Aa- anh…"_

 _Woosh!_ She just kept going, swinging Tatsuako over herself again entirely. "I- _cahn't believe this is working!"_

 _THU- THUD!_ Tatsuako met another familiar patch of carpet again, blood splaying across it this time. "Uu- u…" She was dying.

 _BAM!_ Kasen's fist met the side of Sendai's head.

 _thud._ Sendai was blown over instantly. " _Nghk-..."_

 _Sendai obtained Super Pretzel._

 _Sendai learned Drunkards' Secret (Mean Drunk)_.

"C'- c'mon…" Sendai flailed her arms, caught in Kasen's grasp. "I- I wh- gh… I whanna _clothesline 'er!_ Dr- drop kick! I- I'mh-... noht even _half done yet!"_

 _Pap!_ Kasen slapped her, but Sendai didn't feel it. "Teaching you that holy enchantment was a mistake…!"

...Tatsuako lied on the floor, holding her ribs, crying. "Aa- it- it hurts…"

"Oh my god- Tatsua-chan…!" Aina kneeled next to her. "Holy shit! Aa- don't go into the light! How many fingers am I holding up!?" She held up her middle finger before her. "Light is ba~d! No light for Tatsua-cha~n!"

Rinnosuke marched up, holding another potion. "Ge- get outta the way- let me-..." He had to push Aina out of the way.

' _...Fuck.'_ Sendai wanted to destroy. ' _Rrgh. I wanna take the next shithead I see and crush their crotch over my knee. Or- or lift them up- and like, slam 'em head first into the earth so fucking hard it'll be like I'm tryin'a add mass!'_

" _Come o~n!"_ Sendai yelled. "Fi- fight, fight more- fight- mmh…"

Marcus telekinetically shoved a super pretzel into her mouth. "That'll sober ya up…!"

"Mmr- mmgh…" Sendai chewed on it viciously for a moment, before chilling out… "Mmh…"

' _...It's-... it's good…'_ Sendai suddenly felt immensely hungry.

"There." Kasen spoke. "I dispelled your enchantment."

...Suddenly, the bodily exertion of everything caught up with Sendai. ' _Oo- ooh… I- I… my arm- oh...'_

She slumped in Kasen's grasp, shutting her eyes. ' _Wh- why-... why pain-... why do you exist, pain…? Fuck. You- you can't clothesline pain...'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

After Rinnosuke burned through another potion, Tatsuako now stood slightly bruised. "Aa- Aina… where did you _find_ her? She fights like no human. _"_

Aina grinned widely, standing near her. "I- I didn't know she was _that_ fuckin' strong! Like-... I'm _kinda glad_ I didn't go through wit' fightin' her, now!"

"You- wanted to _what…?"_ Tatsuako gave her a vain look. "Aina-chan, you'd _die._ She's _actually_ just an oni…"

"Actually." Kasen patted Sendai's back. "This shrine maiden is one hundred percent human."

"Yh- yheah…"Sendai wasn't particularly paying attention, because she really liked her super pretzel. "How ya think I had _Reimu,_ ah…?"

...Aina blinked. "Wh- wait… you- _had_ Reimu? As in-..."

Tatsuako snorted. "Aina-... wh- what did you _do?_ I had thought- that you brought me another worthless challenger, to annoy me-... but this time, you brought someone not worth fighting. Where'd you even _find_ her. _"_

"I dunno~..." Now somewhat staggered, Aina stumbled back for a moment, losing her own balance… "Everything's _fucky_ when Tsuruko's involved…"

' _Reimu's nice…'_ Sendai went back to nibbling on her pretzel. _'Where is she… oo- oh, right, at the shrine… I wanna go to the shrine.'_

"We should ghet Reimu _drunk_ next time we see 'er." Sendai beamed, before freezing. "Wa- _hol' on…_ she likes drinkin', right?"

"Almost as much as you." Rinnosuke provided. He stared at the completely ruined booth somewhat mourningly…

' _Aa- aw, kick ass!'_

Kasen raised her brows, worried. "I dread to think what these two would get up to while drunk _together._ "

"Y'know…" Marcus gave a wry look to Aina and Tatsuako. "What was the point 'a all this, anyway…!?"

...Pouting, Aina stalked towards a pile of rubble, and sat awkwardly on the edge of it. It was a mountain of table fragments and broken couch pieces. Soon, she found a cushion, and propped it under her butt. "Mmh. Well-... Tatsua-chan _needs_ help."

"Nn- no, I _don't._ " Tatusako looked back at her. "You-... I'm doing what I need to do, to have a place in this world."

"No, you're not!" Aina yipped back at her. "Yer just havin' _sex,_ and I'd know a thing or two about sex! Tsuruko put ya here for a _reason!_ "

"Yes, she did. It was so that I could learn more about the world." Tatsuako frowned at her. "...I was being childish. I need to learn subservience, and submission."

...Becoming aggressive, Aina met Sendai's gaze. "I think we might need ta give her another once over."

Sendai began to move, but Kasen grabbed onto the back of her cloth apron. "No, don't."

"Strength means nothing." Tatsuako folded her arms. "Tsuruko will make sure I'm living on the top. She's smart, and she cares about me."

Standing from her seat- her cushion sliding down the rubble pile in her absence- Aina hurried up to her, and latched onto her shoulders. "Yeah, an' she's also lying unconscious on a dance floor 'cause she tried to homicide me for _no reason."_

"Y'know…" Sendai spoke up. "Yer punches didn't _look_ -... awful. I couldn't feel shit, bhut-..."

Tatsuako gave a simple frown. "Because you're like an oni. There's nothing to it, for you. I bet you've never fought a skillful fight in your life."

Sendai tried to move again, but Kasen tightened her grip on the back of her shirt. "I said _no."_

"Wait, no…" Aina furrowed her brows. "...Reimu's mom, you can like, _use a different fighting style,_ right? I know Tsuruko can, but..."

...Sendai blinked. "Aa-... well, shomething like that."

Kasen let her go. Standing up, Sendai cracked her neck, then her knuckles. ' _Alright-...'_

"Different fighting style?" Holding her arms up again, Tatsuako frowned. "...Few individuals have the competence for such a thing. Nor do people fight often enough for that to make sense."

"Wh- whell…" Sendai raised her own arms, posturing herself. "Whant another _round?"_

Suddenly there, Ran put a hand on Sendai's shoulder, from behind. "You two are taking this sort of thing _outside._ "

' _Wh- oh shit-'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

The cold air outside met Sendai's senses like a wall. ' _Oh, man…'_ Still, alcohol pumped through her veins. ' _What a kickass day!'_

Tatsuako had abandoned her heels, walking around on the semi-snowy ground in mint-and-black striped stockings. Her bandoliers were missing random condoms and lollipops, and she'd wrapped some spare stockings around her fists as wrappings…

Nearby, Marcus and Rinnosuke looked casual at the snowy road's edge, and Kasen had her arms on her hips. Eventually, she began to lean towards Rinnosuke, looking down at the book he idly had open.

Sendai took in the airy, full sky. ' _Ye~s…'_

"Alright…!" Aina stood between the girls. "Um, Reimu's mom, don't go super hulk on her and smash her teeth, an' uh… fight different, I guess!"

...Sendai stared up at the full sky, and took in the refreshing, gritty mess that was the snowy village around her. ' _I love this feeling…'_

"So…" Feeling happy, Sendai began to question the maid-dressed Tatsuako. "What made you give up fighting?"

Tatsuako emitted tired energy. "It never helped me. It won't help me keep my family happy, and just fighting will never teach me about the world."

"...Pro'lly coulda helped you not get tossed 'round like a goddamn ragdoll." Sendai argued. "I _still_ wanna clothesline ya, but…"

"If you really want _another round,_ fine." Tatsuako exhaled. "...This time, there will have to be stakes. I have a client in two hours, and he won't be happy if I'm already worn out before he gets to me."

' _...So? Stakes…?'_

They stared down one another, for a good few seconds, ten to twenty meters away from one another.

"Wha' kinda stakes we talkin'..." Sendai leaned a little too far to the right, and had to correct herself. "...We talkin' _steak?"_

 _Cra- crack._ Ignoring her, Tatsuako cracked her fingers without connecting her fists with one another.

"...You know." She looked over Sendai's body, and began to smile. "With constitution and drive like yours, you could make a lot of people happy."

Grinning happily, Sendai snorted. "Tha- thash one helluva loaded shtatement..."

"Of course…" Reaching down, Tatsuako drew a condom and a lollipop from her bandoliers, holding them so that they'd eclipse her disheveled, black twintails. "I say this, because you could make great talent. You'd be especially great for the _rowdier_ guys, with all your _fluff,_ and those muscles…"

...Sendai took pause, for a moment. Her thoughts bounced the idea around. ' _She wants me ta be a hooker-... and- just, throw away my-...'_

In this moment, her mind worked like a pachinko machine. ' _Hooker-... sex-... get toyed with-...'_

Her ball of thought went down the hole at the bottom of the board. _'She- she'd have me throw away-... Keisuke.'_ Her fists tightened.

"Unlike you, I'm not willing to throw away my shense of pride fer money." Slowly, the start of a bad mood began to infectiously ebb across Sendai's mind… "I- I've gotta hushband, y'know- and a _daughter,_ and the very fuckin' idea of that shit _pisses me off._ "

...Tatsuako appeared put off, and somewhat regretful. "Oo-... oh. I- I should've realized- Aina did call you 'Reimu's mother'. I, um, revoke my offer, then. I mean- if I won here, I was planning on-... _forcing_ you into joining, too, but-... um, we don't need to fight-"

"Thah just _pisses me off even more!"_ Sendai began to stomp towards her. "I'd _never_ givhe up- my way 'a life, just for it ta be _easier!"_

"I didn't know you had a _family!"_ Tatsuako tossed the lollipop and condom away, and raised her arms. "Look, I get you! We can just forget about-"

 _Cru- cru- crunch!_ Sendai ran across the snow, coming towards her.

She raised her arms to try and interrupt her oncoming assault, but Sendai leapt from the floor once she was close enough.

 _WHAM!_ She threw both legs forward, azure, dark energy flaring off of them. " _Rra~h!"_ She'd unleashed a flying dropkick onto Tatsuako's stomach.

-+- _Vs. Tatsuako Toma, Artificial Hakurei Project, Golden Grin Pleasur_ _e Specialist, Former Bronze-tier Human Village Unarmed Combat Champion -+-_

Receiving the impact, Tatsuako stumbled back in the snow. "Rr- rgh… stop _hitting me!"_

Sendai stumbled, as she shifted back onto her feet. "Fu- fuckin'... make me." She had her arms up, black energy trailing over her fingers, loose azure flooding from her tight, simple black arm sleeves.

 _WAPAP!_ Tatsuako swiped a whole, amber energy-coated arm towards her, rolling them over Sendai's forearms.

 _WHAM!_ She tried to meet Sendai with a powerful palm to the stomach again, but Sendai sacrificed a bruise to her own right arm to stop it.

 _Whap- whack!_ Lunging ahead after that, Sendai put her whole body into a left hook, then a right, meeting her face with each fist. ' _Heh- hahah! Fucking-'_

" _Hnn~gh!"_ Spinning around off the momentum of Sendai's blows, Tatsuako turned around, and slowly extended an arm back, a gust of orange air flaring off her body as she lashed out.

 _WHACK!_ The backward swiping blow had much more force than it seemed, Sendai's whole body rippling from its impact. " _Nn- nnrgh…"_

 _PAP!_ Sendai bounced back after the body-shuddering blow, using her momentum to jab her fingers into the back of Tatsuako's neck. " _Gotchaah!"_

"Kh- ah…" The blow forced Tatsuako to rotate back around, facing Sendai to avoid any new surprise attacks-

 _pap, pap._ Her arms stopped Sendai's simple, brutal hooks towards her-

 _Pap!_ When Sendai threw her third hook, Tatsuako grabbed the arm, and raised it. ' _Oh- hey!'_

 _PAP- WHAM- BAM- PAP- WAP!_ With it raised, she pounded her remaining fist into Sendai's stomach repeatedly, and with surprising velocity, landing a stream of repetitive blows. ' _Wha- what the fuck-'_

 _SLAP!_ She brought the arm up along the bottom of Sendai's chin, tilting her back with an open-handed, grazing movement. ' _Oh- shit-'_

 _WHAM!_ She thrust her whole body into Sendai. " _Hrrh!"_

 _Crunch!_ Sendai rolled back, into the snow. ' _Alright- let's get back-'_ She began to climb up on her limbs, trying to stand again.

 _WHACRUNCH!_ Sliding down into a kneel with certain velocity, Tatsuako hooked her fist straight down into Sendai, pinning her into the floor with one strike. "Hgh- kaugh…!"

 _Kri- kra- krack…!_ From Tatsuako's form, amber, yellowish energy seemed to burn and smoke, rolling off her body. Her teeth gritted, and she took a strange posture, both of her arms shaking. "This is the _end…"_

 _Cru- cru- crunch!_ Sendai fought onto her legs, body shaking, because she felt like she was out of air. ' _That-... that was some punch, actually-...'_

She looked back in the direction of Tatsuako. ' _Um…!'_ Tatsuako was coming at her.

Sendai tried to move back, but found herself against the Golden Grin's exterior wall. ' _Well, shit- let's-'_

 _Fwish!_ She jerked her muscles, and slid ahead, the snow helping her trace the air just aside an incoming jab.

 _KABOOM!_ Tatusako's jab met the brick wall of the Golden Grin.

...Sendai looked along Tatsuako's arm, which was now encased in a cylinder of red, crystalline iron.

The bricks were all shattered, a circle of cracks, falling masonry, and pure impact left on the wall behind Sendai. Her eyes widened.

 _pap._ She pushed Tatsuako away, stumbling back. ' _Why was she so surprised!? I'm not the only one with retarded strength, here!'_

Red, crystal-like gauntlets hung on Tatsuako's arms, and similar armor padded her knees. More plating protected her gut. Her stockings were now completely ripped up, and the lollipops along her bandolier were melting…

 _WOO- WOO- WOOSH!_ As she came towards Sendai, she hooked the air with enough velocity to make it rip, red-orange light trailing each greedy, brazen swing.

' _Those lights remind me of those tops, from earlier…'_ Sendai remembered the show she watched, inside the club. ' _Those attacks- are like the ones Tsuruko used earlier…'_

 _Fwish!_ Sendai slid back again, as Tatsuako unleashed constant, whirring and roaring hooks with both arms, the air before herself a lightshow of force and pain.

"If ya could do _this shit…"_ Sendai glared up at her. "Why didn't ya do it _earlier!?_ Why don't you _do it all the goddamn time!?"_

It was in this moment, that Tatsuako stopped. Wincing, she began stepping back, the light of her magic armor suddenly fading. "I- I…"

 _kri- ki- krack._ The red energy inside herself retracted itself, and the crystalline armor pieces flaked apart, evaporating into magic. "I'm not a fighter… I- I'm not supposed to _fight_ anymore."

 _Pap!_ Lunging for her, Sendai grabbed her by the collar.

 _WHUNK!_ She cleaved her other arm's fist into Tatsuako's upper chest, practically pulling her into the blow. " _Nhk-"_

 _CRUNCH!_ When she rebounded from the blow, Sendai did it again, pulling Tatsuako into her punch. Reeling herself back, Sendai gritted her teeth, and latched onto her with both arms-

 _WHACRUNCH!_ She smashed her head into Tatsuako's nose. A perfect crescendo of blood splayed into the air after the impact, Tatsuako falling back in an arc which was almost perfectly curved.

 _Thud._ Tatsuako flopped back into the snow, tears beginning to well in her eyes. "Nn- nnh…" The blood that rocketed from her nose drew a line in the snow next to her, and along her maid dress.

Sendai stood over her, letting her arms fall limp at her own sides.

Tatsuako seemed to lie there, anticipating another blow, but doing nothing to stop it.

"Wha~ht." Sendai drawled down at her. "What is this _shit._ Yer makin' me wanna _cry,_ here."

...Tatsuako glared up at her.

Aina stood aside their encounter, retaining a cautious distance as she raised her brows at the downed Tatsuako. "C'mon, Tatusa-chan! Stop _giving up!"_

...Tatsuako snorted, at that. She let her eyes close. "...I- I can't ever live the life I used to. What's the point?"

...Sendai frowned down at her. Tatsuako began sobbing. "He-... heheh-... I'm better off _dead…"_

Moving over to the casual observers, Aina tried to rile them up. "Hey- guys! Guys, help me out here!"

"...How." Rinnosuke looked up from a book he was only half-reading. "This isn't really our-"

"Ha~rder, than stee~l!" Aina began cheering from the sidelines. "Har~de~r, than stee~l! C'mon- sing it with me! She was Harder than Steel Tatsuako, a few years ago! She had an iron fist! An iron _jaw!"_

...While she cheered in the background, Sendai kept looming down over the crying girl.

"Pftuh." She really couldn't believe how this had played out. "...Fists like _those_ coulda taken ya to the top."

Tatsuako's eyes flickered open. "Nn- nnh…"

"But, here ya are…" Sendai crouched down, over her. "Lettin' yerself get all swept up in the shit an' the sex. You don't even know what _good sex_ feels like, yet."

' _Y'won't know until you actually get a hubby- and actually love him, too.'_

...Tatsuako's brows twitched, as the tears continued to well.

"My anger and my pain are my greatest pride." Sendai beamed down at her. "What's _yours?"_

"Ha~rder, than stee~l!" Aina was still cheering, in the background. "Steel of the champio~n! Your legend will live o~n!"

...Sendai gave Aina an idle look, as she kept amateurishly singing. "Our sons will sing your so~ng! ...Harder than stee~l!"

...Tatsuako began to lean up, a little. "Nn-..."

"And, yer right." Standing tall again, Sendai leaned back, looking the sky over. "Strength doesn't mean shit. It's strength backed by _soul and technique._ "

Sendai gazed back down at the defeated Tatsuako. She wasn't glaring back up, but she didn't seem to be crying anymore.

' _That look…'_ Sendai stepped back.

 _Shoo- shoof._ Tatsuako lumbered up, from the snow, breathing heavily.

Sendai raised her fists. "We still doin' this, bitch?"

Reaching up, Tatsuako undid her twin-tails. She let back her long, black hair.

"My-... my old fighter's gloves." She seemed to speak to herself, looking down at her hands. "They should-... still be hanging on the wall…"

...Smiling, Sendai cracked her knuckles again.

Tatsuako paid attention to her again, and reached for her own jaw.

 _Cra- crack._ She shifted it left and right, cracking it. "It really has been-... too long."

"Yea~h!" Aina waved her arms in the air, her ponytail billowing in the breeze. "I'll cheer for you like all the girls used to, Tatsua-cha~n!"

-+- _Vs. Tatsuako Toma, Former Bronze-tier Human Village Unarmed Combat Champion * Smooth Fighter Style -+-_

Sendai watched her get ready, in the bright daytime air. "...Has it, now."

Tatsuako frowned deeper at her. "I'm not gonna let someone _like you_ compete for my title without a fight."

' _Hmm?'_ That interested Sendai, a little. ' _What title…?'_

 _Crunch, crunch, crunch!_ Then, Tatsuako ran at her.

 _WOO- WOOSH._ Once she was halfway there, she extended an arm out, before thrusting it up, attempting to catch Sendai's chin like she did before.

 _Fwish!_ This time, Sendai slid aside her. ' _She's really focused on forward attacks…'_ Tatsuako's raw strength made up for her lack of speed, golden light trailing each strange swipe and palm thrust.

 _Whap- whack!_ Once again, Sendai punched for her head, since she'd just awkwardly began attacking forward. ' _Let's get some hits-'_

 _WHUNK!_ All of a sudden, she twisted around, and hooked her left arm into Sendai's stomach with surprising velocity. " _Uuh-_ gh…"

"...Still standing?" Tatsuako raised a brow. "Here!"

 _pap!_ Sendai raised her arm, preventing herself from getting tilted back awkwardly by that left hand's swipe again. ' _Not this time-'_

 _WHAM!_ In response, Tatsuako simply hooked her other arm across Sendai's head.

 _Thud!_ Sendai hit the ground hard. ' _Fuck me-'_

 _WHACRUNCH!_ With once again certain velocity, Tatsuako kneeled, and weaved her other arm into a hook down towards the floor, to smash Sendai upon the snow by her gut.

She stood up straight again. "Hu~h…" Slowly, she adjusted her maid-headdress. "You know, this works alright, fer a headband…"

"Ka- kaugh…" Slowly, Sendai stood up when she was allowed to… "Mrgh."

' _Let's try that grapple attack again…'_

 _WOOSH- WOOSH!_ The moment she was up, Tatsuako slid ahead with two greedy, orange-tinted hooks.

 _Pap!_ When they came short, Sendai lunged in and grabbed onto her, by the collar.

 _Whunk._ Tatsuako pulled on her arm, and kneed her in the stomach. "Gh- huu-"

 _WHACRUNCH!_ She crouched, hooking her arm down into Sendai's back while she cringed.

 _SHOOF!_ Sendai bounced against the snow beneath the two of them, forced onto her stomach, since the knee strike forced her to cringe, which had exposed her back. "Uu- unh…"

"He- heh… stupid bitch." Smiling, Tatsuako brought her foot up, and rubbed it against the back of Sendai's head. "How's _that?_ You like it? _"_

' _Go- god damn, those downward hooks…'_ Each cleaving hook that landed was like a meteor to her back. ' _She packs a fucking punch, alright…'_

Thrusting her arms to slide back, still on the floor, Sendai rolled onto her back, then fought to stand again. "Al- alright-"

Before she could finish her word or fully stand, Tatsuako slid forward.

 _Whap- Whack!_ Flinching into action, Sendai jabbed her fists forward into her head, aiming for her nose and eyes. Each impact actually made Tatsuako recoil. ' _There we go…!'_

Reeling herself back now, she delivered a solid, bodyweight-aided hook forward.

 _WHUNK!_ A shockwave of dark expanded from Tatsuako's stomach, for just a blink. " _Fuu-...!"_ Saliva exploded from her mouth, and she lurched forward…

Sendai moved to grab her by the collar again-

 _WHACRUNCH!_ Tatsuako stood from her lurched position, an uppercut meeting Sendai's jaw and sending her sprawling back.

 _Crunch._ Sendai landed in the snow some meters away. ' _Wo- wow, what the fuck-'_

 _WHACRUNCH!_ Again, Tatsuako cleaved a hook down as she crouched, smashing Sendai stomach, and driving her into the snow. " _Ghk- kaugh, kaugh…!"_

' _...Maybe-... this isn't working.'_ Sendai felt. ' _I can't get a good hit on her. She's not that fast- but, whenever I hit her, she just ignores it, or counter-attacks, and fuck does she hit like a truck...'_

Getting back up, she rubbed the spit from her lips, and took a breath in…

"Done yet?" Tatsuako looked like an entirely different person. "...I- I need to get home and _shower._ "

 _Fwi~sh._ Wind began to curl around Sendai's form, and she stretched her arms a little. "St- still got some fight left in me."

...Tatsuako smiled. "Really? I guess you're good practice."

 _WOOSH!_ Lunging forward, Tatsuako unleashed a mighty, greedy right hook. " _Hyah!"_

 _Fwi- fwish!_ With two quick-step motions, Sendai got aside the blow, then behind her.

 _Pa- pap- pap!_ She drove a left then a right jab into Tatsuako's back, before hitting her in her neck's back. ' _Switching whole ways of controlling myself- is so jarring…'_

 _WOOSH!_ Tatsuako spun around, an arm extended to clip Sendai, but she weaved under it.

 _Pa- whap- pap- pap!_ Sendai kept going, two fists meeting Tatsuako's stomach, then another two meeting her face. ' _Eat this shit-'_

Gritting her teeth from the annoying pain of the jabs, Tatsuako drove her left arm up grandly while Sendai went to town-

 _CRUNCH!_ It smashed into Sendai's ribs. ' _Holy shit- ow- ow-'_

She used the force of being struck to strafe aside Tatsuako, the wind helping her keep her balance. ' _It'd be so shitty- if I had to stop just 'cause one goddamn thing hit me!'_

 _Pa- pap- pap- whap!_ She kept jabbing, stroking a left, a right, then a left and another right into Tatsuako's back.

 _WHACRUNCH!_ Rotating around, Tatsuako drove a heavy, cleaving hook horizontally into Sendai's shoulder "Sit on _tha~t!"_

Sendai crouched from the force, before snapping from the kneel, weaving back in the other direction again as wind flourished out from beneath her. ' _Fu- fuck…!'_

' _Fucking…!'_ The alcohol left in her body boiled, even though every hit that struck her made her recoil like a paper bag. ' _Goddamn i~t!'_

 _Sendai learned Damage Weaving!_

 _Wap- pap- pap- wap!_ Sendai began plunging her jabs into Tatsuako's face again, four alternating blows meeting Tatsuako's cheeks within a second.

 _Whap!_ Her next jab met Tatsuako's stomach, and Sendai stopped attacking. ' _She's about to swing-'_

 _WOOSH!_ Tatsuako threw another cleaving upward hook, but Sendai slid around her in one moment.

 _Slap!_ Sendai connected a slap to the back of her head. Tatsuako stumbled forward. "Wh- what-..." She looked up, looking for Sendai, thinking she'd somehow launched her cartoonishly high, before looking around...

While she was confused, Sendai reeled a fist back. ' _Alright…! Wind, come!'_

 _woosh._ Wind spiralled around Sendai's left arm, as she snapped her whole form ahead for one almighty jab, using all the wind that came to her while she strung together attack after attack. ' _No~w!'_

 _WHUNK._ She connected it with Tatsuako's stomach, as she turned to face Sendai…

 _WOOSH!_ The wind's aid was so great, that Tatsuako was sent flying. "Huua~h!?" She spiralled through the air, mouth agape.

 _Thud- fwi~sh!_ She landed on her legs some distance away, after rebounding off her back. "Aa-... he- heheh…"

 _Kri- kra- krack, fwi~sh!_ From within her body, red energy began to crackle, spreading across her limbs.

 _FWISH, FWISH._ She wielded two red, crystalline gauntlets again upon either arm.

 _Woosh._ Sendai let the wind leave her body. ' _...Let's try something.'_ She had an idea. She cracked her knuckles again, feeling azure energy build up in herself. ' _If this doesn't work, I might be fucked, but…'_

 _THOOM- THOOM- THOOM!_ Tatsuako plowed across the snow towards her. " _Rrgh…!"_

 _WOO- WOO- WOOSH!_ Before Sendai, she sent out three great, cleaving hooks with each limb-

 _KRAFWOOM!_ Then, she leapt into the air, staying suspended for a moment. " _Toka Meteo~r!"_

' _Wh- woah, the fuck-'_ Sendai moved to slide back, away from the blow-

 _KRAK- KRAFWOOM!_ Tatsuako's fist met the ground. Snow exploded up into the air, everywhere.

Sendai fell onto her butt, after sliding back. ' _Holy shit!'_

...When the snow finally settled, Tatsuako lunged out of it, as Sendai stood. " _Hrra-"_

 _pap._ Grabbing Tatsuako's side, Sendai ducked past her newest cleaving hook, and spun around Tatsuako's side at the same time.

' _Keine used this, earlier today…'_

 _WHUNK._ The side of her palm met the back of Tatsuako's neck, near the brain's stem. "Right there."

"Dhu- fuuh…" The blow made Tatsuako become unsteady. "What-..."

 _Fwish!_ In a moment, Sendai slid back before her, riding off the momentum of her sandal's heel to slide a hook right into her gut.

 _WHUNK!_ The blow made Tatsuako reel again. "Ngh…"

 _WOOSH!_ When she snapped up with the same recovery uppercut she used last time, Sendai slid around her side again, putting all her weight on one heel-

 _WHUNK!_ She met Tatsuako's side with another bodyweight-born hook. " _Unghk!"_ This blow made her lurch to the side…

Sendai grabbed her by the collar again… "Co- come on- _ngh-"_

Tatsuako pushed herself into Sendai, the both of them rolling to the floor.

"Uu- ugh…" Tatsuako moved to stand up, and get away from Sendai-

Grabbing onto her arms, Sendai tugged again, pulling her over. Tatsuako ended up on her back, and Sendai straddled her. ' _Nn- now…!'_

 _WHACK! CRUNCH!_ Sendai began to pummel her head into the snow, skillessly using each fist to beat Tatsuako down.

 _WHACK! CRUNCH!_ She got off two more flail-esque punches, before-

 _WHUNK!_ Tatsuako jabbed into her stomach with her red, metal gauntlet.

...They held this position, Sendai's fist to her face, and her gauntlet stuck in Sendai's gut.

 _Sendai learned Youkai Cunning: Harsh Lesson._

"Ha- aah…" Sendai didn't have too much drive to move anymore, now. "Nn- gh…"

"Ff- fhuuh…" Tatsuako exhaled against her hand, which was still held against her cheek. "Yo- you-... fight so much like her… it- it pisses me off..."

...Sendai snorted. "Your-... your hooks-... where the hell'd you learn to throw hooks like _that…"_

"I- I trained…" Tatsuako spoke… "Be- before I was born-... it- it's gonna sound stupid… but, there was-... there was this shrine maiden, who competed in the village tournament-... and kicked everyone's ass…"

Sendai let out a breath, hyperventilating too. "Aa- aah, yeah…?"

"Yeah…" Tatsuako gazed up at the sky. "I-... I wanted to be like her. She was the Hakurei shrine maiden, I heard. It couldn't have been you-... because, you fight like Tsuruko. Not like her."

...Sendai blinked. ' _It was totally me, wasn't it.'_

"But-... even with my rank, and my training…" Tatsuako smiled. "Tsuruko showed me just how better she was at fighting than me. He- hell, I don't know what that _yellow, gold energy_ you used was, but-... you didn't even _use it at all here._ If you did- I woulda just _lost again._ You held back."

...Sendai tried to speak. "Kh- kaugh…"It came out a little rough. "Nghk-... we- well, I only held-... I didn't hold back with my other-... strategies. I went all out, and-... _damn_ , those hooks are _something._ What the-... what the _fuck_ was the punch you used on that _wall,_ too? _"_

She grinned up at Sendai. "I- I don't know, either, actually… I- I haven't done prayer, or my shrine rituals-... ever since we sold our shrine, and I got into-... the sex business."

She looked to the side. "...Aa- and, truth be told, it wasn't entirely bad. But-... there's so much of it I hate, too."

...Sendai let her fist leave her face, and she removed her gauntlet from Sendai's gut.

 _thud._ Sendai fell into the snow beside her. " _Hua~..."_

Tatsuako let herself stare up at the sky, too. "...Ye- yeah."

' _...She's got the steel of a champion, alright.'_ Sendai began to grin… ' _Why does she even have fighter's gloves…? With fuck huge gauntlets like those, she'll never even get her hands dirty.'_

...Rinnosuke stood next to the two of them, his hands in his pockets. "I've only got _one potion left,_ and this doesn't look serious enough to warrant wasting it."

"Hell yeah!" Aina bounded up to them, too. "I'm gonna start pickin' out dudes for you to fight _today,_ Tatsua-chan!"

"Pl- please give me some actual time to recover." Tatsuako gave her a drained look from the floor… "At- at least today…!"

Crouching next to the girls, Marcus spoke next. "Y'know, I was wondering, how _did_ Tsuruko talk ya outta fighting? Ya keep talkin' a big game about her."

...Tatsuako considered this, for a moment, before speaking. "Well… when, um, when we got out of school, she sold our shrines, and our home. I don't even know _how,_ but-... it turned out to be for the best, because the amount of money she got overall from that let her get a job in the village government, so now we have a nice big home. But-... we can't keep living this way on the initial money we made. She volunteered for the Hakurei thing, but for me-... well, fight money's just not enough. Sex sells a lot better."

"You couldn't have, like…" Sendai gave her a vague look. "Become a carpenter? Or, a baker?"

"There was no time." Tatsuako stared up, still. "And, Tsuruko-... sister made it sound so nice. That I'd be meeting nice guys, and getting dates. But, even when I learned the truth-... I- I mean, it felt _good_ still, and we got money out of it. It's not like I can just _stop-..._ "

She began to sit up. "...O- ow. Well-... this was nice. And- Aina, um-..." She looked over at Aina. "As nice of you as it is for you to try and help me like this-... we still need the money to keep our home. Aa- now that I think about it- the client…!" She scrambled, to try and get up-

Marcus stopped her, with his shoe. "...Y'know." He exhaled. "I _could_ foot ya some loan money. To, y'know, get the hell outta that house ya obviously can't keep payin' for. If yer whole family workin's not enough, I _seriously_ doubt yer happy just _havin_ ' a big home, an' no way to splurge any other way."

"But-..." She let out a breath. "Tsuruko said we couldn't do that…"

Marcus raised a brow. "I've got a feelin' that Tsuruko dunno her ass from a boot. Which is ta say, _I dunno why not,_ and trust me, I know our money laws!"

"Aa- are you implying she's _lying…"_ Tatsuako looked tired, again. "I'm tired of people bad-mouthing her, just because she works for the village…"

...Marcus gave her an intense smile. "Not ta _burst yer bubble, kid,_ but u~h…!"

' _So fucking weird…'_ The implications of this conversation struck Sendai as strange. ' _I'm tired of hearing about this fucking Tsuruko chick.'_

...Also, to Sendai's horror, she'd become fairly sober by this point. ' _Damn it, I worked off all the alcohol.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

 _Di- di~ng._ They decided to go to a nearby restaurant to rest up, and get out of the cold.

This place had a fancy, red interior design, as well as a black tile floor. ' _Oh, woah. Can't believe we keep ignoring this place…'_

Despite the size of the place, there was only a moderate amount of people here, largely being either families or couples. ' _So, this is where all the normal people go during the day, when they're not working.'_

"Hol' on…" Marcus moved forward. "I'mma tell 'em we're throwin' a birthday party, so we don't get charged fer combinin' tables…"

' _...How's that even work.'_

...When she looked back at the door, making sure Aina and her friend made it in, she saw Kasen there instead, since the other girls were already inside. For some reason, she looked smug…

"Do you see what I mean about the village, now?" Kasen delivered her smugness.

"Fuck you." Sendai was annoyed, by that. "I always saw it. The fuck you want me to do about it? I just fought a former low-tier boxing champion and she told me her life story, so I'm not sure what the hell your idea is here."

...Kasen shied back, a little. "So- sorry. Geesh… I- I'm just saying, cases like that sort of set the tone."

Tatsuako was right there, next to them. "The hell do you mean, 'cases like that'? I'm one of like, _few people_ here, who's had to go into sex work 'cause of debts and expenses, and-..." She exhaled.

"I just mean, people here sometimes have problems because the village as a whole creates the problems for them!" Kasen desperately tried to justify herself. "...Ugh. You know what, nevermind, I'm dumb."

"Yeah." Sendai grinned at her. "You'd be better off drunk."

"...Honestly." The way Kasen said this made Sendai unsure if she agreed or disagreed with her.

"So!" Aina pressed Rinnosuke's arm into her breasts. "Tatsua-cha~n, I found a hubby candida~te! An' a _real one_ this time!"

"A real one, huh…" Tatsuako sized up Rinnosuke plainly. "...I mean, at least it _looks_ like he won't get a sadistic high off choking you with his dick, like the last three or four."

"Who the hell are you people." Rinnosuke looked intimidated, for some reason…

' _Not sure if I want in on this conversation…'_ Now that she wasn't drunk anymore, Sendai thought more vaguely of the company she found herself in… ' _I added hookers to my party while dead drunk, and I'm just now wondering if that was a good idea. Not that this is the first time I've made friends with troubled hookers...'_

Soon, Marcus returned. "He~y! Follow me, girls-plus-Rinnosuke!"

' _Oh, hey.'_ Sendai grazed after him… ' _Sounds like negotiations went well.'_

 _Shoo- shoo- shoof, shoof._ He slid three tables together, before making the seats levitate to join them.

Reaching the table, Sendai picked a random seat. ' _...I think I'll order just... some meat, if they have any. I might be done with the booze, for now. I'm gonna have to figure something out to get everyone else drunk again, at some point. Maybe Keine has some ideas.'_

As a whole, the spacious restaurant was well-lit, with some large windows in the front, and bright candles hanging upon small ceiling chandeliers. The tables were mostly black, except the top surfaces were white.

Sendai picked a random seat of the ten or so that they had here, near the middle. ' _Good tables.'_

Aina sat right of her, and Rinnosuke sat right of Aina. Tatsuako sat to the right of him, and Marcus and Kasen sat across the table, since even with three segments, it was longer than it was wide.

 _shoof._ Aina scooted closer to Rinnosuke. "Hehehe…"

Suddenly, Tatsuako second-guessed her seat. "It'd be more uniform if I sat uh…" She found a seat to the left of Sendai, this time. "Here we go!"

' _...It feels good to sit, after a brawl like that.'_ Sendai smiled up at the ceiling. ' _That sure was something. Those hoo~ks…'_

"...I feel weird." Tatsuako confessed.

Sendai gingerly turned to her. "Do you, now."

"Yeah." She nodded vaguely. "...Isn't this all really abrupt?"

Sendai snorted. "Yeah. Well, it's another day for me, really, but for you, this all could mean you can stop letting yourself get jizzed all over."

"...Yeah." At that, Tatsuako nodded with more definition. "...I could use a boyfriend, now that I think about it." She leaned forward, looking past Sendai, at Aina. "Hey-... hey, Aina-chan. Where'd you get him, from? He seems nice."

Aina gave her a vain look. "Look-... I _dunno_ how you'd find a good guy- I just- I mean, you saw what I had ta do!"

"I didn't fully." Tatsuako shook her head… "I was, um, giving someone under-table service, until that part where your boyfriend stopped Tsuruko from killing you, basically."

"Ooh…" Aina smiled at Rinnosuke, and cuddled closer to him. "I oughta give _you_ under-table service, at some point…!"

He simply gave them an immensely vague look, skeptical of the situation…

Sendai grinned at her. "...You made a jokey statement out of your friend getting prostituted."

...Aina pursed her lips. "Uh. I wasn't joking…"

' _...Why.'_

Marcus began to grin. "This village's such a freaking weird place…!"

A waitress walked up to the table. She was a plain looking girl, with long brown hair which was braided up in the back. "Hey, everyone. Um…" She gave Tatsuako a vague look. "What would you all like…?"

...Marcus smiled. "Okonomiyaki!"

"...I'll just have tea." Kasen supposed…

"Oo- hey." Aina tapped on the table. "You payin'?" She pointed at Marcus…

He gave her a thumbs-up. "I'm _made_ 'a money!"

"Swee~t!" She cheered. "I'll take a _bottle 'a wine!_ And, uh, hmm… maybe a nice _lobster._ "

"Water and steak." Sendai settled. "...Kourin?"

...Rinnosuke looked put on the spot. "I guess shio ramen. I already ate this morning, so…"

"Drink?" The waitress asked him.

"...Ah, water." He gave a confident nod.

"Miso and chicken." Tatsuako decided. "...Yeah!"

With a quaint nod, the waitress wandered off, scribbling the orders down…

...The red, black and gold aesthetic of the restaurant began to get noticed by Sendai. ' _This place actually looks pretty nice.'_

"Tsukiko…" Kasen spoke up. "Do you think we should wander the village more? In case, you know…"

Sendai smiled, at her. "Well, we're probably not gonna try to _get drunk_ again, unless I'm confident it's not just gonna be me making an ass of myself." She wouldn't say it, but it was still really fun regardless. "But, yeah, I still feel like killing some time."

' _We only did like, one activity after all, and it was more like me just getting drunk and smashing things. I mean, Kourin did get a date out of it all, but still.'_

"You should get drunk _more!"_ Aina leaned towards her. "Aa- hey! How's about me and you, right now!?"

"No thanks…" Sendai looked uneasy about the idea… "How about we try something more _wholesome,_ then, since no one here seems to be comfortable with getting rowdy?"

"Actually…" Tatsuako held up a finger. "It a couple of days, the village is having a small tournament."

"Why do you know this." Sendai immediately accused her. "Didn't you give up fists."

"...I- I still _kept up_ with things." She pouted back. "Sometimes my clients would tell me about it, too. Some of them even competed. ...Man, if I compete now, that's gonna be awkward."

Sendai let her brows raise… "You're really taking this 'I got sold into prostitution' thing pretty casually."

"Well, it _was_ my decision." Tatsuako leaned onto the table… "I mean, the other option woulda been homelessness, like that other girl who actually _lived_ at one of our shrines, but, yeah. And well, while some of it was kinda shitty, and a lot of the guys liked to be top, it was still _kinda_ fun. Plus, boss is good on safety regulations. Or, _was good_ , if I go back to fighting and stuff. Actually-... I should ask her about sponsorships, and stuff..."

' _...Didn't take her too long to bounce back, after everything, huh. She's still jittering a little, so I think her nervous energy is welling back up.'_

"Takin' it awful well, huh?" Marcus was similarly offset by her ease… "I thought ya'd be more, like, _upset,_ that yer body got defiled an' shit…"

...She fidgeted, a little. "I mean-... I guess that's kinda bad? I mean, it kinda _really sucked_ 'cause I was never gonna get to fight properly again. That's what really had me bummed."

...Sendai turned to Rinnosuke. "Kourin, your friends are weird."

"Wh- when'd she become part of 'my friends'...?" He looked over at her again, fighting a grin…

Aina panned to Sendai, smiling. "Y'know- I always wondered since I met ya guys-... Tsukiko, yeah? You and Kourin here ever fuck?"

"No." Sendai stated definitely. "I'm not a bimbo like you and your girlfriend."

"Oof." Aina deflated in her seat… "Hu~h…"

"Let's stop talking about sex." Kasen recommended. "...Do you girls do anything for fun? That, you know, isn't sex."

Tatsuako furrowed her brows. "I'm not into it _that_ much. But, you know… I like fighting."

"I dance an' shit!" Aina beamed. "I know how ta do the shuffle!"

' _...I still got some questions about that Tsuruko bitch, but fuck that shit. I wanna have fun today, not deroot a psychopath from-... whatever it is she's doing.'_

"We should play _board games!"_ Marcus suddenly declared.

"Nn- _nnn~no!"_ Sendai instantly objected. "...Well- some, maybe, but I don't do a hundred pushups every day so we can waste time playing LIFE over and over again."

...He held up his arms. "But-... it's LIFE…!"

"Twister." Aina slowly began grinning at everyone…

Tatsuako shook her head. "I'd rather not get crushed under anyone's _ass._ And- you _know_ that'd happen…"

...The waitress returned. ' _Oh, look. Food…'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

"Aah…" Sendai set her utensils down. "Fuck yeah."

Everyone was relatively quiet, meditating on their satisfaction…

"So…" Tatsuako looked Sendai over. "What're you gonna do, now?"

...Sendai pursed her lips. "How'm I supposed to know. Uuh, hmm…"

' _Now that I feel better-... hmm. I wanna run around, but I don't know what I wanna do.'_

"Let's go check the job board." Sendai considered. "Maybe we can find a lame in-town job to dick around with."

Aina snorted. "Re- really…? Don't you get in trouble, if you don't take those seriously?"

Sendai snorted. "Who gives a shit? No jackass is just gonna point a sword at me for botching 'move ten crates', or what-have-you."

Rinnosuke had different ideas. "As fun as roving around like bandits would be, how about we do something that isn't a complete waste of time? Like, buying books?"

"I already went book shopping." Sendai rejected his idea. "Honestly, I just wanna run around and admire stuff."

"...We could go to my house." Tatsuako suggested, for some reason. "...Ne- nevermind, that's a weird idea."

...Sendai and Marcus stared at her, before Aina joined in, grinning.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

"Tsukiko, this is weird." Rinnosuke had a pitiable smile, as he followed the party… "Today's been _weird."_

They'd abandoned the nice-looking restaurant, and began to saunter down the south village mainstreet.

Sendai accepted the idea to go to Tatsuako's house, just because it was a really weird idea, and she felt like visiting the rich region of the village. ' _I might as well figure out what the fuck's up with the family that let their daughter have sex for money, consistently and repeatedly.'_

"Tsukiko-..." Kasen looked worried. "I know you're bored, but- I don't think _all of us_ are necessary for a trip to this girl's house."

Sendai shook her head. "No. We all must go. If not only so that I feel satisfied from dragging a youkai sage to a random chick's house for almost literally no reason."

' _That, and if we have a discussion about 'why the fuck did you let your daughter sell yourself', Kasen here would drop in on that like a fly on shit.'_

"I- I've never actually brought people to my house before!" Tatsuako admitted, looking oddly shy about it. "...Tsuruko said I wasn't allowed, but-... today marks a few changes. At the _least,_ I'm not letting her decide everything anymore. It's just as much her fault as it is mine, that I ended up-... losing our shrine, and becoming a prostitute."

...She gave Sendai a sad smile. "I sound like a failure, when I say it like that. Man. It just kinda set in- how far I've fallen…"

"Everything starts from zero." Sendai gave her a thumbs-up. "Don't look back like that, for too long. Considering how regretful you were in that fight, I'm kinda afraid you'll fall into that slump of sex and shit again. Like- normally, when this happens to people, they're all broken up and shit. I know I would be, probably."

...At that idea, she paused in the road, looking forward. The Kirisame Magic Shop was just ahead of their junction. "...Yeah. I've seen it before. I've always thought that kinda thinking was sorta stupid. As long as you keep safe enough and level-headed, it shouldn't matter. If I was really heartless, I'd probably go ahead with being homeless just so I could fight and buy my own little house-... but, I care too much about mom and dad to let that happen."

She kept walking. "Sometimes, people get forced into the sex shit way harder than I was. I was able to kinda strategize, but some people are so buried and-... hopeless, that there's no way out. Fortunately, there's not many people like that, but _damn._ You ever think about what this kinda shit would be like on the _outside?"_

' _...I'd prefer not to think about that, actually.'_ Sendai would rather not imagine. ' _I've already kinda thought about that, and-... euh. Not that I know what the outside's really like.'_

They turned the left just before the Kirisame Magic Shop onto the wealthier village road, where the houses were spaced with respect to one another, and the road was always lit with pretty lamps. The lawns had grass, and the road was actually cleaned of snow.

"You know…" Rinnosuke spoke up. "I've heard rumors. Is there a force in the village, enforcing depravity and crime? It just doesn't seem normal for a region this small to face the hardship it does. I know _youkai_ is one excuse, but have you seen anything concrete?"

...She couldn't really give him an answer. "Uuh. I don't know. There were some dangerous drugs getting passed around, for awhile, but that slowed. I haven't ever really talked with anyone in the guard, despite technically being in the Hakurei thing…"

Aina got closer to him again. "Y'know! I'm just sayin', but Tsuruko- _among others_ \- force other girls into sex and work to get 'em outta their wa~y…!"

Tatsuako stopped in the road.

"Tsuruko's not a bad person." She frowned back at Aina. "Please stop saying bad things about her."

Aina rolled her eyes. "...Aye~."

' _...I think I'm getting the picture now.'_ Sendai felt. ' _Tsuruko forced her sister into sex, probably by lying to her. What a wonderful sister. At this point, I should figure she's just a sadist, or something.'_

"Hey- any of you know anything about _sudoku?"_ Someone asked. "I screwed up this puzzle _hard._ "

...Everyone slowly turned to a red-haired girl, who had gotten into the crowd amongst them, somehow.

"...Kotohime, yeah?" Sendai looked over her plainly… "Not at the moment. Actually-... do you know anything about the crime in the village?"

Kotohime furrowed her brows. "Crime? I _toldja_ I'm a _police officer!_ Just the other day, some evil-doers interrupted my morning breakfast! As opposed to my evening breakfast, which I have sometimes... _"_

"Hey, Kotohime." Tatsuako waved at her casually. "Um, I'm kinda busy today, so I can't play with you. And- you know Tsuruko doesn't like seeing us together…"

"Uh huh…" Sauntering around, Kotohime got in front of her. "... _Boo!"_

 _Fwish!_ She slid right into her face, eyes locked with Tatsuako-

 _WOOSH!_ Tatsuako tried to throw a weak variant of her trademark upward hook at her, but Kotohime slid back before Sendai saw anything happen…

 _Fwi- fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Kotohime slid back and forth with surprising velocity, for no reason. "You're _sharper_ than usual, today!"

' _...Uh, hmm.'_ Sendai blinked at her. ' _Did she just- slide around like, five times?'_

"I guess I would be..." Not letting herself be stopped, Tatsuako moved past her, before looking back for a moment. "Anyway-... we're going to my house, actually."

...Registering this, Kotohime looked back at Sendai and her party, plus Aina. "...With like, _fifty people?_ I know adventuring parties can get big, but this is already sorta ridiculous for the starting area! Do you even need _half_ of their utility spells…!?"

"I don't know what you're talking about…" Tatsuako was simply confused by her. "Aa- anyway, I'll talk to you later, Koto-chan!"

The party of mismatched people, Aina the fake shrine maiden, and Tatsuako shuffled ahead, giving Kotohime some varied looks as they passed by.

...Rolling her head a little, Kotohime sauntered in the direction of town hall, looking the paper that held her sudoku problem over again.

' _This town is full of weird people.'_ Sendai realized, again. ' _...It was always sorta strange, but it's gotten stranger.'_

They came up to a fancy, well-designed two-story home on the left side of the road, after some moments.

 _Knock, knock._ "He- hey…" Tatsuako called inside, after knocking. "Mom? Dad? Anyone? I got frie~nds."

... _Crea~k._ The door opened.

Tsuruko was there, a patch on her cheek where Rinnosuke had nailed her earlier.

' _...Well.'_ Sendai waved at her casually, while everyone else did their best to look inconspicuous. ' _I did this to myself, didn't I.'_

...Tsuruko locked eyes with Tatsuako.

"Um." She fidgeted under her 'sister's' gaze. "Hey-... sis-"

"You lead _them_ to our _house!?"_ Tsuruko began to yell. "You _imbecile!"_

 _SLAP!_ Stomping from the house, she backhanded Tatsuako, leaving her reeling. "Have I not been gracious enough to you!? That you'd lead _criminals_ to my doorstep!?"

"I- I'm sorry…!" Tatsuako cowered back, arms raised. "I'm sorry!"

...She locked eyes with Sendai for a half-second, then Aina. "...Aa- _Aina?_ Aa- ah, yes, Aina."

Galloping up to her, Aina stuck a middle finger in her face. "Whassup, _bitch!?_ Surprised ta see me!? _"_

"...No, actually." Tsuruko stated, her expression returning to calm. "You and your group collectively, _a decided yes,_ but you with them, no."

"...What the _fuck_ does that _mean!?"_ Aina yelled, too. "I'll fuckin' kill you!"

 _Bam!_ When she moved forward, Tsuruko accelerated back, and shut the door in her face.

 _shoof._ A tiny slit opened at the door's top. Within, Tsuruko's eyes were narrowed cutely, and she spoke quietly. "None of you have any business here. We-... didn't see each other today. Er- rather, here."

...Tatsuako raised something from inside her maid outfit. "I still have the key here, Tsu-chan."

Tsuruko's cute shifty look didn't change at all. "Go away. You don't live here."

 _shoof._ She shut the slit, hiding herself.

"Wha- what do you _mean_ , I don't live here?" Tatsuako came up to the door again… "Tsu-chan, you're scaring me!"

...After a moment, she spoke again. "Seriously, open the damn door, Tsuruko. Why can't I show these people our house?"

"They're criminals." The front door replied. "You may have very well jeopardized the well-being of the village by revealing our home."

Sendai snorted. "...I mean, it really isn't _rocket science_ to figure out you guys live in the well-off neighborhood. Probably coulda found out at the guard place, or the town hall."

"...One of them is old man Kirisame, and the other-... I haven't even seen her around- and one's Reimu's _mom._ " Tatsuako shook her head… "And, trust me when I say that Reimu's mom's a real piece of work."

...The door didn't reply.

 _Cli- click._ Tatsuako moved to unlock it. She began to open the door-

 _WOO- FWISH- BAM! click!_ She was pulled inside nearly instantly, the key taken with her, and the door shut again, locking.

Aina was instantly on the door knob. "Hey- open up! Hey… he~y. Tatsua-cha~n? Tatsua-cha~n."

Marcus moved up to the door. "Outta the way, squirt. Lemme~." He rubbed his hands together…

Once she got out of the way, he got near the door. "I'm gonna just-..." When he put a handle on the knob, ice began to trace down it, and into the cracks of the lock…

 _click!_ After about ten seconds, he had it cracked. "Heh! No one bothers to encrypt the front door!"

' _We coulda just broken it down, but whatever.'_ Smiling at that, Sendai moved inside with him, and soon, the entire parade followed…

The inside of the house was dark. Nice furniture was resting about the room, all with a neat blue and green color scheme. There was an unlit fireplace in the living room's center, and two staircases up to the upper level, for some reason.

Tatsuako was lying in a chair nearby. She appeared to be asleep. ' _What the fuck…'_

Moving past her, Sendai instantly made for the stairs up, on the room's right. ' _Alright, let's give this little shit a piece of my-'_

 _Shooft!_ The stairs slid inward, turning the staircase into a slide. ' _Are you fucking kidding-'_

 _shii~f._ Sendai ended up sliding back down, her butt in the air once she was deposited at the bottom. ' _...Wow.'_

...Seeing her dilemma, Kasen leaned down over her.

"Who- _wh- wait-..."_ Sendai felt herself leave the ground. "Aa-... Kasen- the hell are you doing to me."

Kasen smiled. "Helping you up the stairs." She hefted Sendai back, for a brief moment.

 _WOOSH!_ Then, she lobbed Sendai up the ramp. ' _Woah…!'_

...Overall, the motion was more graceful and casual than Sendai thought, allowing her to skid onto the upper level. ' _Huh. That was cool, actually…'_

Up here, she looked around. ' _Where the hell am I. Seems like this area's disconnected from the other upstairs area.'_

 _Click!_ Sendai opened the first door she found. It was a bathroom. ' _Ooo.'_

Moving back into the hallway, Sendai saw someone there.

She was a shrine maiden in purple and black, with a purple hair bow. Her hair was short and black too, but fluffy.

"...Who the hell're you." Sendai questioned her.

"I should be asking you." She began to grin at Sendai. "What if I lived here? Aren't you invading a home?"

"True." Sendai nodded… "But, that implies _you_ don't live here, either."

"I don't." She smiled. "I'm just visiting. Tsuruko said it was a home invasion."

"...Yeah, it is." Sendai admitted. "She has some questions to answer."

The black-purple shrine maiden turned around. "...I see."

When she looked back at Sendai, her face was black as shadow, with a jagged maw of monotone black. " _Are you afraid of the dark?"_

"No." Sendai really didn't care. "...That's a cool trick, though."

...Her shadowy face fell. ' _Have I seen her somewhere before…?'_

Sendai moved to pass her.

 _shink._ When she did, a knife entered her stomach. ' _Wh- ow- ow- what the fuck…!'_

"Nngh-...!" Sendai pushed her away. "Fh- _fhuck!"_ She realized she should also get some help, up here, so she yelled louder. " _Aaaa~h!"_

 _fwish._ The purple-black clad maiden became shadow, tracing along her vision, to the window nearby. When Sendai looked in her direction, she was already in the window frame itself, moving to leap out. ' _What the fuck. Ugh-... I guess that was careless of me, but what the hell.'_

...She stopped cringing, and looked down. There was no more knife, but the incision was rather small. ' _Let's assume it was poison.'_ It wasn't often that this sort of thing happened _without_ poison involved.

Kasen was already with her, however. "Hmm?" ...She quickly noticed Sendai's new stab wound. "Oh. You screamed from something like that?"

"Yeah, so someone would bring me a potion." Sendai admitted. "...It- fucking _stings,_ though."

...Kasen began to smile. "Feel like drinking out of a masu box, again?"

" _Nah."_ This time, she passed up the offer… "Just- cleanse and cure me, or something…"

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Quickly, everyone realized Tsuruko wasn't in the house anymore, and the parents weren't around.

Sendai lounged on the wide, green sofa downstairs.

' _...Well. This is kinda awkward. We at least got to walk around, but it feels a lot different than when we did it years ago. Like, before I died, it was kinda like, 'misfits grittily waste time in a society that mistreated them'. Now it's 'a bunch of out of place, powerful assholes waste time in really strange places'. Not that we're all powerful, but…'_

She watched Rinnosuke read on a different couch, while Aina kept slowly harassing him. "Can I stick my head in your _la~p…?"_

"...That's going to be distracting." He defended his reading session… "If you don't do anything _weird,_ sure."

' _Kourin is so different.'_ Sendai came to realize. ' _Not that it's bad, but-... I keep getting surprised that he's not a horny, hot-blooded little shit. You know, lika Aina is. Gods, imagine if she mellows out as much as him just from being around him…'_

' _And Marc's-... well, he's still Marc, but he's not an asshole anymore!'_ Sendai looked over at him, while he examined the fireplace. ' _I can't even make a routine out of shitting on him for being a dick, because he's actually good-natured, now… and smarter, too.'_

Sendai's gaze met Kasen, next. ' _Kasen's kind of overzealous, and a little hard-headed at times, but she's cool…'_

She gazed at the pristine, glass-top coffee table before the seating arrangements. ' _Hmm. Maybe I should try and think of activities that like-... actually fit their new life styles, instead of acting like it's still a decade ago. I may've kinda wished that they wouldn't grow up, but…'_

Sendai moved to sit up. "...How many of you feel _displaced_ doing this? Running around like a bunch of jackasses, that is?"

...Everyone stared at her.

She grinned. "Stupid question, isn't it…?"

"Well, yes." Rinnosuke admitted. "I don't really mind. I pretty much expected as much, _especially_ because you were acting like nothing had changed, in the, what was it… _twelve years_ you were gone. It's actually kind of nostalgic."

Marcus beamed back at her. "Admittedly, yeah, this is actually super fuckin' awkward! But, I'm also revelin' in how awkward everyone else is…"

Kasen looked indifferent. "...I'm just _really_ curious how you do things, Tsukiko. I'm more surprised you haven't questioned why I've been tagging along for no effective reason."

' _...Well, good enough.'_ Sendai smiled. ' _For today, anyway.'_

She faced Kasen. "Not like that's out of place in my life."

"It really isn't." Rinnosuke turned a page of his book.

"...Mm- mmh…" Tatsuako began to stir…

...Sendai watched her become alive in her blue chair. "Fwua~... ugh. Uh…" She drowsily checked her thigh, feeling at her condom bandolier. "...Aa- ah." She realized they'd all pretty much fallen off, at some point. "Who-..." Then, things came back to her. "Ah!"

"Morning." Sendai regarded her. "...Your sister got the hell out of here. Your parents aren't even around."

"...Oh." Tatsuako blinked at her. "Ah. Yeah. Her parents work at the guard headquarters-... and mine make swords. So, none of them would be here, during the day."

' _Well, this is less awkward than I hoped.'_ Sendai began to furrow her brows. ' _Hold on a minute…'_

"Why didn't you just work with them again?" Sendai asked her. "Sword-making makes awfully good money, you know…"

"Tsuruko told me we weren't making enough…" Tatsuako began to look tired, again. "And, I wasn't strong enough to say no to her about anything, so-... I just did what I needed to."

"No, hold on…" Sendai felt like something was seriously wrong with that logic, but had to think about it…

Coming up from the fireplace, Marcus had the answer immediately. "If bein' administrative boys in the town guard _and_ being one of the like _ten_ actual smiths who bake up swords in this town isn't enough ta pay for _this_ house, either Okita's fuckin' bleeding ya with this mortgage, or she's lying out her _ass._ An' that's _fact._ "

"Fa- fact…?" Tatsuako now furrowed her own brows, as she sat upright in her chair. "But-... why would she do something like that to me? She wouldn't just _do_ that. We're sisters, almost. We went to school together..."

Marcus brought his hands behind his back. "The way I see, it's 'cause you could theoretically eclipse her power, and it'd be easier to just put you outta the equation entirely."

Sendai focused on her. "...If she didn't basically pressgang you into prostitution, she may've killed you, for all we know."

...Tatsuako stared down at the table. Then, she began to lower her eyes.

She stood. "There's-... no way. Stuff like that doesn't happen." She met Marcus's gaze. "People-... people don't _do that._ "

"I don't see any other way you can dice it." Marcus had a slanted smile, brows raised. "Trust me. Some people can be real dickbags… an' some people, can _really_ lose sight 'a what actually makes 'emselves happy."

She looked to Rinnosuke. "You-... hey. What do you think?"

...He shrugged. "...I figured you've been getting lied to, from the start. I've seen Tsuruko talk to Tsukiko, and the way she acts is never the same each time I've seen her. She provoked Aina into fighting her, and from how _that_ looked, it was just so she could see how she fought."

"...Wa- wait, really?" Aina blinked. "But- she was like-..."

"You might not've listened to her." He elaborated. "She said things like, 'not bad at all', and afterward, proceeded to attack you with your own techniques. Before you even fought, she said she wanted you to fight Tsukiko. She was watching from the second floor the whole time. She wanted to see the both of you fight in-person, so she could observe the both of you, probably."

' _Wait-...'_ Sendai didn't even have all of that information yet, so this was news to her. ' _What the fuck. Gods. The longer this shit goes on, the more just-... baffled I get. It doesn't even necessarily piss me off, 'cause it's an excuse to do stuff, but just like-... what the hell's the point? What the fuck's going on…!?'_

 _Fwish._ A crystalline gauntlet forged around Tatsuako's left fist.

 _WHA- CRAK- KRA~K!_ She cleaved a hook down into the glass table before herself, sending a rain of glass shrapnel into the air. It sparkled in the vague, sunny light which splayed in through the home's windows and doors.

...Sendai ceased cringing at the sound of exploding glass. "Is that-... is that gauntlet thing a thing you can just _do?"_

Standing, Tatsuako snorted at her. "Mmh. I was a shrine maiden, remember? This is the power our god granted me."

' _...Wait.'_ Sendai blinked. ' _So, she's not using a catalyst, and she's actually getting that magic from somewhere? Huh.'_

"What god?" Sendai was curious… "Hakurei?"

Tatsuako shook her head. "No. Hold on-..." She marched towards the slope-ified stairs to the right.

 _CRUN- CRACK- CRUNCH- CRACK!_ She stomped up it, embedding her stocking-clad feet into the wood each step of the way up.

' _...Wonder how she's taking it.'_ She wasn't crying, which was good, Sendai figured. ' _She seems pretty pumped. Not sure if in a good way, yet.'_

Rinnosuke closed his book. "I don't _think_ I'll be making much more progress, like this."

Aina snorted. "Ho- how do you even _read_ between all the shit that happens…"

"...Slowly, and with effort." He revealed.

 _BOOM!_ Behind Sendai, Tatsuako touched down at the bottom of the stairs again, rocking the entire house after leaping down the whole flight. ' _Ooo…'_

Her hair was done up in a single, clumsy ponytail in the back, which was tucked into an autumn-colored kimono. Her sandals were thick, made of hard, dense wood, the red bands nailed into place where they needed to be.

 _WOO- WOOSH!_ She threw some practice hooks at the air, thin red gloves covering her knuckles.

"That was fast…" Sendai noted.

"It's been _too long."_ Tatsuako frowned back at her. "An' I've got _challengers,_ now."

"What-... do you plan on doing?" Rinnosuke asked…

"If I don't do something about _this shit-..._ " Her scowl grew, and her eyes narrowed as she stomped into the living room's midst. "I lost everything, two years ago. An' I'll be _takin' it back_ now."

"Um…" Aina smiled awkwardly. "Are ya just- gonna go fight her, now…?"

"No." Tears threatened to spill from her eyes. "I'm takin' back my edge, _then_ I'm winnin' this fight. I- I could lose, everything here I _see-..._ unless I get out there, and start _kicking ass._ I've got fists fer hands-..."

 _Cra- crack._ She used her knuckles to crack her jaw, in both directions. "An _iron jaw-..._ "

Her eyes wide, tears streaming down her cheeks, she yelled. "This is my _chance!_ This is my _town!_ I don't just _break the mold-..."_

 _WOOSH._ She pivoted on her sandal heel, whirling around-

 _KABOOM!_ Her giant, crystal fist met the wall.

 _Cra- crack- thud- think- thunk._ The fireplace was collapsed, the brickwork that went into it shattered, creating a column of rubble. Pictures and trinkets fell off of the shelves above and around it, rebounding against the floor around her.

Looking around at the mess, she saw a picture of herself and Tsuruko on the ground…

 _Crack!_ She crushed it under her sandal, after pausing, considering this for a moment. "Nn- nnh…"

"Um." Kasen stared at her owlishly. "Do you want to-..."

Tatsuako's wide-eyed gaze met her. Then, it met the door, and she began to sprint.

 _KABAM!_ She shoulder-rammed the door open, leaving it whining on its hinges, before she ran off into the daylight.

' _...Well.'_ Sendai stared at the bright day outside. ' _We unleashed a monster.'_

"...Huh." Kasen nodded. "You don't see humans act like that, too often."

...Aina sprang up off the couch. "Holy _shit!_ Now _that's_ the Tatsuako I knew!" She ran up to the door, and called out into the world. "Go get 'em, gi~rl!"

...Sendai exhaled. "You know-... did Tsuruko have a catalyzer installed?"

"Her's was the first one I examined." Marcus noted… "So, yeah!"

"...I can see why she wanted to get rid of her 'sister', now." Sendai considered aloud. "Considering _this_ is her power, without that crutch device."

Rinnosuke put away his book, and dusted himself off a little. "We should probably get out of here, before we're blamed for this."

...Everyone gingerly focused on him. Sendai began to get up in agreement.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

On the junction between south main and the wealthy part of town, Sendai brought her arms behind her head, inadvertently jutting her breasts out. "Hnn~h…"

"You know…" Rinnosuke spoke up, "what was that, about that one homeless person?"

...Sendai didn't know what he was talking about, at first. "...What do you-..." She remembered. "Oh, right. When that shrine closed down, that she talked about-... ah." Earlier, Tatsuako had mentioned how her shrine closed down, and a girl was left homeless.

' _We should uh, probably get to finding her, and helping her, or something. I mean-... we have nothing better to do! Not that we could do that for every homeless person-... but, still.'_

"Oh, yeah!" Aina perked up, as she trailed near Rinnosuke. "...Did _any_ of you guys hear about the shrine shutdowns? I mean, it's like none of you know _anything."_

"I live in the woods." Rinnosuke defended his lack of knowledge. "...I don't typically hear of village happenings, aside from the odd occurrences here or there."

"I _did,_ but I didn't pay _too much_ attention." Marcus weighed in. "There wasn't _too many_ actual local shrines anyway, were there?"

"Not really~." Aina shook her head. "It was some time before the housing thing that happened. A lot're still standing, maybe even all've 'em, but I'm pretty sure the town owns 'em now. It was part 'a settin' up the Hakurei whatchamacallit."

"Hmm…" Sendai took that in. "Where do you think that homeless girl might be hanging around, then? If you have any ideas."

Aina smiled. "Well… there _is_ this one place, I've heard about! Y'don't work _odd jobs_ at the Golden Grin like I do without hearin' some spicy shit!"

"One place…?" Turning in the cold, mid-day air, Sendai focused on her. "Where exactly, would this place be?"

Smiling wider, Aina turned to stare between Rinnosuke and Sendai. "...Man, you guys are _bored!_ Which is cool, 'cause I'm bored half the time too, but… how long you guys plannin' on rompin' around?"

"Until we wanna go to bed and eat dinner." Sendai declared. "Not in that order. It also won't be for awhile."

Aina snaked her hand into Rinnosuke's idle one, smirking. "...Well, follow me. An' be chill, 'cause it's kind of a weird place, but everyone there like-... _overall_ means well."

...Rinnosuke looked mixed about this. "Aa-... ah. Is that so."

She tugged him ahead, and began to lead. A breeze rolled over the open street, chilling Sendai for a moment. ' _It's getting breezy, even with the sun out, and the clouds parted…'_

Everyone began to follow, and make idle chatter. Aina was taking everyone to the center of town, and likely towards a different road.

"So…!" Marcus faced Sendai, as they went. "Y'ever tried _ping-pong_ before? ...I know the answer's _no,_ but ya should think of it!"

"I'd break something." Sendai assumed immediately. "...I think I've done _beer pong,_ but that's not a real game, is it."

"How often do you take quiet days?" Kasen wondered, of Sendai. "To read books, or just-... loaf around, or do your own things?"

"...Ah." Sendai considered that. "Well-... exercise has become quite therapeutic for me. In a lot of ways, even. But, when I was looking after Reimu, I spent a lot of days peacefully. Especially after, um..." She decided not to talk about her husband. "It felt appropriate."

' _And now that I'm alive again-... and, I don't need to look after Reimu…'_ She smiled at the sky. ' _I'm free to run around, again. Only kinda makes up for not being able to watch Reimu grow. Although, now that I think about it, it also means I'll be able to be there for her into adulthood. I'm glad I didn't revive after she died, or something. That would have crushed me.'_

The party meandered over the village square, moving towards the northern road, now. Due to the cold, snow lingered around even the village's center, despite the population's density.

"We're goin' to the north east corner…" Aina informed everyone, whipping her head to the side as if trying to face everyone. Then, she whipped it to the right side. "There'll be a weird house, along the very corner, near the walls, but past the farms."

...She began whipping her head back and forth rapidly, so her long ponytail could whack Rinnosuke in the face repeatedly. "...Shi- shit, I'm gettin' dizzy…"

Rinnosuke had his eyes slightly narrowed, as he endured the assault. "...Thanks a lot. Why."

"How's my perfume?" Smiling wider, she stopped making herself dizzier, looking at him directly now. "Still holdin' up?"

"...I don't know." Rinnosuke knew many things, and perfume wasn't one of them. "You smell nice, at least."

' _...I give it like, two years at most. Until he snuffs out her rambunctiousness, that is.'_ Sendai stared Aina over dubiously. ' _Or, until she masturbates. You know- I wonder if she's just been really pent-up all day, because Tsuruko got her right before she was gonna flick it, or something. Imagine if she goes to the bathroom and comes back, and is just, totally reserved afterward.'_

"Kourin, what's the purpose of perfume?" Sendai demanded an answer. "This is important."

...He gave her a flat look. "Is it."

"No." Sendai was truthful this time. "Tell me anyway."

...He took a deep breath, before replying. "Aina's perfume is a relatively cost-effective mixture, designed to impart a fragrant scent onto human villagers at a reasonable cost. Additionally, it is a special variant, made distinct from others. It was purposefully made worse than its competition, because it's also cheaper to produce and sell."

...Aina gave him a widening grin. "How the hell'd _you_ learn that? Ye- yeah, the perfume I use is provided by boss. We even got a few different Golden Grin-only favors. It's a sponsorship deal with the perfume guys."

' _Huh.'_ Sendai learned something new, albeit inconsequential.

Marcus patted himself on the head. "Ah, shit. I forgot Kourin could do that, actually! Yo Kourin- what's the purpose of a faith catalyzer!?"

...He stared at Aina's chest for a moment, before replying. "Uh. The H, A, K-... the HAKUREI Replication Faith Catalyzer Model three-one-three-three-four is one of various experimental builds, different from others. It takes one's belief in themself and their will to act, and converts it into physical, magical form. This particular model specializes in the construction of magical geometry based on the user's emotions and desire. It reacts strongest to feelings of fun, pleasure, or anger. It has no particular utility, as it is an experimental device created to be installed, then observed. It is also made to be removed, when research is done."

...Aina's brows were raised when he finished the explanation. "Uuh. You mean-... is that _my_ chest magic thingie? When the hell'd you learn this…?"

"I can figure out the purpose of anything by looking at it." Rinnosuke gave her what was perhaps his first assured-of-himself kind of smile. "...As in, I obtain knowledge of their name and utility, generally. _How_ to use it will remain to be a mystery for me, however."

"...Ironically, it fits your image better now." Sendai admitted. "Back when you were a rowdy jackass-... being a walking encyclopedia on top of that was pretty funny."

Rinnosuke gave her a level look. "Ah. Yeah, that was _something…_ "

"Ya know," Marcus drifted closer to the group, "Rinnosuke's an inventor of sorts, these days."

"An _inventor…?"_ Aina seemed interested. "What's he _invent?"_

"He made my daughter's mini-hakkero." Marcus provided. "Repaired it, too!"

' _...Mini-hakkero, that's what it's called.'_ Sendai finally learned its name. ' _Wait, hold the fuck up.'_

" _You_ made that?" Sendai focused on him, now. "That thing hits like a _sack of bricks,_ you know…! If you made something like _that,_ why aren't you running around with a-... super gun version, or something?"

...He shook his head. "Well, magic and fighting aren't really my thing, outside of tinkering and such. I used to use it to warm my tea, but I figured Marisa would make more varied use of it."

' _...You used her main weapon to boil fucking tea? Wait- why'd you even make it in the first place!? When'd you learn to make something like that…!?'_

Now that everyone neared the main gate, Aina began to move for the walling to the right of it. "Uh, this way. Wa- wait..." While they moved, she looked back at Rinnosuke. "Marisa? Like- _the_ Marisa Kirisame?"

"...Yeah!" Pointing at himself with his thumb, Marcus nodded grandly. "I'm her _dad,_ y'know! I'm not 'old man Kirisame' fer no reason!"

"Ye- yeah, I know, but…!" Aina walked, to stave off her skepticism… "I dunno, hearing people talk about Marisa's just really jarring! I mean, no offense gramps, but she's like an _urban myth_ 'round here, compared to you."

He grinned back. "Gee, thanks…!"

' _Where are we going, anyway…?'_ Sendai looked along the villages walls. She met Kasen's expression, and she seemed fairly content…

There was a hand on Sendai's shoulder. All of her party members were ahead of her at the moment, so- ' _How the fuck- someone snuck up-'_

"Aw, did someone talk about me?"

When Sendai turned her head vaguely to the left, Marisa's face was almost nose-to-nose with her's. " _Hehe~y,_ ze! _Mommy-chan!"_

 _FWAM!_ A blast of danmaku magic blew threw Sendai's back, pulsing through her form. " _Wh- augh…!"_

-+- _Vs. Famous Youkai Exterminator, Secondary Primary Incident Resolver, Ordinary Magician Marisa Kirisame_ -+-

"Holy _shit!"_ Aina snapped away from Rinnosuke, coming up near Sendai, who was stumbling around from the throbbing pain in her abdomen. "It's _her!"_

"It's me!" Marisa gave her a fluffy wave, as she lumbered backwards, satisfied from the way she unloaded into Sendai. "An' who're _you!?"_

"Wh- what the _fuck!"_ Sendai pivoted to glare at her. "You- _shot me!"_

"I _toldja_ our truce was off!" Marisa winked at her. "An' I toldja the first time we met! If I wanted you _dead,_ comin' up behind ya's just _no sweat!"_

Beaming wildly, Aina moved between them. "Wh- what…!? Are you- against us, or something!? Do- don't tell me-..."

"Sure!" Marisa wasn't sure what she was talking about, but agreed regardless. "If ya don't wanna get _knocked the fuck out,_ come at me, Mommy-cha~n!"

...Somewhat bewildered, Sendai took a glance at her other adult party members. They too held varied levels of bewilderment, brows raised…

 _Fwish!_ Her body lighting up with an amethyst flare, Aina began spinning, coming at Marisa like a top. "We're in the _middle of something-"_

 _KABOOM!_ Suddenly, a huge, teal mushroom cloud bloomed under Aina, sending her flying away. " _Hwu- wuah!?"_

' _She's gonna attack through it-'_

Marisa did exactly as Sendai anticipated, riding her broom straight ahead at bullet velocity.

 _WHABOOM!_ Despite Sendai's guarding arms, she was blown straight off her sandals by the ramming attack no problem. " _Hnn- aa~h!"_

 _Crunch!_ She landed in the snow down the road some meters away, rolling off her head and shoulders and onto her stomach. " _Nnhk- nn…"_

' _She can just- do that…!?'_

 _Woo~sh!_ Whipping her gaze around as she stood, Sendai saw Marisa roaring back, her broom aglow with azure light as she moved to ram Sendai anew.

' _I can't just block that-...'_ Sendai felt. ' _I'll have to-...'_

 _Whish!_ Wind whipped up her limbs, and she stretched them a little. ' _Let's try this!'_

 _whish!_ She slid on her sandals to the right, wind carrying her movement. Marisa corrected her path, ready to destroy Sendai anyway-

 _whi- whi- whish!_ Sendai jerked around in a boxy C-shape, precisely avoiding Marisa's broom pass entirely. ' _Holy crap!'_

Spinning around into a stop just behind Sendai, Marisa hopped off her broom. "Aw. Nice dodges there, _Mommy-chan._ "

Whipping her gaze to Marisa, Sendai snapped forward, clearing the distance nearly instantly-

 _KABOOM- BOOM- BOOM!_ Amber light exploded from her mini-hakkero, into Sendai's own gut.

Each explosion rocked Sendai back a step. Pain spiked through her whole body, great and overwhelming. "Da- damn-"

 _Click._ The mini-hakkero slipped from Marisa's grip, flicked straight up into the air. Spinning on her boot's heel, she jumped up two meters high and grabbed it-

 _WOOSH!_ A yin-yang top sent from Aina roared out beneath her leap.

 _WHAM!_ It ended up smashing off the side of Sendai's torso. " _Hu- oohf…!"_ Aina had likely sent it out in an attempt to nail Marisa, but just ended up surprising Sendai with it instead.

 _VRRRR~!_ Aiming straight down, Marisa sent dense rainbow energy down from her mini-hakkero as a laser.

 _WHAWHAWHAWHAM!_ It met Sendai's already crumpled body as it fell to the floor.

' _Aaa- aaa~h!"_ Sendai was in another world of pain, all of a sudden.

Using the beam's thrust force, Marisa bobbed in the air, beaming dangerously as the torso-width stream began to carve across the back-road. "Hehehe~...!"

Aina was up again, running straight at Marisa. "He- hey! Leave her _alone!_ I don't care if yer freakin' _Marisa Kirisame-_ I'm gonna- _"_

Aina ran up, stopping right before the column of rainbow doom. "Aa-" She realized she made a mistake, trying to amble back-

 _FWAM!_ It clipped her legs before she could do anything about it.

" _Hwua~h!"_ Aina was sent flying away again, her amethyst energy crackling, before she uselessly flailed to the ground ten-twenty meters away.

 _Woosh!_ Wind roared up Sendai's form, and she slid to the side, trying to stumble away. ' _Wh- why is she this fucking strong…! Well-... I have some new tricks up my sleeve, too!'_

 _Click!_ Before Marisa landed, her broom came up under her again, just so that Sendai couldn't quickly intercept her on landing. " _Hehehe~!_ C'mere- _Mommy-chan!"_

 _Woosh!_ Sendai leapt into the air, riding a coming breeze to gain height. ' _Oh- shit!'_

 _KABOOM- BOOM- BOOM!_ Marisa skidded by, her broom drawing a line in the offroad soil with her broom's bellend, a valley of pine-green explosions roaring from the ground Sendai passed direcly over.

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Upon landing, Sendai dodged ahead three times, getting the hell away. ' _If I-... try something different...'_

 _Kr- kra- krack…!_ She focused on the holy energy inside herself, and let her captured wind part. ' _Let's see how she handles this!'_

 _Thoom!_ " _Hmph!"_ Sendai stomped a leg into the ground, as she winced, the painful, holy shell materializing around her.

 _BAM- BOOM- KABOOM!_ A volley of green, starburst-like magic missles roared into her form, but she kept standing rigidly amidst them. " _Fhh- aaa~gh!"_

She expanded an arm to her right, where she saw Marisa's golden hair through the magic, for a moment-

 _WHUNK!_ " _Uuhk…!"_ Marisa had tried to zip straight past her, but Sendai clotheslined her with her solid, rigid, amber-affixed right arm.

...As the light effects from the magic that struck her faded, Sendai loomed down, sighting the fallen Marisa. She was lying on the dirty, snowy mess that was the wallside backroad.

 _PAP._ She clutched onto Marisa's hair, under her witch hat, and pulled on it hard with her left arm. She forced Marisa into sitting up. " _Nn-_ ow… uu- ah…" Eyes wide, Marisa stared up, while she was being positioned. "He- hey- um-"

 _WHACRUNCH!_ Sendai slung her other, glowing arm into Marisa's jaw, slamming her back into the ground. Her back of the head met the frozen dirt and ice, blood exploding out from her face and scalp. " _Ghhk- aa-..."_

' _...That's-... that.'_ Sendai stood upright, her whole body heavy from the billowing, amber shell around herself.

She let it fade out. Then, the pain she tanked met her all at once. ' _Ff-... oo- oh… fuck…'_ She held her own head.

...Slowly, Marisa rolled onto her side, while on the ground. ' _I- I wonder-... if she's okay-'_

" _Boo!"_ Marisa shot up. She had a thin blue cylinder from her hat, as she pushed herself up with one arm.

Sendai jumped. "Aa-"

 _KRAK- KABOOM!_ The TNT-like stick exploded, engulfing the two of them with massive, azure light. " _Aaa~!"_ Sendai screamed.

' _Ow ow ouch- fuck- aa- aaa-'_

...Everything was blurry for her, as she pushed up off the floor. _'O- oh… gods…'_ She wasn't sure when she fell over, or if she was where she was before the boom...

Marisa was getting up off the floor too, her hat gone. "Gh-... _he- heheh…"_

"Wh-..." Sendai tried to speak. "Kh- kaugh. Why- don't you just-... _stop?"_

...Marisa began to glare, instead of grin. "Then why the _fuck_ don't _you sto~p!?"_

 _VRRRR~!_ She shot a rainbow-colored beam forward, the prismatic light billowing from her mini-hakkero.

...Sendai stood aside of it, but only by a hair. ' _God-... damn, lasers!'_

Eyes wide, Marisa sprinted ahead. " _Hee~h…!"_

 _Woosh!_ Sendai threw a hook, but Marisa's broom came by at the perfect moment, pulling her away from it, allowing her skid behind Sendai just by holding onto it.

Sendai turned. Before she could even track Marisa, she felt something.

A small spread of soundless white magic passed into her, the pain indistinguishable from the danmaku that pierced her earlier. ' _Da- damn it…'_

 _Woo- woosh!_ As Sendai looked around, Marisa kept pulling herself into different rotations around her, outranging her and juking her movements with ease.

More of this soundless white magic was exposed to Sendai's back, then her front. She tasted iron, her limbs shaking. ' _Fu- fuck… she's- using danmaku, right? Why do I taste blood?'_

The cyclone of now white, colorless magic and raw pain that Marisa became chewed through Sendai's stamina fast. ' _Just-...'_

 _Fwish!_ Wind ran up Sendai's form, and she raised her fists. ' _Fuck o~ff!'_

 _fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ She slid around all four times, trying to skid out of Marisa's cyclone of magic torture, but Marisa somehow kept up with her movements with no problem, maintaining a rough circle around her.

" _Heh- hehe!"_ Marisa giggled in the air all around her. "Poor-... poor- ah!" She was going too fast to taunt properly, so she just stopped.

" _Aaa~gh!"_ Sendai yelled into the air.

' _It-... it hurts…'_ She searched her mind for options. ' _Gods-...!'_

Her vision began to flicker, and her limbs began to feel weightless. She was becoming numb, not of her own volition. ' _Nn- no… I- I didn't do everything I did- just to fucking lose to Marisa somewhere random-...'_

' _An- and-...'_ The pain was unbelievable. Her vision was doubled, her form jolting now and again to resist collapsing.

' _Reimu-...'_ In the middle of this pain, Sendai thought of her daughter. ' _Reimu!'_

" _Hraa~h!"_ Eyes wide, Sendai lashed out in the middle of all the pain. She thrusted a full arm forward.

 _THOOM._ Her palm met Marisa in the stomach, beneath her mini-hakkero wielding arm. It was a full-armed thrust, which came out lightning fast. It caught Marisa dead-center, despite all her speed.

 _THOOM!_ Before the first strike's momentum could toss Marisa, Sendai met her with a second full-armed palm, the movement she used untraceable.

 _KATHUNK!_ The final palm strike was lower, meeting Marisa's abdomen, throwing her off her broom. "Aa-..."

 _Thud._ Sendai collapsed, falling forward onto her face, mouth bloody. The odd heat that embodied her new, sudden movements calmed down.

 _Thu- thud!_ Marisa did a backflip from all the force exerted onto herself, and she landed on her stomach. "Uu- hh…"

...For awhile, the other three members of the party just stared at the two of them plainly.

"Now, I _know_ Marisa's a rapscallion…" Rinnosuke turned to Marcus, as they all stood against the interior part of the village's outer walling. "But, she's not an _unhinged lunatic…_ "

Marcus scratched his head. "Y'know, I honestly got _no idea_ what all _that_ was about. But, hmm…" He seemed curious over something, which was curious for Rinnosuke in and of itself. "I don't think I hate it!"

Kasen sighed. "I'll go heal them. And, um, Aina, too." She looked over to where Aina lied, still some meters away…

 _Sendai remembered Youkai Buster * Fragment._

...When Sendai opened her eyes, she was lying on a bench.

' _Ow.'_ She hurt for a second, which spurred her into wakefulness. Then, it went away. ' _The fuck-... wh- why'm I on some bench. What happ-... ah.'_ She remembered what happened. ' _That Marisa-... where'd that speed come from? Why can she cast so much? Fuck!'_ She was angry about losing. ' _Marcus-... why is your daughter fucking- ten times stronger than you!?'_

She sprang into a sitting-up position, before glaring around at the now overcast day.

Marisa was crouching in front of her. "Ooh! Mommy-chan!"

 _Whack!_ Sendai hooked her across the cheek. "Fuck off…!"

"Hey, hey!" Kasen bounded up to them. "Easy, now!"

"Ehe- hehe…" Nursing where she was struck, Marisa staggered back… "Chi~ll, Kasen. I deserved that!"

"Hell yeah, you did!" Aina was behind her, arms on her hips. "...Here I was- thinkin' to myself- 'what if Marisa just showed up an' kicked my ass', and then you _fucking did!_ What the fuck!"

Springing from her seat next, Sendai stomped up to Marisa. "Wh-... why're you _so much stronger,_ now? Were you just- _holding back,_ the past fights…?"

Marisa grinned at her. "Well, _yeah._ I've had ta beat up like, _four different gods_ on this job! Ya think I coulda done that wit' just my broom!?"

' _What…?'_ Sendai blinked at her.

"Though, I gotta say…" Marisa swayed around, a little. "You got a bit stronger, too!"

"Like _fuck_ I did. You threw me around like a goddamn ragdoll." Sendai shook her head… "I- I _smashed your jaw_ and hit the back of your head against the ground-... how'd you _get back up_ from that…!?"

Bringing her arms up behind her head, Marisa let her eyes shift away. "I mean-... I'mma be honest, I've taken harder blows than that, before!" Her eyes met Sendai's, again. "An' I'm _pretty good_ at surprisin' people, ze. I took it ya weren't used ta people just _poppin' back up_ anymore, especially when they ain't even youkai."

"...I _guess_ not." Sendai thought on that. "Fuck. ...Well. What now? Now that you've finally beaten me, again…"

...Marisa blinked. "I beatcha…? I'm pretty sure ya socked me with a good one at the end there, ze. Knocked me the fuck out, even!"

' _...Huh.'_ Sendai blinked, at that. ' _I don't remember that.'_

"Oh, yeah." Marisa gave everyone else a cautious look… "Only half 'a those bullets were danmaku, that time! ...Provided- the others were just _really weak_ non-elemental things, but I figured ya'd fight harder if I changed it up."

"...Good." Sendai looked down at her clothes, which seemed scuffed, but otherwise intact. "What the hell's the point of all this, again?"

...Her face falling, Marisa snorted. "Why do _you_ keep forgettin'? Ah, well. No reason!"

Turning, she began to leave. "Anyway! Thought I'd just check up on ya!"

"Hold on, now." Rinnosuke stood in her way, and she had to stop… " _I'd_ like to hear this reason, everything considered."

"As well as me." Kasen folded her arms, coming up behind her. "That was rather uncalled for."

...Marcus, however, simply observed the proceedings, a hand to his chin.

...She smiled at the two of them. "You didn't get it? Nnh. Man, you guys're _slow._ I mean, what the fuck was that?" She gestured to Sendai. "She did that _wind thing,_ then that _holy-... thing,_ and she got a few good dodges an' hits off on me, sure, but-..."

Smirking, she met Rinnosuke's eyes. "She don't fight _shit_ like she used to, yeah?"

...He exhaled. "Well-... I mean, she _did_ come back-"

"I don't give a shit what any of you _bozos_ hafta think about it." Marisa actively insulted everyone in Sendai's party. "Next time I see ya-...!" Pivoting around, she pointed at Sendai. "Y'better be packin' fuckin' _elixirs!_ 'Cause I won't be stoppin' at just a knockout, next time!"

"Marisa…" Kasen clenched her fists. "That's not _like you,_ Marisa. Nor is that something you should say to _anyone."_

...Marisa grinned at her. "An' _you_ wanna stop me? I'll blast as many asses as I gotta. I'll kick _all_ yer asses, if I gotta!"

...Since no one had anything further to say to her, she quietly began to strut off.

"He- heheh…" She twirled her mini-hakkero between her fingers, while she leisurely went-

 _WOOSH!_ Then, her broom came out from behind a building, catching her, taking off with the speed of a bullet.

...Sendai exhaled. ' _She's just going to keep cranking up the intensity. I'm going to need a strategy, the next time she crawls out of the woodwork. I'll need to get stronger, too. I can't really do anything with those-... enchantments I have, yet, and my standard skills aren't fast or strong enough to do anything about her. Fuck…'_

' _Where the hell are we, anyway…'_

Looking behind herself, there was a building there.

It was made of a strange sort of white concrete, fit with empty, open-air windows. Dust, dirt, and weather decay were present all over it.

...Moving away from the bench that sat before it, Sendai sized up the gritty, crappy building. ' _What a pile of shit. Not hard to believe it's just rotting away at the edge of the village. It's just barely kept inside the wall.'_

 _woo- woosh._ As the overcast's breeze met the grey building, it howled.

...Rinnosuke gave Marcus an odd look, before checking up on Sendai. "You good, there?"

"Ah?" Sendai faced him plainly… "Yeah."

"Damn…" Aina felt at herself, uncomfortable-looking. "I didn't think Marisa was such an _asshole…_ "

"She's not, normally…" Kasen looked worried. "But-..."

...Marcus shrugged. "She's pro'lly just got gas."

...Kasen frowned at him. "You aren't worried?"

He continued to casually slouch. "Nah. S'her choice."

...Shaking her head, Kasen moved towards the decrepit building's interest. ' _Welcome to the Kirisame family.'_ Sendai smiled at her reaction…

"It's probably just between us." Sendai stated what she knew. "...Don't take how she acts around me at face value."

' _She always jumps me so fast, I don't even have time to remember that she's doing it to jog my memory.'_ Sendai finally fully recalled Marisa's purpose in doing this… ' _She comes out of fucking nowhere, nails me, and bolts off. Seriously...'_

...Aina hussled up to Rinnosuke, and stole his hand again. "Anyway- c'mon. Let's uh…" Since Kasen had already pressed inside, presumably out of frustration, Aina followed her. "Let's check this place out!"

' _...Wh- wait, why're we checking this place out.'_ Sendai felt like she had missed that part…

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

 _Sendai Hakurei no Miko:_

NEW SKILLS:

 _x Body:_

Drunkards' Secret (Mean Drunk) - When attacked while drunk, Sendai's attack power increases moderately, and she gets angrier.

 _x Youkai Style:_

Essence of Brawling - Grappling the enemy, Sendai pulls them into her fists twice, before smashing them nose-first into her head, creating a perfect crescendo of blood from their nose.

Youkai Cunning: Harsh Lesson - When the enemy attacks, Sendai spins around their back, delivering the side of her palm to where their neck and the back of their head meet. Confuses the enemy, for awhile. Chains into other attacks easily, if used first. Similar to an attack used by Keine...

 _x Unknown Style:_

Unknown Style - A style which does not rely on dark, wind, or holy magic. Halves Tsukiko's strength when used, and renders her unable to call any element until she switches out of this style. Renders her incapable in critical situations.

Youkai Buster * Forgotten - Two-strike palm 'combo'. Tsukiko regains her shrine maiden instincts for the first two strikes of the true Youkai Buster combo. Learned by defeating Reimu. May be transitioned into a hard punch, or a gut punch.

Youkai Buster * Fragments - The third strike of Tsukiko's original youkai buster combo. Learned by battling Marisa four times. Weakest technique Sendai knows by far. May be transitioned into an attempted uppercut that will deal little damage.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

hi it's me

man, this chapter was long; it's 17 k words in and of itself, so it's pretty beefy

the tone fluctuates kinda strangely between when sendai and friends hit up tatsuako all the way up to the end; probably because tatsuako was not at all bothered by pretty much anything up until it was in her face that tsuruko was JOSHIN' HER

or at least, that's what i feel! also it's super unwieldy moving this whole unit at once, but so far it hasn't gone really poorly; it can be hard switching gears when everyone kinda gets a turn to talk sometimes though… and like, ai dunno exactly how the reader will interpret the time scale

when ai read back some stuff ai wrote the other night though, the pace was better than when writing it and ai dunno, maybe the prose handling in certain areas won't feel too off

ai'm writing this pre-proofread, so ai dunno, maybe ai'll do something to unify pre- and post- fight tatsuako's before the chapter drops, 'cause ai feel like there's a dissonance of tone there that strikes me kinda weirdly…

marisa coming out of nowhere and ass fucking sendai was fun but i was a little worried that it coulda been too much action in one chapter - w - but there was _a lot of time_ between the two tatsuako fights and the marisa skirmish so, honh; almost like, a whole standard chapter's length

having the party react to it was fun though; i always feel like when there's like 3+ party members describing everyone's actions aptly is a little difficult…! i get the urge to avoid repetitious placement of names, which can be a curse because there's no way to avoid that without going purple prose on names and synonymizations

-+- **BY THE WAY KIND OF SIZABLE ANNOUNCEMENT** -+-

you may have noticed it's been awhile since the last update!

this is because i have reworked chapters 1-10 of this story in the past month or so

chapter one has an entirely new introduction that meshes perfectly with the rest of the story, chapters 2-3 have been proofread again, chapter 4 has seen minor revisions, which… have lead to almost entirely new chapters 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10.

basically, i redid the whole first arc to flesh it out, make it more tonally appropriate to the intro (which is honestly really good and i hope it carries its charisma throughout the arc) and give it some of the pacing it needed

you don't _need_ to go back and reread because i made sure the time space continuum was fixed by the time i dropped the last of the revisions, but you will notice sendai's made some odd new friendships and met some new characters in chapters past this one that, if you hadn't read the new take on the arc, you won't really know the context for the relationship

you could just in theory ignore this and be fine with it! as of the time of this chapter none of those relationships have yet spanned out from that first arc, but they probably will hereonout

i might comb over recent chapters for reasons too but i dunno

sendai's also learned some new skills during that arc, the names of which will be placed here and they'll be fully elaborated on later

these skills are:

 _Essence of Steadfast Counter_ \- keine-centric headbutt attack where sendai executes while recovering from the floor

 _Essence of Finishing Blows_ \- when sendai knocks an opponent down during a Youkai Style combo, she may use an improved overhead thrust to absolutely demolish their skull

 _Unknown Style_

 _Youkai Buster Combo * Forgotten_

 _Charged Kick_ \- sendai charges a kick akin to how mokou kicks (youkai style)

 _Charged Weapon_ \- sendai charges a weapon to smash over an opponent's head (youkai style)

fantasy heaven also has gotten an entirely new way of carrying itself; we'll see more of that eventually

otherwise, there isn't too much that needs to be understood going ahead! just know that, while i don't expect anyone to need to go back and reread 1-10-... it has a lot of good moments, and i kinda want opinions on it; particularly 1, 2, 9, 5 now that i think about it, some scenes with sendai and mokou in 6 and 7, 8 actually, reimu and sendai's conversation in 10 feels a lot stronger- just you know, there was a lot of work put into fleshing this part of the story out…!

SO YEAH, that should be everything!

daily reminder we have a discord (so that this doesn't take any longer to ship i'mma just point you at my profile where there's also a link)

now to work on that FG batch i've been neglecting…!

as always, see you all next time!


	21. Legend Addiction

Sendai stepped along with her party, into the dark, somewhat derelict looking stone home.

' _Why are we here, again?'_ She began to feel the urge to ask why they'd entered somewhere so crappy, on such a fair day.

"So, Aina." She partially turned to the pink-clad shrine dancer. "Where the hell are we?"

"You asked about that homeless chick." Aina's long brown ponytail whipped to the side, as she turned to face Sendai. "...She's here!"

' _That's right. That shitty Tsuruko chick sold her own house, displacing some of her… sisters? I think they're her sisters. Anyway, they got the extreme raw end of things. This one apparently got sent here.'_

' _Don't know what to do when we find her. Maybe I'll share some yen, and give her a few life tips. I already somewhat know the pain, of being practically homeless in this village. It has to really suck to be her, right now.'_

' _So… yeah. I'd rather not let her die over the village's shit. I was strong enough to deal with it. She might not be.'_

"At least she _has_ a house." Sendai supposed, to lighten the mood.

Kasen looked around at the bare, grey room, coming in behind everyone else. "Could you call this a _home?"_

"Nah, but it's a _roof_ over yer head!" Marcus stared up at the cracked, crumbly roof of the house. "...Place needs a carpenter!"

Rinnosuke took in a deep breath, and furrowed his brows. "Sure doesn't _smell_ like a home."

"Hey, hey." Aina spoke up over them all. "This place- it's not just _her_ home."

Marcus suddenly paused in recognition. "Oh, _shit._ I think I know where the hell this is."

' _Oh, good. At this point, I expect us to step into some sex-laden hell of youkai and strange women. This village has some weird fascination with rape and sex. I mean, with youkai at the monetary helm this sort of makes sense, but c'mon.'_

"Over here." Moving, Aina cast her arm towards an open passage into a different room. "You'll see what I mean."

Following her in there, Sendai saw what she meant.

A big, rocky hole in the floor gave way to an uneven, gravel ramp. This was no bathroom, bedroom or other sub-common room; this was a poor man's stairwell into the Earth. Light shone from within, implying life was down there.

' _This doesn't give me a pleasant vibe.'_ Sendai idly nodded at the spooky hole. ' _I'm betting on youkai cave.'_

"Y'know." Marcus nodded, too. "I think this's a building code violation!"

' _You think?'_

Stepping down onto the uneven gravel slope, Sendai found it was surprisingly well-trodden, and well-lodged into place. ' _There are large stones that refuse to move, and the smaller gravel looks newer; it's laid out neater than it should be.'_

...A few steps deeper in, and she saw wooden crates full of gravel stacked near the bottom, obscuring dim candlelight. ' _Probably laid out from there. Just looking at that would have told me everything.'_

"You're just-... walkin' on in, huh." Aina began to stalk down with Sendai, as the others followed. "I mean- ya _do_ pack a punch, but-"

"It's a cave under the village." Sendai dismissed her concern. "I doubt there's anything down here I haven't seen before."

' _Not that I recognize the cave, mind you. Just-... there's only so much the woods around the village has to throw at you. Freaky, fucky occurrences aside. And, considering this era… we'll see.'_

Quickly, the cave lead into a hallway.

Orange and red light filled the dimness, along with odd day-like lights that may have been cast by the occasional access to the sky in odd places.

This hall was made of the same plaster-grey, concrete stone walls of the stone hut above. It split into various intersections, and had a large common room just ahead from the entrance.

Long-unlocked jail cells had their doors ajar. Some were closed, but…

' _There's furniture in all of these cells. And- some of them have people!'_

People old and young in rags and very worn villager outfits peered at the party as they progressed into the midst of the dingy, candle-lit main hallway.

"Um." Rinnosuke quickly realized what was going on, here. "First I've heard of this."

"You- don't say." Kasen brought a hand to her lips.

"Yeah, people don't talk 'bout it a lot." Aina panned her own gaze around. "'Cause, why would they?"

' _...I mean, fair enough I guess, but… this wasn't here twelve years ago, as far as I was aware.'_

This all wasn't a surprise to Marcus, however. "Never really had a reason ta mosey 'round here, but I knew 'bout it. Not much 'bout the village I _don't_ know."

Giving Marcus a plain sort of look, Sendai nodded. "What's all this about, then?"

"It's the homeless village!" Marcus smiled and shrugged. "...If ya wanna know _what_ this place is, it's a real old jail complex that the village used ta use. Then, y'know, when 'the layer of dirt' hid all the Hakurei-like shit, most a' this place got basically erased. But, since it's on the rim a' the village, a lot a' the halls are still stable an' usable."

' _Oh, right. 'The layer of dirt'… that thing.'_ It was something that happened before she was born, and it somewhat slipped her mind. _'When did I hear about that last?'_

Kasen was somewhat uncomfortable. "I'd _thought_ there were more people in the village then there was housing..."

"Yeah, they don't all just pack themselves inta tiny houses." Marcus grinned over at her. "...But, the problem's not as bad now as it used ta be. Two story houses opened a lotta shit up. But, we're always gonna have more humans in this village than we really know what ta do with."

"Really?" Sendai felt odd about that. "With all the youkai, wouldn't humans be at jeopardy of declining if anything?"

"You would _think._ " Marcus shook his head. "But, nah. Youkai murder, big surprise, happens super scarcely, an' the bigger times these days happen in short bursts, to spike fear. But usually, that's like… pretty rare in an' of itself. Human life's a resource ta youkai, yeah?"

' _They do need people's fear, yeah. Still… back in my time, there was a lot more natural violence. Now, I mean… the village is eating itself in a way, but none of this feels typical or regular.'_

"Personally…" Kasen began to look annoyed. "I'm not a fan of this 'humans as fear livestock' approach."

"Wait-..." Aina wasn't in on the meta-physics of Gensokyo. "Youkai need humans for _what now?"_

"Don't worry about it." Rinnosuke saved everyone the trouble, for now. "...When we're somewhere quieter, I might tell you."

Aina's smile instantly warmed up at that. "Oh? Somewhere quieter, huh? What do you plan to do to me then, Kourin?"

...After glancing away, he gave her a blunt look back. "Probably not whatever you have in mind.

Most of the people in the cells around the party ignored them, going about their own business.

 _Crea~k._ One of the older men opened his cell from the inside, before slowly sliding it shut once he was out in the hall…

The party watched him mosey tiredly into the open, wide common room ahead.

Mats were laid down around the room's floor here, under the warm dim lights of candles and lamps.

"Mmm…" There was a woman with bright pink hair, clad in a kimono, seated on her knees on a dirty red-brown carpet.

' _...Looks like she's selling random shit.'_ Her carpet had potion bottles, random furnishings, and jars of various snacks there.

There were various similar shops, some obviously operated by youkai, and others not so much. Unlike on the village's surface, no one loudly announced their wares, however.

Everyone spoke in whispers and quiet tones, populating the dingy tunnel system with a quiet murmur.

Sendai strolled away from the party, and up to the mat with the pink-haired youkai girl.

She brushed her long locks, smiling up at Sendai with closed eyes. "...Yes?"

"What's a youkai do with money?" Sendai wondered.

...The long-haired girl smiled harder, shifting her head about. "Mmm. Many things. What does a human do, with money?"

"Eat?" Sendai guessed.

"We don't get these clothes from nowhere." The youkai girl gestured to her colorful cyan-white kimono. "...And I, personally… am saving up."

' _...Fair enough, I guess. Never heard of youkai trading yen between one another before, but that might be one of this era's newer developments.'_

"Other youkai make clothes?" Sendai wondered.

"Mmm. Yes." The pink-haired girl nodded. "But, human clothiers are nice, too. I am more… village-minded than most youkai would have patience to be."

' _...Vague enough to be suspicious, but I don't really feel like breaking her balls over nothing.'_

"Even youkai clothiers tend to want to be paid, also." The youkai girl elaborated. "You see, anyone can make rags. Therefore, clothiers go to great lengths to acquire only the most beautiful and exotic materials for their new projects. Such materials… you don't so simply find on a stroll through the woods. You find them with money."

"...I guess so." Sendai couldn't really argue there.

"Speaking of, here's what I'm selling." The girl spread her arms towards her wares.

Her telekinetic magic wrapped around each item, making them glow in the dim lighting of the room.

There were vases, some bricks, three different potions, some stacks of different cloth, talismans, and a strange metal device.

...Sendai gave the metal device a frown. "What's that supposed to be?"

"Aah." The girl gave her own head a nod. "That is a stun gun. It is not a cheap item."

' _Stun gun.'_ The name instantly told Sendai all she needed to know.

"...I see you are interested." The youkai girl smiled wider. "When you grip the triggers on either side, the prongs on the tip activate with momentus thunder energy. It is like a switchblade of light, and even rougher youkai may be left stunned by its magic."

' _She sure hypes it up.'_ ...Sendai thought back to the electrical guns the lunar rabbits wielded a few days ago. ' _You know what? Not a bad idea.'_

"How much?" Sendai figured she might as well try it out.

"Thirty thousand yen." The youkai requested.

...Sendai reached into her arm sleeves, then her apron. ' _Got more money than I know what to do with. Next time I fight a mage, I'm paying them back for all the shitty_ _fucking electric spells they've used on me.'_

 _Sendai obtained Stun Gun!_

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

21

Legend Addiction

"Really." Kasen gave Sendai a plain look, as she rejoined the party. "Do you even know how to _use_ a stun gun?"

"...Yes." Sendai lied. She figured it'd be similar to that half-broken zap gun she'd stolen from that bunny soldier.

"... _When_ have you had to use a stun gun?" Kasen called her bluff.

"It wasn't technically a stun gun, but it _was_ an electrical weapon." Sendai confessed. "Unless this also explodes after one use, it's probably a better weapon than the one I had to use."

Kasen wasn't sure what to make of that. "...Ah."

' _I've still got this blue version of my outfit on. It's less conspicuous than my regular red-white clothing, probably. Actually, considering the sleeves are just plain-looking black sleeves… this is an ironically effective casual outfit, now that I think about it.'_

"Stun guns are pretty cool. Kinda." Aina looked mixed, somehow. "...I mean, they're a vital part of dance battles, but _fuck_ , they _hurt!"_

After a moment, Rinnosuke nodded. "I'm gonna pretend you didn't say that."

' _Wh- why would-... okay.'_ Sendai hid her grin, for the moment she had it.

"What…?" Kasen's expression ran through three different emotions. "I-... I don't think so."

" _Anyway!"_ Aina shuffled past Marcus, as he made a small expression. "We gotta find Keiko! Um-... she was the girl who went homeless and shit. She lives down here, somewhere. Actually- if we find her box, we might find her."

"Her-... box." Rinnosuke confirmed.

Smiling, Aina nodded twice. "Yeah. She used to have this like, semi-magic box she lived in, in the alleys. But, she found her way down here after awhile."

' _...Wait- the_ _hell.'_

"A box." Sendai confirmed again. "Like-... cardboard?"

Aina smiled awkwardly. "Yeah?"

"How is she not _dead?"_ Sendai was curious. "Either from the elements, or from the people who live here."

"Well!" Aina really wasn't sure what to say. "...I guess ya could say she was in her element. Or something. I think most people learned not ta fuck wit' her. She's kinda sore after everything."

' _Being homeless is a good reason to be sore, I'd think. Still, if the lunatics who'd bother to fight me were put off by her… hmm.'_

"Would you know where she is down here, then?" Rinnosuke gazed down the long dim halls, questioning Aina.

Aina, however, was a little dicey. "...Uuh. T'be honest, no~."

"Mmh." Sendai began to move. "We'll just walk around, then. I'm sure we'll find something eventually."

"...I'm glad you're confident, at least." Kasen looked skeptical of this idea. "Like mother like daughter."

' _What's that supposed to mean…'_

Marcus gave his beard a stroke. "Y'know, if you maidens run on holy signatures an' shit… wouldn't this Keiko emanate holy an' faith?"

"Ooh!" Aina perked up at that. "Damn, you're smart! ...But, she hasn't like, done prayer or practice in awhile. I- I think, at least."

"...Dunno 'bout _that._ " Marcus moved to stroll with Sendai. "Usually, people're the most faithful when they have the most need fer hope. You'd think she'd do a whole lotta prayin', bein' homeless and all."

' _He says that, but if anything, the Hakurei god only helping me with my flashy item crash shit later in life hasn't done much to make me faithful. ...When I put it like that, I sound like I just don't believe in it, but the fact it can only do that is what sets me off.'_

"Lemme just…" As they all slowly began to stroll, Marcus held his hand into the air.

 _fwish._ A small, almost completely translucent orb of mana hovered into the air. "This orb's kinda dark-affinated, so when we near someone really holy, it oughta start changin' color."

"...What's that make me, then?" Sendai noticed how it wasn't reacting to herself…

Grinning, Marcus snorted. "Y'see- ya _do_ influence it, but only a little! Yer not exactly a beacon a' holy righteousness, if ya haven't noticed yet!"

 _fwish._ When Aina stepped near the orb, it lit up white.

"Oh, right. Faith catalyzer." Marcus nodded vaguely. "Shit."

"Oops." Aina blinked, gingerly trying to stare into the orb. "...That's _cool._ "

...As the party milled about amidst a deviating hallway, a greying man with a moderately-sized beard came up to them.

"The hell…" He scowled, a lantern held tight. "Ya bastards-... ain't from that _Gold Grin_ place, now?"

Sendai found it hard to understand him at first, but quickly pieced together what she recognized. "...No?"

Aina opened her mouth. "Well, actually I- mmh." Rinnosuke withheld her input with a hand.

"We don't want y'shitty _shrine maidens-_ kickin' us around like dogs." The man sneered as hard as he could. "Y' _hear_ me…!?"

...Aina opened her mouth, and tried to suck on Rinnosuke's hand.

He jumped at the sensation. "Wh- what the hell-" He even let a swear slip.

"Is there a 'shrine maiden' problem in these parts?" Sendai began to feel extremely ironic. "...I- I'm a youkai, you see-"

"Ooh!?" The old man beamed. "Down the hall- in the park, tha' right! This little shit's been fuckin' wit'-... wit' everyone! Bu' also- she's been fuckin' wit' this girl tha' always helps people. Pisses me tha' fuck off. Don't deserve tha' shit."

' _It's a lead, at least.'_ Sendai figured.

"Thanks." With that, Sendai began to stroll off.

The old man raised his lantern into the air. "Rip 'er damn guts out!"

' _He just confided in a 'youkai' to fend off a 'shrine maiden'. This village is actually upside down.'_

As they went, Sendai leading hastily, Kasen took a brief look back at the old man as they got further away from him. "...Not-... exactly a polite thing to say, is it?"

"Don't imagine a lotta people got room fer 'polite' between 'starving' an' 'living in dirt'." Marcus contested. "Not that ya don't see cool homeless dudes, but if anyone had a reason t'be a dick, y'know…"

"I suppose it'd depend on their circumstances." Kasen reasoned in turn. "...Even so."

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

As the five hurried down one of the deviating, cell-lined halls, they heard a girl's voice in the distance.

She was singing, carefree. _"It's a fi~ne day. People open windo~ws…"_

' _I'm sensing a trend with this place. Every time we take two steps forward, we find something that immediately devalues our previous observation. Pretty sure if I just wandered in here without any idea what I was doing, I might've still ended up here.'_

' _Particularly, because whoever we're trying to find is singing loudly into the hallways.'_

As they neared the semi-well lit end of this hall, the singing grew louder. _"They leave their hou~ses, just for a sho~rt while…"_

Sendai stepped into the well-lit room.

It was a small, underground garden, or 'park'.

Exotic trees with some kind of bark completely unfamiliar to Sendai stood here, somewhere encumbered by the rough stone roof.

Overcast, white rays came from the ceiling above. Wherever the topside of this room was, it had ground which partially revealed cracks of sunlight.

' _...For some reason, this feels-... really cool.'_

"Wh- what tha' fuck." Marcus looked surprised, but not unpleasantly so. "Palm trees?"

' _What the hell's a palm tree?'_

...Sitting atop a stone pillar here, was a woman with navy hair. She had no shoes, wearing black-and-pink striped stockings, idly swinging her feet as she stared up at the overcast cracks.

' _Wait…'_ Sendai recognized her.

When no one else said anything, Sendai stomped forward. _"Rio?_ One a' Keine's kids?"

Freezing, the technicolor girl's gaze immediately shifted down to Sendai.

"Oh!" Aina bounded up next to Sendai, too. "Heya, Ann! Boss is only slightly peeved ya've been taking like ten sick days in a row…!"

"...What-..." Rio's gaze was centered on Sendai, however. "What are _you_ doing here, little girl?"

' _Rio here's one of Keine's kids, and one of the shrine maidens who helped Dieter out with his bullshit. Keine laid her out flat, and talked her down about being such a cocksucker, but…'_

"We're not here for you, exactly." Sendai clarified. "We're looking for a homeless girl who lives in a box."

"Keiko!" Aina supplied. "You seen Keiko, Ann?"

' _Why the hell's she calling her Ann? Wait-... right. That's the crappy nickname she wants to go by. Fuck that.'_

"...Her, hmm?" Rio shut her dual-colored eyes. "...Ehe. Aina… you do realize, in the position you're in, I'm not supposed to _help you,_ right?"

"If ya tell me, I'll buy ya new fuckin' rollerskates." Aina casually tried to bribe her.

"Tsk." Rio shook her head.

' _...I can smell her shitty perfume from over here.'_ It was some kind of vague berry scent…

 _whish._ Rio floated down from the stone column in the midst of the mildly green room. Hovering in the air before the five, she folded her arms. "You don't need to worry about her. The smartest thing you all could do right now, is leave."

"When you put it like that, we're not." Sendai didn't like that answer. "Didn't you get put in _jail_ or something? What asshole let you out?"

"...I let myself out." Rio smiled widely. "I'm ashamed to admit… you scare me, Tsukiko."

"I should." Sendai resisted gaining a small smile. "Tell me everything that's going on here, or I'll kick it out of you."

Rio gave an airy, somewhat frustrated-looking nod at that. "Mmh. Eeh. Well..." Looking around the room, she inhaled.

Upon exhaling, she ascended higher. "I don't think there's any chance of that happening."

 _FWI- FWI- FWISH!_ Sendai sent out a barrage of talismans in the next moment.

 _VRRR~!_ Before Rio, a bright, cyan-white saw blade whirled out from behind herself, intercepting the talismans and grinding them into shreds of paper.

' _What the fuck.'_

"I don't have time to kill here, either." Rio began to move for the exit, where the party had come in from. "I was waiting for more volunteers, bu~t…"

"Hold it there." Kasen began to stomp towards her. "I don't know what's going on here exactly, but-"

" _Girls!"_ Rio yelled at the top of her lungs.

 _fwi- fwi- fwish._ From the ivy, and the hall opening opposite of the party, off-color red-white clad maidens began to stroll into the room.

"Aa- Ann, what is it?"

"We're ready to _strike!_...Uh."

"Where's all the gross dudes?"

"Mistress-"

Rio pointed a cyan-white katana at the party. "First, you deal with them. They are youkai, and those who aren't still seek destruction of the village. By my light, heed me and _kill_ these foes."

"Um." Aina began to raise her fists. "Ann- what the _fuck…!"_

"Are you _serious?"_ Kasen just looked annoyed. "What's the point of this? Is this... _really_ how afraid of us you are?"

After a moment's reluctance, Rio gave her a smile. "Yes."

' _So much for Keine's lesson.'_

"When you are done here, sisters…" Rio held her katana up higher. "Destroy as much of this place as possible. We will meet at the Golden Grin to celebrate, when you are all done."

"Woah…!? There gonna be free drinks!?"

"As you wish, Ann!"

"We'll do as you ask!"

"Hell yeah! Love you, Ann-baby!"

Aina stepped back between the other four party members. "Wh- ah, this is _fucked…_ dude- they're carrying _fucking katanas!_ This is like-... attempted murder!"

"No shit." Sendai monotoned.

Rinnosuke inhaled. "...So. The plan here?"

"Marcus. Rinnosuke." Kasen stepped up next to Sendai. "Aina, too. You three keep together, if you can help it. Me and Tsukiko, here…"

"We'll do most of the fighting." Sendai brought up her fists.

 _Whish._ Wind wrapped up around her form, as she took some practice steps in place, stretching her neck and arms. ' _With this many blade-wielding enemies, speed is going to be important. No time to learn like the present.'_

This would be what she considered her first true fight with the wind's aid.

-+- _Vs. Artificial Hakurei Project * Metal Ann's Subsidiary_ -+-

In total, there were sixteen faux shrine maidens, all attempting to imitate Reimu's appearance, and all wielding shiny, new-looking katana blades.

Twelve were in a cluster across the room, but four had come from the ivy-adorned walls around the party.

Sendai cast her gaze back, and gestured to everyone else. "You guys- deal with the idiots behind you. I'll deal with the rest."

 _WHAM- BAM!_ Aina already ejected a big, torso-sized yin-yang top from herself, which annihilated a samurai girl instantly by bowling into her legs.

Flipping out his pistol, Rinnosuke aimed it at one of the oncoming girls. "Swords mean nothing- to my-... _super weapon."_ He wasn't sure where he was taking his boast, but the girl seemed to recognize the gun regardless, stopping pensively.

 _KRAK- KROOM!_ Marcus flourished his arm, and a great blade of earth erupted under one of the oncoming girls, sending her hurtling onto her side. "Wh- _whoa~h!"_

' _...They probably have things sorted back here.'_

The fourth nearby girl ran for Sendai.

 _whish!_ But, Sendai was already gone.

Arms held up close to her face, Sendai sprinted with the wind's aid, snapping right up to the twelve-girl horde within a second.

They were tightly packed and all armed with katanas, sticking oddly close to one another, betraying their collective inexperience.

"Hey!" Sendai yelled at them, stopping before them.

 _Whish!_ When the frontmost girl swung on impulse, Sendai slid on her own sandals, way to her own right.

 _whi- whi- whish!_ Wind on her heels, she slid along the flank of the entire horde. Her eyes were wide, the wind blowing through her blue miko outfit and caressing her face.

' _So fast…!'_

Running up past the girls just turning towards her, Sendai infiltrated the horde.

 _fwi- whap- fwish- fwish- pap- pap- whish!_ Half-sprinting, half-dashing by tensing her muscles and throwing herself, Sendai clumsily dodged through the midst of them. Every other moment, she noted the surprised eyes of a katana-wielding girl, as they just noticed Sendai's presence.

 _Cla- clack!_ Blades clicked, the women accidentally assaulting each other lightly amidst the horde. "Aa- _hey-"_

"You- tangled our _swords together-_ Masa-chan you idiot-"

"She's _blue-_ I'm _red!"_

"C'mon. Ann's counting on us..."

Sendai stopped her sprint-sliding bonanza at the back of the twelve girl party, wind whipping around her. ' _It's taking my hair a moment to catch up with my movements…!'_

The backmost girl turned for her. "What tha' heck-"

 _Pap- whap- pap!_ In one second, Sendai connected two sets of knuckles with the girl's nose, and one with her gut. " _Uuha-"_

 _Wham!_ Reeling a fist back overhead, Sendai thrust it down into the girl's face, wind messily splaying out from the impact.

"Nh- hk-" While the girl she hit cringed away, another girl came forward with a katana raised. ' _Gotta go-'_

 _Whish!_ Sendai slid out of the way of a cleaving blade-

 _whi- whi- whish!_ Then, she jerked herself into the middle of the crowd again.

"There's fucking _a ton of us-_ why can't we _hit her!?"_

"Mh- my _noshe hurtsh-"_

"Just-... spread out! Spread out!"

In order to get their bearings, they all separated from one another, some of them spinning around to keep their eyes on Sendai.

' _...I can't really actually do anything like this, aside from being annoying. If only I could, like…'_

Then, an idea. ' _If I can use my momentum after attacking while using my dark magic, then… with wind, maybe I can do something similar.'_

 _Whish!_ Sendai dodged towards one girl who had her back to her.

 _Whack!_ Effortlessly, Sendai flicked her left leg up, her sandal meeting the back of the girl's head.

"Whu-" The girl with long brown hair was thrown onto her knees, completely taken off-guard by the kick to the back of her head. " _Unh- ngh…"_

' _...It's really going to take some getting used to- but I have to use my flightiness and speed to my advantage. I can't hit for shit- but I can hit a lot, and I can hit before anyone can even think of attacking.'_

 _Whi- whish!_ Darting forward twice more, Sendai got away from the scene before anyone could engage her-

 _Wham!_ Sliding to a stop, the ball of Sendai's palm met a miko's gut. "Ow-"

 _Wha- wha- whap, pap!_ Instantly after, Sendai followed up with two jabs to her gut, and two thrusts to the girl's face. ' _I guess- I'm attacking this one now…!'_ Sendai hadn't entirely processed coming up to this new girl before she started attacking.

The girl had her eyes shut, saliva flecking into the air. Sendai's fists had forced her head to rock back and forth.

' _Maybe-... ooh.'_ Sendai saw a single girl who had gotten really far from the others.

"I see her!" The girl with short, black hair announced, raising her katana-

' _These girls are all so scrawny, even my weak punches toss them around.'_

 _fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish._ Sendai snapped over towards her within a second, her hair splaying out wildly.

 _Whunk._ Her palm met the girl's pelvis. "Aa-"

 _Wa- wap- whap- wap!_ Four hook-like thrusts met the sides of the girl's head, forcing her back. "Gh- kha-"

' _It's all about being more aggressive than usual, when you can be.'_

 _whish!_ When she thrust her blade forward, Sendai was behind her.

 _Wham!_ Sendai's left fist hooked hard against the back of her head. " _Uwha-"_ Saliva fell from the girl's mouth, ejected by the punch.

 _fwi- fwish!_ Sendai dodged around her, getting in front of her-

 _fwi- fwish!_ And, as she tried to turn around again, Sendai was already behind her again. "St- stohp…" Dizzy, the girl whipped her head around left and right-

 _whi- whi- WHISH._ Wind coalesced around Sendai's left arm, as she grinned wickedly. When she stopped and reeled it back, the stirred wind from all her movements combined into one motion. ' _Alright…!'_

 _THOOM._ Sendai plunged her knuckles into the nook of the young girl's back, spiralling wind boring into her flesh without incision.

 _Crack!_ " _Aa-"_ The girl's eyes snapped wide open. Pain jolted up her body like lightning.

 _FWI- WHOO~SH!_ Then, the wind around Sendai's arm detonated like a horizontal cyclone. The girl was launched way ahead, her whole body doing messy flips in the air. " _Whu- aaa~h!"_

 _BAM- THUNK- WHAM- BAM!_ She crashed into at least six of her friends, and the resulting mess was enormous. " _Aaaa~h!"_

Girls fell every which way, katanas abandoned, some losing their hair bows, arm sleeves being cast into the air.

"He- hahahah!" Sendai beamed wildly. "Holy shit…!"

' _That- really escalated quicker than I'd expected!'_

"Wh-..." The untouched girls had wide eyes. "What the _hell…!"_

"Oo- oh, gods…" One of them dropped their katana. "Gods, _no~._ What- she like-... oh, _no,_ sis..."

"Um…" A blond-haired miko began to crouch. "Ca- crouch, so she can't, um, do that…!?"

"You're a badass! Go stab her!" Sendai heard two girls to her left…

A girl with long, black hair slid at Sendai in a near instant. _"Got you-"_

Sendai's heart jumped, and she compacted her whole body, weaving down and to the right-

 _whap._ With her left arm, Sendai grabbed the girl's main blade arm. With her right arm, Sendai held onto the girl's side.

 _woosh._ "Wh-..." The girl swung down her katana, before stumbling forward after hitting nothing. Sendai had pushed herself past the girl. "Nnh? You won't-"

She turned back to Sendai-

 _WHACK!_ Sendai leapt, her leg sweeping up and into the air, and into the girl's chin. The tip of her sandal met the girl's jaw.

" _Ghu- uu…!"_ Letting out an airy sound, the tall woman dropped her katana, and stumbled back, feeling at her jaw…

"She's- so _big,_ why is she so _fast…?"_

"I-... I wanna give up."

"Re- really, what?"

...Stopping herself from falling, the tall, black-haired woman glared at Sendai. "You…"

Sendai danced around in place, grinning at her as she threw practices punches at the air. "Hey- hey. What's up?"

"You're- in my _way…"_ The woman crouched down, reclaiming her katana. "I'll be a star at Golden Grin- you know…!?"

"Good for you." Sendai raised a hand, beckoning her. "Come on."

Reeling her katana back, the woman closed her eyes.

' _Oh. I've seen this shitty attack before.'_

...Quietly, Sendai crouched down.

 _woosh._ She leapt gently into the air, wind carrying her up and past the girl.

" _Zantetsuken!"_ The girl swung her blade.

 _SHI~NG!_ Her slice was a horizontal flash of white, and sure death.

...But, Sendai wasn't there still, by far. "Ff- fuck." The girl looked around-

 _Wham!_ The top of Sendai's sandal met the girl's nose, when she looked to the left.

 _Pap- whap- pap- pap!_ As the girl lurched to the side, dropping her katana again, Sendai pummeled the soft side of her gut in rapid succession; with alternating left-right thrusts.

Each punch was a needle to the girl; sudden, painful and enraging.

Then, Sendai spun on one heel.

 _KAWHAM!_ She kicked high, her foot reaching as high as her own head. The side of her sandal met the back of the girl's head.

 _thud._ Weakly, the girl collapsed into the spotty patches of grass along this particular area of flooring. "Wh-... _why…"_

...With that settled, Sendai looked around at the other girls.

Some had their arms up in surrender. Others were still on the floor, nursing themselves, and some were crying.

Small pools of blood were on the floor. When Sendai had launched one girl into many others, they'd cut themselves with their own katanas during the domino effect. "Wh- where's Chine-chan…? I- I need more bandages…"

"It-... it _hurts…"_

"This- this sucks…"

"We- we _fucked up._ We- should _not_ be fighting her! I- I dunno 'bout you guys- but I-..."

' _...Looks like it's all over.'_

 _Sendai got Shiny Katana (24 uses remaining)._

 _Sendai got 86,050 Yen!_

 _Sendai learned Counter Quickstep!_

 _Sendai learned Quickstep Blow!_

' _It's going to take more getting used to… but, I really feel like I'm going to get to do some cool things with that speed.'_

"So." As her hair blew idly in her self-created wind field, Sendai stepped amidst the sad girls. "What _exactly_ would have happened, if I didn't ruin this-... 'raiding party'?"

...From the floor, that black-haired woman that Sendai tormented began to get back up.

"...We-... we would- destroy this cr- crappy place." The woman forced out. "The future- of the village… doesn't need _scum and trash_. It-... it might sound extreme, but I-... I believe we should cull- the population."

' _Add one to the 'whackjob' list. Man, this place can't get a break.'_

"How about we start with you?" Sendai began to crack her knuckles…

"Did you all _really_ think this would work?" Arms folded, Kasen stepped up, glowering down at the girls. "I can think of _so many reasons_ that this would be a bad idea. Discounting the ones where-... hordes of adversaries mysteriously crush your offense before it even begins."

' _So, what happened just now, basically. I was hardly even fucking doing anything, and they pissed themselves. If they had a grain of combat knowledge, they'd be able to tell I was doing fuck and all. Speed isn't everything.'_

"Mm- mistress- had a _plan."_ The black-haired woman justified. "...You- idiots are trying to ruin it. Just- listen… the village _needs_ re-organization. It's gotten so extreme, we can only clean this slate with blood."

Coming up to her, Kasen's expression soured. "...By your logic, murder may as well be legal. No, there's _no way_. No matter how you put it, you're just-... it's just _murder._ "

The woman glared back into Kasen's eyes. "And- that's bad _how?"_

' _Pft. Wonder if Kasen'll be able to tell she's just being an edgy teenager.'_

"Are- are you really _human?"_ Kasen was baffled. "What if someone just, killed your parents, or loved ones?"

"That'd be a crime. Because my parents are loved." The woman answered, standing back up straight. "...No one loves the trash down here. We could paint the walls with blood, and no one would care. Sure, it'd smell bad, and look bad, but-"

Kasen nearly punched her, but stopped her fist before it met the girl's face.

The girl recoiled, and scowled back.

...Sendai panned her gaze around the other women.

"Tell me." Sendai was curious. "Do you all believe her?"

At first, there was silence. The girls looked around, unsure.

"We- well…" One of them on the floor spoke. "Nn- no… but-... if- if no one would care, and if only a couple of us really killed people, then-..."

"You're all guilty." Kasen glared at them all. "You were all about to just _let this happen._ "

' _...Looks like we stopped something that could've been bad. If they actually went ahead with this, it'd probably trickle farther than a couple murders. It'd set a bad precedent. Far as I know, people haven't been dying recently, and I'd y'know… like to keep it that way.'_

"Ngh." The long black-haired woman began to part from everyone. "Screw you."

' _Pft.'_

She began to trot off. She crossed the whole grassy room, intent on passing the other three on the room's other side.

"Uh. Yeah, hey." Aina stood in her way. "What you did was kinda fucked up, Rieko."

"Go away." Rieko ignored her. "Slut."

As Rieko brushed past the rest of them, she was stopped by someone else.

 _Shink._ They ran their katana into Rieko's chest. " _Hk- aa-"_

 _thud._ Rieko was thrown aside in the next moment, collapsing.

' _Hmm?'_ Sendai watched this new, navy-haired girl step into the room.

"Stay still." Rinnosuke aimed his gun at her, as she neared him, Marcus and Aina. "Or I'll shoot."

"Shoot me." The girl aimed her katana at them.

Her hair was long, reaching down to the back of her thighs, and very fluffy. But, it was also a complete mess, and her clothes were brownish, faded generic garments.

"...Oh." Rinnosuke didn't think his bluff would be called so easily…

Aina knew this girl, too. "Yo- Keiko! It's me, Aina! We're cool, right?"

' _So it's her.'_ Sendai remembered the name, this time. _'The homeless girl. She sure looks the part. Messy hair, raggy clothes...'_

"You-..." Shaking where she stood, Keiko misunderstood their intentions. "I'll kill all of you- before you can leave..."

"Nah, actually." Marcus gave her a wave. "We came ta stop 'em. We're on your side, s'far as I'm aware."

...At that, Keiko lowered her katana. Her wide, intense stare met Aina's gaze

Once Sendai got a better look, she realized Keiko was hardly wearing anything, except for a rag that covered her moderate breasts, and a ripped up beige skirt. Her skin was caked with dirt, black and brown speckling her pale flesh in splotches.

Aina nodded, as if confirming Marcus's truth.

"Wh-..." Keiko looked past her, seeing all the defeated red-white girls. " _No…"_

Numbly, she ambled past them. Seconds later, she brushed past Sendai, and moved for the girls on the floor.

' _So… this is Keiko, then-'_

 _Shink._ Keiko drove her katana into a resting girl's stomach. "Kh- _aaa~h!"_

The other girls were all alarmed. "Wh- aah- what the fuck!?"

"No! What're you-...!?"

"Oo- oh..."

Moving, Sendai intervened before this went any further.

Keiko moved her blade up, as if readying to hack into the head of the girl she just stabbed.

 _THUNK._ Sendai held her arm in the way, and the dirty katana slid into her skin. "Ff- _fuck…"_

"Pl- please…" Keiko's tired eyes met Sendai's. "Let me-... aa-..." She seemed to realize she cut Sendai's arm, her eyes widening at the blood blooming around the blade.

In the overcast of the slightly green cave, Sendai glared back. "...Get your sword out of my _arm._ "

 _Shunk._ So, Keiko did, lifting it back.

Blood poured openly from Sendai's new, filthy wound. "They're- nnh- not a threat anymore. Don't just go killing people."

"But-..." Keiko gave them all a small, tight frown. "I-... I was supposed to-..."

"You…" Kasen turned to Keiko. "You can't just _kill them_ , either. The threat has passed."

...Keiko stared at the floor, becoming quiet.

All around them, the miscellaneous girls began to rise from the stone and grass. They chose different exits, not moving together, dispersing in random directions.

"Aa-" A skittish, blonde girl darted around between them. "Hold on! You- can't go! I need to treat you! Sit down- hey- _hey!"_

"You-..." Keiko looked further at the ground. "You all-... stole my chance."

Sendai looked up from her own wound, at her again. "Ye- yeah? Wh-"

 _fwish!_ Sendai slid back, her hair flicking forward from the wind.

Keiko's katana slipped through the air in a near instant. Tiny drops of water sparkled in the light where her katana would have slit Sendai's throat.

"Keiko!" Kasen moved for her. "Stop!"

"Aa- nnh." So, she did stop, looking panicked at Kasen's volume. "Aa-..."

Sendai had the urge to punch her back. But first, she looked left, to see Rinnosuke and Marcus's reactions.

They were preoccupied. They had Rieko up against a wall, at the hallway entrance, stopping her bleeding with cloth foraged off of the other defeated girls.

Looking down, Sendai furrowed her brows. ' _This girl under me- looks kind of bad…'_

Searching the crowd of girls nearby, Sendai remembered hearing about a healer of some sort. ' _Cheek-chan whoever?'_

Chine-chan was actually just near her, crouched around one of the sitting girls, bandaging the girl's arm…

' _I_ _do have a potion or two. Maybe she'll know what to do with one to get more use out of it.'_

Coming up to her, Sendai tapped her shoulder, and passed her a potion.

"Aa-" Chine jumped, freezing as she saw Sendai there, then saw the potion in her hand. "...Uuh-"

"For you." Sendai clarified. "Don't waste it."

...Taking it with one hand, Chine nodded hard. "Aa- oo- okay-"

"Also, treat her first." Sendai pointed across the hall. "She got ran through. One on the floor near me, too. Actually- her first."

' _The bigger girl is hardier, and wasn't already on the ground. This girl Keiko just stabbed- she might not make it if we don't treat her first.'_

Sendai glanced down at her own arm wound. ' _Shit'll probably get infected quick, but I'm sure I'll need a potion sooner or later. It won't have a lot of time to fester.'_

Quietly, Keiko brooded in place, giving Sendai a stand-offish look.

"...So." Sendai kept a distance from her. "Keiko?"

Keiko didn't respond, meeting her gaze somewhat sheepishly.

"I've heard about you." Sendai tried to bridge communications… "It's Tsuruko's fault, isn't it? Being homeless, that is."

"...Yeah." Keiko nodded. "It is."

"We want to help you." Sendai held her own arm to her own chest. "...Or, at least, we don't oppose you."

' _It took me a moment to remember what lead up to this. Considering Kourin and Kasen are good samaritan types, this is something to do as anything. I'm still curious just what the fuck this Tsuruko has been doing.'_

Keiko didn't seem to really react, looking up and into the overcast, sun-lit cracks.

' _Well, whatever. Let's see if I can help clean up this mess first.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Many girls had just left, and others awaited medical treatment from the very overwhelmed Chine. They sat at wood benches around the dim, vaguely sun-lit cave.

"...Shouldn't we have… talked to someone, about this?" Rinnosuke looked uncertain…

Marcus snorted. "Well, mosta them are dumb kids. Not that stickin' 'em in _jail_ seems ta do anything these days."

' _I don't think it'd really teach them anything, either. But, it's not really my place to go out of my way to teach other people's children.'_ Suddenly, Sendai thought of Keine.

Kasen sighed. "What a headache. I'm glad… only _a few people_ got seriously hurt."

' _You should've been here a few days ago. There was a lot of 'serious hurt' to go around. Wait, Kasen, can't you heal people? Unless, you really don't want to show off your healing magic…'_

"Kasen…" Sendai really wanted to ask about that, actually. "Don't you have healing magic?"

Not expecting the confrontation, Kasen nodded vaguely. "Only for emergencies. It is purely magical, and not the best treatment for humans, unless it would save them from death. As opposed to faith-based healing treatments, or at least alchemy..."

' _So, no one's in critical condition, then. Cool…'_

Rieko and the other girl were placed in the middle of the room, on large flat stones. Blood stained the rocks beneath them, their bandages deep red.

Moving past some palm trees, Sendai came up to them and gazed them over plainly.

"Nn-..." Rieko glared over from her laying position. "...This-... is your fault..."

"Yep." Sendai snorted.

Keiko came up to them, and tilted her head towards one of the entrances, in gesture.

Looking along her line of sight, Sendai saw a new woman enter from the doorway.

She was a woman in a white-green miko outfit. It was a traditional kimono, covering her ankles. She wore a large, distinct sun hat with a sun's symbol on it.

' _...That's some hair, alright.'_ Sendai took pause at her white-blonde hair.

Proceeding up to the injured girls, the tall green-clad miko drew a staff from her back. It was styled like a gohei, carved from wood. On the top tip, there was a wooden yin yang carved into place there.

The long-haired woman met Keiko's gaze. Her plain brows began to furrow, and she frowned.

Keiko furrowed her brows back, responding to her expression. "...Bu- but, they-..."

"I know you're strong." The woman stated. "But strength is more than ruin."

' _Um?'_ Sendai wasn't sure if she'd missed part of their exchange or not.

 _Fwoash._ Nearly instantly, healing light ran up Rieko's body, under the glow of the green-clothed miko's gohei.

 _Fwoash._ The red-white clad girl lying next to her also glowed. "Aa-" She gasped, golden-white energy running through her form.

 _Ding- ding!_ The maiden tapped her gohei's bottom against the floor, making an oddly metallic noise as it shimmered. Sparkles of magic fell from it. _"Diamond Renew."_

 _Whish!_ A gold-white yin-yang of energy rolled into the air from the gohei's tip. It ascended above the far corners of the room, revolving around a constantly moving center point, drawing messy open circles in the air.

Particles of healing light flaked off of it like dust, filling the breezy day's air, as the orb gradually vaporized into holy vapor.

 _FWO- FWO- FWOASH!_ The girls on the benches around the room all flashed briefly, eyes wide at the magic overhead. Their wounds healed nearly instantly.

Sendai blinked. _'No wonder people aren't dropping dead down here. They've got a damn good healer... and, I take it her services aren't expensive.'_

"...You know." Sendai met her plain gaze. "You'd make a fortune selling your magic as 'elixirs' on the surface."

Looking over at Sendai, the woman reached for her arm which held a blade wound.

Sensing her intent, Sendai let her take her wrist. When the miko-esque healer held it up, the wound began to glow, and shrink.

Soon, Sendai had smooth skin where there was once a rusty slice wound.

"Um-..." Chine came up to them, eyes wide. "...Wh-... ww- what'd you _do?_ What was that!?"

...The taller woman with paler blonde hair stared at her in an almost bored manner.

Once she calmed down, Chine asked a more direct question. "Who are you?"

"Ena." Airily, the woman panned her gaze around. "...You did a good job."

Chine blinked. "...I-... I did?"

"When you take your sisters to the surface," Ena leaned towards her, gaze still flat, "ask them if this was worth it."

...Stepping back, Chine held onto her own red-white miko outfit by the hem. "What? ...I-... don't think I can do that. Wh- when we get back- Ann... Ann's gonna… I don't know. She won't be happy."

"Don't go back." Ena proposed.

"...But- then she'll find us!" Chine raised her voice. "We- we weren't even supposed to _talk_ about this whole thing- and-"

"You'll be fine." Ena shot her down. "You aren't the first."

...At that, Chine was simply confused. "Wh- what?"

Ena exhaled, giving her own head a slight shake, stopping before it was obvious.

"Maybe…" Coming up to them, Kasen propped her arms on her own hips. "It would be wisest, if we explained everything."

Ena gave her a flat stare. "Other red-white maidens have come down here."

A breeze whistled through the cracks in the ceiling above.

Since she wouldn't elaborate further, Kasen looked at Keiko expectantly.

"...Not many." Keiko confessed, put on the spot. "I- I fought off the first, after they really hurt Ena, aa- and some people who lived down here. There were only three, then. Tsu- Tsuruko's… shrine maidens. They came again later… and, then came back with five."

"And, I assume… you killed them all." Sendai figured.

Keiko cringed hard. "I- I… no. I tried to ask them to leave. I don't really know how to fight."

' _...What was with the change of heart just now, then? Why'd you threaten all of us?'_

Looking around, Keiko saw all the people Ena had just healed. Red-white clad girls were getting up and quickly leaving, intent on getting out of here as fast as possible.

She sighed, and held herself, her katana hanging in her left hand clumsily as she did so.

"You _are_ strong enough." Ena delivered evenly. "You don't have to prove anything."

' _Are they having some kind of non-verbal talk that I'm just finding hard to follow? What…?'_

...Unsure of where this was going, Sendai agreed regardless. "Strength isn't just a show of physical power. It helps when everything else falls through, but-..." She felt like she'd had this conversation before. "There's intellect. Wisdom. Care. These things are strength, too."

"I guess." Keiko didn't entirely agree, somehow.

"...Come on." Ena tapped her gohei against the floor, and began to move. "Let us go."

"Oo- okay." Keiko followed, staring the floor down as she awkwardly trailed after Ena.

"Wh- hey, wait." Aina romped up to them, holding a hand out. "Keiko- we came ta get ya outta the poor house!"

...Turning, Keiko stared her down, frowning.

Ena kept moving, so Keiko quickly snapped her eyes away, and quickened to keep up with her.

Sendai moved to follow them, refusing to let this end so abruptly. ' _We came here for this Keiko chick, so I'll be damned if I let her just saunter off. She just tried to slit my throat too, which I'm not liable to just forget so easily.'_

...Aina looked put off. As Sendai passed her, she spoke lowly. "Keiko's _different._ "

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

They'd followed until Keiko and Ena stopped, just a hundred meters down the grey plaster hall.

This room had a dirt floor, with odd, deep green grass that seemed to prosper under the lantern light.

A cardboard box sat against one of the walls of this wide room. Keiko meandered up to it, and sat her katana on it.

Ena took a seat at an ornate but aged table in the middle of the room, laying her long gohei down atop it.

"Alright." Kasen came up behind everyone. "We oughta form a game plan before we try talking to them."

Sendai grinned. "A- a plan, for talking? ...You know, that really says a lot about you."

Shaking her head, Kasen smiled back. "These aren't people you can just confront and expect to conform to your expectations. You have to show them you-... _get it,_ I guess. Or rather, get _them._ "

"Aa- you know…" Aina had a realization, standing near them. "...Keiko actually like, didn't get put back here for awhile."

Sendai exhaled. "Put back here? Alright- do you know what the hell's going on down here? 'Cause I _don't._ "

' _Apparently that Tsuruko wench is sending raiding parties down here, to raid actual fucking homeless people, and-... Keiko and this healer protect them, I guess.'_

"Well- not a bunch!" Aina confessed, looking sheepish. "But like-... um, did you hear about Heaven Springs? An' how it got shut down?"

' _...All comes full circle, huh.'_

"Maybe." Sendai kept her involvement vague.

"Keiko got sent there." Aina revealed. "...I didn't think I'd see her again, after that. 'Cause, y'know, when shrine maidens got sent there for suckin' ass, like-... that was _it._ Personally, I thought they were gettin' fed to youkai or _something,_ but 'parently not."

' _Creepy way of putting that. The whole unknown aspect of what happened to them. If it wasn't for me- or Mokou- no one might've heard from girls like her again._ '

"...Didn't seem like it was a real cool time, either." Aina looked ahead, brows furrowing...

Keiko began to crawl into her box. It was half a person's height, so it was spacious, for a box.

"You know." Rinnosuke shook his head. "The more I hear about this village, the more amazed I am it hasn't entirely fallen apart by the seams yet. This- all happened _recently?"_

"Maybe… we should ask her about her time there, then?" Kasen ventured, not really knowing the context.

Sendai began to step forward. "I'll go talk to her. Don't step in." She told this to Kasen in particular.

As she approached, Sendai took in the hanging lanterns, and the deep green grass. ' _This grass… for some reason, it sort of disgusts me. Not normal foliage, to be certain…'_

Coming up to the box, Sendai crouched before it.

Keiko was balled up inside, gaze tired as she stared out at Sendai.

"Hey." Sendai gave her a single nod. "What's up?"

Keiko said nothing in return, scooting deeper into the box.

"...I'm the reason you got out of Heaven Springs, by the way." Sendai decided to be blunt about it.

Looking up at her, Keiko kept scrunched back inside her box.

' _That's it, I'm getting in there.'_

Crawling forward, Sendai entered the box, too.

"Hh- hey…" Keiko became worried. "What- are you-..."

Sendai sat in a ball in the box next to her. "...Nice place." She had to be careful not to scrunch the walls by leaning into them.

Keiko came to a decision about Sendai's assertiveness. "Go away."

"No." Sendai refused. "...We're here to get you out of poverty. I think."

' _We didn't really come here with a reason in mind… but, what else would we do? She's also literally living in a fuckin' box, and in a cave, at the same time.'_

"...Why?" Keiko asked, trying to shrink back into the box's corner.

"Because we felt like it." Sendai summarized. "...It was something along the lines of, 'we heard you were homeless', which then lead to finding you. What we'd do when we found you wasn't thought out yet."

' _I somewhat banked on not being able to find you, now that I think about it.'_

"...I'm not worth it." Keiko's left eye twitched slightly, and she began to look really tired. "I-... I deserved what I got."

' _It's one of these kinds of people.'_ Sendai readied herself for a long, roundabout talk…

"Did you?" Sendai was still curious enough to hear her out, at least.

"...Ye- yeah." Keiko closed her eyes. "I'm weak. I-... I don't learn fast. I can't do anything without Tsuruko-chan, or Tatsu-chan. I-..."

She held up her hand. Drops of water began to leak from it, at a noticeably abnormal rate. "All I can do is _make water._ When my family moved, they didn't want me anymore."

Sendai couldn't really comprehend that. "...Didn't want you? Are you sure?"

"Ye- yeah." Keiko leaned against the cardboard box wall. "...I- I don't even know how long it's been. Probably-... years."

"Have you seen them since then?" Sendai wondered.

Keiko shook her head. "...Oo- only Tsuruko-chan. She looked for me on the main roads, and used to-... beat me up, and accuse me of things. I stayed near where our old house was. I- I tried to live in it, but the guard kept kicking me out."

' _...Huh. Tsuruko really fucking got around.'_

"I could've been-... I could've been a shrine maiden." Keiko began to lie on her side. "But… I mi- missed that chance. All I can do now... is die."

Sendai was reminded briefly, of the time before she met Keisuke. ' _...Mostly in how thoughtlessly depressed she is. It's not without reason, either. But, there's probably more she could be doing, than rotting in some box.'_

"How come you aren't dead, then?" Sendai noted.

"...I don't want to die." Keiko closed her eyes, as she lied on her side. "But… it's like I'm already dead. I- I wish-... you hadn't shut down Heaven Springs. I shouldn't have woken up from that. I want out of this-... this _world…_ "

"People are resilient." Sendai was starting to think this was a losing battle… "You could bounce back, if you wanted to."

"I'm worthless. I'm weak." Keiko kept her eyes shut. "...It-... it hurts. I could've-..."

There was a puddle under her, soaking the floor of the box, leaving a deep brown stain. "I- I know I could've been strong. I dreamed-... of- of controlling the water- of… of having friends..."

"But-..." Sendai remembered speaking with depressed people before.

' _Usually… it's best to just let them ride it out. But... hmh. She's probably been riding it out for awhile now.'_

Now, cheering her up became a challenge. "I'll be your friend."

"...It- it's too late, now." Keiko shook, looking up at Sendai with wet eyes. "I'm _ruined…"_

"No." Sendai disagreed very plainly.

"...Nn- no?" The blunt disagreement stirred Keiko from her downward trend. "I- I still… feel wh- where they to- touched-... me. At Heaven Sp- Springs."

' _Oh. Ooh. This-... damn.'_

When Sendai couldn't immediately think of anything to say, Keiko kept going. "I wanted to show them… when I was younger. I wanna be strong, like them. I want to be their friends… even now. I- I feel so stupid..."

' _She's not as torn up as she could be. But…'_

"You can still _be_ strong." Sendai asserted. "You can make decisions _right now._ You can get up- and… and show the world. You can show it your despair, and your anger. You can throw all that shit right back at it."

"...I- I wanted to kill those girls." Keiko confessed. "The- raiding party. If- if you hadn't come… they would have seen. I could've f- found out ho- how powerful I really was. I was going to stand up- but-... but it was _you_ who stopped me."

' _Did she really want to stop them, or did she want them to kill her? Depends on what we consider 'powerful'...'_

"That wasn't your _only_ chance." Sendai felt like that was particularly narrow-minded. "You can walk out of this cave and get other shit done today. And-... I don't know if you could've taken _sixteen_ other chicks."

...Keiko stared at the floor, her cheek to it.

"I wanted- to show Tsuruko." Keiko admitted. "How strong I was. I-... I just want her to-... stop. I wanna prove her wrong-... and be her friend, too."

"Then do that." Sendai demanded. "Just-..." She had an idea.

Crawling out of the box, Sendai got up, and pivoted to move around it.

At the back of it, she grabbed onto the sides, and pulled. "Hmmh…"

 _sho- shoof, thud._ Keiko rolled out, flailing slightly. "Wh- aah…"

Sendai tossed the box aside. "We're getting you up."

...Pushing herself from the dirty grass floor, Keiko brushed herself off. "Wh- what-...?"

Before she could stand fully, Sendai bent down, and picked her up by the underarms. "Hnn~..."

Helping Keiko onto her legs, Sendai gave her a pat on the back. "I won't let you rot away just yet. You're capable of more. If you really want to give up later, fine. But, since we came here _for you,_ I'm not just letting you waste away. You don't realize how much more is out there. Even though your problem's huge, and you feel like dying… well, look around you."

Sendai gestured to the table of other people ahead. "These people all live really damn different lives. Some of them see the sun all the time, and others don't. They all have different daily routines, people they meet, and all kinds of shit they do that… really isn't as out of reach as you think."

"Bu- but-..." Keiko looked bewildered. "I'm-..."

"Who gives a shit if you can't fight?" Sendai proposed. "You can make water, right? Clean water? There's a ton of shit you can do with that."

Keiko blinked. "I- I know, but-... no one's ever cared. They just called me names- and Tsuruko-chan beat me up."

"Considering most of these dumbass new maidens can't so much as make talismans, you ought to be proud you can do _anything._ " Sendai grinned back at her. "What do they call you?"

"...We- 'wet slut'. Moist maiden. Snorkel freak."

From the nearby wood table, Aina called out. "Not gonna lie- moist maiden sounds _kinda hot!"_

"That just means they're scared." Sendai affirmed. "They're scared of what you _could be._ Tsuruko's scared of what you _could be._ You know Tatsuako?"

"...She hated me, too." Keiko looked down. "I miss her."

"She's spent the last couple years jerking guys off at the Golden Grin." Sendai revealed. "Because Tsuruko was lying to her about their family's monetary situation. All to keep her from overcoming her."

Keiko met Sendai's gaze, eyes conveying her interest.

"I've got a reason to believe, Tsuruko's playing you too." Sendai declared. "And, you know what? Tatsuako didn't care she wasted so many years. She was pissed, but she knew how to push from it. She found pride in her despair."

' _This kid reminds me of myself, before I met Keisuke. A lot, actually. Except, I was more 'eternally pissed off and a little sad', rather than full-blown 'endless depression'.'_

"That's what I did, too." Sendai placed her arms on her own hips. "I lived alone after my mother died. Until, eventually, I found the man I loved. I loved him for years. When I couldn't love him anymore, I loved our daughter all the same."

' _...And then I died, but you know, don't gotta say that.'_

"If I can stand up after all the _horrible_ shit life's thrown at me, you have no excuse, either." Sendai decided. "No matter what, when, why or how. You are better than that."

Keiko remained quiet, intimidated by the prospects Sendai put forth.

Eventually, Keiko found her response. "I- I think... I hate myself."

"What they said was-... it wasn't all wrong. I could have tried harder. I could have-... been useful. If I knew how to control my power- Lord Suijin's power. I'd… I'd be the strongest shrine maiden. Emotionally, physically, mentally… magically."

' _Suijin? ...Also, yes, you hate yourself. Considering how self-defeating you sound, you're not wrong.'_

"You can hate yourself all you want." Sendai grinned back. "Getting up and _doing things_ is easier than you'd think."

"...It's-..." Keiko finally smiled. "It's re- really cool of you, to say that. You're… really strong yourself, aren't you? Of course you'd say things like that."

Sendai didn't want to let her find an excuse for herself. "...I just do what I do. You can do as you do."

As their discussion tapered off, Sendai strolled up to the rich brown table.

Behind it, was some backroom restrained by cell bars. Dim lantern light made the earthy grass below almost black.

Ena stared up at her plainly, and gave her a nod. ' _...I'm gonna take that as thanks.'_

"Ena-..." Keiko was more talkative now. Sendai wasn't sure if she was cheered up, but it was improvement. "Ena is strong, too."

"I suppose." Ena agreed. "...We've heard of what you've done, Tsukiko."

Sendai snorted. "Oh?"

...She looked over at Rinnosuke and Aina, who were staring one another down. They'd left the table for now, and were along the grey plaster wall at the room's edge.

Marcus was staring at her casually, a tome open in his hands, and Kasen looked worried.

' _How's Marc reading in this dim ass light…?'_

Standing from her table, Ena took her large gohei from the top of it. "You may be surprised to learn, that information travels quick down here."

Keiko scanned Sendai's form in the dim amber light. "...Tsu- Tsukiko? As in… Tsukiko Hakurei?"

"You've heard of me, too?" Sendai had thought Keiko wasn't aware of recent news.

"I he- heard you were-... around." Keiko confessed. "And, um… yeah. Tsu-... Tsuruko-chan talked about you."

' _Of course. Why can't she talk to me herself? She's probably scared, but… nngh. It'd be less annoying if she came to me and got this all over with.'_

"I've heard even of how you helped Tatsuako re-find herself." Ena nodded. "...Not something I'd have bothered with."

Sendai met her gaze properly, as she stated that. "How come?"

"...I keep to this place." Ena decided. "It's my care that has kept this place well. Keiko, despite her words and mental strain, has been a big help. I do not know why Tsuruko has her minions torment people down here, but since Keiko has shown up, injury has lessened, and I have had time to collect my faith. My god's care is stronger than ever."

' _She must collect the faith of the homeless and poor with her miracles.'_

Satisfied with that, Sendai began to look around. ' _Well… what now? I don't think I'm making headway on Keiko overall. She's set in her ways.'_

Still seated across the table from where Sendai stood, Kasen engaged herself. "What do you plan to do, when you've amassed more faith?"

"Hmm." Ena considered how to answer that. "Some day, my god may surpass yours, Hakurei. Though, I do not know the true power of your god. I don't think anyone knows."

' _Lemme see you start shooting giant lasers. But…'_

Sendai began to grin. "I think if you know how to worship yours, you've already surpassed the Hakurei god."

...Ena blinked. "You- didn't worship yours? Ever?"

Snorting, Sendai shook her head. "Pft, no. I tried."

...Ena's tired, plain gaze hung on Sendai, and for a few moments, she only blinked, her mouth slightly open.

' _Yeah. Pretty sure it's fucky, but I don't really care either.'_

"How does Reimu have such-... hmh." Ena was stumped. "A question of the ages."

"Beats me." Sendai knew _she_ didn't teach her daughter to fly or shoot huge yin yangs everywhere.

"Back on the topic," Ena had the ghost of a smile. "I do feel as though, one day, I will lead these people from this lowly place. I don't yet know, if I'd like to conquer the world above, or find my own land."

' _...Kinda haughty. Provided… she can heal people really well. I don't remember a healer who could just, hold you and undo your wounds so easily. Youkai and humans have ordained healing spell formats, and most people I talked with consider healing magic a delicate, difficult art. She just kinda does it.'_

"If we're settled," Ena began to stand, "I'd like to examine your body, Tsukiko."

"This isn't some gay shit, is it?" Sendai wasn't particularly interested…

Ena shut her eyes, for a moment. "... _No._ Acupuncture. I'm not _just_ a magician. I've studied light medical practices, too."

' _Oh? Acupuncture?'_ Sendai never had acupuncture done on her before. _'...I don't think I've even heard the term that often. Some places in the village used to do it… but, I was never cool with the idea of some clammy boy putting needles in my naked body.'_

"...That's actually really not a bad idea." Kasen liked the sound of that. "You should hear her out, Tsukiko. Especially considering your condition."

' _I guess it wouldn't be a bad idea…'_

"You know what?" Sendai stared into Ena's vague, grey eyes. "Sure."

...Smiling, Ena turned away from the table, and moved for a rusty cell door along the wall behind herself. "Come, Keiko, Tsukiko. I promise it won't take too long."

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

 _Crea~k._ The barred cell door swung open, and Ena flared her bleach-blonde hair back.

"You know…" Keiko, against all odds, smiled. "Ena's acupuncture… it helped cheer me up a whole lot."

' _...Aa- acupuncture cheered you up? My pep talk only barely made you stop acting like a loser, but acupuncture totally changed your disposition…!?'_

The room was small, and had clean-looking, mint-colored mats laid upon large platform-like seats.

"What about acupuncture could cheer you up?" Sendai felt like medical work would be the last thing to cheer herself up.

' _...Though, I guess getting better from an illness would be a good thing. But-'_

Immediately, Ena followed up with another question. "Have you ever had acupuncture _done_ on yourself?"

Sendai had to admit it. "No."

Smiling herself, Ena moved for a large roll of some kind of clear, glossy paper. "I can't imagine how it _wouldn't_ be relaxing, unless your qi was being intentionally blocked somehow. Or, if your acupuncture doctor is just blindly stabbing you with their needles."

"...How's it supposed to work?" The mention of 'qi' vaguely interested Sendai.

' _I was never about… the nuance that went into martial psuedo-magic. I found my way of fighting, and it was good enough. Unless, what I do is just qi or chi or whatever by a different name.'_

' _Not- that I remember that way of fighting. I had to have forgot a lot.'_

"There are certain points in your body." Ena began to explain. "One's body may have blockages, or disturbances in the flow of their life energy. With my needles, I restore the flow of your qi, balance your body's energy, promote natural healing, and relaxation."

' _...That really makes me wonder. Maybe this is what I need after all.'_ She did indeed feel blocked, in reference to how she used to feel.

 _Fwi- fwish, fwish._ Ena laid the glossy paper down on one of the clean medical beds.

"Um…" Keiko came up to Sendai. "You may want to take… a lot off. It- it might be cold."

' _It's warmer down here, for obvious reasons. So, whatever.'_

As Sendai began to slide her black, tight arm sleeves off, she looked over at Ena. "Also, make sure the guys don't-" She noticed the bar front wall, leading to the front room. "... _Is_ there a way, to stop the guys from seeing in here?"

 _Fwish._ Ena thrust her arm at the bars, and a curtain came from the wall, telekinetically draping across the immovable cell wall part of the front bars.

' _Guess that answers that.'_ Sendai continued to take her blue cloth apron off…

"Here, Ena." Keiko got the box of thin needles, from some near shelf.

"Thank you." Taking it, Ena sat it near the medical bed she prepared, on a rich wood end table.

Sendai had her hakama off now, placing it and her other clothes on an unused wood table on the room's right. ' _Now…'_

Sliding her leotard off, she placed it on the heap of clothes. ' _Not gonna bother folding it. I'll be putting it right back on as it is.'_

Looking over at Ena again, Sendai felt at her bindings. "You want these off too?"

Ena gave her a nod. "...While I could avoid that area, it'd be most convenient if you would. Before I begin, I'd like to take a survey of your muscles and skin. Both to better determine how your points are laid out, and where you might have blockages."

"Alright." Sendai began to unravel her bindings.

' _I might need to put on some less sweaty bindings, too. I bet they got bindings here.'_

Now nearly naked, Sendai began to get onto the medical bed, slipping her sandals off as she did so.

"...Uu- um." Keiko ogled her. "You-... you really _are_ strong. In- every way…" Her stare was noticeably stuck on Sendai's abs and breasts…

' _Uh huh.'_ Sendai gave her a plain look in return.

"...It's impolite to stare." Ena stirred Keiko from her thoughts.

Keiko realized everyone was watching her. "Uu- a- ss- sorry. Tsukiko- you're just-... really cool."

' _I guess 'cool' is a word for what you were thinking.'_

"Once you're ready, you may lay down." Ena informed her. "...Either on your back, or your stomach."

...Sendai lied on her back. "Nnh."

' _Been- awhile since I just, laid down. Today's been a long one, fuck. That Tatsuako chick, Marisa, and then all those chicks. Those sixteen nobodies were actually way easier than the other two...'_

As she laid there, Ena stood over her, looking over her body…

"Tsu- Tsukiko." Keiko came closer, too. "Can-... can I touch you?"

...Sendai gave her the flattest look.

"Keiko _could_ help describe the map of your points." Ena gained another small smile.

"Whatever." Sendai stared up. "No funny business."

Eagerly, Keiko felt at her abs. Sendai could see Keiko's cheeks grow warmer, as she caressed her stomach.

"...Excuse Keiko." Ena kept her smile. "Start from the elbows. End at the lower back. We shouldn't need to visit her legs today."

"Lower back? She'll um, probably have to turn over." Keiko noted.

Sendai rotated onto her stomach quickly. "Nn- nnh. Any reason fer that?"

"Yes." Ena nodded. "For someone such as you, those areas should be rich in strain and knots, for one thing. Multiple important veins run in those areas, too. The back is rich in very critical points."

"...I see." Sendai didn't see, but she didn't have any reason to disagree.

Keiko began running her arms over Sendai's right elbow, and Ena worked on the left.

' _...Oh- damn, that-... actually feels good.'_

While Keiko experimentally felt at her along the way, Ena actively massaged her as she went, pressing along Sendai's arm as she worked up to her shoulder.

Ena and Keiko reached her shoulders. Sendai's eyes widened. ' _Ooh- shit, woah. That's-...'_ Every press and knead of their palms sent a soothing kind of ache rolling around her neck and shoulder area.

"Um…" Keiko blinked. "Her shoulders- are _really_ hard."

Ena didn't say anything for awhile, focused intently on pressing the balls of her palms into Sendai's shoulder and upper back…

"I-... I thought-..." Ena began to rotate her palms, working on a knot. "I thought I'd also see… a more clear path of your experiences, in doing this."

' _My- shoulders hurt more than I thought holy shit…'_

"Gods." Ena took a breath. "If these muscles could tell stories."

"Aa-" Sendai felt Ena's hands run down her back, and jolted from her presses. "Hnh."

"...When was the last time you had a massage, even?" Ena wondered aloud. "For someone with a body so fit, your muscles are like that of someone who's spent the last week doing nothing but fighting."

' _Yeah, I wonder why.'_

"She must be-... really, really strong." Keiko continued to fetishize strength. "I wonder-... if Tsuruko-chan's muscles are like this."

Sendai let her eyes close briefly, as their hands worked. ' _It really has been too long. Keisuke used to massage me... unprofessionally, mind you, but… a massage is a massage.'_

"I-... I don't think I've ever treated someone with… a body like _this._ " Ena took a step back. "...I believe I have a good map of your points, at least. Your blockages-... are severe, and many. I've never seen a body so… hmm. Is any part of your body numb?"

"...No?" Sendai wondered.

"Alright." Ena reached for her box of needles nearby. "Let me…"

Placing it even closer by, she took a needle. "Shall we begin? I don't think I need to say it, but please, refrain from moving too much with the needles inside you. You needn't stay perfectly still… but, I wouldn't advise getting up, or anything."

"Mmh." Sendai closed her eyes again.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

' _I-... I feel-... good…'_

Ena slipped a needle out from the left of Sendai's back. She hasn't said anything for awhile, nor had Keiko.

Pure, white energy emanated from Sendai's back, lighting up the dim amber room with clean light.

"...The treatment, is almost done." Ena refrained from saying anything about the light yet. "I've freed up your wood-attuned passages. Additionally, I've treated your water-attuned passages, among the cluster which exists in the elbow."

' _My- what now.'_ The term 'wood-attuned passages' didn't really click with Sendai...

With every needle she removed, Sendai felt like she could breathe easier, somehow. ' _How- is this so painless?'_

Keiko stood transfixed by the pure white energy that billowed from Sendai's back. It was like a holy flame, or white smoke, which dissipated into the air over her.

"How does it feel?" Ena asked.

Sendai exhaled. "It's-... re- really good, somehow. I'm... hardly moving, and everything feels so fluid…"

Slowly, another needle is slid out. Sendai didn't keep count of how many there were, but there were definitely more than a few. ' _A few hundred, that is…'_

The good feeling came from inside herself, filing her chest. ' _Just-... such an easy feeling. What…'_

Soon, there were only a few needles left in her.

Ena removed the third-from-last needle, along her elbow. "Do you-... do you _realize,_ how much faith is in your body?"

Sendai snorted. "...Not exactly, no."

The second from last needle was released. "After this-... your muscles should remember something that had been buried."

"Oh…?" Sendai snorted. "That easily?"

The last needle was removed.

Keiko's gaze slowly shifted to Sendai's ass.

...Wiping her hands together, Ena took another deep breath.

"Alright." Ena took a step back. "Let's see how you move now."

' _...Alright. Let's see…'_

Sendai pushed herself up off the medical bed.

 _FWISH!_ White energy bloomed from her body, the flare of light flashing across the whole room.

Sendai's jaw dropped. ' _I-...'_

Getting off of the bed, she stood up as quick as she could-

 _FWASH!_ The light coming from her own body staggered herself. ' _Holy-...'_

-+- _Gensokyo: Year 114_ | _1993_ -+-

It was the middle of summer.

Tsukiko had just sat down on a bench in the Human Village. "...Man. It's warm out."

Seated beside her, Keisuke ran a hand through his brown hair, gauging just how much sweat was there. "You- don't say…"

She passed him a rapidly warming glass of juice, which she'd obtained from up the road.

All around them, the dinky, one-story thin wood sheet houses baked in the sun, intensifying the heat emanating from the Human Village.

The sky was wide and blue, and Tsukiko felt nice amidst the comfortable air. It reminded her of ginger, simple moments she'd felt as a child.

' _...The sort of fleeting feeling I used to get as a teenager, getting out of bed amidst the sun and wind, and it all just felt so small and cozy. After my mother died, that feeling became much more creepy and off. But… it still felt good. Sometimes, it was kinda adventurous.'_

"Don't remember it bein' this bad when I used to live here." Keisuke held the glass cup close. "Really…"

Tsukiko smiled. "It _has_ been some years since you've come back here."

In the breezy quiet of the summer, he chugged his juice. Tsukiko raised her glass to sip too.

"Ha~h." Keisuke exhaled, lowering his glass. "...Yeah."

"Do you miss this place?" Tsukiko wondered idly.

He snorted. "No."

' _Couldn't blame him.'_ She looked around at the crappy, one-story buildings. ' _The people here are cheap. Their goods are cheap, and their loyalty cheaper.'_

' _...Not that I have anything to compare them to. I just don't like anyone here. Aside from Marc, I guess.'_

"How'd your last job go?" Keisuke wondered… "You were out of it, last night."

"Took way too damn long." Tsukiko shook her head. "There was this huge damn plant. I thought the guard were a bunch of morons for not fighting it, but _god damn._ I don't even know where the hell it came from."

' _Overall, it wasn't really powerful as far as youkai go, but fire didn't work as well as you'd have thought. I could see how it could easily kill a human in seconds flat.'_

"...I always wanna know." Keisuke glanced up at the full, blue sky. "Why'd we get stuck in a world, with all these fuckin' huge monsters?"

Smiling again, Tsukiko shook her head. "Why'd we get stuck in a world with trees, or air, or animals? It's just kind of how it is, isn't it?"

He leaned back, still sweating. "...It just seems really... y'know…"

She snorted. "I know."

' _Be thankful you don't see the shit I see.'_

Closing her eyes, Sendai took in the warm day breeze, and the full brightness of the cloudless sky above.

She may have complained about the warmth, but she didn't really find it all that bad.

' _We ought to go down to the lake, actually. That'd be fun.'_

"How don't people die, in this heat…?" Keisuke fidgeted a whole bunch under the day's searing warmth. "This is bad...!"

Tsukiko grinned over at him. "What? You're fine with the cold, but not this?"

"You can just bundle up in the winter." He grinned back. "In the summer… nngh."

She scooted closer.

...When he gave her a worried once-over, she scooted even closer.

"You- you're gonna smother me." He tried to give her the most pitiful look possible.

"We can just share our body heat." Tsukiko proposed.

"It's not winter…!" He scooted away. "We'll just get stuffy!"

"I'll be a heat sponge." Tsukiko continued to scoot closer.

...Sitting his drink down beside the bench, he began to get up-

Wrapping her left arm around his waist, Tsukiko pulled him in closer.

 _thump._ He was forced to sit on her left thigh. "Hh- hey…"

Downing the rest of her cup, she exhaled. "Ha~h." Then, she placed the cup aside. "Hey."

When he lightly pressed on her left arm, she wrapped her right arm onto him and pulled him further onto her lap.

...Forced to almost lay down, he looked up at her, her right hand at the back of his head.

' _It really feels just right out, honestly.'_

...After he adjusted himself, he looked somehow comfortable. "Y'know-... I- I could fall asleep like this."

"...Yeah." Tsukiko felt the same, amidst the sun and the breeze.

' _I really don't want to do anything else. It's a nice day, and… it just feels good to be alive.'_

' _I wish days like these would last forever.'_

In moments like these, she was able to momentarily forget her needs, and the world's activity.

Staring at the shimmering leaves outside the village's walls, over all the rooftops, she thought of the world.

' _Gensokyo… it's supposedly such a tiny place. Is the rest of the world like this?'_

' _What kind of people live out there? What kind of problems do they have? What's the relative size of their little world?'_

' _...When I think about all of this, it's hard to believe people would waste time being mean or retarded.'_

' _I'm sure there's a reason everything is so restricted. Gensokyo's big enough for me, really.'_

' _And then, there's him…'_

"Keisuke." Taking in the airy era, she inhaled. "I love you."

"...I love you, too." He closed his eyes.

' _He knows how to be a good person. He's relaxed, he's lovable, and he's just… he gets it.'_

' _I really could… just about sleep here.'_

"Aah-... _dude."_ Then, nearby, she heard voices. "Ya _really_ don't understand-"

"She's a youkai, right? She's not _Kazami,_ right?"

"But- _Juro-"_

"That's _sergeant Juro_ now, kid. And- why can't people _shut up_ about her? If she's a youkai, _do something_ about it!"

Tsukiko ignored them. ' _Not like any of them are man enough to try and prove their shitty rumors. They know what'd happen.'_ She figured they were speaking of her. It was seldom that villagers didn't frown at her, or at least keep a cautious distance.

"Dude- _Juro-_ she's _like Kazami."_ One of the young guardsmen tried to stop Juro from marching closer.

"Bull- fuckin'- shit. All I've seen her do is _walk around_ the damn village."

The young man seethed back. "She _stopped that plant thing_ the other night, man. You can't _level_ with that!"

Juro grinned back at him. "I bet the _youkai_ in our council made that up. I'm gonna prove to everyone today that she's all talk. Youkai are about fear an' shit. They're like bullies. When ya push back, they give the fuck up."

Soon, Juro was too close for the other men to want to follow, and they left the single man to his fate.

"Um…" Keisuke began to shift, in Tsukiko's arms.

"Just ignore them." Tsukiko was willing to shrug it all off. It wouldn't have been the first time she was mistaken for a youkai by the general populace. As long as they sold things to her and gave her the money to rightfully buy things from them, she wouldn't care.

 _Tap, tap._ Juro tapped his katana on the bench's side. "Hey. Hey, bitch."

...After a moment, Tsukiko gave him a plain look.

"You're gonna have to leave." He pointed at her. "...And, who's that you got there? One of ours?"

Keisuke glared up at him. "What- who the fuck-... who're you?"

"Sergeant Juro." He smiled down at them. "I just got promoted. I was one of few to get the new steel armor in development, too. See it?" He gestured down to his full suit of blue-black armor.

"We- we're just sitting here." Keisuke waved at him, as if shooing him. "There's nothing against-"

"I don't _care."_ Juro grinned back. _"She's_ got this whole place in a fuckin' uproar. And I know- youkai have trouble with steel armor and quality blades. I didn't get promoted to push paper an' let youkai ruin our village."

' _...Must've been fast-promoted, or something. What a little shit.'_

Standing up, Tsukiko sat Keisuke down on the bench.

"You- don't have to." He held a hand up, shifting into sitting. "He's armored, y'know-"

"Just sit there." Tsukiko gave him a nod. "I'll be done in just a moment."

...She strolled into the center of the dirt road. Not many villagers were out on this hot day, so she was free to idly circle the man.

Juro held his katana up, eyes sharp and kept to Tsukiko's form.

' _This isn't the worst thing, either.'_ At this point, Tsukiko felt a strange affinity with fighting.

She'd been fighting all her life. Moments like these were uncommon at best. Especially now, all the violence, anger and sometimes hilarious injury seemed to blur and blend together.

Smiling, she let her body lax.

' _I want to go on an adventure, or something. I feel like there's both-... so much, and so little to do.'_

-+- _Vs. Juro Goto, Village Guard Sergeant_ -+-

 _FWISH!_ Her body flared with magic, three colors spiralling up her form, and over her limbs. Azure, amethyst and amber combined over her-

 _FWASH!_ Light pulsed and bloomed from her. White, impossibly bright magic rolled off of her form like heat.

' _This light…'_ She brought up her arms, hands shaped into fists. _'It's a reminder.'_

' _I used to be some knockoff, youkai-like monster of a person. Some 'master' of rage. But, there's so much more. There's still so much more.'_

' _As much as it pains some part of me to say it, I love Gensokyo.'_

This white light was realization and revelation.

...Juro stayed where he was, katana raised as he took in the shimmering white emerging behind Tsukiko. "...You- gonna _do anything!?"_

Tilting her head back, Tsukiko took in a breath. "You can go first."

...Raising his katana overhead, Juro ran forward. "Al~ _right!_ Ya _asked_ for-"

 _WOOSH!_ A ball of wind spread out where Tsukiko was, and in the next moment, she was before Juro.

As he brought his katana down on impulse, Tsukiko passed right of him, her left arm extending past the inner edge of the blade.

 _WHACK!_ She clotheslined him in a blink with her bicep and forearm.

 _CLACK- THUD!_ He landed hard on his back, his head and brown hair hitting the floor. " _Gh- hah…"_

"Come on." Tsukiko stood lazily, dropping an arm as she stared down at him.

...Slowly, wrinkling his nose repeatedly, he began to roll onto his side. "Hh- ah… fh- fhuck…"

"You know," she realized something, "isn't that armor really hot, on a day like today?"

"Sh-..." Seething, Juro got onto his legs. "Shut up…"

She brought her fists up again, as he raised his katana. "You-... you cannot hurt me!" He asserted. "I've got _steel armor!"_

"It's too bad you can't hurt me either." Tsukiko smiled. "And I don't need armor."

Glaring, he reeled the katana back, to cleave down at a wide diagonal angle-

 _WHACLACK!_ Tsukiko roared a palm down into his armored collar, having slid up to him in an instant.

" _Nnh- ow- nngh-"_ Stumbling back, he felt at his collar, where the metal dug into his skin from the force of the impact. Then, he realized he was using both hands to do so.

Tsukiko held her arm up, and caught the falling katana that he'd accidentally flung when he was struck.

"...Man." She looked over the steel. "It's dull. You been cutting wood with this thing?"

Juro staggered back, looking at his hands again, then at her new sword. "Wh-... ha- it-... it's for the winter! I- we needed firewood!"

"You should buy- or make- an axe, then." Tsukiko suggested. "Not a sword."

 _KR- KRACK!_ Swinging it straight into the floor, Tsukiko made the blade explode into two pieces, a cloud of dirt ejected into the air from her clumsy swing of the sword.

...Looking down at the hilt, Tsukiko tossed the fragmented, useless blade back at Juro.

 _Clink._ He wasn't able to catch it, and it pinged off of his armor. "You-..."

"So." Tsukiko suppressed an oncoming yawn. "If you don't mind, I was about to take a nap."

"You've- just been using fuckin' tricks!" Juro pointed at her. "I'm not backing down until I'm fuckin' dead!"

Tsukiko let her eyes flick up. "That-... so…"

With that, he advanced, fists raised. "I'm 'boutta knock ya the _fuck out-"_

Inhaling, Tsukiko reeled her left arm up. She held it up into the air, and it began to shake, white light blossoming from it, combining with the teal tint of spiritual energy.

Juro reeled his right arm back. Keeping himself protected with his left, he threw a mean right hook-

 _KRAKOOM!_ Tsukiko stomped her left leg down-

 _KRING- WHAKRACK- KRACK!_ Her left arm rammed against the side of his armor, bypassing his own guarding left arm. Teal and white spiked across the metal like lightning, in a simple instant.

 _pap._ His hook still met her cheek, but her head hardly moved. Her skin didn't betray more than the mere pressure of his fist, failing to redden from the impact.

...Stepping back, he blinked.

 _cla- clac- clack, thunk- thunk._ The armor fell apart in two pieces, split straight down the middle.

On the sidelines, one of the other guards held his own face. "Du- _du~de…_ "

Juro's mouth with ajar, as he stared down at his undershirt. "...Aa-... the- the- armor…"

He looked up, and Tsukiko was gone.

Her arm gripped the back of his shirt. She'd stepped behind him at some point. " _Hrr-"_ She pulled up.

 _WOOSH!_ Almost effortlessly, he went flying, backflipping as he flew over her. " _Hwh- aa- aaa~h!"_

 _THUD!_ He hit the ground hard, on his butt. " _Hkhu-_ " The force of landing was great enough to send him onto his back. " _Uha- aah…"_

"You're gonna owe me a couple glasses of juice." Tsukiko already began making demands. "How much yen're you carrying?"

Fighting the ground, jerking his body back into sitting up, he began to stand again. "Ff-... fhuck-... my- my body-..."

Tsukiko was already thinking of fruit juice. ' _So clear and refreshing. Water always seems just addicting, on days like today.'_

Finally, he stood again.

' _...Oh, dang. Looks like he's still angry.'_

"I- ih…" He began to reel his left arm back, and sprint forward. _"Ih whon't ghive up! Yhouka~i!"_

He especially couldn't yield, now. For breaking the armor so easily, he'd surely be demoted again. It was do or die time.

Tsukiko tensed her body, and held her left arm ready.

" _Hra~h!"_ Once he got close, he leapt as high as he could into the air, intent on smashing Tsukiko with his strongest, overhead punch-into-tackle strategy.

Tsukiko simply stood there, as if to take his overarm swing-

 _WHA- THOOM- THUNK._ The ball of her left palm met the deepest part of his gut, faster than the human eye could see. A pulse of light shot straight through him, Tsukiko's light energy flowing into and out of his body.

His overhead thrust had brushed aside her face entirely. Tsukiko had known exactly how he'd move, and the grand, extremely telegraphed nature of his attack did him no favors.

 _Spli- spla- splack._ His saliva was ejected from his mouth at bullet velocity, drawing a wet line in the dirt all behind Sendai.

" _huu"_ He sunk into Tsukiko's hand, for some seconds.

Then, he fell off of it, withering away.

 _thud._ Juro laid in a winded, teary heap before her, shuddering as he held his stomach.

 _Tsukiko obtained three Fruit Punch._

 _Tsukiko obtained Juro's Wallet._

 _Spli~sh._ As she passed by the crying, curled up man, she poured the third glass of fruit punch onto him. ' _Should keep him from having a heat stroke.'_

...Keisuke smiled, as Tsukiko strolled up with the two new glasses.

"Aa~h." She plopped down on the bench. "Nn~h. Nothing like a good sit."

She plainly handed him his glass, and he accepted it, nodding vaguely.

"...Y- y'know. I sometimes forget that you're basically a superhero." Keisuke found his voice, amidst the heat.

Tsukiko smiled. "So does the village. Still, of all the days this month for the usual challenger, it had to be now. This usually only happens every once or two months, you know."

"Huh." Keisuke grinned. "And the guard's… okay with it?"

"They have to be." Tsukiko closed her eyes, as a breeze met her. "Or-... nnn. Or I'd demolish them too."

' _And, I have. They know better. Pissing me off's nothing but a trail of tears.'_

...Keisuke began to sip his juice.

' _We ought to go back to the shrine, and lie in the warm grass. But, then we couldn't buy juice. Hmm. If only the village was a nicer-looking place. Not that the shithole vibe doesn't have its charms.'_

"Days like these…" Tsukiko closed her eyes again. "I just want to _exist_. You know?"

Keisuke snorted, and smiled again. "...Yeah."

Leaning back in her seat, she felt the breeze of today again.

' _I want to do something. Good days like these… really make me want to do something. Maybe we'll hit the lake later.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

 _Sendai remembered Shrine Maiden of Paradise Style._

 _Sendai learned Youkai Buster Combo * Loose._

 _Sendai learned Heat of the Hakurei Maiden._

Stepping from the medical bed, Sendai reached for her leotard and navy-colored hakama.

She was in the gloomy, lantern and candle-lit medical room of Ena's. Low quality metal tables lined the walls, along with medical beds and chintzy, cheap wood tables too.

"Tsu-... Tsukiko?" Keiko stood aside Sendai, as she slipped on her clothes.

"Hmm?" With her leotard slipped back on, she was able to lift one leg at a time, equipping the hakama again.

"What-... what was that light?" Keiko questioned. The light energy still pulsed from Sendai's body, but not as vibrantly as it did before.

Sendai smiled at her. "A reminder."

"More-... _accurately,_ " Ena stepped before the door out. "It's an untapped… perhaps, a pool of energy? No… that's not right. No- it's a way in which your life energy flowed, that you'd forgotten, perhaps. Maybe it was your body that had forgotten."

"Maybe." Sendai didn't particularly care, now.

She fit her blue cloth apron on over her chest, and slipped her arm sleeves on.

' _I remember it.'_

 _whi- whish._ She thrust her palms at the air ahead. ' _It's so… different, however. If the speed was from the wind, and the force from… was it just holy magic? It can't be. No, it couldn't be.'_

Brushing past Ena and strolling back into the former room, Sendai looked for something to hit. ' _I need to test my strength.'_

A thin trail of white light marked Sendai's path across the grassy room, as she came to the tall stump of a palm tree amidst the short room's odd greenery.

' _...How'd this tree ever grow like this? The ceiling's so low. Whatever.'_

 _Whu- whump._ She rammed her palms against the rough wood.

' _It's like something is preventing me from using all my power.'_

Plainly, Rinnosuke and Aina faced her, as she readied to unleash hell on the palm stump. "...Tsukiko?" Rinnosuke noticed the light vaguely flowing from her form.

 _Fwish._ Cracking her knuckles, Sendai dispelled the white light, and it all became azure.

 _Whunk!_ With dark energy at her disposal again, she rammed her fist into the palm tree stump. ' _...Ow.'_ Punching it wasn't the greatest idea, but she'd noticed it receive much more force now.

' _When I'm allowing my body to access my dark shit, my muscles can both give it their all, and are stronger. Now…'_

 _Kri- krack- krack._ Amber jolts of holy electricity began to flare from her heart, as she searched herself. Every time she tried to find her raw holy power inside herself, it was like grabbing onto a thin string with a full fist.

 _THOOM! "Hmph!"_ Sendai stomped the ground, and the grass around her flattened in response.

With the angry, painful shell of shimmering holy around her body, she thrust her arms for the palm stump.

" _Hrr~gh!"_ She grabbed onto it, and pulled.

 _...KRACK. KRACK. KRACK._ Slowly, she gained leeway. The palm stump was beginning to be removed from the ground.

"Ww-...!" Bewildered, Aina beamed at her. "What the hell're you doin'...!?"

Now that the stump's roots were partially exposed, Sendai stepped back.

 _fwoosh._ Dispelling the holy shell, she cracked her knuckles, azure and dark returning to her veins. ' _This- is pretty trippy…'_

 _Whap!_ Reeling an arm back, she hooked the stump, and it jerked back.

' _Now…'_

Searching herself, Sendai found that light again.

 _FWOASH._ Her whole body staggered, as if to fall backwards, as hope bloomed from her body in the form of light.

' _It's- unlike anything else…'_

The pain from her amber, heavy style made her angry and encumbered. The azure darkness made her engage herself and get ready to fight. But, this light was different.

It eased her. It gave her a feeling of superiority and warmth.

 _whap- whap._ She palmed the loose stump, and felt her hands recoil from the impacts. ' _Why is this-... weaker, than my dark-accented regular punches?'_

 _whap!_ Again, she thrust a full arm into the stump-

 _Whack!_ Flicking a leg up, she plowed a solid, full-sandal kick into it, tilting it back.

' _And- now!'_ Despite not remembering, she anticipated another movement of her body.

 _Woosh!_ She whipped her leg back to her torso, curling it. This movement's force made herself spin.

 _Whack- clack!_ Once she spun around, she kicked her leg out again, unleashing the same full-sandal, bark smashing strike.

"Wh- woah…" Immediately after, she nearly lost her balance from the abstract movement.

 _thump._ Or rather, she did lose her balance. The deep green grass received her butt. ' _Get- me outta that shit.'_ She sprung back up…

"Feel like a new miko?" Rinnosuke commented from the sidelines, leaning against the plaster-colored concrete wall.

...Her expression vague, Sendai faced him. "You could… say that."

' _I need to… find out more about this. This style- this is how I used to fight. Nothing else could compare. But…'_

' _My youkai-like style… it's balanced, but lacks definition or true strength. My tengu-like style is only speed, and my… I suppose oni-like style, it lacks technique or tactical ability.'_

Right now, her signature, time-forged attacks were lower than that of the styles she'd impulsively adopted so far. Her palm strikes were weak, slow, and unwieldy.

' _It's probably because… like this, I can't call the other elements.'_

She turned, and saw Marcus watching from a seat at the ornate table near Ena's medical room.

' _So, this is what Marisa was talking about. Somehow, she recognized that none of the styles I've randomly picked up were mine.'_

"Hey, Marc." Sendai approached him. "I haven't been fighting how I really used to fight, have I?"

Despite expecting a question like this, he just gave her a slanted smile at first. "...Well, no. I figured there wasn't a point _commentin'_ on it, though. I wanted ta see where ya'd take it, 'cause at first ya fought unlike ya did before. With more force an' without all the skill."

...Kasen was also still at the table, giving Sendai a ginger, quiet look.

Sendai snorted. ' _Yeah, I don't imagine she would have anything useful to say about this.'_

"Acupuncture really helped, huh?" Choosing to speak just then, Kasen smiled at her own idle reply.

Keiko came out of the backroom, and began giving Sendai an intent look.

"So." Sendai supposed she should get down to business. "The whole reason we're down here, is for you."

...Keiko blinked. "Mm- me?"

"Yes, you." Sendai confirmed. "Life isn't all tears and disappointment. If you could hold onto what makes you happy, you'll be much better off."

"...We- well." Keiko's cheeks reddened again. "...Um. I'd… I'd be really happy, if I could, um… be with _you,_ for awhile."

Sendai blinked. "Really? What do you mean?"

Keiko came closer. "You're- really strong. And… um, you just- seem nice to be around."

' _...I think she got a thing for me, after seeing me naked.'_

"We should probably do something about the attacks on this place." Kasen stood from her seat, and moved for the two near the backroom. "Even if someone would probably stop them- or themselves- it'd be bad to just… let them be stupid."

' _Oh, right. I'd forgotten. What the actual fuck- there's not even anything of value down here for them. Unless, someone really wants all these homeless people dead for some reason.'_

The logic dawned on her, gradually. _'...Because, they won't be quickly dying on their own, with this healer down here. Also, the most powerful regular healer in the village is down here. Therefore, someone wants them dead. Why, though?'_

"Should we just go back to Golden Grin?" Sendai proposed. She pivoted around, looking at Aina. "That's where she shores up, right?"

Aina pursed her lips, before replying. "We~ll. She _did_ say she'd be holdin' a celebration back there. Right? So… she's gonna be there awhile."

' _Ah, right. I did forget about that.'_

Ena came from her back room, gohei staff held tight. "I wouldn't be so quick to do that."

Sendai faced her next. "Why not?"

"Their forces are all condensed in one place." Ena summarized. "It would be very unwise to-"

"I don't really care." Sendai didn't really think anything of their mook company at this point.

With that, Ena simply let herself become quiet.

' _Time to go get answers the only way I know how.'_

Sendai looked at the dark hall at the edge of the room. She was going to backtrack and head straight there.

As she crossed the room, Keiko hurried up next to her.

"Wa- wait!" Keiko wasn't going to let her leave just like this.

"I'll be fine." Sendai made an assumption, and kept going.

Keiko moved into her way. "It-... it's not that."

...Slowing down, Sendai exhaled. "What, then?"

"I won't become strong…" Keiko had to look up at Sendai, meeting her gaze. "I won't become strong, if I don't settle this all myself. Tsu- Tsuruko-chan didn't become strong by hoping, a- and letting the world do things for her. That's not how Tatsuako-chan was strong, either."

Furrowing her brows, Sendai stared ahead into the hall, then back down at Keiko.

' _There's more to strength than-... I mean-...'_

"More people will be hurt, if we wait for you to become stronger." Sendai shook her head. "And-... if this is all because you have a death wish-"

"It-... it's not." Keiko confessed. "If- kn- I know- if I really tried, I'd be strong enough. I just-... I've never been allowed to try."

"Really." Sendai didn't quite believe her. "How strong _are_ you really?"

She frowned. "I- can't show you. Lord Suijin's power... I- never learned how to, um, control it."

Sendai was reminded of herself again. ' _Power that she can't control? ...Not dissimilar from when I was a teenage bitch, just learning how to use dark magic.'_

"What _can_ you show me?" Sendai figured there had to be something. "Anything. Elemental manipulation, magic…

"...Um." Keiko fidgeted awkwardly, compacting where she stood. "...Nn-"

" _Anything."_ Sendai demanded.

...Keiko blushed. "Um… oo- okay. But-... not where anyone else can see us, okay?"

Sendai's gaze became even more plain. "Sure."

Turning back, she saw the others remaining near the ornate table.

' _I think they'll be fine keeping Ena company. Keiko... she's confusing. Bring depressed and ever so slightly scatterbrained at the same time are a dangerous combination. Should I call her out on anything I find shitty? ...Yeah, yeah, I should.'_

' _Not that anything she's done has been overwhelmingly incompetent yet. She's just really too sad for her own good. I know she can't quite control it, and her life honestly really sucks, but-... damn.'_

Giving the others a wave, Sendai moved to follow Keiko.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

They traveled some distance away from the main halls of the underground neighborhood.

Keiko lead Sendai up to a rough water reservoir, kept in place by cracked concrete, and natural stone which had displaced concrete.

The reservoir was a long, dirty-looking square of water, exposed to the air.

"...Doesn't the village have water problems?" Sendai remembered. "Does it still have those? I've… been out of the game, so to speak."

Keiko stared down at the water, and took in how dirty it looked.

' _...Or, you know, just don't answer me. That's fine too.'_

A ramp lead from the concrete floor, down into the brown, bad water.

Crouching down, her feet just before the dark water, Keiko put her hands into it. Bugs drifted up, stirred from their rest in the still water.

"Yes." Keiko nodded. "...Um. The Moriya-... they planned on putting a river down through the village, with the power of their gods. I-... I wanted to help them, but-... Tsuruko-chan wouldn't let me."

The water shimmered with new movement, the dim, teal lights of the torches hung around this pond flickering and drawing lines inside the brown water.

' _Then, this water-... if there's more reserves like these under the village, then-... someone planned for villagers to get water this way. But… it all looks ruined now. It never got used.'_

"Stuff like this…" Keiko sat down.

Her feet and legs spread down into the bad water. "There's faith in the stone here. I-... I think someone left these here, for the villagers. When- when I found one of these… I was told I was being stupid. Do you think I'm being stupid?"

"...No?" Sendai was somewhat displaced. "If you found faith here, you might be right. What do you mean, 'faith in the stone'?"

"There's… pieces of the walls, that accept faith energy." Keiko looked deep into the water…

 _Spli- splish._ Something moved deeper inside it.

' _Wait-...'_ Sendai saw the water ripple visibly and audibly.

"Look out!" Sendai moved to step into the water with her, drawing talismans from within her blue apron.

Keiko remained in the water, closing her eyes.

 _Spla~sh!_ The youkai before them surfaced.

" _Hnnh- haa~."_ It wasn't something that seemed sentient, for sure.

She had long, mud-soaked maroon hair, and was missing an eye. A jiang-shi talisman hung on her face.

 _Splish- splash!_ She had six arms above the water, which she used to prop herself up and out of it.

Open, black and brown strings hung from the upper torso of the naked thing, where it lacked a lower torso.

On its ratty maroon hair, atop its forehead, above the jiang-shi talisman, was a big flower that shone with teal light. " _Hkh-..."_ Dirty water drooled from its mouth, and its open torso.

Sendai got out of the water instantly. ' _Holy shit- is someone practicing necromancy in the village, now…!? What the fuck's this doing here!?'_

"Aa-" Keiko blinked up at it-

 _FWAP- FWAP- FWAP!_ Sendai's three talisman spread met it like a volley of bullets. The six-armed jiangshi staggered back, barely keeping balance on the reservoir's edges.

"Hn- nnh-" The glassy-eyed jiangshi leaned back, fighting to keep balanced on its many arms-

 _KRAK- FZZT- ZAP- ZAP- KRACK!_ The three holy talismans flared to life with holy energy. Like jolts, the sparks spread across the undead's entire body in an instant, binding and paralyzing it. " _Hh- aaa~h!"_

 _Spla~sh!_ Its limbs gave up, and it fell back into the reservoir.

...Sendai looked back down at her wet sandals. ' _Yuck. At some point, I ought to go back to the shrine and bathe.'_

Then, she looked over at Keiko, who sat in the reserve's dirty water. "Get out of that water."

Keiko hung her head, and didn't move.

Cautiously, Sendai skirted around the edge of the reservoir, crouching to look at Keiko's eyes. "You hear me? Keiko…?"

"...You-..." Keiko was starting to smile, but her eyes watered. "You're- really strong. I- I could've-... handled that- thing-... bu- but I guess- you're stronger than me…"

"...You froze up." Sendai remembered. "You don't take your chances around jiangshi. For all we know, their master could be nearby. Maybe they're unhappy that we basically ruined their creation."

"Ye- yeah." Keiko closed her eyes. "I- I'm not go- good for anything, am I?"

' _Is- she kicking herself, over this? Really?'_

"You couldn't have done anything." Sendai shook her head. "That kind of fast reaction to danger… it isn't something anyone is inherently better or worse at. The only way to get better at that is through experience."

"...I- I couldn't have done anything." Keiko echoed. "Ee- experience. Experience that-... that I'll never get."

"...Now, that's just being too hard on yourself." Sendai felt, as she crouched aside the water. "You just-... have to try. Against something that's not a jiangshi deep beneath the village, preferably."

"How-... how do I _try?"_ Keiko opened her eyes, crying. "I- can't! The world won't _let me try!"_

Her tears dropped into the water, adding trace amounts to the dirty reservoir.

"Well-" Sendai opened her mouth-

"Ev- _every time!"_ Keiko held her hands up, palming small amounts of murky water. "Nn- no matter what-... ev- everyone _refuses-_ to let me _do anything-_ or prove myself- or- or…"

' _...I guess-'_ Sendai came to a realization. ' _She's been unlucky. And- one way this bad luck has manifested… might have been some sort of ironic denial from being able to prove herself. Kind of like when a kid doesn't get to show someone something. Just… way more extreme and prolonged, apparently.'_

' _Perhaps… perhaps I'll give her the chance she wants, then-'_

"I just-" Keiko gritted her teeth. "I- I just…"

Where her tears landed in the water, blue pads of light began to spread out.

As Keiko shut her eyes, Sendai observed the expanding, spreading light.

White and teal spread across the brown water's surface. The further it spread, the faster it worked, until it quickly began to eclipse the brown portions of the water.

 _Fwish._ The water glowed a refreshing cyan briefly, once the expanding light enveloped all of it. Then, the light faded, leaving the water clear as ice, or crystals.

Below the luminescent water's surface, the jiangshi corpse, among other things, slowly became white. The debris then all began evaporating into nothing.

' _...Woah.'_ Sendai stared down at the now clean water. ' _Did she just-... purify all of that?'_

She snapped her gaze to Keiko again.

Instead of legs, Keiko had a long mermaid's tail. It was made of solid azure crystal, replacing her legs.

"...Um." Sendai's eyes traced the edges of the tail, where the crystal was the most translucent.

Keiko opened her eyes, and gasped.

...After watching it twitch about, Sendai looked at her face. "This-... this a _normal thing_ that happens, or…?"

Keiko met her gaze, mouth ajar. "Aa-... it happened again!" Then, she smiled, looking down at her tail. "It happened again!"

' _...I- I think that's a yes.'_

Immediately after rejoicing, Keiko froze. "...You- you're not weirded out, are you?"

Sendai saw her fear. "Not- in a bad way. I just wasn't expecting it."

...With that, Keiko seemed to calm down. "Aa- aah. I- I kind of thought you'd, um, get mad at me, or something."

Smiling, Sendai snorted at that. "Fortunately for you, I don't have a thing against fish. ...More seriously, why would I?"

"...Tsu- Tsuruko-chan has a thing against youkai." Keiko told her. "She accused me- of um… misusing her trust, and-... hurting people. I- I showed her my tail, after accidentally making it appear, and um..."

' _The amount of random shit this Tsuruko chick does is staggering, fuck. ...Not that I'm not going around doing random shit either, but I'm not going out of my way to hurt people, at least.'_

"...Was Tsuruko your sister or something?" Sendai glanced down at the crystalline water.

' _Somehow, the water smells good. Like a bath, or a pond.'_

"We- well… I- wa- wasn't um, like, part… of their family." Keiko hung her head slightly. "When I had no home… they took me in. Because they were a village shrine. Tsuruko-chan-... I thought she li- liked me, but she told me- that she was glad I couldn't come with them, after the shrine was gone.

"She-... she told me they only took me in be- _because_ they were a shrine. And- that-... I didn't have any real spiritual affinity, and me being trained and cared for… was just wasting everyone's time."

...Sendai shook her head, and sighed. "She was wrong. For two reasons."

...Keiko leaned to one side in the water. "I- I know… but-... she was so strong. What she said… it was what everyone thought. Oo- or, believed, I guess."

' _Of course. And-... that's why she prizes power.'_

"Do you want to be strong, so people will believe you?"

...Keiko considered that, and gave her two nods. "Ye- yeah. I wanna-... I want people to believe me. I want to know what it feels like, to be… to be respected. I want friends-... but above that, I want them to, um… treat me, like people treated Tsuruko."

' _I don't think Tsuruko is any kind of role model to look up to. But… it does make sense, wanting to be on the same level as what made your life hell. Like me and youkai.'_

Sendai sat on her butt. "Nnh. Part of the respect people give you is just… charisma."

She dipped her already wet sandals and socks into the water below. ' _Might as well purify the shitty water that got on me.'_

"It's charisma you build by learning, and then just… existing, and showing your knowledge by doing so." Sendai offered, as her legs got adjusted to the cold water. "I mean… look at me. Here I am giving you advice, and you're talking with me. Is it not the… mood of sorts, that I give off?"

' _Brr. It's a little cold.'_ Sendai looked down at her legs she'd dipped into the water...

"I guess." Keiko slowly slid further into the water…

 _Spli- splish, splish._ Wading deeper into the reservoir, Keiko bobbed in place, her tail giving superior command over her balance in the water.

Sendai smiled again. "Once you become a reliable person, and look at yourself like a reliable person, people start looking at you the same way.

"People are more concerned with the vibe they themselves give off. They won't think too hard about who you used to be, if you don't think too hard about it yourself. You command your image far stronger than you realize. It's just all up to you to realize it."

...Keiko's eyes had widened a little, as she bobbed in the water.

"This is why strength is much more than power."

Sendai held up a hand as a vague gesture. "The weak will follow whoever seems to have the most influence, sure. But, just having a lot of influence doesn't make you physically strong, even. And relying on one form of strength as a crutch makes you far weaker than people like that will ever realize themselves. It means you have a lot of openings."

"Take Tsuruko, for instance." Sendai supposed. "She might be strong. She might be smart. But, with such fickle behavior, and the fact that she's _very obviously_ plotting something, she's not reliable. She's not sneaky. Since she's hurting other people, that gives people a reason to get in her way. She might have been lucky, being in this village of people who already have life hard enough, but…"

"...But- I… I think she doesn't need those things." Keiko actually defended her idea of Tsuruko. "She pushes past those things… like- without trying…"

"She also doesn't have real friends, now does she?" Sendai's smile strengthened. "I can't imagine _that_ hell. I might be a loner myself, but I have a couple people I think are cool enough to spend a ton of time with. Someone who separates themselves from humanity so much…"

' _There's a point you stop being human. Not in the literal way, of course, but your mind… it just becomes different.'_

Even Sendai wouldn't know the reality of a mindset like that. She'd loved and related to her mother, as well as the few relatives she'd forgotten the names of when she was younger.

' _I can't imagine… just- not connecting to anyone, in any way. Of course, this Tsuruko might have someone, but… nngh. If she threw her pretty okay sisters under the bus for no reason, I don't know.'_

Keiko traced the reservoir's concrete edges with her eyes. Then, she met Sendai's eyes again.

"I know why Tsuruko doesn't have friends." Keiko counter-argued. "Friends make you weaker."

Sendai snorted, before smirking, giving her a somewhat smarmy look. "Heh? I guess that's not totally wrong. You still miss out, though. You miss out on loyalty and love. You miss out on confirming your thoughts, and having fun with another person. I'm standoffish as a person, because I already have enough people in my life I enjoy."

"If I had to say…" Sendai smiled harder again. "It's ideal to strike a balance."

...Keiko didn't really know what to say. She was somewhat in awe, that Sendai had so much to say back.

"I could see not having _too many_ friends." Sendai thought aloud in a different direction. "You either spend too much time with all of them, and can't care for yourself, or you spend time with none of them, and they aren't really your friends."

' _People can't work with more than a certain amount of people, I feel. In that sense, it's important to, you know… pick your friends wisely.'_

"Speaking of 'too many friends', none of Tsuruko's goons actually care about her." Sendai stated outright. "They're all fucking teenagers, or even _pre-teens._ Impressionable, misguided, and stupid. I'm sure Tsuruko knew that, and used them like such. It's really not the first time I've dealt with someone like that."

Keiko's eyes were wide. "Don't- say that. If one of them heard-... and- some of them are _really_ smart…"

"Not smart enough to not be fucking stupid." Sendai gave her a big grin. "I _wish_ they'd save me the trouble and come to me. But, no. Of _course_ they don't. They just _lose_ every time I fight them. Tsuruko herself doesn't want a direct confrontation with me."

At that, Keiko jerked her head back. "Wh-.. re- really? What happened?"

"I went to their new house." Sendai looked down at the bottom of the reservoir, to see how deep it actually was, before shooting her gaze back up. "She's outright said a couple times, that she doesn't want to fight _specifically me."_

"Wo- wow." Keiko swallowed. "You-... you- must really be, like-... so- something else…"

...Sendai exhaled, feeling the coldness of the water lap against her forelegs. "Mmh. I'm really not that special."

"That's just being humble." Keiko asserted. "You're the strongest person in the village. If you're- you're not-... ly- lying."

' _...I mean, she's not wrong, but… I don't want her to go thinking this proves anything about her biases.'_

"Why am I so strong, then?" Sendai wanted to check what she knew. "Tell me that."

"...Even Tsuruko's scared of you." Keiko deduced. "You could… you could become greater than her. Everyone would respect you."

' _Everyone that knew about this shitty popularity contest, that is. Which is, no one of importance. Also, goddamn it, this chick's kinda dense…'_

"She might be scared of me…" Sendai wasn't sure where to take things from here. "She might be scared of me, but it's not for my strength. While I may be strong, she's simply weak."

' _These mental gymnastics are making my head spin. I hate arguing with other hard-headed people…'_

"It's not for my inherent greatness that I'm better than her, but it's for how inherently dumb she is that someone like me could be better." Sendai felt weird saying that…

...With that, there was silence. Nothing but the uneven lapping of the thin pool of reservoir water filled the teal, square cave.

' _If I actually convinced her of something, I'm gonna make Kasen buy all the goddamn booze. I feel like I just went really, really outta my way to change this chick's mind…'_

' _I bet it won't even matter. People don't change their minds.'_

Keiko slowly lowered in the water, thinking on that.

"You…" Keiko smiled up at Sendai. "You really must be-... so strong. So, so… _dang_ strong."

Sendai decided to be blunt. "I think your thing for strength is kinda retarded. It feels like you don't get why people are truly good people, and you prize the really shallow virtue of being a person who commands others."

"But-..." Keiko jolted up at that, her tail straightening out under the water. "Who-... who would you be, if you weren't strong?"

Sendai began to smile involuntarily. ' _Uh huh.'_

"What do you think people would think of you?" Keiko began to float closer. "Your friends-... would they hate you? Would they even know you? Would you be dead? Would you be scared and alone, in a cave somewhere?"

"Do you think I'd have those friends, if I was some wannabe tyrant who did nothing but hurt people?" Sendai leaned back, considering removing her legs from the water…

"Yes." Keiko bobbed closer, stare intent. "You would have found them. That's how you found them. Don't- ask me trick questions."

...Smiling, Sendai shook her head. "Wh- no. No. You're assuming shit. That's dumb."

"And, there you are." Keiko smiled too. "I'm dumb."

"...You- are trying _really_ , just- _way too hard_ to feel bad." Sendai began to scoot back, pulling her legs from the water. "Or rather-... you're trying way too hard to make me out to be Tsuruko, all of a sudden."

"It's nn- nothing to feel ashamed of." Keiko came up to the side of the reservoir next to Sendai. "Um… if I remember- doesn't stuff like this happen in nature?"

"You freaking kook." Sendai was, somehow, having fun. "You're just wrong. I made my friends _because_ I was kind to them. They'd be just gone if I was an asshole. That's how friendship _works._ At- a basic level."

Keiko seemed like she was also having fun. "I- I'm a _kook._ And- if you were meaner, you'd have more friends."

"Wh-" Sendai's face fell. "Are you tryin'a josh me?"

"Who?" Keiko blinked.

' _Damn it, Marc. Of all the times for me to remember that phrase.'_

Sendai found her words. "No, that's _not_ friendship. That's subservience and obedience, not mutual loyalty or respect."

She stood. Keiko took pause in the water below Sendai, thinking on that. The word 'respect' had stood out to her hard.

...Then, somehow, the situation changed. Keiko exhaled.

"...I- don't think I know what exactly you mean by 'friendship', I think. Are-... hmmh."

Sendai slouched where she stood. ' _You-... you're a piece of work, Keiko.'_

Seeing Sendai's posture, Keiko grinned. "I- I mean-... I know, like-... nnh. You mean-... people who are close to you, right?"

"What else could I have _meant."_ Sendai gave her the vaguest of looks. "You went to Keine's school, right?"

"I- I just hear people call each other 'friends' so easily, these days." Keiko shook her head. "I- didn't know if you were just trying to sound big, or if you knew what friendship was like…"

' _...This is some ascended level shit. Ena has her hands full. Sweet fuck.'_

"Still…" Keiko leaned against the side of the reservoir, her arms on the stone. "You're gonna carry on Tsuruko's legacy. You're gonna become the legend she wanted to become."

"She-" Sendai at first wanted to retort dryly, but then thought on what she said. "...She wanted to become a legend?"

"Ye-... yeah." Keiko closed her eyes. "She used to talk about it… a bunch. And then, she went ahead and did it. I think-... I think, if you were dead, she would rule the human village."

"Probably not." Sendai immediately dismissed that idea entirely. "You ever been outside the walls?"

...Keiko pursed her lips. "No?"

' _Well, that figures. Whole other game out there.'_

"Se- seriously." Keiko got a little indignant, pouting. "Tsuruko-... she's strong. She's almost as strong as you. She could rule everyone. You could rule everyone."

"Haha." Sendai pretended to laugh, and wasn't really convincing about it. "You realize how much of a headache that'd be? No thanks. If Tsuruko wanted to rule this place right, she should've ran for chief. At least then she could've had a tilted council and still seemed somewhat legitimate."

"Sh- she wouldn't have headaches." Keiko retorted in turn. "She'd just kill anyone who gave her a problem."

"...There's- nnh." Sendai rolled her own head around idly… "No. That wouldn't work. There'd be a coup. You'd run out of people to fight the youkai. That's _stupid._ "

...Keiko huffed, and looked stuck.

"What kind of legend's that even supposed to _be?"_ Sendai began to grin again. "The legend of the person who endangered their own species?"

"Pft- he- hehe." Keiko couldn't stop herself from giggling. "Well- no! She's the strongest human…!"

"That doesn't mean anything if she's a bonehead!" Sendai turned away, shaking her head harder…

Then, silence again.

' _My pants are all wet.'_ Sendai had soaked her navy-colored hakama in the water.

"Well." Keiko didn't feel like arguing anymore, either. "Regardless of what we think… if you're really too weak, Tsuruko-chan will be remembered in village history. Things-... are gonna change."

"No~t if I can help it." Sendai shook her head. "...I feel like we got way off topic."

"...Yeah." Keiko furrowed her brows. "Um, what-... oh. I kinda forgot what we were talking about. Tsuruko- yeah, but-..."

Sendai almost let it slip too, but held her focus. "Strength. Wasn't all about popularity contests. You're gay for Tsuruko. By the way, I'm not Tsuruko."

...Keiko blinked, and inhaled. "I- I'm- _what?"_

' _Of course that's the first thing you'd respond to.'_

"...St- still." Ignoring her nerves, Keiko continued. "Um. Thank you- for talking with me. I-... you know- a lot of people-... I don't really have anyone to talk with."

' _Boy, did that show. Not that I minded… too much.'_

"No problem." Sendai was somewhat surprised that Keiko didn't take anything personally, after all of that.

"But, you know…" Keiko looked up from the concrete along the reservoir. "I-... yeah. We were talking about being strong."

"And I wanted to convince you that you were strong."

...For awhile, the two stared down at one another. The flickering teal lights of the room ran across their faces as an uneven, ever-changing gradient.

"I-... I want to be a legend." Keiko confessed. "Tsuruko's so close."

"Didn't you want respect, and a home?" Sendai furrowed her brows.

"...The only way I could hold onto those, is if I were Tsuruko-chan." Keiko decided. "...I don't know any crafts. I only know what Keine taught me. I don't know anything about money, besides the basics. I'd need… I'd need to be bigger than all of that. Like her. Like you."

Sendai snorted. "Excuse you. I buy food with money I earned. Or, I make food myself, by hunting."

' _Haven't had to hunt in some time. Once you get a good clump of money together, it's not hard to live off of. Wasn't something I'd just do with Reimu around and in need...'_

"You- can _hunt?"_ Keiko's smile curled further at that. "Wow… you have to be _really_ powerful…!"

' _...Y'know what, sure.'_

"Go learn carpentry or something." Sendai proposed. "Or, you know, sell water. You can make water for free. Villagers don't get water for free. Therefore, you sell water, profit. Done. Instant aristocracy."

"They'd… they'd call me a youkai." Keiko strongly suspected. "Until I was powerful enough, I'd be a youkai to them."

' _...People call me a youkai explicitly because I'm powerful.'_

"Then be a fuckin' youkai." Sendai almost rolled her eyes. "Youkai or not, you're giving people something they need to _survive._ "

...Keiko, despite everything, remained skeptical. "...I'm sure- someone would stop me, and take apart whatever I made. People don't like me."

' _Honestly, can kinda see why, even if I can put up with it. She means well, but, ooo~ is she kinda… I don't know, she's not dumb, but she's… unique.'_

"You know what?" Sendai really had no idea what else to say. "...Get strong, then. Be sad or be strong. Or something."

Keiko blinked, her wet body bobbing in the thin reservoir.

Turning away, Sendai moved to leave. "Learn to help yourself. There's only so much I can do for you."

"Wa- wait-..." Keiko saw that she was leaving. "Hold on!"

Stopping in the door, her back to Keiko, Sendai turned only her head. "What?"

 _Spla- splash, splash._ Keiko swam up to the ramp out of the water reservoir. "Ge- get strong? What do you mean?"

"...Be yourself." Sendai supposed, still not facing her. "Learn how to do things yourself. Be persistent. Try. Especially when it's your only option."

' _She's just… so uncertain, so resilient to change. There's nothing I can do for someone like this.'_

With that, Sendai moved to leave again-

"Gods, how _dare_ you."

She stopped, upon hearing Keiko's voice.

"It's unfair, you…" Keiko tensed up, glaring. "You-... you just _tell me that-..._ already so strong yourself."

' _It's because I know what working my way to where I am feels like.'_

"Lift weights." Sendai gave one last blunt suggestion-

"I do- don't need physical strength…!" Keiko barked back. "I need-... I need to be _strong_. I need to become a legend. Someone everyone fears and loves…"

Shaking her head, Sendai sauntered into the dark hall ahead.

' _An attempt… was made. Nice girl, though.'_

The hall ahead was lit only vaguely by varying candles hung on the walls at random intervals. Their wax sticks were flawless, as if they were never able to melt, or burn out.

' _Probably a mage's doing.'_

 _Spla- splash, splash. Spla~sh!_ Behind Sendai, the loud roar of water was heard. ' _She must be getting out of the water, or something.'_

 _Splash! SPLASH!_ As Sendai ignored it, it grew louder. ' _What the actual fuck…'_

Turning back around, Sendai stared into the room.

Teal light splayed out into the hallway, projected through a typhoon of azure and crystalline water.

Keiko's eyes glowed teal, as she drifted in the air amidst the rising, roaring water.

"Tsukiko." Her voice was loud over the rush. "...I want to try. I-... I'm going to take your advice. I'm going to be persistent."

"And, the first red line I'll draw-... I'm starting with you."

...Sendai blinked at the rising, crashing water around Keiko, and smiled. "What's all _this_ about?"

"Tsuruko wasn't just tricking us, or being mean." Keiko concluded. "She was showing us how to get to the top, by doing. A legend's name-... is penned in blood."

"And, if I prove I'm better than you right here… if- if I prove I'm better than you right here, I will show everyone…"

"The strongest shrine maiden is me."

' _...Another one of those 'not entirely wrong' sort of comments, that's still really missing the point. This girl is awkwardness incarnate.'_

' _And, that's why she's weak. That's why she's weaker than her sisters. If- they're actually her blood sisters. I don't know or care.'_

 _Whish._ Sendai allowed wind to creep up her own features, caressing her exposed shoulders.

Grinning, she beckoned Keiko. "If you're so certain, then you can try killing me too. I'll show you how weak you are."

' _I'll show you there's probably more to strength than you think, with a hard example.'_

 _SPLA- SPLA- SPLASH!_ From the teal room, the horizontal typhoon of water whipped around incredibly fast, annihilating all the torches around the reservoir.

Keiko had her katana, summoned by faith. There was a light along its edge, too bright to be stared at, which resembled the sun when seen from under the water's surface.

" _Lord Suijin…"_ Keiko's voice echoed throughout the cavern. _"Please-... please! Allow me to show- that I can smite my foes!"_

Sendai looked down along the floor, eyes widening.

 _WOOSH!_ She leapt, just quickly enough.

Keiko's shade and water-cast form slid under Sendai's in an instant, following a bullet-like, ankle-high sheet of water that expanded down the hallway.

 _-+- Vs. Keiko Shizuku, Former Trainee of the Aoyama Family * Dawn Katana Style_ -+-

Sendai rolled in the air, looking down at Keiko's swift, sleek form as it shot beneath herself.

 _KRAK- SPLASH!_ Just behind Sendai, water exploded into a hall-encompassing splash of diamond drops. Down the hall, the ever-lit candles went out instantly, blown from the wall's iron holds by the absolute power that met them.

As Sendai landed on her legs, she whipped around to face the destruction and Keiko.

Keiko was on her mermaid tail, facing her now. She held two katanas in either arm.

"Nnh…" Already surprised by Sendai's agility, Keiko glared.

 _WOOSH!_ Then, spinning on her tail, Keiko lunged closer, arms extended so both blades could spin with her and potentially strike Sendai.

Nearly letting her body fall, Sendai weaved down and right, under an exposed diagonal angle that Keiko had ignored in her slice. ' _Holy- shit-'_

Pushing her left palm against Keiko's stomach, Sendai moved to push along Keiko's side, under her spinning arms-

 _Spla- SPLASH!_ As Sendai did this, she tripped on Keiko's tail, which swept to stop her. ' _Ooh-'_

 _splish- SPLASH!_ Sendai rolled on her side, her head dipping underwater for an instant, as she got past Keiko.

Stopping, her spin ceasing, Keiko turned around.

 _SHING!_ She swung both katanas together. As Sendai stood up straight, they were swung to meet her throat just then.

 _fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Flinching hard at the incoming blades, Sendai slid back down the hall fifteen meters, with one powerful flinch of her muscles. ' _Wh-... oh, right. I nearly forgot how flighty I was like this!'_

...Keiko's expression flared, and she snarled. "Are- you _running!?"_

"Yeah!" Sendai gave a big grin back, and a tiny two-finger salute. "Bye!"

 _fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish._ Sendai darted backward another fifteen meters, getting way down the hall by jerking her muscles and torso. Behind her movements, the shallow water rippled violently.

Keiko bared her teeth, and swung both katanas out.

 _KRA- KRACK!_ Like lightning, they struck the walls beside herself. Those walls cracked, huge spiderwebs exploding across the stone, making the whole hall shake.

 _KRA- KRA- KRA- KRACK!_ Four more katanas bloomed diagonally from behind her back, piercing stone in a manner alike her swung weapons.

Amidst the thunderous booms, a woman's figure appeared behind Keiko. She was cast only in azure, like water, but Sendai got a glimpse of her illuminated shade from a distance.

She was in a brilliant, deep blue kimono, and her hair was long and black. But, it was also neat; it was no hime-cut, her bangs folded way back to show her forehead, her lengthy strands done in two buns on either side. Her long hair had been folded up along the back of her head.

Sendai felt who that was in her gut.

' _Suijin. God of water. Or-... goddess.'_ She'd never seen them before, but her whole body felt different in its presence. _'She looks like a middle-aged aristocrat.'_

 _Fwish._ Briefly, despite her wind, Sendai felt the azure energy inside herself pulse, before it quelled again.

"You-..." Keiko's eyes were wide. "You _hypocri~te!"_

A drop of water fell from the ceiling before Sendai.

' _Move!'_ Her body yelled at herself.

 _fwish-_ Sendai slid back-

 _KRA- KRA- KRA- KRACK!_ Katanas dropped from the ceiling, piercing the ground where she stood like bullets, shattering into nothing but water on impact. They were ethereal blades of wet magic and deceptive force, which rendered the concrete floor a fine powder where they struck.

Then, new words came from Keiko's mouth.

" _Forgive me, child of Hakurei."_ It was Suijin. _"If your death here would give this poor girl revere, then there is no other way."_

Sendai had no words, mouth open as she stared down at the many sun-like lights. The ceiling was black with water, and the floor was becoming murky, too.

...Then, from the sheer surreality, she beamed. "He- heheh. Ho- holy shit..."

"Why- why are you _laughing!?"_ Keiko roared, her eyes openly flowing with water. From her mouth, eyes and ears, water flowed out like streams, unrelenting.

"'Cause a' this whole situation" Sendai pointed at Suijin. "It's like-... like I told you off, and you got so pissed you _actually just summoned a god._ I- _I_ can't even summon my fuckin' god! Haha _ha…!"_

Suijin's silhouette blinked, surprised by Sendai's reaction.

" _Your disrespect…"_ The goddess spoke through Keiko's mouth. _"It would only figure."_

' _I really, sincerely doubt it's gonna listen to anything I have to say.'_

" _You will know what power is when we are done."_ Suijin's ethereal hands lay on Keiko's shoulders. _"My maiden will show you how."_

...With that, Sendai accelerated, running backwards. She took a near-instant glance backwards, and saw the next deviation in the hall.

' _I'm not even going to give her the pleasure of a fight.'_

' _If strength is more than superficial power and fear, and I want to prove her wrong… then, I'll beat her without even fighting.'_

" _No~!"_ Keiko roared. "Get _back he~re! Fight me!"_

 _Spli- splash, splash!_ "Nope!" Waving, Sendai shuffled back in the ankle-high water, towards the other hallway entrance she saw.

Frowning hard, Keiko let a katana float up before herself, out of her left hand.

 _WOOSH._ It shot forward like a bullet, spinning towards Sendai's form-

 _whish._ Flinching, Sendai hunched way down, and the katana rocketed through her hair as it flared up after her movement.

 _fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Then, Sendai turned and ran, and managed to shuffle down to the hallway entrance in a near instant.

This hallway was flooded ankle-high too. ' _There's water on the ceiling and the floor everywhere…'_

 _fwish- SPLASH, SPLA~SH!_ Behind Sendai, there was the roar of water. ' _Can't really- stand around and wait!'_

As she gunned it down this long, cell-laden hall, Keiko rode around the previous corner on a wave. The hall was illuminated with light from this liquid, revealing the water still along the roof and floor.

Before Sendai, the water bubbled. ' _Danger…!'_

 _KRAK- FWA~SH!_ She stumbled to the left, avoiding a geyser which shot out of the floor like a beam of energy. ' _Even- the droplets that hit the ceiling off of it- feel like rocks…'_

 _KRA- KRAK- FWA~SH!_ Soon, the hallway began to fill with geysers like these.

 _SPLASPLASPLASH!_ Keiko swam on her tail along the shallow water, darting up to Sendai faster than she could run.

Hearing the heightening racket, Sendai turned to face it.

Keiko was right there, all six katanas poised at her right side, ready to obliterate Sendai in one mighty heave-

" _Nnh-"_ Sendai hunched way down again, sliding along Keiko's left side, against the blades-

 _WOOSH- SPRITZ._ The mighty swing clipped a geyser right behind Sendai. ' _There's one behind me. Idea.'_

As Keiko reeled from her huge swing, she looked around. "Wh-"

Sendai stood up, and used a finger to boop Keiko's nose, in a gentle slap-like motion. "Missed."

" _Hrrgh-"_ Bearing her teeth, Keiko hoised two katanas overhead, the other four making similar motions in response-

Smiling when she could, Sendai lurched down again. Her left palm met one of Keiko's arms, as they rose.

 _WOOSH._ When Keiko cleaved all six katanas down, Sendai hooked her right palm around Keiko's side, and thrust herself behind her by using both arms.

"Nn- ah…!" Keiko hadn't expected this again, her tail sliding forward on the water after Sendai had pushed her-

 _SPLAA~SH!_ She'd fallen into the geyser just behind where Sendai had stood, and it slowly lifted her into the air. "Wh- _aaa~h!"_ Spinning around, she yelled as it lifted her up to the ceiling...

"Pft- hahaha~!" Sendai's jaw dropped at the visual.

She turned, and saw Suijin glaring at her. ' _...He- hahah!'_

 _SPLASH!_ A moment later, the geyser halted, and Keiko fell awkwardly onto her stomach. "Rr- rgh-" With her tail, she easily slid back into standing-

 _fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Sendai darted right past her, four jerky movements taking her down the hall in a flash.

' _I need to find somewhere useful. I'm trapped in these damn hallways…'_

Leaning past random geysers, Sendai came up to the next intersection-

 _FWUU- FWUUU~SH!_ Huge, murky rivers of water came down from either side, blocking her exit and filling up half the oncoming hallway. ' _Wh- where the fuck'd all this come from…!?'_

" _Hu~p!"_ After getting a running start amidst the shallower water, Sendai leapt.

Her body was floaty, allowing her to rise over some of the crashing tide.

' _Why- is there so much!?'_ She hadn't gotten the height she wanted due to the short hallway ceiling.

 _Spla- spla- splash!_ As she came down on the water's surface, she ran against it, trying to trudge through.

' _I just-'_ She remembered something used to be able to do. ' _Come on…'_

 _Spla- spla- splash!_ The wind along her legs picked up, sending drops of water flying everywhere.

She tried to run faster and faster, fighting against the water's current. ' _I'm-...'_

She was so light, and ran so fast, that she slowly began to rise amidst the current, running against it. She was attempting to run along the surface of the oncoming flood.

' _This-... isn't how I used to run, but it's close! I used a lot more force. But-'_

 _SPLA- SPLA- SPLA- SPLASH!_ Water roared behind her, as she shuffled her legs forward at increasing speed. The force of her sprint against the water created a wake of mist behind herself.

Eventually, she made her way over the tide, and ran with the declining surge of water down the hallway ahead. ' _Oh- shit-'_

 _woosh._ She was so floaty, she accidentally did a forward flip after losing her balance on the declining slope of liquid. ' _Wo- woah-... what the fuck.'_

 _Spla- splash._ Her butt met the cold water ahead. ' _Oh shit!'_ It was so cold, she shot right back out of it and into sprinting.

Now ahead, she came into a huge room.

It was an unlit, huge cave. The grassy floor was soaked into mud by the shallow water, and huge, magical roots stretched from above the hall Sendai came out of.

These roots twisted and expanded every which way, filling the black cave. ' _No shit…?'_ She suspected it spilled over from the magic forest to the north.

Instinctually, she looked back at where her enemy would be.

 _WHOA~SH!_ From the cave behind her, a huge wave was coming. The hallway was floor-to-ceiling full of water, and Keiko's blurry form was roaring through it.

Looking ahead again, Sendai leapt. "Hup!"

" _I want to show them- if I can…!"_ Keiko's voice echoed through the big room. "I can kill- Tsukiko!"

" _You can."_ Suijin promised her.

 _KRAK- SPLA~SH!_ Once the tide made it into the huge, root-filled room, Keiko exploded from the water.

"I _promise you!_ I won't rest- until I have _defeated you!"_ Keiko bellowed, as she soared.

 _Clack!_ Sendai landed on the side of a huge hanging root, and used her arm to climb up higher. "Nnh- nnh…"

" _Hyup!"_ Then, Sendai pulled hard with her arms, and kicked her legs against her own body by bending them back hard enough. "Wh- aah!"

She went hurtling up into the air, doing a forward flip away. ' _Su- sure, I'll take it.'_

 _KLACK- BAM!_ Keiko's katanas cleaved down into the bark where Sendai used to be. "Aa- you-..." For a moment, she hung there, her katanas centimeters deep into the thick bark.

" _Hoo~h!"_ Then, Keiko pulled on the katana handles, launching herself up. She backflipped, tail first.

Clasping two of the four katanas that were orbiting around her, Keiko ascended for the hurtling Sendai.

Her midair summersaults ceasing, then looking down, Sendai saw the water slowly flooding the room's floor.

She felt Keiko get close. ' _Wh- wha- wait!'_ She raised her arms, as if to guard, turning around.

 _SHU- SHUNK!_ Keiko cleaved two katanas into her, in an X-shape. _"Yes!"_

But, the impacts only cleaved moderately into Sendai's arms. Since they were midair, and Sendai's body was so light, she was sent soaring across the room from the amazing force Keiko put into her X-shaped slice.

 _SPLASH!_ Sendai bounced on her knees hard off the water's surface. ' _Fh- fuck!'_ This wasn't a good feeling, either.

 _Spla- spla- spla- splash!_ But then, she resumed running, sprinting along the liquid's surface, her adrenaline pumping. A trail of red dribbled from her arms, into the muddy mixture beneath herself.

' _She's got godly force, alright. But she doesn't know what to do with it...'_

 _Spli- splish._ Soon, Sendai was in the shallows of the hallway across the room, running ahead again.

Looking along the cell doors on either side of the hall, Sendai had an idea. _'I've gotta find a way to stall her.'_

 _Spla- spla~sh!_ Keiko skidded down the shallows herself, zipping towards Sendai with immediate, graceful suddenness.

 _Crea~k!_ Turning to face her foe, Sendai whipped open an empty cell door. In this moment, Keiko thrust her six katanas straight at Sendai, meant to skewer her.

 _fwish!_ The moment Sendai could see the color in Keiko's eyes, she slid straight to the right.

 _Cli- click- clank- klack!_ Keiko plunged all six of her katanas through the bars. "Rrgh-" She also had banged her head against the metal…

"Heh!" Beaming, Sendai spun on her left heel, and flicked her right leg back.

 _Clack!_ Her right sandal's heel met the outer part of the barred cell door.

"Wh-" Keiko's eyes widened. She tried to slide back, but still held onto her two katanas.

 _Cla- clack, clatter, clatter!_ Since the katanas were caught between the bars, Keiko ended up getting pulled by the door instead. "Aa-"

 _Cla- clack!_ Keiko rammed her shoulder into the wall beside herself, from trying to pull her tangled blades out of the inner part of the door. "Ngh!"

Suijin actually just outright reached to help her pull the katanas out. _"You-... just- hold on, Keiko."_

' _Ho- holy shit, that actually worked…!'_

 _Fwish!_ As Sendai beamed at their mess, amethyst and pink light flared up her form.

Then, she broke into a sprint down the hall again. ' _This is good exercise, when I don't feel like I'm about to become a homicide victim.'_

Moving ahead, Sendai left the hallway, and found herself in a cave of some type.

The concrete hall behind her entirely cut off here, marking the end of whatever facility she was in.

This area seemed like it used to be a small village, of some kind. Mechanical arrows lined the walls in every direction, and black, dried blood was spilled on the floor all around the room.

A pile of business suits laid in disarray, spilled out of a broken crate to the right. In the center, a huge pile of chrome metal laid in scraps.

' _What- happened here?'_ Sendai smiled somewhat awkwardly.

 _CLA- CLANK, CLANK!_ Behind Sendai, a metal cell door slid across the ground, water splaying into the air behind it.

' _She actually just annihilated that fuckin' door!'_

Sendai sprinted up to the pile of metal scraps, as the water behind herself began to rush out to flood this large cave…

Keiko slithered into the room on her tail, her four katanas hovering in the air behind herself, and her other two held ready. "Stop _running!_ I want to _prove myse~lf!"_

...Looking back at the pile of odd, chrome metal parts, Sendai sprinted around them.

 _SPLISH!_ Keiko zipped straight up to the pile, eyes wide and teeth gritted-

" _Hyah!"_ Sendai abruptly swept her left leg up and into a loose, leaf-like piece of chrome metal. Her attack was an amateurish, flick-like kick maneuver that only served to send the piece of metal flipping into the air.

 _Shink._ As the flimsy fragment flew forward, one of its sharp edges nicked Keiko's face. " _Nn- aagh!"_

' _Hwa- what the fuck…!'_ Sendai hadn't expected that to do anything more than make a diversion, but that worked too.

 _fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ In four more motions, Sendai was down the new hall- or rather, tunnel- ahead.

This hallway wasn't like the orderly concrete halls. Rough rocks and uneven turns composed this tunnel, and abandoned supply crates darted the sides of the interior.

Sendai used the luminescent water beneath her sandals to gauge where she was going better, and how flat the ground was as she ran. ' _This place should slow her down. No more flat ground for all that water to flow. Just shitty rocks.'_

Bolting to the right, then the left, Sendai snaked deeper into the rocky cave…

' _Where the hell's this even lead? I don't remember much of these under-village tunnels…'_

The tunnel narrowed out ahead. Sendai felt her wind brush the walls beside herself, as the tunnel grew thinner and thinner…

Then, she came to a wider tunnel. ' _Where the hell am I…? Oh?'_

To the right, there was a strange, stone doorway. It was well-kept looking, and had a staircase leading up to it from the cave floor.

' _Oo~h.'_

 _spli~sh._ Water trickled from the thin cave Sendai just left. ' _Not like I have any other great ideas. Ideally, I'd get back to the surface, but, damn.'_

She sprinted up to the stairs, leapt up them in one grand motion, and swung the iron door open.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

...The room wasn't anything Sendai recognized. ' _What the fuck is this?'_

 _Clank, clank, clank._ She walked forward, onto a rusty metal grate.

Below her, there was bubbling water. Immense heat and steam emanated from below. ' _Suffocatingly steamy…'_

The walls were all pipes of copper and brass, running straight up into dark obscurity.

' _A dead-end full of nothing but water. Cool.'_ She shook her head. ' _What god did I piss-... off. Actually, I know the answer to that already.'_

 _WHABAM._ Behind her, Keiko smashed the iron door open. _"Tsukiko~!"_

Sendai turned, standing in the midst of the metal room. "...Hey."

"Just-..." Keiko panted, slithering and wiggling on her tail into the room. "Just _give up-..._ or- no, don't give up. Fight! I want to prove myself!"

Sendai exhaled.

"This fight won't be going anywhere." She decided. "...I'm not letting you win by throwing your magic around like an idiot."

"I-... I'm showing you my _powe~r!"_ Keiko yelled back. "This is _all of my power!_ The power Suijin granted me!"

"And this is none of my power." Sendai shook her head back. "Even if you kill me here, you'll never be happy with such shallow thinking."

"...Sh- shut up." Keiko began to leak water from her eyes and mouth again. "Shut up."

...Sendai simply put her arms on her own hips.

"You- don't know what I _went through-"_ Keiko breathed water from her mouth. "I- I... shut _up-_ I-..."

 _blup- bloop- blup._ The steamy water below began to bubble and glow. It rised, convulsing.

 _sss~._ Water poured in from the door behind Keiko, sizzling into steam as it met the scalding hot water, cooling it…

 _KRAK. KRIK- KRACK._ The brass pipes around the room began to snap, churn and crack. Water shot from them in streams, and some of the pipes that burst expelled raw steam and pressure.

Then, Keiko's form shot from the ground, spiralling towards Sendai's like a torpedo.

" _I fight strong!"_ Suijin's voice and Keiko's bellowed as one.

 _WOOSH- SHUNK!_ When Sendai tried to weave out of the way, the tip of six katanas met her bicep all at once. "Gh- _rgh!"_

" _I swim fast!"_ Keiko swung around in midair, amidst the huge line of red drawn by her katanas. The blood splattered hard against the distant pipes.

 _KRABAM!_ Her tail met the pipes behind herself-

 _KRABOOM- BLAM- BOOM!_ The pipes exploded into deadly metal and shrapnel, plunging Keiko ahead-

 _Fwish!_ This time, Sendai was early enough with her jerky slide to avoid Keiko's hexa-katana thrust.

Keiko's voice rang off of the metal pipes all around. _"I'll live on! You- won't last!"_

Looking down, Sendai saw the hot water about to overcome the metal grate.

From her blue apron, she drew a yin-yang orb. ' _There's not gonna be any other way…'_

Maximizing it, Sendai plopped it forward-

 _Splap!_ It landed in the shallow, searing water, quickly losing momentum.

 _Clack!_ As her feet burned, Sendai leapt up and onto the yin-yang. ' _This-... this isn't gonna be easy.'_

Keiko held her arms up, and globs of water ascended with her six katanas.

 _KRAKA- KABOO~M!_ With her blades, she destroyed the rusty metal grate below, and it sank into the water.

Sendai began running atop the yin-yang she summoned. ' _Wo- woah-... oh, shi~t…'_ The magic physics applied to it made it buoyant enough...

It rolled in the water, as waves rised and splashed around the cylindrical room.

' _Aa- hot!'_ She felt the hot water splash onto her sandals and socks. ' _Whatever…!'_ She'd put up with it if it meant not drowning in hot water instead.

" _I'll destroy you!"_ Keiko's voice bloomed from the water below. "I'll prove them _wrong!"_

 _KRA- CLICK- CRACK!_ Her six katanas drilled into the bottom of the yin-yang. Keiko was rising from the waves, attempting to pierce the Hakurei yin-yang with her six blades.

Heart jumping in her chest, Sendai leapt from the orb, her body floaty. ' _Oh- ooh…'_

In the air, she maximized a yin-yang orb in her arms. It weighed her down, accelerating her fall, so she let go.

' _Then…'_ She saw the pipe wall she was heading for.

 _KRAK!_ A plume of steam exploded from one of the pipes, facing up. ' _...Oh!'_

As she fell, she angled herself for the upward draft. ' _I hope this works the way I think it does.'_

 _Clack!_ As she fell, she kicked against the metal wall. ' _Wh- ow, oww~!'_ The steam managed to burn her, but not much else. ' _Fuck!'_

Still, merely kicking off the metal wall gave her some height, and slowed her descent.

 _SPLASH!_ Keiko leapt from the waves below. All six katanas were spread, to pincer Sendai from the air where she was. _"Hrr- aaa~h!"_

' _...Ah.'_

Sendai drew a yin-yang orb, and expanded it to torso size.

It made her top-heavy, falling down for Keiko's form. She tilted forward from the orb's weight, and held it before her face. ' _He- hehe-'_

 _KRAK- WHAM!_ It plowed into Keiko's head. She hadn't even thought of blocking it, the orb plunging faster than she'd thought it would. " _Hk- hua-..."_

Bringing her legs up, Sendai beamed. "Eat _shi~t!"_ Wind and amethyst coalesced in her legs, as she reeled them back-

 _KABOOM!_ Then, she plunged them down into the yin-yang orb in Keiko's face. A shockwave of wind boomed from the impact, rolling around the two girl's forms and whirling about the yin-yang orb.

" _Aa-..."_ Keiko gasped. _"Hukh-..."_

 _Spla- splash._ Keiko and the orb dropped loosely into the churning, hot mixture below.

But, it was still rising.

Sendai could see the ceiling now. ' _...Oh, damn. Wait-...'_

There was a service ladder over the entrance to the room. Although the entrance itself was buried under many meters of rising water, the ladder stretched way up to the ceiling, and through the concrete roof.

" _Suijin-..."_ Keiko's voice made the water below all shake.

 _Click!_ Dropping down onto one of the orbs in the water, Sendai leapt back off of it, moving for the ladder. ' _Co- come on!'_ Due to the orb's buoyancy, she'd hardly got any height on her jump, even with her floaty body…

 _Clack!_ Then, after a long moment, she made it to the ladder. ' _This- isn't a good idea-'_ She thought Keiko could stab her at any moment, like this.

" _SUIJIN!"_ Keiko's voice from below made Sendai's ears ring.

' _The- the fuck…! How much power's this god have left!?'_

 _Cla- cla- cla- clack!_ Sendai paddled up the ladder at light speed, her wet clothes whipping about as she made for the latch door above.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

 _Clack._ Sendai rammed the flat door open with a fist, and climbed out.

 _thud._ She rolled onto her side to get out of the hole as fast as possible. "Ha- aah, ho~h…"

She was behind a couch. Getting off the floor, she stood.

She instantly recognized where she was. This was the first floor back-lobby of Heaven Springs.

Beige suit-clad men snapped their gazes from where they sat around the room. "Wh-... _what!?"_

"Oo- oh no! She snuck in!?"

"What-...!?"

Sendai had the vaguest, most bewildered smile. ' _He- Heaven Springs. Again. That-... that must have been the infrastructure for the big spring on the third floor.'_

 _BOOM._ The floor shook. The wood beneath everyone began to crack, and become uprooted.

' _Uh oh. Are-... oh, holy shit.'_

"What!?" One of the men's eyes were wide. "What'd you _do!?"_

"She's rigged the place to _fucking blo~w!"_

 _fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ As the men all panicked, Sendai darted right for the stairs, and up them.

"Aaa-" There was a brown-haired man on this floor. "He- hey, baby?"

...Sendai stopped before him-

 _Whap!_ -and hooked him in the face, before sprinting for the next staircase. "Ngh- wh- what'd I _do!?_ What the fuck!"

 _fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ She skidded past all the few remaining men who idly stood in these upper floor hallways, not so much as bothering with their presence.

"Wha- hey- isn't she-"

"Hey! You- stop! Stop!"

"Back- back- again? Wait- get back here!"

She found the stairs up and to the springs, after sprinting across the entire second floor. ' _Alright…!'_

 _thu- thu- thu- thu- thump!_ She rumbled up the stairs, skipping three-four steps with each bound.

Then, after scaling the L-shaped, story-height staircase, Sendai made it to the last door.

 _Cli- click._ It was locked. ' _Wh- are you fucking kidding me.'_

 _Bam!_ She tried to punch the door open, but like this, she was too weak. ' _...Oo- ow.'_

 _Wham!_ Doubling back, she kicked the door. ' _Freaking…'_

Then, she took a few steps back. ' _...Now!'_

 _WOOSH!_ She plunged forward, and felt wind wrap around her form.

 _WHA- BAM!_ She rammed her whole body through the door, wind helping her blow it right off its hinges.

 _Scree~ch!_ Sendai's sandals skidded hard on the marble tile floor, as she tried to stop her wind-accented dash. ' _...I- I think I just figured out how to use the wind by accident. But- that was a technique I used to know too!'_

...The hot spring in here was starting to drain, already at half capacity.

' _Huh. This is more awkward than I thought.'_ Sendai hadn't thought about it, but…

Ahead, Dieter sat in a heap on his throne, his whole body bound in wrappings.

"Wh-..." He looked over from it, and began to sit up. "Oo-... oh, no."

...A loud, echoey drain noise vibrated through the room, as the hot spring pool drained into nothing.

Sneering, Dieter tried to stand up. "I-... if- if ya think-"

 _thu- thud._ He fell onto his knees, then his side. "...Fu- fuck…"

' _Well.'_ Sendai wasn't really sure what to do from here. ' _Let's see if Keiko-'_

 _ **KRAK.**_ Sendai heard a bad noise. ' _...Oh.'_

 _ **KRABOOO~M!**_ A truly monolithic geyser erupted from the midst of Heaven Springs, piercing all three floors.

Sendai fell off balance, onto her butt, watching the great pillar of pure white explode into the atmosphere.

' _...Um. Y'missed, Keiko.'_ Sendai was impressed and awed by the sheer godly power.

 _FWUUUU~SH._ Sendai's ears hurt, as she watched the water ascend straight up, before stopping.

' _Wait…'_ It hadn't stopped simply because the force pushing the water up became weaker.

No; it was because that was all of the water. Keiko had ejected it all from the earth. While more water of the spring certainly persisted below, all of the surface-level water related to the spring had been shot straight up, for kilometers.

...Eyes wide, Sendai stared up through the hole. She saw a huge, black cloud in the air over the village.

' _Oh my fucking god.'_

 _cra- crack, thunk._ Pieces of marble tile and concrete dropped from the hole's edges, into the great abyss below. The hole comprised the whole midst of the Heaven Springs tub, ending neatly at either edge of the pool.

"Ha-... ha~h…"

Sendai turned, hearing Keiko heave.

Keiko had ascended with the water, and at some point, quietly landed on the floor adjacent to Sendai, ten-twenty meters away. "I-... I found-..."

' _...She looks sacked.'_

"He- heh-... he." Keiko was using one katana as a walking stick, despite being on her mermaid tail. She waved her other remaining katana at Sendai uselessly. "How-... how did-... you survive…?"

"There was a ladder." Sendai informed her plainly. "I left."

...Keiko blinked. "Wh-... what?"

"I climbed a ladder, and left the shaft." Sendai repeated. "...You didn't even hit me."

...Keiko just stared at her, mouth agape.

 _Fwish._ Sendai's body flared with pink again, as she basked in Keiko's raw disbelief.

"You're also all worn out." Sendai began to step closer. "Nice job."

...Keiko inhaled sharply, and glared. "I-... I can still kill you. You- you don't know- how strong I _am!"_

' _This fight is over.'_ Sendai remembered.

All of a sudden, she was in Keiko's face. "Aa-" Keiko stood up 'straight', on her mermaid tail; as straight as one could, at least.

 _WHACK._ Sendai's left fist, wrapped in air, punched into Keiko's right cheek. "Kha-" Keiko recoiled like she was hit with a bat.

 _WHUNK._ In the next instant, her right fist met Keiko's ribs. " _Uhu-"_

 _WHUNK!_ Wind whirling around her left arm, Sendai's knuckles met Keiko in the jaw, a small plume of air and water spreading out from the impact. " _Aaa-"_

 _Fwish._ Then, Sendai spun on the tip of her right sandal.

 _KRAWHAM!_ Wind exploded out in a sphere, from where Sendai's left heel met the side of Keiko's head.

 _Thud!_ Keiko crumpled onto her side, body limp.

"Su- Suijin-..." She twitched, on the floor. "...I- I'm-... I'm sor- sorry."

...Letting out a breath, Sendai sat down before her.

"I-..." Keiko closed her eyes.

"I misused-... your power."

The spring water began to rain across the land.

 _Sendai learned Essence of Running * Tengu._

 _Sendai learned Essence of Torment._

 _Sendai learned Swallow Spirit._

 _Sendai remembered Tengu Rush!_

...Amidst the grey of the day, and the rain, Sendai sighed.

' _Nice workout. Could've done without a couple low-tier burns, and-...'_ Her arms still bled from their katana wounds, as did her bicep. ' _Water-induced cuts always sting the worst. A wet wound sucks.'_

"So." Sendai took a breath, and spoke. "Catch what I mean, now?"

"...Yh- yhesh." Keiko's muffled voice came from the floor, as she lay face down.

' _That gave me a lot of ideas. This speed is… overwhelmingly useful. I need to use it more.'_

...Keiko peeled her red face from the cracked tile floor. "Tsu-... Tsukiko…"

"Hi." Sendai frowned at her own wounds, amidst the rain and gloom.

"...I-..." Keiko wanted to rest her face on the stone again. "I'm sorry."

Sendai nodded. "Yeah. You should be."

' _I don't care what happens next, I'm gonna take a day to eat some good food and loaf out. Maybe I should ask Aina what the new tourist attractions are, these days. Fuckin'... 'tourist attractions', as if any other human villages exist.'_

"Keiko." Sendai looked down at her again. "We're gonna get patched up, then we're gonna go to a good bar. Hell, maybe even a restaurant."

"...Nnh?" Keiko made noise from the floor.

 _cli- click- crack._ Somehow, her mermaid tail shifted back into legs, the crystalline parts disintegrating into white. ' _...Not even gonna question how that works.'_

"Nngh." Standing up, Sendai moved to lug up Keiko.

' _Don't care who gets in the way. We're gettin' meds and bandages, then we're eating some good food. I'm fucking starving.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

NEW SKILLS:

 _x Tengu Style:_

Counter Quickstep - When an enemy comes straight at Sendai, she can snake down and weave past them, potentially pushing them somewhere else in the process.

Quickstep Blow - Using her momentum and flightiness, Sendai can throw blindingly quick, flick-like kicks and palm thrusts out of sliding dodges.

Essence of Running * Tengu - Sendai has re-mastered the technique of power-running in Tengu Style. Has little force behind it, but she can tread the surface of water like this.

Essence of Torment - When a foe is intimidated, dazed or afraid, Sendai may absolutely pierce their defense with tricky piercing punches, before blowing them over with a kick. Only possible in Tengu Style.

Swallow Spirit - Force of Tengu Style techniques increases as Sendai has fun.

Tengu Rush - Wrapped in wind, Sendai bolts forward and unleashes a ramming attack, where her shoulder and elbow may smash enemies. Somewhat weak, being a Tengu Style technique.

 _x Shrine Maiden of Paradise Style:_

Shrine Maiden of Paradise Style - The style Tsukiko mastered twelve years ago, which made her a legend. Memories are returning to her, but she doesn't have much control over it anymore. Was once used to vanquish foes with the immense force born from the guardian of paradise.

Youkai Buster Combo * Loose - the fourth strike of Tsukiko's original Youkai Buster combo, the Dragon's Kick. Once a fierce martial arts technique, now little more than a flashy spinning-thrust kick. Has some force behind it, but makes Sendai lose her balance.

Heat of the Hakurei Maiden - Light that staggers even Tsukiko blooms from her form.

NEW ITEMS:

Stun Gun (3 uses) - Electric poker with thunder magic surging at its tips, and probably a limited amount of charges. Very high chance of stunning enemies. Regains uses if recharged, or the battery is replaced.

Shiny Katana (24 uses) - A nice, shiny, new katana that can put up with some abuse. It's still fairly fragile, mostly made to look nice rather than perform well, but it's a step above some of the dull katanas handed around by the village guard.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

what a long chapter

this hit 27 k words, hoh shit

the tone felt odd for awhile but i think i latched it onto something interesting, and personally i'm pretty interested ta see where this goes from here

the fight / running scene might drag on a bit, but i think it was pretty good as-is, particularly contextualized

edit: post-proofing, pace felt pretty good actually, although it does take awhile to read

the keiko discussion ended up being more interesting than i thought, she's a curious person and her afflictions are kinda based off of a strange amalgam of some things i've noticed in people recently

this is kinda commentary on the rigid, abject misery of some people

sadness and misery are truly weird emotions, because like encounters in a hardish RPG, we say we can tank them, and then it turns out the game isn't played with blind bravado and intent and we get blown away anyway

those emotions kinda work like that! myself, it's not too hard to shake 'em, but sometimes your mind just sways in that direction, y'know? and, personally, i find it a pleasure to sometimes toy with them, and recently my writing's been including some harder themes in places mostly just because i find it fun to experience emotions through the characters

i will say for me that real anger is not hard to shake, but frustration and just general sadness are kinda more difficult; particularly because those sources aren't quite something you can just kinda completely stop thinking about; if i really try though, i can feed that negativity into anger

but also i sit perplexed by some people who just kinda veg out and are determined, for weeks and months on end, to sit on their hands and be sad and just do nothing, which i know can be a like biological condition, but also...

what's the real source of this sadness, for those who aren't afflicted in such a concrete way? is it a self-created problem? do they refuse to change or see their own affliction, or is it something more? is it always simply biological? i can't, myself, imagine being so self-containing

and i can kinda see the pieces of what demotivates and saddens them, but then they also stop themselves from pushing past those things, and that's kinda where i can't get it

it's because of people with afflictions like this we so easily assume people are or aren't capable of certain things, because with some people such assumptions would be at least in the realm of probable truth

so, bringing it back to the chapter, i wanted to portray someone who was kinda self-defeating and, while scatterbrained, rigid in their ways

i feel like a degree of erraticness goes hand in hand with being so oddly self-constrictive, too. i mean, it depends on how open-minded the person is, but i feel like you gotta have some degree of a closed mind to resist change and different scenarios so hard

overall keiko's kinda meant to only be partially sympathetic, but also in ways disagreeable - w -

also tsukiko realizing her legend style, and me deciding on a system where it kinda comes in bursts i guess depending on an event's context to her

while it'll probably share some similarities with how kiryu from the _Yakuza_ series fights, it's probably gonna deviate really hard really quickly 'cause i have a separate take on how sendai's legendary style worked

unlike the styles which at first are pretty heavily leaning into kiryu's territory, but over time they'll branch into a slightly more magical, unique realm, aside from perhaps youkai style since it's so general

i think that's all i got ta say…!

as always, see you all next time!


	22. Under the Evening Lights

"Hup!" Sendai leapt from the upper level of Heaven Springs.

 _Cla- cla- clack!_ Landing atop a rooftop some meters down, she skidded down the blue shingles on her sandals. Her arms gripped Keiko tighter, holding her in a bridal carry.

 _Whish!_ Leaping from the rooftop's edge, the wind of the rainy day carried her to the side of a nearby house.

 _CLACK!_ Kicking off of that, Sendai felt her momentum shift. ' _Ho- holy shit-...'_

 _Splat._ "Nnh…" Mud exploded from under her sandals.

Sendai had landed hard on her legs, hunching slightly under the weight of her own landing.

"Aa-..." On either end of the alley she landed in, beige suit-clad men outside doubled back, flinching from the abrupt landing. "What the fuck…"

"She- she's not human…!"

"Guys! _Run!_ She's-...!"

...Sendai watched them leave with an idle stare. Then, she moved to plant Keiko down on the muddy ground on her feet…

' _Wait. She's barefoot. I can't just-'_

"I- I'll be fine." Keiko gave Sendai a nod, as the rain powered down on both of them. "...I'm used to... walking in mud."

 _Plap._ So, Sendai planted her down before herself. "Aa-" Having not actually entirely expected it, Keiko locked up at the sensation, before relaxing. "...Nnh. Co- cold…"

' _You're one to talk. You made it rain.'_

"Let's be quick about this." Sendai began to move, her sandals sticking in the mud as she tried to trudge off. "The guard'll be here, and I really don't feel like answering questions."

"...Yeah." Keiko could agree.

The sky had a worldly, grey glow amidst the rain, drawing Sendai's gaze.

' _For some reason, the rain she just summoned moments ago made everything really dark.'_

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

22

Under the Evening Lights

It wasn't long before Sendai found a nice place to take a seat in.

 _Crea~k._ She furrowed her brows at her wet arm sleeves as she plopped down in a bright blue booth seat.

This was an odd diner west of Keine's school, adjacent to the alley where her house was.

' _The colors on the outside are kind of gaudy, but today the place spoke to me. It's also out of the way, so no one's gonna bother us.'_

It may have been a slight far cry from her original idea of a bar or restaurant, but she wasn't in the mood to drink now. ' _Might've helped with the pain a little, but I already got tipsy earlier today. That, and I'm all tired, and wet… don't need to go getting even more fucked up.'_

 _fwish, fwish._ Sliding off her arm sleeves, Sendai examined her long katana cuts. ' _...Haven't let wounds rest in awhile. Almost forgot how much it sucks.'_ They were still raw, the abrasion from the torn sleeves doing them no favors.

Since no one else had come here, a waitress with bobby black hair came to attend them. "Hello~! How're-... um…" She saw Sendai's wide cuts. "Aa- are you okay?"

Sendai snorted, turning her arms back over. "Oh? I'm-" She immediately felt her wounds brush against the wood table top. "Oo- ow. ...I'm fine."

When she held her arms up, there were bloody lines on the wood table.

...Grinning sheepishly, Sendai asked the waitress for something. "You got any bandages here?"

 _creak._ Quietly, Keiko finally sat across from her, as the waitress hurried off, slightly alarmed.

"...I- I'm sorry." Keiko began. Her face was riddled with bruises.

Sendai didn't immediately say anything back. Her arms awkwardly rested elbows-first on the table.

Outside, the rain came down like small rocks, intensely roaring down from above. This was all of the water being used by the Heaven Springs hot spring. Earlier, in her attempt to kill Sendai, Keiko had erupted the entire spring into one great, watery cataclysm.

' _Wow.'_ Staring outside at it, Sendai began to notice how the warmer water of the rain storm became mist and steam against the ground. ' _Wonder if things'll even warm up, for a few hours.'_

"I just-..." Keiko shook her head. "Lord Suijin, she… she needs more faith. And… I really want to stop living in a box."

' _You could live in a cell instead, you know. Not a big improvement, but it's bigger than a box.'_ Sendai thought to the many cells of the under-village homeless tunnels. They had seemed to live in some sort of abandoned, prison-like complex that may've seen use earlier in the village's history.

"Just do jobs around town." Sendai gave simple advice. "You might build rapport with the villagers."

' _Not that I think they're good enough people for that sort of thing to matter. But… hmm.'_

Sendai was conflicted, in this moment. ' _I've always thought the villagers were shitty. But…'_

' _Maybe I should be more mature about this. I don't quite know the common people of this place anymore. All I know are the shitty guards, the shittier officials, and the vocal idiots.'_

"Assuming there's _some_ good villagers out there, they'll stand with you, even if Tsuruko tries to out you." Sendai explained her strategy, after much internal scholarly debate. "...Especially considering Tsuruko's turbulence."

"...Ra- rapport?" Keiko didn't know what that meant.

The waitress hurried back with the bandages. "He- here."

Smiling, Sendai accepted them. ' _Ooh, damn, nice. Been awhile since I've seen clean bandages.'_ She was reminded of the days she couldn't afford potions or doctor visits.

"Thanks." Instantly, Sendai had the roll, and began working it around her forearms.

' _Wonder how much I've bled. It hurts, still…'_

"...Um." The waitress leaned closer in. "Are- you sure that won't be infected?"

"I know someone with healing." Sendai summarized.

"Ah…" Smiling, the bobby-haired waitress seemed to relax. "That's cool."

...Sendai sneezed. "Aa- _tst._ Nnh."

"Aa-..." Keiko blinked at her. "Are- you getting a cold?"

"I better not." Sendai was sure healing magic could also take care of that.

"Are you guys, uh, ready to order?" The waitress had a notepad out. "...We, um, might not have much here that _you guys_ like."

Sendai raised a brow at that. "It'd help if we knew what you served. You have any meat?" There wasn't a menu laid out anywhere, so she couldn't think over her order…

The waitress blinked. "...Oh, right! Well, we have beef bowls, and ramen. We usually serve to the kids who get out of school. Otherwise… we don't get much business."

' _Therefore, their menu is probably simple things oriented to the kids, at this point. Fair enough. Keiko might enjoy that kind of thing.'_

"Ra- ramen… sounds good." Keiko nodded fervently. "You- can pay for it, right?" She looked at Sendai hopefully.

"No problem." Sendai knew she was set for money, especially after earlier today. "Biggest beef bowl you have."

"...Oo- oh?" The waitress smirked. "We, um… you see, we have this _special._ The kids always try to get people to try it-... it's, a um, _XXXXXL_ sized beef bowl."

...Sendai gave her an airy look. "Do I _look_ like I'm eating for a whole family, here?"

Blushing, the waitress scribbled the order down. "I- I'll just get you an XL-sized one, then…" With that, she hurried off.

' _We never got to ask for drinks.'_ Sendai realized. ' _...Actually. If we got glasses…'_

Sendai looked up at Keiko. "Hey. The water you make, s'that safe to drink?"

...Keiko blinked. "Ye- yes? It's- about as clean as I want it to be..."

' _Perfect. Free drinks.'_

Once both her arms were wrapped up, Sendai leaned back, and relaxed. "Nnnh…" The diner was warm. She had to wrap both forearms, and her left bicep, which had been vaguely minced by Keiko's hexa-katana thrust earlier.

"...Um." Keiko looked awkward.

' _Seems like she really wants to say something.'_

"How-..." Keiko fidgeted in her seat. "How are you so fast?"

Sendai snorted. _'Not- often something someone asks about me.'_

"Had you asked me some years ago, I'd have told you it was reflexes, experience and discipline." Sendai recalled the haste she used to wield. "Now… now, I don't know."

' _Well, with the aid of the wind, yes, but… whenever I call the wind, my body grows so light and weak. It reminds me too much of my younger self. But, it doesn't make any sense either. I still have my muscles, and my body mass. So…'_

"I see." Keiko didn't really see. "...I guess there really is more to strength."

' _Took you long enough.'_

"If I killed you, though…" Keiko dwelled on that. "I'd have been so-..."

"I already have one homicidal stalker." Sendai was reminded of Marisa. "I don't need two."

"I- I'm done n- now." Getting flustered, Keiko quickly held up her hands, as if to ease Sendai. "I already failed. And-... that's how things are. I just have to deal with it."

...Slightly anxious, Sendai checked behind herself. No one was in the booth behind them. ' _Oh, thank fuck.'_

"It's only because I failed, that strength… is different. If it was as I thought, then… I would have won." Keiko gave Sendai a nod.

Sendai smiled vaguely. "Whatever you say."

' _What a strange girl.'_

"...You said the men at Heaven Springs touched you, right?" Sendai wondered. "Were you raped?"

...Taken by the sudden, severe idea, Keiko shook her head quickly. "I- I wasn't. Some other girls, um… I don't know. I mean-... I did pl- play with some guys, but... I've never had _sex._ "

' _How strange. I couldn't imagine they'd let girls get pregnant. But, who knows.'_

She considered the parents of the girls and younger boys. _'If there's anything to fear in this town, it's getting the more peaceful villagers to actually hate you. Youkai who got inside the walls aggressively used to actually get melted pretty fast, if they were alone...'_

 _click, click._ The waitress returned, placing their bowls down.

Keiko's face lit up at the big bowl of ramen she got. "I-... I didn't ask- for a _big one._ "

"It's fine." The waitress smiled at her. "...You just look a little… I don't know."

' _She's dirty, all wet, nearly naked, covered in bruises, and you can see her ribs. That said, I wasn't expecting someone to care.'_

"...Pi- pitiable?" Keiko guessed, with a sickly smile.

Sitting down next to her, the waitress let out a sigh. "I mean, if you wanna put it _that_ way…"

Sendai gave the waitress a plain stare. _'...Just gonna, sit with us? Not terribly uncommon, among friends and family, but you know… it's unexpected otherwise.'_

She didn't really mind, either way. Looking down, she saw her own beef bowl. _'Hell yeah. Time to recharge…'_

"It's just-" Before things could get too quiet and awkward, for the waitress at least, she spoke up. "You looked miserable, is all. I mean, you both do, but… you especially."

' _Mmh? Do I?'_ Sendai supposed she looked pretty serious, right now…

For awhile, the two simply ate, and the waitress scanned their somewhat tired expressions.

' _Wh- wait, we still never got glasses. Oh well.'_ Sendai really wasn't in a hurry to drink anything, anyway.

Noticing how Sendai had momentarily searched for a glass, the waitress got up in response. "Wh- ah, I- I'm sorry, I didn't get you your drinks, did I? Um-..." She reached for her notebook. "Where- were they…?"

...After swallowing her bite, Sendai answered for her. "You never took them."

The waitress's eyes were wide. "Aa-..."

"Just get us some empty glasses." Sendai asked of her. "Empty."

"...Ee- empty?" The waitress furrowed her brows. "...You sure?"

"Yep. Empty." Sendai confirmed. "...This one of those places that charges just t'use the cup?"

After a pause, the waitress nodded. "Ye- yes, uu- unfortunately. You know, kids…"

' _Ah, actually makes sense here. The village kids love to break shit. Even outside of that, kids are clumsy.'_

Still eating, Sendai closed her eyes, taking in the odd lighting of the store, paired with the almost luminescent overcast outside.

Looking back out the window, Sendai saw a huge rainbow in the sky above, created by the pouring water. It was fierce and bright. ' _Ho- holy shit. I think that's the brightest rainbow I've ever seen.'_

Sendai rapped her knuckles on the table. "...Keiko. Look." She pointed out the window.

Keiko scanned outside, before seeing the great rainbow too. "Wo- woah…"

 _Cli- click._ The waitress was back, with the two glasses. "...Here's your, um, empty glasses."

Turning from the window, Keiko looked down at the glass nearest herself. Then, she looked up at Sendai.

Sendai gave her a somewhat cocky, slanted smile back. ' _Bet you're thirsty after all that shit, too. How ironic.'_

While the waitress sat down, Keiko slowly moved a hand for her own glass…

 _fwi~sh._ From the palm of her hand, a faucet's trickle filled her own cup.

 _spli~sh._ Holding up one finger, a stream of water arced from the tip of it into Sendai's cup across the table, completely defying gravity. Some of the water dripped or jerked down into the table, marking it with a couple small dots.

"Wh-" The waitress's eyes widened. "Woa~h…!"

Awed, she anxiously looked over Keiko. "You're-...?"

Keiko quickly darted her gaze over to the waitress', her fear rising. "I- I'm-... I'm a shrine maiden. I mean- I know water magic-... nn- not because of being a mage or anything- I'm a shrine maiden- but not the kind you- you usually see…"

...After an unsure moment, the waitress smiled. "It's alright. I know some people can be _weird_ about magic, but… you know, most people in the village have _some_ kind of magic heredity. Right?"

"...I- I don't know about that." Keiko shook her head. "Ev-... everyone says only mages and youkai use uh, magic."

The waitress gave Sendai a semi-wary look. "You- don't really believe that either, right? Just wanna know."

Sendai glanced between her food and the waitress. "Mages usually do it better. That's about it."

"But- would you turn someone into the guard for using magic?" The waitress asked.

Sendai furrowed her brows at that, looking up from her food again. "What happens to someone, if they're accused?"

"Well, usually, nothing." The waitress shook her head. "But it's always really scary. No one wants to be in any trouble, or _of_ any trouble. Like- everyone's just doing their own thing, and like… the guard always _says_ stuff like, 'usually youkai practice magic often', so…"

Without waiting, Sendai returned to her food. ' _Nice and warm…'_

' _Wait. 'Mages and youkai', Keiko said. Aren't those… almost the same thing? There's the 'mage' youkai species, but… then you got people like Marc. Really proficient magic users who're fully human.'_

"I- don't think she would." Keiko shook her head, as the waitress looked expectant. "She-... um. She doesn't really like the village guard, I think."

' _...Good guess.'_ Sendai gave her that. She was right, after all.

"Good." At that, the waitress relaxed. "Can't even talk about it, without some people, you know…"

"I uh, I guess." Keiko didn't know exactly what she referred to.

' _Some people are just idiots who freak out over little things like that, because they obey authority quite strictly. Never got those people. Seems entirely blind and counterintuitive, but what do I know. I don't live here, even if I live near here.'_

Swallowing her bite amidst the silence of the two girls, Sendai decided to prod things forward. "Does this village look down on the mage youkai, or them _and_ general magic users? Kinda confusing."

Keiko blinked. "...You-... you didn't know?"

"I mean-..." The waitress was also slightly awed. "In general, the guard and the council look down on people who use magic. Only a few people can do it openly, and like… get away with it, I guess. Or at least, not attract suspicion and stuff. Most people don't care, but the ones who do… they _really do._ "

' _This village was full of scummy people in the past. Don't see why that'd change now.'_

"...Yeah." Nodding, Keiko looked down at her self-made glass of water. "They really do."

Sendai chugged down her own glass. "Mgh…"

' _Good shit.'_ She felt good. _'Guess this includes magic-using humans then, too. Weird.'_

"Why humans who use magic?" Sendai supposed next. "You'd think they'd be advantageous for the village. If Marcus Kirisame were anything to go by."

Snorting, the waitress shook her head. "Kirisame? Old man Kirisame? Man. My parents kinda used to talk about him. He was… hmm. He wasn't really a good example of a _good person_ who used magic."

"As if this village ever cared about good people." Sendai rolled her eyes. "Lots of guards aren't good people. Does that mean using swords and armor is a youkai thing, now?"

"People often speculated Kirisame wasn't human." The waitress continued. "...Even if they were wrong, people still argued he and Marisa often at least behaved 'youkai-like'."

"Pft." Sendai shook her head. "The fuck. I don't think he went around ripping people's heads off, or raping people. Antisocial? Maybe. Violent, unable to be trusted on a humane level? Not really."

...Despite looking curious, the waitress didn't really say anything about that.

"So…" She met Keiko's gaze again. "Are you, um… a _water_ _mage,_ or youkai, or something?"

"Nn- no." Her heart sinking a little, Keiko shook her head. "I'm… I'm really a- a shrine maiden. I just-... I don't know why the water god picked _me._ I just-..."

"The water god?" The waitress' interest was piqued. "Who?"

Keiko took a breath. "Suijin. Lord Suijin."

"If you're a shrine maiden…" The waitress looked down at Keiko's body. "Why are you in rags? You-..." Then, she realized something. "You look a _lot_ like that goddess of misfortune…"

' _What? That's-... huh. How ironic.'_

"I-..." Keiko took pause. "Wh- mm… a- a while ago, one of my sisters sold our family home, to the village. They didn't want me anymore, so they left me behind. The guards didn't want me living in the empty shrine, so…"

"Oh!" The waitress snapped her fingers. "You're that one homeless girl people used to talk about, in the northwest!"

"Oo- oh?" Keiko seemed to flinch at the idea. "Di- did they?"

"...People were worried, for a little while." She searched her memory. "But, you always got really defensive and scared when people approached you. You'd lash out, and hit them and stuff. Sometimes, you'd hurt people really badly."

"I wasn't-..." Keiko cringed into her own seat. "I wasn't about to trust anyone. Aa- and then, the moment I trusted-... one of my sisters again, I get-... um. You know about Heaven Springs, right?"

The waitress tilted her head. "...No~?"

"I guess you wouldn't." Shaking her head, Keiko stared down at the table. "Just… just know, that I've changed. I- I guess." She seemed uneasy, squirming in her seat.

' _Trust issues, huh.'_ Sendai could understand. _'Would've been better if you knew how to pick out who to or not to trust, but going feral on everyone who gets close to you is fine too.'_

"Well…" Smiling again, the waitress rested her arms on the table. "Um. Do you have a job, or anything?"

"Nn- no." Keiko shook her head. "I just-... I just live. I guess. I get by."

Her smile becoming slightly awkward, the waitress tried to look charismatic. "Th- then… how about-... if you can just make- _can you_ make all that water for free? I mean- just, out of nothing?"

Keiko nodded. "Ye- yeah?"

The waitress' smile spread wider. "...Then, how about you get a job _here?"_

' _...Huh.'_ Sendai was pleasantly surprised. _'Really?'_

"Re- really?" Keiko blinked in sheer surprise, looking taken by the idea. "But-"

"I don't mean to be imposing or anything-... but like, _free water_ in _this village_ is like…" The waitress beamed, shaking her head. "That's really valuable! Like-... we've _needed_ someone- or something- like that for like-... a long time! Ever since I was a kid, water was kinda expensive!"

Keiko blinked. "Wh-... but- are you sure I won't just-... hurt your business, or something, by being here?"

Gazing at the clean cups of water, the waitress shook her head. "I don't see how! I mean-... we'd hafta run the numbers, based on how many drinks we sell, but like-... oh, man. If we became the first place to offer _free-_ or at least _cheap-_ drinks… oh, _man!"_

Standing from the table, she bowed. "...I- I'm um, Sui. Sui Yoshioka. Wanna come-... um, talk with my dad? You're not gonna freak them out, with some little water stuff. Especially not after that big explosion, earlier."

' _Like clockwork.'_ Sendai couldn't contest these instant results. _'We'll see if this actually goes anywhere before there's any cheering, at least.'_

Keiko took a look at Sendai, then at her own food. "...Le- let-... I wanna eat, first."

"Oo- oh!" The waitress laughed. "Sor- sorry! Ehe- heh…"

As the rain poured outside, Sendai felt cozy in her seat. _'Nice place.'_

She ate her food under the warm lighting of the diner next to Keine's school.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

 _fwi~sh._ Rain pittered across the landscape. It hadn't really eased up any since Sendai had strolled from the entrance of the shop.

' _...Not sure if I should wait for Keiko and touch base, or just take off.'_ It'd been awhile, and Keiko still wasn't out of the little diner next to Keine's school. _'It's still raining pretty hard.'_

She stood across the road from the little diner, under an overhang attached to the house- or business- across the street.

' _I would have moved sooner, but all this rain…'_ Even for the few moments she was in it, it soaked her. _'I just warmed up in there, too.'_

Warm mist rolled down the road, mixed with the icy rain that the atmosphere cooled. _'Lots of people're gonna get colds today.'_

Amidst the grey-green day, Sendai scouted the rooftops with her eyes.

 _spli- splish._ The black tip of a soggy witch hat ducked lower, obscured behind a near roof's apex. ' _No shit…?'_

 _Di- di~ng._ The front door of the small diner rang, the bell attached to it responding to it opening.

Keiko darted across the wet road over to where Sendai was, smiling somewhat unsurely. "Um-... I- I got-... I got hired."

Sendai snorted. "Good for you. When do you start working?"

"I- I could start… to- tomorrow, if I wanted, they said." Keiko seemed nervous, but Sendai was certain that was her default state. "At like, um… fi- five hundred yen an hour. But, if they make a lot, or get more popular, they said they'd make sure it'd go up."

' _Five hundred yen an hour? Sounds like a pretty regular service pay.'_

"Make sure it does." Sendai advised her. "You're the only person who can just _make water._ You could leave them at any time and just sell water and get rich. Don't forget that."

"...Ye- yeah." Keiko gave her a nod. "I won't."

"Especially if the place gets popular under you." Sendai looked down the road. "You'll be the sole reason prices are as affordable as they are. The moment the place starts picking up, try doubling or tripling that pay, or just raising it within reason."

"I- I get it." Keiko's smile became awkward again. "Just-... just between you and me, I was a little suspicious too, but… but, I'm glad I could um, make any money at all."

' _Mmh. She's right. I got a little caught up… because I'm not really inherently trusting. Too used to the guards, and the villagers who aren't really honest about pay and work. Provided, when I feel like I'm getting conned, I just threaten people.'_

The quiet, soothing hum of landing rain filled the village with the scent of water. Sendai stared at the stone road, as puddles splashed before them.

"...Well." She faced Keiko again. "What do you plan on doing now?"

Keiko stared down at the wet stone road, as they stood on the side of it, under a house's porch. "Um. I-... go home, I guess. To my, um, box."

...Sendai flicked her gaze up. "Alright, seriously, why a _box._ You could live in a cell thing, even. You ever consider talking to Keine?"

' _Not that I want to push any more work on Keine, but… this girl kind of needs to live somewhere reasonable.'_

"I- I don't… want to burden her, or anything." Keiko ironically had the same train of thought. "And… I aa- already made it so far, on my own. By the time I thought to go to her… I don't know. I kind of… manage, you know?"

"Try a real bed." Sendai proposed. "Get back to me then."

Keiko actually snorted in turn. "Fa- fair enough. I um, kind of miss futons..."

"Also, anything but a box." Sendai shook her head. "You'd probably feel less homicidal and sad if you actually had a safe place to _keep things._ And, things to _keep._ "

' _I mean, myself… hmm. After my childhood, I never had to defend the shrine too often. By that point, I already didn't care that hard about… random shit. I missed the books we used to have, and tried to collect some of them, but I never got all of them back.'_ The very concept was oddly sombering to think about, so she kept away from it…

"...You know?" Keiko considered Sendai's words. "Pr- probably, actually."

"Prob-... probably, huh?" Sendai broke into a grin.

"Yeah."

After feeling cold for a moment, Sendai felt herself warm as hot spring-esque mist passed by her. ' _Today's been weird.'_

The rain pounded against the snow that was still scattered around the ground in splotches.

"So." Sendai took in the oddly pleasant sensation of the passing warm winds, and the otherwise drainingly cold nature of the day. "Where're you going now? Keine's, or back to Ena?"

"...Home. Oo- or, to where Ena is, I guess." Keiko gave Sendai a nod, and a smile. "Thank-... um. Thank you, I think. You're, um… you're Reimu's mom, right?"

Sendai blinked. "Well-... yeah?"

"Maybe I should try talking with her, some time." Keiko neared the edge of the overhang. "Aa- anyway… I'm gonna-... go."

"Alright." Sendai smiled back. "See ya, Keiko. Don't let people stand in the way of your happiness. And, remember. Your strength is moments like these. Doing things yourself, for yourself, because you want to. Standing for the things you believe in. It's not about _how,_ or with _what_ type of power. It's about doing your damn best. It's about acting on what you know is the truth. If you make sure you aren't wrong, you'll be right, and in a lot of cases, that can be good enough. You hear me?"

Keiko gave Sendai a big nod, and a smile. "Aa- alright. Thank you, Tsukiko. I won't… I won't forget today."

' _Good luck trying. You blew up a building, and made the most abnormal weather in the past some-years. Also, you got a job.'_

...After a delay, Keiko turned to Sendai. "B- bye."

"Get going already." Sendai goaded her to move on.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

' _I feel like I'm forgetting something…'_

Standing amidst the weakening rain, Sendai took in the warm winds, the cold air pockets, the odd light from the overcast above, and how it mixed with the drizzling rain that met the snow around herself.

' _But, this feels really good, somehow.'_

Somewhat soaked, she slowly coasted down the road alone, before coming to a bench here on the west half of the village.

"Nnh." Without thinking, she sat down as a large cloud of mist rolled in.

' _That oughta be so warm, it'll just offset how wet this seat is. What a day. Really raw, but… so comfy, now.'_

The mist was thick. Surprisingly thick, even. It rolled in like a fog, obscuring Sendai's vision. _'Oh, hey…'_

Not many villagers were out at this hour, given the rain, even though it was just ending. ' _It was a pretty awkward time for pounding rain, everything considered. You'd think more people just didn't care.'_

' _But…'_ She exhaled. _'This feels so good. It's almost like a temperate day in here.'_

Closing her eyes for a moment, she basked in the rolling fog.

...Opening her eyes, she slowly panned her gaze left.

' _Wh- wait, what the fuck.'_ Someone had sat down next to her instantly. With the fog being so thick, it took her a moment to focus on his form…

The fog gave, but only some. He was the older man Sendai met the other day, clad in a white-green outfit. Specifically, it was a white yukata within a green vest.

His arms were folded as he sat there, his eyes closed. In the fog, a huge spirit-like entity floated around the bench, circling the two.

' _...Oh, right. This bench.'_ Sendai recalled her first meeting with this old man.

"That storm…" He spoke idly of the weather. "Almost _divine,_ were it not?"

' _Oof.'_ Sendai grinned, more at her own mental reaction than at his joke.

Reading her expression, he tilted his head away in turn. "Am I wrong?"

"Not exactly." Sendai couldn't disagree. "But, that joke was horrible."

He gave a snort that could be confused with exhaling. "I see. It was that obvious?"

"Yes." Sendai had a blunt expression. "...Are we gonna _pick my soul_ today, too?"

For a brief moment, his eyebrows raised. "Speaking of the obvious, I can tell you have found yourself, if only by a single few fragmented pieces."

"Because you can see my magic, or soul, or something, I assume?" Sendai guessed…

Gaining a small smile, he rebuked her. "That would confirm it, yes. But, I had deduced it watching you speak with that young, misguided shrine maiden. You spoke of power so much more confidently than you did when we first met. It was almost funny. How you felt then, was almost how I felt talking to you, some days ago."

"You were watching..." Sendai smiled, too. "Do you stalk me?"

He snorted. "Who do you take me for? I simply frequent this road, and an aura like yours can be felt for meters around."

"Just making sure." Sendai took a quick look in the direction of that one roof, where she thought she saw Marisa's hat.

"I'm sure the Konpaku Shot Stopper came in handy, at least a few times." He scooted onto the edge of his own wet bench seat. "Since I'm sure you've been working on your own techniques, finding inspiration, I'm sure I know just what your foundation needs now."

"My what?" Sendai blinked twice. "Wait-... right. We had spoke of… _warrior foundations,_ and whatnot. About how I'd relied on potions and healing so much."

' _Not too many ways to get around that. Youkai are some seriously hardy sons of bitches. Even with skill, you… kind of need to be able to take a few hits. Or so I'd imagine.'_

"I'm glad you remember, if only vaguely."

Standing up, he gave her a smirk, as his arms made their way behind his own back.

Amidst the bright, overcast-lit mist, he stood tall. "Today, I'd like to teach you the essence of the katana."

Sendai looked skeptical. "...The _katana._ Why?"

His chin tilted up, slightly. "You have no weapon proficiency, yes? If mere martial skill alone will not win you fights, you should realize martial skill also extends to weapons of tradition. And what weapon is more traditional than the katana?"

Sendai brought up no weapons. "I don't really… me and katanas, we don't really get along. I've never cared for the idea of blades in the first place."

He shook his head, slouching for just an instant. "Come, now. I admit, there is something to be admired in your sheer art of bludgeoning people with common household furniture and large rocks, but I'm of the belief you'd have a far less hectic time utilizing all the tools at your disposal."

Sendai gave him a focused look. "You say that like it's some huge achievement that I get by with just my fists. It's really not. Even with my tools of faith, youkai are very powerful. I don't think a katana would make anything much easier."

The old man was skeptical in turn. "Hmm. Then, if not…"

His arms came out from around his back, and he had a bokken in each hand. "We shall spar."

"Spar. Really." She didn't know about that. "How's that gonna prove a katana would make my life easier?"

"Simple." He gave her a nod. "No matter what you do, or how great your constitution is, I will defeat you with minimal effort. You may chose to use the bokken, or you may not. Regardless, the outcome will be decided in mere moments. You cannot hope to defeat me at your current level."

Sendai gave him a dull look. "And, a katana _would_ help you defeat me, at my current level?"

"...Admittedly, unlikely." He frowned slightly. "However, it'd have turned many of your earlier sparring sessions with the town guard into silliness, or child's play. Were you not forced to down a potion there, too?"

"I swear, you're obsessed with me." Sendai was really surprised he still remembered that. For her, violence like that was par for the course. "You had to even- search my _spirit_ or something, for that shit."

He gave her a dull look of his own. "It's really not as effortful as you think it to be. Still." He stepped back from her, and across the road.

Turning back, he raised his voice to be heard. "Would you prefer we spar here, or in an alley?"

' _Here? We're not just heading to that fuckoff plain outside the village? Hmm.'_

Sendai looked for villagers, through the mist. Though they were getting somewhat more active, they were also still scarce.

' _Whatever. I'm sure no one will care about a little bokken sparring in the street.'_

Sendai stood up. "I'm game. Just-... if I hurt ya too much, tell me when to stop, alright?"

"He- heheh." The greying man actually laughed. "I don't believe anyone's said something like that to me before. But, thank you for your concern, nonetheless."

 _Woosh._ He tossed the second bokken across the road, at Sendai.

 _Clack._ She caught it easily, staring evenly across the road at him.

Vs. _Legendary Swordsman, Previous Heir of the Konpaku Clan, Previous Retainer of the Lady Saigyouji, Former Watchman of the Ayakashi, Youki Konpaku_ -+-

On the misty road, he gave a tired, content look across it. Sendai met his gaze, as he slowly brought the bokken up.

' _Time to show him how much stronger I've become…'_

Sendai searched for the string of holy strength within her body. Once she caught it, she felt the pain well up in herself.

 _THOOM!_ She stomped one heel into the ground, and felt the stone beneath herself shake. Water splashed from it, into the air all around. _"Hmph!"_

Beaming widely, she held the bokken in her left hand, and stood rigidly, fighting the heavy weight on her own body. Along this weight, the holy shell made of her own energy began to glow to life.

' _Remember… I'm supposed to go all-out. Let's show him what I'm made of.'_ She'd come a long way since she'd seen him some days ago.

 _Clack. Clack. Clack._ She began to stomp across the clearing, glaring at the older man. Water spread far out from her every step, washing even over drier stones.

The older man closed his eyes. "I see."

 _Spla- splat._ Ahead, two puddles of water on the stone road splashed, without seemingly anyone stepping in them.

' _Nice try.'_ Sendai tensed her abdomen, grinning. He was going to try and surprise her with an unreadably quick slash, and she saw his steps in the puddles.

 _WHUNK!_ He was in front of her in a nearly literal instant, his bokken deep in her left side, crushing into her in one stroke.

" _Hrgh!"_ Despite her grinning, air and spit came from her mouth, and she slid to the side a meter on the uneven rocks.

She began to scoop her own bokken forward. _"Hraa~h!"_ It drove across the ground, carving up to meet the older samurai's form.

But, he was simply gone in the next moment. ' _What-'_

In anticipation, she wound her left arm back, eyes wide.

' _I don't see him. He might be attacking, so if I just-'_

" _Hrr- raa~h!"_ She unleashed a mighty, spinning lash of the bokken, twirling around on her left heel. Amber accented the swing, violently parting the air all around herself.

 _WHA- CLACK._ It struck the man's bokken on Sendai's second spin. All her might and momentum was lost instantly."Aa-" She felt her whole body stop. He had been standing behind her, simply in wait for her to unleash her spinning attack.

"Foolishness." He spoke quietly, and reeled his own bokken back in turn.

 _WHACKUNK- UNK!_ In an instant, he unleashed his own amber-accented swing straight into her gut at an upward angle, with all the force he stole from her own spinning swing.

" _Wh-"_ Sendai's mouth hung open. _"Hwuaa- aah!"_ She was sent flying down the road.

 _Splat- thud!_ "Aa- nh!" She landed on her back, amidst the dirty stone road. Her iron-tight grip on her own bokken kept it in her hands, but…

' _Alright, bad idea. We're going back to speed.'_

 _Fwish- whish._ All the holy energy around Sendai dissipated and retracted in an instant, and the day's playful wind wrapped around her limbs.

 _spli- spli- spli- splish._ Rapidly, she ran in place, her legs suddenly floaty and limber. "Alright…!"

 _fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Jerking and tensing her muscles, she snapped straight up and behind the man in almost a second. With the bokken in her right arm, she swept it down for his back. _'No hard feelings-'_

 _Clack!_ He held his arms up, his own bokken deflecting the blow by reaching behind himself. ' _...What?'_

She knelt down and repeated her horizontal swipe, the wind leveraging behind her one armed bokken swing.

 _Clack!_ He crouched in turn, doing the same backward motion as before to deflect the strike.

' _Fuck this.'_ She curled her left leg up, then flicked it out into a kick.

 _Clack!_ Spinning around to face her, he caught her sandal with the side of his bokken. ' _What!?'_

 _Woosh!_ He swung his arm out, spinning her around by tugging the wood underside of her sandal. "Aa-"

 _Whunk!_ Crouching down again, he swept Sendai's legs out of place with his bokken.

" _Hup!"_ Using her flighty limbs and light body, Sendai rolled into a handstand, transitioning into a cartwheel onto her legs-

 _WHUNK._ He slid straight forward, and met her upside-down stomach with one blunt blow, close to the hilt of his bokken.

" _Aa-"_ Sendai took it like a punch to the gut, crumpling onto her side, on the wet stone. She landed in a puddle. _"Fhuck…"_

Looking up, she saw him reel his bokken back overhead, as if to clobber her with it. _'Woah-'_ She leaned her body out of the way.

 _Clack!_ He bluntly swung it straight down and into the floor, as if not caring what it would do. As Sendai curled into sitting up, it rebounded when hitting the floor, revealing its force.

 _Fwish!_ Getting away, she immediately sprang onto her legs-

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ -before sliding back twelve meters, putting a huge distance between herself and him.

"Wh- ah…" Random pedestrians backed up, getting away from where Sendai stood, backing up further as they spectated the spar...

The samurai crouched. _"Jinrai…"_

 _FWISH._ He slid past Sendai farther and faster than she could move.

 _WHACLACK!_ The very end of his left arm's stroke met her back.

"Gh-" Sendai was launched straight forward. "Wha-"

 _WHUNK!_ He was before her again, meeting her in the face with an upward slash of his bokken. "Nh- _hh!"_ Sendai grunted.

Drawing three Hakurei talismans, she flipped backwards in the air, sent ascending higher by that last strike. ' _Let's see him dodge this…'_

 _FWI- FWI- FWISH!_ She sent the three talismans roaring down towards him, wind spiralling in their wake.

 _Fwash._ He flicked his katana up close to his own face, making a flash of light in the process. The talismans that met the light flash made by the blade had their momentum ruined, fluttering away in the day's wind.

' _Well, naturally.'_ She didn't think anything she fought worth its salt _didn't_ have some way to shrug off her talismans.

She looked at the bokken still in her right arm. _'There… might be one way.'_

 _Clack._ She landed on her sandals, after a long, floaty moment.

Feeling her holy energy bubble up inside herself, she held the bokken with both arms, and an incantation met her mind. _"Musashi!"_ She felt her energy combine with the wooden bokken.

Bronze light shined ominously off the wood weapon, as pure white energy began to billow from Sendai like smoke.

...She stared at the glowing bokken in her hands. ' _I-... I don't know if this helps me at all.'_

He gave a nod of recognition to the word she spoke. "...Appropriate, but not entirely relevant here."

' _What…?'_

 _Fwi~sh._ His own bokken began to glow with the same bronze color.

' _I just used an item crash on something-... and it's a technique he can just do, apparently. Wait-'_ She tensed up, as he ran for her.

 _Fwish- fwish- fwish- fwish!_ She slid fifteen meters down the street again.

 _Fwi- fwi- fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ In six simple slides, he'd gained the same distance. _'Are you fucking-'_

Crouching down, his sword became a vague blur of bronze and white along his left arm, and he thrust it into her with his left fist. _"Hrh!"_

 _KRAK- KAFWASH!_ A bronze-white sigil exploded across Sendai's form, the magic pulsing through her. " _Ngh- gh…"_

 _Cla- clack._ She landed on her back, some meters away, as his now unlit bokken rematerialized in his hands.

' _Da- damn-... it…'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

...Sendai sat on the bench, with a fluffy band-aid applied to her cheek.

"I expected you to be more tired, after being bludgeoned with a bokken." He admitted.

"I'm a little tougher than that." She gave him an unenthused expression. "I'll get healed up later, anyway."

' _His swings hit like rocks. Hell, he hit harder than Reimu did, by a lot. Everything still kinda hurts…'_ She didn't want to admit it, but she was somewhat surprised by how much absolute pain and force was behind each simple, weightless stroke.

' _Glad I decided to just give up when I did. I couldn't even hit this guy.'_

"I don't think I'd have been able to rough you up nearly as much, if I hadn't known how to use a katana." He smiled, nodding…

"Yeah." Her gaze was flat in return. "Your preferred method of fighting, which you'd made sure to perfect to a ridiculous degree, I'm sure."

His stare became more plain. "I'd only used one true technique of note. In fact, I'd only used it because _you_ did. _Unleash._ "

Sendai snorted. "Unleash…?"

"The art of drawing the true power of your blade forward, and imprinting your opponent's form with it." He held up his bokken. "It is one of few spellsword-esque arts I have mastered. It is largely only tactical and used in training to become used to a weapon. For most wood bokken, the opponent's entire body is wracked in shared, washing pain from the impact, crippling their offensive capabilities."

' _...I'm not sure if he's exactly referring to my item crash arts, or something else. I'm not sure if I care.'_

"Huh." Sendai thought on that. "No wonder that magic you hit me with hurt so damn much."

' _I was doubled over in pain, a few moments ago…'_

He used his arm to beckon her. "Stand up."

Eyebrow raised, Sendai stood, bokken held.

"Let me see you use something similar." He proposed, standing before her. "...It'd be useful if you had a live blade, but we'll make do."

"What're we doing, now?" Sendai didn't remember being told what they'd be doing now…

"I wish to see your _Unleash_ again." He requested. "If we had different weapons, I'd truly be able to make heads or tails of it…"

...Plainly, Sendai reached into her blue cloth apron, and drew a shiny new katana from inside.

He blinked. "Oh."

"Yeah." Setting the wood bokken aside, she watched the katana's reflective nature, drawn out by the day's overcast light. "I get that a lot."

"Well, then." He stood back, and held his wood bokken ready. "Use your _Unleash_ on me."

Sendai smiled slightly awkwardly. "I call it an _Item Crash,_ and do it with not only swords, but, alright…"

"A what now?" He shook his head. "Get on with it."

Sendai inhaled. Staring down at the shiny katana, she searched herself.

 _Fwash._ Her body staggered back, as light bloomed out of it, and her holy energy built up in the katana, and in her heart.

" _Melio Secare!"_ She announced a familiar set of words, and held the katana straight up.

 _FWI- FWI- FWISH!_ It became a band of pure, reflective light.

 _Whi- CLACK!_ She whipped it right down at the man, but he parried the oncoming band of pure steel with his wood bokken.

The reflective light disappeared, and the katana returned to its former shape.

Villagers up the street warily looked over, only having heard the noises since they weren't watching what was happening...

Nodding, the aged samurai had a blunt look on his face. "What?"

Sendai snorted. "What?"

"What was that supposed to be?" He was just confused. "As in-... what was _that?"_

"An _item crash."_ Sendai relayed. "...Also, don't make me do it again. They already kinda tire me out. They rely on my faith."

"Oh?" He was even more confused. "Whatever that was, it was magic, and not _particularly_ what I was looking for. I take it, then… you don't _actually_ know how to use _Unleash,_ do you?"

"Probably not." Sendai shook her head idly.

"Good, because you're still far too green to go around using random flashy skills with abandon." He decided without hesitation. "I don't know what kind of spell _Melio Secare_ is, but it was borderline useless for being something that expended _faith_ of all things."

' _I used that attack to clear a whole bunch of guards, even. Is it really that useless…?'_

Moving across the street, stepping into place aside Sendai, he held up his bokken. "But first, I'll show you the basics. You need to stop swinging swords around like they're clubs or hammers."

Letting her dark energy run along her arms, Sendai grinned at him. "You sure?"

"You're also not going to be a proper katana wielder if you rely on a crutch like _that._ " He spoke of her azure essence; the dark magic she used. "Let me see your true self. That is the you who will inherit the way of the sword."

' _Geez. Fine.'_

Sendai closed her eyes.

 _Fwash!_ Suddenly, she stumbled back, hope rushing from her body in the form of white heat again.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

The day had become moderately later. They'd spent about two or three hours going over different basic stances and motions.

Sendai held her katana with both hands, in a neutral stance.

"Now." The old, green-white samurai stepped up to Sendai. "Take it from the top."

Nearby villagers had been initially somewhat freaked out, but they seemed to stop caring when they realized the old man was some kind of youkai.

Sendai let her katana rest in her left hand, like how she used to hold it.

 _Swish!_ But then, sliding forward up to the older man, she cleaved her katana up into his thigh, and through his chest.

 _Woosh!_ Now with both arms on the katana, she thrust it deeper, the hilt above her right shoulder.

 _Woo- woosh!_ Drawing it from the man's body as he voluntarily stumbled backwards, she spun around on a heel, as if driving the blade through imaginary enemies around herself.

 _Swi- swish!_ Then, at the end of her first spin, she slung the katana back down in her right arm, stroking it across the front of the older man's body.

His form betrayed no damage, however.

The real samurai stepped up behind the form of his spirit half, and it became a blob of mist again, taking to the air. "...Somewhat slow, but good enough."

"We've been at this shit for hours, and that's all I get…?" Sendai looked drained.

"Don't be so dismal. Your proficiency for learning is markedly higher than most humans. And, when it comes to the bare essentials, speed and reflexes end up being more useful to the novice than other miscellaneous skills."

' _...I could see that. Perhaps the katana isn't so bad after all, then.'_ She really didn't care about memorizing specific techniques, if they weren't unarmed martial arts.

"How about some of the shit you can do?" Sendai supposed plainly. "S'that hard to learn?"

...He exhaled, after thinking on her question. "The intimate way in which I move and control my blade is unique to my line's style of katana arts. You will never be fit to wield them, as the Konpaku clan already has a heir. Don't take it personally. You'd be better off learning from human practitioners, if you wished to further your skill with the blade."

' _That's perfect, because I don't.'_ Sendai was perfectly happy with the bare essentials.

"Then…" She looked between her katana, and him. "You have nothing left to teach me, then."

"As far as the blade goes, no." He shook his head. "I wouldn't recommend it, but you could potentially even improve upon the foundation I've taught you. As long as you recognize what makes it work."

' _I guess I'll play around with it, if I need it. Maybe I'll stop breaking every damn katana I get my hands on.'_

"...Thanks." She gave him a nod. "Who the hell're you, again?"

Suddenly, the man looked to the right, as if something got his attention.

Sendai glanced in that direction, then back at him, but he was gone.

' _Pft.'_

 _Sendai learned Konpaku Katana Basic Arts!_

 _Sendai learned Essence of the Katana * Dual Lethal!_

 _Sendai learned Crane Spirit * Unleash!_

Sendai moseyed into the center of the human village.

The wondrous mist and rain had ended some time ago, while Sendai was perfecting her entry-level katana knowledge. Sad lumps of snow and puddles of water rested around the edges of the stone village square.

' _It's getting cold again.'_ She thought of the shrine. ' _Now...'_

She remembered what she heard while underground. _'That Rio chick-... the one with the shitty stockings and perfume. She should still be killing time at the Golden Grin.'_

Then, she remembered what she forgot. _'Ah, whoops. I wonder what Marc and Kourin and Kasen got up to, after I got bafflingly lost. They probably figure I'm fine. I'll go get 'em when it's time to visit Golden Grin again. We already went there once today…'_

At the same time, the day's light was in the latter half. ' _Damn it. Why are days so short, sometimes? I'll see what happened to them soon. Hopefully everyone didn't go home to sleep, or something.'_

Most villagers had abandoned going to the town square today. Mostly only vendors were here, and a small, somewhat depressing amount of people who wished to brave the wet and cold.

' _Actually, I should hurry.'_ She set off from the square, to find the entrance to the underground tunnels again, in the village's northwest.

Along the first steps of the northern road, she could see the Golden Grin just a few houses down, still standing five stories tall.

"There ya are." A voice came from behind her, close and loud.

Sendai turned to the right, and saw no one behind her.

"Damn…" His voice came from the left, now. "Yer a _looker!_ Y'sure you're young enough ta be a shrine maiden!?"

' _Can people stop sneaking up on me? I swear I didn't have this problem before, somehow…!'_

To her left, leaning in towards her, was a tall black-haired man. He wore a worn blue yukata, and had an eyepatch fixed from a black band and a bronze yen coin over his left eye.

"...Can I help you?" Sendai gave him a slowly souring look. "It's not polite to sneak up on people."

His retort was quick. "S'not _my_ fault ya were too busy makin' a racket on west main fer me to approach!"

' _Oh, right. That would make me easy to notice, wouldn't it.'_

"Aw, don't give me _that_ look." He waved at Sendai's opposed expression. "We hardly know each other."

"You're not doing yourself any favors." Sendai stood rigid. "What do you want?"

"Oh, _loosen_ up." He insisted again, before ceasing to care. "Anyway! I couldn't help but notice ya've been bangin' up the money bins 'round the village."

When he didn't elaborate further, her eyes narrowed slightly. "Is… that a problem?"

Grinning, he leaned back. "Mmh? Not really, no. If anything, yer stimulatin' the economy! Like…!" He reached into his yukata.

Then, he drew a big suitcase. "I got paid like, _five hundred thousand yen_ ta beat ya up, and I don't even gotta actually go through wit' it! Like, holy shit! People're just _handin' out_ money now, they're so scared!"

Sendai blinked. "You-... you got paid to _fight me._ "

He beamed. "Hell yeah!"

 _Click!_ He let the suitcase drop open. Inside, Sendai saw the thousands of yen bills held neatly in place by metal pins. _'Holy shit.'_

"They even gave me a fuckin' script and everything!" He reached into his yukata again. "Look at this!"

 _Fwi- fwish, fwish._ He drew a ten page stack of wrinkled papers.

Smiling awkwardly, Sendai accepted the script when it was offered to her. _'...Um. Options for approaching Tsukiko Hakurei that may result in successful sedation. Do not kill her. What the fuck.'_

The index on this first page listed three options. _'Harm her, romance her, threaten her. Really…'_

"I picked the second option!" His grin was toothy. "Hey, Tsuki-chan! Wanna go on a date!? I'm payin'!"

"I have more important things to be doing." She declined immediately. "Also, fuck off."

"Aw, c'mon." He gave her an almost pitiable, flatter look. "Yer practically mom material, over here. What if I wanted ta settle down?"

"Probably because I'm already a mom." Sendai began to glare back. "Find yourself someone else."

Snorting, he stumbled back on the stone road, as if staggered. "Yer- _actually_ a mom? Ya don't mean that 'Reimu's mom' bullshit everyone keeps spoutin' off, right? 'Cause she's supposed to be _dead_ , y'know! I wasn't born yesterday..."

"I'm a mom." Sendai confirmed, and left it at that. "If you want to verify, I'm up for a fight anytime."

' _I might need to drink my last potion first, however. That old samurai's bokken strikes… they might hurt more now then they did when they hit me, damn. Fucking blunt damage.'_

"Pft, nah." The yukata-clad man leaned back again, shaking his head. "Big surprise, but no one 'round these parts're big on damaged goods. Hell, the youkai who _used_ ta be big on that just stopped comin' 'round one day. Was pretty good too, 'cause that market's raw ass to do anything wit'."

...Sendai had a pensive look. "Alright, who _are_ you, and what role do you play in the village's bullshit?"

He perked up from those questions. "Call me Okita, honey. I sort through the village government's money and spendin' an' shit."

"Don't call me honey." Sendai opposed him… "So, you mean… everyone goes to you with dirty money?"

"Hell yeah!" Okita's smile became toothy. "An' between you and me, everyone already _knows_ not ta fight me, either. Only people who give me orders an' _don't_ listen… are the fuckin' kids. Y'hear the name Tsuruko?"

"She gave you that script." Sendai guessed.

Snapping his fingers, Okita flourished his other arm out. "Bingo! She offered me money an' shrine maidens! An' as temptin' as it was, since I'd never considered _shrine maidens_ a currency before, I didn't really like 'er tone. Thought she could threaten me an' everything."

' _I saw this guy on the walk to the town council with Mokou, on that one rainy night. I saw him in the guard headquarters too, and he was the person who fired the standing captain. How much power's this clown have?'_

His brows curled up. "Don't look at me like tha~t. Oh- that reminds me!" He beamed, all of a sudden, stepping up beside Sendai.

"Get- the hell away from me." Grinning, she distanced herself from him…

"Nah, look!" Okita laid his hand on one of her shoulders, and pointed ahead. On instinct, she took a quick look, her gaze rapidly switching between him and where he pointed.

There was another man approaching them. He looked young, and he was clad in an odd, outsider's black suit.

"I ain't the only boy Tsuruko's set up ta knock ya down." Okita leaned even closer to her. "Or _knock ya up,_ if he's inta that."

"What in- what the _actual fuck_ is wrong with this village." She pulled her shoulder from his grasp, moving away from him again. "I'll fuck up the both of you, if I have to."

"I'm tellin' ya, I ain't out ta bone ya!" Okita held his arms up between their faces. "At least, not on anyone's orders!"

"And I'm telling you I'll- snap your dick off…!" Still alarmed, grinning ironically, Sendai began to raise her fists. "Go away…!"

While the two bickered, the clean, suited man came up to them. "Tsukiko Hakurei?" His voice was loud, and he paid no heed to the villagers around them. "...Is this your husband?" He gestured to Okita.

Eyes wide, Okita came up to him, arms held up. "How the hell d'ya _not_ recognize me!? We got the scripts at the same damn time!"

"He's _not._ " Sendai stated decisively. "You won't be either. I'm going to snap your goddamn neck."

"Wh- what…?" The sleek man's eyed widened. "Okita- did you betray us…!?"

"No~!" Okita held his own head. "Ya stupid motherfucker…! If anyone gave ya away, it was yerself! No one dresses like that!"

"That's- not true!" The man glared at Okita. "I hear hitmen on the outside dress like this! Only the best, for lady Tsuruko! Wh-" He realized he said that in front of Sendai. "...Fuck you!" He pointed at her.

"What…" Sendai was lost. "I- don't really get what's going on, but…!"

Okita came closer, getting behind Sendai for no reason. "He's gonna shank ya wit' a knife, by the way!"

"He's- what?" Sendai tried to look behind herself, before turning to look at the well-dressed villager-

 _Fwish!_ She slid out of the way, when he tried to slide a dagger between her ribs.

-+- _Vs. Mysterious Hitman_ -+-

 _Cr- crack._ Cracking her neck, then her knuckles, Sendai let inky black energy roll up her forearms, as she glared at the man.

' _Alright, fuck this. It's all fun and games until a prick pulls a knife and tries to murder someone.'_

 _Fwish!_ Okita slid up next to her. "So! Ya oughta be kinda careful, here! This guy might not look it, but he's a master of the thrust!"

Sendai sighed in abject disappointment. "Wa- was that a _euphemism_ or…?"

 _Woosh!_ That's when the knife-wielding young man came at Sendai, sliding across the floor, his plain knife held straight out.

 _Fwish!_ Sendai slid aside the oncoming man, body tense.

"I wish I was that clever!" Okita was suddenly up next to her again, backing away with her. "Y'got the right idea, almost! Aren't you like, fuck strong?"

 _Woosh!_ Once again, Sendai sidestepped a very predictable thrusting technique from the hitman. "Aa- and? What- you mean-...?" She wasn't sure if he meant about the euphemism, or the guy before herself.

"About him!" He gestured to the unsure-looking hitman. Sendai couldn't see it, but the hitman had gotten his knife stuck in the side of the house that was behind her. "This dude's gotta be like, twenty! He's slimmer than me, an' people call _me_ slim!"

She felt like he was insulting her, somehow. "Look, I fucking hate blades. They always immediately shut down-... so many of my options."

"The hell're you complainin' about!?" Okita yelled at her, as she kept her gaze on the hitman.. "Just break his fuckin' arm! You'll snap this guy like a twig!"

The hitman turned around, examining the tip of his knife. "...Go- good! You didn't run!" He pointed it at Sendai again.

Sendai blinked. ' _...Could it really be-... that easy?'_

Suddenly, she realized, she was making fighting blade users out to be way harder than it actually was.

"Tsukiko!" The youthful hitman glared at her. "If you don't want to die, you need to come with me. I'm sure lady Tsuruko could use you. You-... you even remind me a lot of her."

Sendai met his gaze again. "Come kill me, if you're brave enough. Do you really want to be jailed for murder?"

"I won't be going to jail." He frowned. "...It's a shame, but… I'm going to have to make you too weak to fight back."

He reeled his knife arm back, holding the blade tightly, in a nuanced, particular grip. "Now…"

 _Woosh!_ He slid across the wet stone road, coming up to Sendai within a second.

 _SWI- SWI- SWISH!_ He beamed. Two additional knives came from him at forty-five degree angles, meant to pierce Sendai if she chose to slide to the side.

 _Thump._ Instead, Sendai stopped him with her knee, by simply stepping a little to the right of his thrust. "Uuhn- nn-" His eyes wide, he tried to fall backwards, away from her.

Sendai grabbed his knife arm with both hands. _'You won't be needing this anymore.'_

 _CRA- KRACK!_ She kneed the underside of his extended arm, bending his elbow the wrong way.

" _Hgh-"_ He yelled. _"Hu- aaa~h!"_

 _Thud._ When Sendai let go of him, he flopped onto his side, rolling onto his back. "Mmh- aa-..." His arm was still bent the wrong way, and he was crying. "Yh- yhou-..."

' _...Well. That went pretty comfortably.'_

 _Sendai obtained 8,020 Yen!_

 _Sendai obtained Discount Assassin Dagger._

 _Sendai learned Essence of Disarming._

"...Damn." Okita grinned down at the man with what may have been a broken elbow. "That was pretty spooky! Y'could fight fuckin' youkai with that kind of power…!"

' _Yeah, I wonder about that.'_

Pocketing the things she stole from the pseudo-hitman, Sendai began to move again. ' _I'm already really late. I need to find the others again.'_

"Yo- hey!" Okita called after her. "Where you runnin' off to!?"

 _Cla- clack, clack!_ Not even responding, Sendai just started to sprint away, working up a good run.

"Hey!" Okita held up his arm, but didn't really try to follow. "...Ah. Damn. Look at 'er go."

' _Don't have anymore time to kill with the random losers in the village. I've gotta find the guys…'_

 _Clack, clack, clack!_ Her sandals pounded against the wet road, and she blew past the entrance to the Golden Grin, where a single man stood, watching her romp by.

' _They're probably still underground, if they're not doing their own-'_

Sendai rounded the corner at the very north end of the village, where she'd fought Marisa some hours ago.

She froze up, her arms raising up, as someone nearly ran into her. "Wh- woah…"

Kasen stopped herself from sprinting into Sendai's face by accident. "Aa-... ah. Ah! There you are…!"

"...Ye- yeah." Sendai took a few steps back from her, surveying her form. "You're soaked."

"I've been looking everywhere for you!" Kasen huffed loudly. "After a few hours passed, and you didn't turn up, people started to get worried, you know? Especially after that huge explosion. We couldn't get Keiko to say anything useful. What happened?"

Before Sendai could reply, Kasen snaked and circled around her form. "Is that a bandage, on your arm? You're covered in bruises. What happened…!?"

"Nothing that new." Sendai didn't need to fill her in on the past three or four hours. "I taught Keiko a lesson she's not gonna forget soon."

At that, Kasen's brow twitched slightly. "She-... she outright said she had nothing to say to us."

Despite a few suspicions and explanations popping into her head, Sendai snorted and simply decided not to elaborate too much. "She's a strange girl. She got a job today, you know."

"She-..." Kasen blinked. "Wha-... really? ...Huh."

"Yeah." Sendai grinned. "Wouldn't have happened if we didn't have a big dumb messy fight. She's not a slouch."

"You-... fought?" Kasen was somewhere between mystification and plain confusion. "I suppose that's simply the language you speak, but…"

"A fist's worth a thousand words." Sendai decided to be snide, briefly. "...It's probably really not, but there was no using words to get through her thick head. It was a problem only an example could solve."

' _Some people really just need to be shown how it's done. Even then, they hardly change their mind. Considering Keiko was able to be convinced at all, even with all the shit we did, she showed some surprising promise.'_

...Kasen supposed, after a moment of staring at a lame snow lump with Sendai, that she could sympathize. "That's fair."

' _What, really? I thought you'd be more prissy about the violence part of things.'_

"Some people just need a set of knuckles to the jaw." Kasen let this sentence slip. "...Nn- not that it's always the right course of action, mind you, but-..."

"Damn straight." Sendai knew they could agree on that.

For a moment, Kasen took pause at Sendai's abrupt agreement, before relaxing.

"...I can see the mother in you." Finding words in the silence, Kasen smiled at her.

Sendai smiled awkwardly, only slightly weirded out. "Re- really?"

"Yeah." Kasen nodded. "Don't look embarrassed. I mean-... it's almost like, you can't help but try to set these girl's lives right. Didn't you say something, about not caring about the villagers?"

Her brows furrowed, Sendai considered this. "...I- I mean, it's just so weird. I've come back to life, and now there's this huge rabbit hole of… absolute stupidity in the village. This place was just corrupt in the boring way before, but now, I don't know. I wanna see this shit to the end."

' _And, if I help a few people sort themselves out along the way… I guess that's cool too.'_

...Stepping past Sendai, Kasen beckoned for her to follow. "Come, Tsukiko. Everyone's taken to cramming Keine's house full, for the evening. Against my recommendations, mind you."

' _Well, of course.'_ Sendai wasn't at all surprised.

A cold wind blew through the white-cast landscape. The wet springwater from earlier today began to freeze across the village, marking it with slick, shiny obstacles which threatened to inflict minor damage on villagers as they went about their day.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

The sun had nearly set, as chill rolled in over the land.

Sendai stood in the darkness around Keine's home, admiring the chilly gold glow cast over the shingle tops of nearby homes.

' _The sun of late day dusk is somewhat set apart from the sun of dawn. It's dimmer, less gold and more… orange, maybe. Pretty much the definition of 'dying light'.'_

 _Thu- thump, thump._ She and Kasen stomped up the wood steps, coming up to the door.

"You should probably heal those wounds naturally." Kasen advised. "Magic is fine for disinfection, but…"

"I know." Yet, Sendai disagreed on some level. "I need to stay in shape for everything."

' _How did I get over wounds so easily before? I know I've taken worse, and recovered readily from worse… it couldn't have been only with potions, right?'_

"I mean…" Kasen was pensive. "You really ought to relax, for a week at most."

"A _week?"_ Sendai's expression became jaded. "Like hell. I'll stock up on more potions, thank you very much."

 _Crea~k._ She pushed open the door to Keine's home, and marched inside.

Inside the warmly lit room, Rinnosuke and Aina were seated at the rightmost couch. "...Hiya!" Looking up from her plate of meat, Aina waved at Sendai.

Marcus was in his favorite single-seat chair, giving her a brief look, before returning to his book.

Rinnosuke immediately attempted to heave a sigh, but didn't get enough air, so he just looked discomforted instead. "Where could you have _possibly_ gone? What did you _do_ for the past five hours?"

"Recreation." Sendai lied big time.

Reading Rinnosuke's extreme apprehension at her lie, Sendai grinned back. "If you want the truth, I set that Keiko chick straight. _Then_ … recreation. I got caught up with some villagers."

"Oh, yeah…" Aina's attention was snagged by Sendai. "Keiko-... she seemed a lot more calm about 'erself when she came back."

Rinnosuke plainly faced her. "She also said way less of anything at all."

"Well, yeah!" Aina admitted. "But-... y'know, she didn't fidget as much!"

' _My nerves would be shot after I exploded an entire three story building too. Actually, Heaven Springs was more like four stories, due to that huge stairwell to the last floor.'_

"Those villagers…" Suddenly, Keine stepped into the room, holding cups. "You don't mean you were assaulted, do you?"

Sendai was briefly surprised by her intuition. "...Well."

"Oh, no." Keine shook her head. "I swear, this place…"

"It was more like, that Tsuruko chick hired a hitman to try and poke me with a dagger." Sendai relayed plainly. "It really wasn't a big deal."

"Wh-..." Keine just gave Sendai the vaguest look. "Wasn't a big deal? Someone came up to you and tried to kill you…!"

"He couldn't even hit me." Sendai reasoned. "I'm also pretty sure I broke his arm."

"...That's- _still_ not entirely justice, but…" Still disappointed, Keine stared down at the table. "That girl's _hiring hitmen_ now? Really?"

Moving around the nearest couch, Sendai found a free seat. _'Neat…'_

 _Creak._ Sitting down plainly, she winced a little. At night, when one just relaxes, wounds often simply become more uncomfortable.

 _Creak._ Mobilizing, Keine plopped down next to her. "What if she sends someone worse after you? ...I'm not sure which I protest more: you getting hurt or worse, or letting you go wild on villagers."

"How's those girls?" Sendai switched gears to loose ends which interested her. "They takin' well to life at Akyuu's?"

Switching gears herself, Keine nodded after a moment of thought. "Um, yeah. They're… adapting. They seem to be making friends. The Hieda estate is well-managed."

"Good." Sendai liked hearing that. "...I noticed Dieter's back in Heaven Springs. He didn't get sent back to jail?"

Keine snorted. "He- he's alive…? I was told he was dead."

"You were lied to." Sendai shook her head. "He's alive. Or, when I saw him, he was." She wasn't sure if the giant geyser caused the situation to change…

"Huh." Keine had a vague expression. "Well, I'll… I might take a look myself, then."

' _...Is that safe? Not sure how tough she is when not in her youkai form…'_

"Anyway." Keine met Sendai's gaze again. "Would you like something to eat? You look…" She surveyed how soaked Sendai seemed, and her bruises. "Um. Well, to be honest, you look like shit. Pardon my language."

"Pardoned." Sendai grinned slightly. "Yeah."

"...I'll help you with your clothes." Keine decided suddenly. "I'll wash them when you head off to bed. You should really take a bath tonight, or something."

' _I should.'_

She didn't imagine the village crime situation was in any major state at the moment, but Tsuruko was still an active problem. As was that strange man, who served as the village's chief financial officer.

"You're helpin' with _her_ clothes?" Aina leaned way forward on her seat. "What about _my_ clothes…!?"

Keine gave her a plain look. "Ask Rinnosuke."

"No." He denied. "You must've had _some way_ of washing them, before today."

"Awh." Aina smiled, despite her decreasing hope. "But, you'd get full access ta my bra and panties…"

"I'm good." Rinnosuke shook his head. "If I wanted to stare at undergarments, I'd go to a clothing store."

"But they're _my_ undergarments!" Aina protested. "Who doesn't wanna at least feel their girlfriend's bra…!?"

"We've only known each other _today."_ Rinnosuke gave her an intensifying smile back. "How are you _this_ sexually frustrated?"

Aina giggled. "I- I don't _know!"_

...Sendai felt at her slightly red bandages, along her arms.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Her long black hair was spread amongst the inside of the wood bathtub.

Sendai had discarded her bloody wrappings, letting her wounds soak in the clean water.

Her eyes were closed, as she leaned on the side of the big wooden tub. It was barrel-shaped, but quite wide. Surprisingly, Keine had access to a fairly substantial bathtub…

The only downside was that it rested on a balcony, exposed to the wintery elements. _'It's heated and cleansed magically, however, so the water never needs to be replaced. Pretty efficient, if you ask me.'_

Then, she remembered. _'Actually, that's standard procedure for installing a bathtub, isn't it? Not that most villagers can afford it. Most of them attend gender-segmented, public bath houses. Water is very, very expensive. Everything's expensive.'_

The wood barrel wasn't the prettiest thing, but it had a healthy water capacity, and had handy inner shelves for cleaning supplies.

Warm, orange light emanated from various village alleys and homes, filling Sendai with a feeling of peace.

' _...Tomorrow, I need to use my tengu-like style more. I feel like I have a grasp on my… youkai-like one. But, it's just… it's raw. It doesn't have the nuance that I used to use. I want to use that tengu-like style to refine my technique.'_

' _But…'_ She also thought about her other style, the one which resembled how an oni might fight. _'The raw strength that oni-like method gives me… it's nothing to scoff at. If I tapped into just enough skill to use that power effectively… gods. I know I used to be strong, but…'_

She still didn't know what to think of the skill she used to wield. She'd remembered a fragment of it today, during acupuncture.

She thought of what she'd be doing next. ' _Oh, shit, I forgot to stop by the Golden Grin. You know what? It can wait until tomorrow. I may as well be a miracle worker at this point, but even I have limits. The sun's down, it's cold…'_

She thought of the girls she might be abandoning, in doing this. ' _I'm sure they'll be fine. Even if Rio is a huge bitch, murder's not legal, and I doubt any 'shrine maiden' is gonna overstep their bounds too hard. Tomorrow, we'll see if she's still at Golden Grin.'_

Sendai sunk deeper in the water. _'I wanna comfy evening. Today's been enough…'_

The deep gash in her bicep would take some time to mend, and the same could be said of the deep, throbbing incisions along her forearms. They'd calmed down some since earlier today, but they were still raw, deep and ugly.

' _Wait.'_ Seeing these, she felt along her flesh.

Some notable scars were still there, but only in some places, as patches of rough skin rather than crevices of dead skin and blackening, aged wounds that skin couldn't hide.

' _When'd my skin get so smooth.'_ She felt strange, all of a sudden. It was sort of ironic, because for most, this would be an unexplainable but odd comfort.

Her hands ran over her own abs, down her thighs, then back up to either arm.

' _Some of my wounds are missing.'_ She knew her wounds intimately, having to live with their scars. _'The worst ones… are just rough, abraded skin that should go away when it's spring again. What.'_

...Staring out at the darkness around Keine's home, accented only by the variant warm lights, Sendai slowly lowered her gaze into the bath's water.

' _That's-...'_ She looked at her fresh wounds, then at where her scars used to be. _'That's really creepy.'_

"Hey." A voice came from behind.

 _Splish!_ Sendai froze up, whipping backwards instantly. "Aa- ah…?"

Marisa hung upside-down off of something Sendai couldn't see, grinning as her blonde hair all extended straight down.

"Spooked ya, huh?" Marisa's grin crept bigger.

...Sendai frowned hard, and swung an open hand through the water.

 _SPLASH!_ She splashed Marisa in the face. "Ngh- _aa-_ " Not expecting it, Marisa flinched hard- "Woah…!"

" _Woa~h!"_ She fell from her perch above the semi-open balcony, falling straight down. Her broom snapped down from above to catch her.

...Slowly, she floated back up into Sendai's view, splayed out messily on her broom.

"The last thing I need, is to get attacked while I'm bathing." Sendai wasn't really in the mood. "If my clothes were around, I'd draw my shotgun."

"Ho- holy shit…!" Sitting up, Marisa waved at her. "I didn't come to whump ya, damn…!"

"You didn't come for anything." Sendai decided. "Get lost."

Slowly, Marisa coasted her broom over onto the balcony deck. It wasn't really a balcony, as much as it was an exposed room with railing, but there weren't many other shorthand ways of describing it.

"Yo- I come in peace!" Marisa landed on her boots. "It's damn cold out!"

"You literally attacked me earlier today." Sendai was all glares. "That's no excuse. I thought you said you'd go all out, the next time you saw me."

Marisa rolled her eyes. "Yeah, an' I thought you'd be in a bathtub a couple hours from midnight. Ain't no fun makin' ya dance around in the nude an' tippin' over yer bathtub… _yet._ "

"I swear, if you ever do that, I'm shoving that mini-hakkero down your throat." Sendai was very protective of her alone time. "You ever do this to Reimu?"

Marisa snorted. "Nah, 'cause if I did, she really _would_ shove my mini-hakkero down my throat! Anyways, I didn't come just ta piss ya off."

 _Fwish- pop- fwash!_ She held an arm out, and shot a fluffy sunhat from it.

It landed on Sendai's head, only for her to immediately chuck it into the aether. "...Is that so? What, then?"

 _Pop!_ Marisa fired a beanie at Sendai.

Sendai caught it, and sat it aside, planning to use it as a washcloth.

"...Reimu actually sent me!" Marisa admitted. "So there really wasn't any sayin' no…!"

' _Weren't you just on the roofs, a few hours ago? ...Hours. Mmh, she totally could have gone to the shrine and back in a couple hours, with flight and all…'_

"She's gettin' antsy." Marisa informed her. "...Which is understandable, 'cause her mom is _alive again,_ and she's all like, 'why the hell hasn't she come back to the shrine yet'."

Sendai snorted. ' _Oh, um, right. We did just kind of part, a few days ago, without me really telling her about my plans or anything.'_ The whole concept of communicating with her now essentially adult daughter was… foreign, and strange. It was a weird place in her mind, half retaining the urge to care for her daughter, and half unable to really truly soak in the reality of the situation.

Even now, after the time she spent with Reimu roaming some of Gensokyo's newer locations.

' _...I need some days, getting to know my daughter.'_ Sendai decided. ' _I'm not going to run out of things to be doing for a long time.'_

"And, uh, that's basically all I was _supposed_ ta relay…" Marisa found a seat nearby, on a wood platform placed aside one of the solid inner walls of the open room. "Unh."

 _Fwoom._ She created a tiny blaze from her mini-hakkero, warming up the air before herself, as she compacted on the cold wood 'seat', which was more of an elongated, strange counter.

"...Tell Reimu I'm sorry." Sendai panned to face Marisa. "For not coming home yet, and-... and, getting caught up in my own things. I really-... I really owe more to her than that."

Marisa blinked. "Awh, come on now. Yer just doin' what you gotta do. I mean, she might not be able ta see that right away, but y'know, Hakurei intuition an' shit. I'm sure she'll realize, if she hasn't just already. She's not like, freakin' out or anything either, she was just kinda curious."

...Sendai suddenly became curious. "Why'd she not come looking for me herself?"

Marisa grinned. "It's ten at night, an' it's freezin' as hell! Pair that wit' the fact she's usually pretty lazy, an' the fact I run around everywhere, and the pieces start ta line up real quick…!"

' _Yeah. Marisa… really is a real go-getter, when you get down to it. Perhaps too much so. Really too much so.'_

"So… she was worried enough to send you, but not worried enough to do it herself." Sendai confirmed.

Marisa snorted. "Well, yeah. Sometimes I think she just doesn't bother ta get food, just 'cause she knows I'll come around wit' some."

' _...I think I have a few things to teach her, too.'_ Sendai supposed she wouldn't be missing out on the experience of teaching Reimu how to live, at any rate. _'Like how to get her own damn food…!'_

"An' lemme tell ya, tonight's a dark one." Marisa stared off into the fog-like darkness of the evening. "Lights always seem way brighter, on nights like these…"

"It looks nice." Sendai reflected on the various glowing lights herself. "If it wasn't so cold, I'd love to spend a few hours just sitting beneath some. Especially the colorful neon ones."

Marisa snorted. "Yer just as much of a weirdo about the night as yer daughter."

Sendai gave her a dull look. "What…? You-..." She was finding her amused disbelief hard to put into words. "You throw around all that rainbow magic shit, but you don't understand a fascination with colorful lights?"

"I- I'm joshin' ya!" Marisa caved from the pressure. "I'm not that much of an asshole!"

"Maybe you should settle with faded colors. I hear people are less inclined to call those weird." Sendai continued to run with it. "Actually, how about all your magic was just _white._ No color."

"I don't wanna be a holy mage!" Marisa grinned back. "...Unlike _you._ An' Reimu."

Shifting in the ever-warm tub, Sendai exhaled. "Calling _me_ a holy mage is really, _really_ stretching... both parts of that title."

"I mean, the holy Hakurei crap's all faded blue, or white, or red, or gold, which is _basically a brighter_ yellow." Marisa contested.

"Sounds like a color _scheme_ to me." Sendai levelled. "...You know, how _did_ magic like that turn out with such succinct coloration? As in… why _those_ colors? They feel appropriate, but, _why?"_

"Now them's questions we just don't ask, ze." Marisa shook her head plainly. "Trust me- I asked that too! I didn't get an answer…!"

' _Something to ask some know-it-all later, I guess.'_ Sendai pretended to place it in the back of her mind, but in reality she'd almost definitely forget about it later.

But, she knew not to dwell on meta concepts like that for too long. It was sort of like wondering why the sky was blue. Provided, she knew scientifically _why,_ but then that begs the question, why _blue?_ How come that color was so receptive to the prismatic nature of the atmosphere paired with the water?

' _After a certain point, the answer becomes, 'it just is'. Or perhaps, 'that's just how it turned out'. I don't think anything would be changed if it was subtly different, and I don't think anyone cares.'_

She stared down into the comfy, warm water barrel, taking in the dark interior, her own skin, and the shifting clear water. ' _The world is weird.'_

Taking the red beanie Marisa had shot at her, Sendai reached for the soap wedge. _'...Nice triangular soap, Keine. Guess it's a new… bar. Wedge. Thing.'_

 _Spla- splash._ She began wetting the cloth, to brush across her shoulders.

Since she'd spent awhile with her head above the water, she shut her eyes and crouched down.

 _sploosh._ Her whole form was submerged, and like this, she was able to run her hands through her hair, working the bath's water directly into her own scalp.

 _Splash!_ "Ha~h." Surfacing again, she took a deep breath.

' _It's a lot easier to submerge myself, after today. Then again, it was always easy, after I'd sat under a waterfall, or went swimming earlier in the day. My clothes were all kinds of wet. Some days, you just can't avoid it.'_ Between weather and circumstance, keeping dry was sometimes an ironic luxury.

Suddenly, she saw Marisa was standing by the barrel. "Oh, there ya are!"

 _Splash._ Sendai splashed her in the face again.

"What the fuck…!" Stumbling back, Marisa rubbed the water from her eyes.

"Sorry." Sendai lied. "Thought you were a deadly assassin."

...Making a playfully aggressive face, Marisa came up to the tub, and stuck her mini-hakkero against it.

 _thoomp._ She fired something into it that Sendai didn't feel. A surge of bubbles met the surface just before herself, however. "Wh- what."

There wasn't even a hole in the wood tub. The magic Marisa had shot had seeped through the wood and made magic bubbles in the water.

"...I wonder." This made Sendai curious. "How _does_ magic interact with water?"

"That's one vague ass question!" Marisa couldn't really answer that. "Do ya mean _generally,_ like non-elemental, o~r…?"

"Let's go with that." Sendai _was_ mostly curious in how non-elemental, pure magic interacted with water.

"It dilutes the energy a little bit." Marisa admitted. "S'not as bad as tryina' shoot a gun underwater, but like… y'see, magic's basically _energy,_ and water often has its own pull, weight, presence… it could be _filled_ wit' shit too, even easier than air. Like other magical signatures, pockets in the water… it's _pretty damn tricky,_ 'cause you'll usually be tryin' to _not drown_ at the same time."

Shifting water had an idle amount of energy. While it wasn't great, it could still add extra unpredictability to the path a spell's energy might take.

"Think of it like shootin' a sand cannon underwater, maybe." Marisa supposed. "Dependin' which way the water blows, the magic'll blow with it, or against it… or _with it._ Y'get it?"

"Yeah." Sendai could see that. "...I don't believe I've had to fight a mage underwater, before."

"Pray that ya don't." Marisa gave her a hard grin. "Fistin' shit works even worse underwater."

"Fi- fisting." Sendai didn't think that was the right term for it…

...As she soaped up the beanie cloth, she finally noticed how Marisa was just idly watching her bathe.

"Can I help you." Sendai noticed where she was staring.

"Nope!" Marisa was completely shameless. "Just takin' it in!"

 _Splash!_ Sendai splashed her in the face again.

"That's fuckin' it." Marisa aimed her mini-hakkero at the tub. "I'm gonna dry yer hair- c'mere."

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko -+-

 _Creak._ Sendai fell into the western bed in Keine's guest room, vaguely aching of magic, bruises, and the newly-wrapped blade wounds on her bicep and along her forearms.

' _I'm done.'_ Her head was lying on the left cheek, and she could feel her own heartbeat. _'Time to sleep for ten years. Wait…'_ She'd thought that without really thinking about it.

Closing her eyes, she felt herself drift off swiftly amongst the room's vague warmth, atop the covers.

Sleep claimed her quickly, without much fuss.

For some hours, her nude, spread form laid as a lump atop the plain bed. The warm, magic-lit lamp in the room went out after some moments of inactivity.

Wind brushed against the house, and its wood architecture creaked.

 _cr- cr- crack._ The door to the guest room shook, a knife slid into the slit where the opening mechanism would be.

"Mrm…" A woman grunted, trying to use the knife to dig into the locked door. "Why- _lock it…_ "

At first, she tried using the flat of the knife to slide the wedge in, but then she used the thin edge.

 _Click._ The opening mechanism opened, but the lock for the door was still in place. "Fucking- kidding me…"

 _Ti- ti- tink._ Her knife's metal clicked against the tiny metal stick that kept the door shut tight.

 _Tink! Tink! Tink!_ She tried to saw through it with the thin dagger, to little success.

 _Tink! Tink!_ She tried shoving the flat back of the knife against the other side of the tiny stick, trying to raise it. Unfortunately, it was one of those sliding kinds of door locks. "Fuck…!"

 _Cra- crack, crack!_ Out of frustration, she began shaking the whole door with her body.

"Alright…" She slid the knife out.

The room was quiet again for a couple minutes…

 _Tink. Tink._ Then, the girl began trying to hammer out the door's hinges, using her knife as a wedge, and a tiny hammer to apply pressure to it.

 _Cli- clack clack._ She hammered out the first hinge, near the floor, cringing at the loud clattering. The hammering was so loud, the whole wall she was working on shook.

"God, damn…" The girl started work on the last hinge.

 _Bam! Bam! Bam!_ Since the door was quite taller than she was, she really had to work on the top hinge, hitting it hard.

 _Bam- clack, clatter, clack!_ The hinge went flying when she annihilated it from its hold.

 _BAM._ The door fell inward, and since her hands were full, she couldn't save it. "Oh-... _fu~ck!"_

"Wh-..." Sendai's eyes snapped open. "What- the fuck…?"

 _thump, thump, thump._ The girl sprinted up to Sendai's bed. The room's magi-lamp flicked on, detecting motion.

Rolling around, Sendai's eyes widened. "Yh- you-"

 _Creak- creak!_ The bed groaned, the unknown girl leaping onto Sendai's bed, plunging her knife down.

Sendai gripped the two arms, stopping the knife from meeting her chest.

Her heart jumped in her chest. _'Come- the fuck on! What…!?'_

This girl's arms were wrapped in inky black, and a jagged black maw leered down at Sendai. _"You should have been afraid- of the dark…!"_

Wincing, Sendai curled her right leg in, and extended it, pushing it against the black-clad woman's form.

She was a miko in black and purple, and her skin was pasty white, her features instead light-consuming black surfaces.

 _whish._ The dark miko snapped up to the ceiling, using Sendai's push to rotate around upside-down, and latch on. "heheheh"

"Are-" Sendai was pissed. "Are you _fucking_ serious…!?"

 _whish._ The dark miko snapped across the room, sliding under the other bed in the guest room.

" _can't see me"_ The whole room began to darken. _"Welcome… to hell!"_

In her sudden, erupting anger, Sendai clenched her fists, and inadvertently rode a high of energy.

 _THOOM- CRACK!_ _"Hrgh…!"_ A holy shell bloomed around her form, exploding with amber light, illuminating the room despite the unnatural, light-consuming darkness. Where she stomped, a spiderweb of damage crept across the wood floor.

" _i'll slit your throat"_ The voice came from behind Sendai. _"tsukiko"_

 _BAM- BAM!_ Lumbering up to the bed ahead, Sendai held out her hands, just short of grabbing it.

 _CREAA~K!_ But, it snapped into her palms anyway, and in one tug, she had the entire top mattress. _"Hraa~h!"_

 _Thump!_ Spinning around, Sendai accidentally clotheslined the dark miko with the entire mattress. _"Unh!"_

 _Creak- creak!_ The mattress flew into the lamp across the room when Sendai let go, and bounced into the totally opposite corner.

 _Shink!_ In the next moment, the miko had her knife in Sendai's gut. _"hehe- hehehe! I win- Tsuki- nngh-..."_

Ignoring the bleeding wound in her stomach, Sendai's arms latched onto the dark miko's sides. Gritting her teeth, she reeled her head back.

 _KAKLUNK- SPLAT!_ Sendai's head smashed against the dark miko's so hard, a shockwave of blood exploded from the smaller girl's nose.

"Nfhua-..." Eyes wide, mouth hanging open, the dark miko stumbled back, her own blood splayed across her whole face. _"Aa-..."_

"I was _fucking…"_ Sendai seethed in momentary, instinctual fury. _"Trying to slee~p!"_

 _CREAK- CREAAA~K._ She lifted the entire bed she'd slept on, frame and all, by the left edge.

 _thu- thud._ Crying, the dark miko flopped onto her back, and began crawling back. "Wh- what the _fuck-_ _wha~t…!_ Wh- wait, don't-"

 _Click!_ Sendai accidentally clipped the top right edge of the whole bed against the ceiling. The top mattress rolled back, over her head, as the frame slipped from her fingers.

 _KLAKLANK- THUMP- THUD!_ The frame slammed down on the dark miko. The four legs of the bed pierced the wood boards, and the jagged metal underside crushed the petite, black-clad girl down. _"Uhugh- aagh! Fuck!_ What- the _fuck…"_

Her whole body shaking with power, weighed down by the holy shell around her form, Sendai took a few steps back. "You don't _fuck with someone-_ when they're trying to _sleep!"_

 _BOOM- BOOM!_ She sprinted, as well as Sendai thought an oni could sprint, coming up to the bed at walking speed.

 _WOOSH!_ She leapt onto it, intent on bodyslamming it.

 _BOOM._ She came down on the bed hard.

" _Khkh-"_ The dark miko was crushed.

 _KRA- KRACK- KRACK!_ The wood floor cracked, almost breaking under the weight of the whole bed pressing down.

"Sh- nh…" The dark miko sobbed. "Stop-... pl- please-... stop-... I- I'll die..."

...Hearing her whining, Sendai felt her heart pause. ' _Hmmh.'_

 _Fwish._ The holy shell left her form.

...The bed didn't creak as she rolled onto her naked stomach again, lying atop the undecorated, base mattress of the somewhat beat up western bed. Blood from her stomach wound slowly spread across it, as she relaxed.

' _Fuck- ow, ow..._ ' Just now, she felt that wound in her right side. _'Motherfucker. Deserved everything she got. Ugh.'_ It was a while, since she felt danger in a bed like that. _'You never really get used to it…'_

"Tsukiko!?" Keine ran into the room. "What-... ah…"

She saw Sendai with her bloody stomach wound, lying naked on the half-of-a-bed that was cratered into the floor.

"Nh- nnh…" Sobbing came from under the bed. "Nha-... nnh…"

Keine blinked in sheer confusion.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Kasen held her hand over specifically the stomach wound. "Heal."

 _Fwo- fwoash._ Pulsing, white light flash-healed the deep wound.

Sendai sat in her bindings and fundoshi downstairs, glaring into nothing. She was still pissed.

"Better?" Kasen asked, feeling at where the stab used to be.

"No." Sendai growled. "I didn't get all my damn sleep."

...Kasen gave her a pitying look. "Well… it's a couple hours from morning. You might as well stay up, at this point."

' _God damn it.'_

...She slowly panned her angry glare to Aina, who was just awake for some reason, drinking warm coffee. "Mmh."

"Why're _you_ up." Sendai wondered.

Aina smirked back. "I always gotta get up early. Fer work, anyway. Not-... not sure if I'll actually go in t'day. Havin' a boyfriend and all. An' Ann might be there to put me on cumdump duty, so like… nnh. Actually, shit, I haven't thought this out at all!"

' _Good job.'_

...Standing back up, Sendai moved for the stairs again.

Rumbling up the stairs, she made for the guest room where she fought the dark miko.

Moving through the eternally open doorway, she found where she trapped the source of her anger.

Without the mattresses on it, the bed frame looked like a cage which trapped the girl there. She glared up at Sendai, cast in darkness and pale skin. _"i'll kill you when you sleep"_

 _Pap._ Sendai poked her hand into the bed frame, and put a talisman on the miko's back.

Her skin instantly became a healthy color, and the darkness went away. "...Fu- fuck you." She glared back up…

' _...I don't know if I could've disarmed her, if I didn't go… oni mode on her. She was damn fast. I was lucky to even grab her, 'cause she got greedy.'_

"Three reasons." Sendai decided. "Give me three good reasons why I shouldn't turn you into a fucking pretzel."

"Um." Keine spoke up, from further in the room. Sendai hadn't seen her. "...Be- before you break her or something, I should tell you a few things about her."

"She fucking woke me up." Sendai's gut reaction was intense ominosity against anything that ambushed her in her sleep. "I don't care who she is. She at least deserves a broken arm. No more using that fucking knife."

The dark miko had a wary look. "You- you wouldn't, you pussy."

Sendai's adrenaline flared. "I'll do it with my _fucking foot_ too, you little-... nnh."

"Ca- calm down." Keine smiled awkwardly. "...Her um, her name is Tadiyuki. I taught her, five years ago or so. She should be eighteen, now."

"Good." Sendai snorted. "I won't have to feel bad for demolishing a child."

"De- demolishing?" Tadiyuki snorted, too.

"Tadiyuki." Keine spoke to her again. "Please, answer me this time. Or-... or I'll let Tsukiko do whatever she wants to you."

"Fi- fine." Tadiyuki didn't want to be a cripple. "She-... she really would, wouldn't she?"

"Yep." Sendai loomed over the bedframe cage. "You're lucky Keine's a good person. 'Cause I'm _not._ "

"Why'd you come to hurt Tsukiko?" Keine asked her. "Did Tsuruko send you, too?"

"...Ki- kinda." Tadiyuki admitted. "...Tsu- Tsukiko knows where she lives. She knows too much shit. Uh… fuck." She realized she perhaps said too much herself. _"Yes,_ Tsuruko pays me. Your feelings hurt yet?"

"I hope she paid you well." Sendai continued to loom over the bedframe cage. "You're gonna need it for the doctor."

"Aa- at this point, I pro'lly will." Tadiyuki admitted… "Everything hurts. You broke my nose so fucking hard."

' _...It's not broken anymore, however. She must've brought potions, or something.'_

"How much does she pay you?" Keine wondered idly.

Tadiyuki took pause at that question. "...Like uh, seventy-thousand yen, in bursts. Usually when I do shit fer her. Pays pretty damn well, an' she's consistent too."

Sendai's interest was vaguely piqued. "You'd call yourself more of a mercenary, then. As opposed to one of Tsuruko's devout."

"Yeah, hell no." Tadiyuki shook her head. "Ow…" She also bumped it against the bedframe over herself, catching some of her black hair on the jagged metal. "She keeps me fed, but that's about it. If it weren't her, I'd see if someone on the council could hire me. You ever hear a' Okita?"

"Don't go to him." Sendai's gaze became flat. "Even if he pays well."

Tadiyuki clicked her tongue. "Tch. Nah, fuck you. Okita's hot. Admit it."

"You know what? Sure." Sendai realized she probably shouldn't be giving this girl life advice. "Throw yourself all over him. I'm sure you'll be paid a lot."

"...Um, well, I'll see." Tadiyuki felt weird. "Wh- why the fuck's it matter to you? Feel lonely after your husband died?"

"Alright." Sendai inhaled. "Keine, are there any laws against crippling people?"

"Pl- please, patience, Tsukiko…" Keine really didn't want this to end poorly, herself. "She doesn't really mean anything she says. She's just scared."

"Ff- _fuck you,_ Kamishirasawa." Tadiyuki squirmed as well as she could under the metal. "How's it feel to never see your students again, huh? What a shitty teacher."

' _...Mmh.'_ Sendai frowned. _'Reminds me too much of myself, when I was a little shit. Dark magic, mercenary, extremely anti-social…'_

' _On that note, I'm tired of getting fucking ambushed. If we count now as yesterday, that's like the fucking sixth time. Gods.'_

"Why not do honest work instead?" Sendai supposed to the girl. "If you're not opposed to working."

"Fu~ck that." Tadiyoki seemed fiercely opposed. "I fucking hate all the people here. The guard almost killed me fer _lookin'_ like a youkai. I'd like to just _lose it,_ but… of course, there'd be someone like _you_ who'd come along and just…"

She sighed. "I should've snapped sooner. Fuck."

' _Ironically, I don't think I swore as often. I don't think I was as bad at the whole 'moody asshole' thing, either. Or, at least, I'd like to think it went that way...'_

"You were such a nice girl in school." Keine brought new information to the situation. "Have the past few years really soured you so fiercely? Where's your parents?"

Tadiyuki breathed out.

She didn't reply. After some seconds of waiting, Keine spoke again. "Tadiyuki?"

"I'll rip your fucking throat out." Tadiyuki seethed. "I'll make your life hell…"

Sendai really wanted to retort, but withheld herself. _'How's a kick in the ribs sound.'_

"Have you spoken to them?" Keine crouched down, near the bedframe cage. "Tadiyuki?"

"I'm not-..." Tadiyuki shut her eyes. "Look. If you let me go _right now…_ I'll go. I'll quit workin' for Tsuruko. Won't hear from me again. Good enough? We have a deal?"

"Answer me." Keine laid a hand on the metal bedframe. "Tadiyuki. I asked you a question."

Obviously, Tadiyuki was very uncomfortable. "Just do as I ask."

"You're not in any position to be like this." Keine looked worried. "Tell me about your parents, Tadiyuki."

"Oo- oh, I'm not?" Tadiyuki grinned unevenly. "...Stop- _asking_ about them."

"No!" Keine knew she caught onto something. "Tell me. Please." She slowly inched around the metal bedframe.

She gazed under the edge of the frame, at Tadiyuki.

Tadiyuki's eyes were starting to tear up. "I'm… I'm not part of their family, anymore."

Sendai blinked, feeling strangely tense.

Black energy began to pulse from Tadiyuki's body. "They don't love me anymore."

Keine's mouth hung open slightly.

"Now…" Tadiyuki sighed. "Let me leave."

' _...Did they kick her out? We need more information.'_ She supposed she didn't _need_ the information. Yet…

Sendai crouched down, too. "Explain."

Tadiyuki's expression flared.

"Yes, I know it's hard. Suck it up." At the same time, Sendai wasn't about to be easy on her.

"...My parents ran a shrine. Probably still do." Tadiyuki stared at the floor just before herself, as the light around herself dimmed. "My magic manifested itself like this. I was a shitstain on the family tree. So, I'm not part of it anymore. Sim- simple enough fer you?"

 _thump._ Keine sat on the floor, her arms on her own knees.

"Well." There wasn't a lot Sendai had to say. "Your parents suck."

"No shit, huh." Tadiyuki monotoned back.

' _As a parent myself, I'd like to punch yours for you, but I also feel like stupidity like this isn't entirely out of place in this village.'_

Sendai could see it, with her eyes. The inky black along Tadiyuki expanded from her flesh, across the floor. It was running up the legs of the bedframe.

"I mean it, too." Sendai nodded. "I wouldn't blame you, if you killed them for something like that."

Keine gave Sendai a look. Sendai snorted. _'You're not a mom.'_

"Don't pretend." Tadiyuki's eyes were dots of white amidst the spreading black. "Your-... you're just some old bitch."

"I'm a mother." Sendai remarked. "When I was young, my own mother died, and left me alone. I was separated from my daughter for years. I'm not pretending-"

" _You're-..."_ Black began to pump from under the bedframe.

 _KRA- KRA- KRACK._ As black spread over the bedframe, the part of it furthest from Keine and Sendai cringed, crumpled and folded inward.

It clamped towards the other half like a vice, and the whole frame snapped at Sendai and Keine like a black maw of dirty metal.

"Aa-" Keine's heart jumped, and she stared up in surprise.

 _KRA- KRANG- KRACK!_ Sendai planted an expanded yin-yang firmly in the metal jaws of the frame. It was bigger than her whole upper body, and useless aside from the fact it could endure the clamping metal.

Letting out a huff, Sendai bounced back slightly, and flicked her left leg up.

 _BOOM!_ A shockwave of black came from where her left heel met the yin-yang, her own dark magic spreading along her leg.

 _CLA- CLATTER- CLACK!_ The bedframe exploded into two pieces.

The room was now nearly black, the shattered magi-light no longer bright enough to do anything against the light-devouring Tadiyuki.

 _Shu- shunk- shink._ Something black but easily visible came down from above, rending Keine's flesh. "Nngh- _ouh- ow!_ Aa-"

 _Fwap- fwap- fwap!_ Sendai's talismans met Tadiyuki's back again, from a sudden weak flick.

Keine stood, red running down her shirt and arms. _"Tadiyuki!"_ She held onto Tadiyuki's blade arm. "Why-"

 _Shink!_ Keine's eyes widened. "Gh- _kh-"_ Tadiyuki had slid a shuriken into Keine's abdomen.

 _Boom!_ The moment Tadiyuki looked to her own right, Sendai's knuckles met her nose.

 _fwish!_ Tadiyuki did a near-instant backflip, into a lurched back posture two meters away, using the momentum off the hook that met her face.

Tadiyuki's smile was huge. Sendai became annoyed.

"So?" Sendai held her fists ready. "What's the excuse this time?"

Tadiyuki tilted her head down from her backward lean, staring into Sendai's eyes. "I don't need an excuse. I'm a youkai."

 _fwish._ Tadiyuki held up a hand.

Sendai blinked. She caught two shuriken Tadiyuki had instantly flung with her own forearm. _'Really…'_

 _woosh._ Tadiyuki stepped past Sendai, out the door in an instant.

 _Fwish!_ Wind wrapped up Sendai's limbs, as she bolted out after her. ' _She's not just- about to get away!'_

Outside, she was able to follow the path of light-consuming black and inky fog that Tadiyuki left in her trail.

"Wh-..." Rinnosuke stumbled from a room, his glasses not on. "Wha-"

 _Woosh!_ The nearly-naked Sendai blew past him so fast, he almost fell over. "Aah…"

Sendai skidded out the open door to the bath balcony, and she stood just before the big tub.

In the dark, moonless, sunless light of pre-morning, Tadiyuki's body was accented by streams of pitch black in the air around herself. She leaned back, standing on a rail, beholding Sendai, before turning around.

 _Woosh!_ She bounded into the night, leaping clear over the clearing behind Keine's house, to the next rooftop.

 _Thu- thu- thump!_ Running to the edge of the exposed room-

 _Woosh!_ Sendai leapt too, the piercingly cold wind of the black morning meeting her skin and carrying her across the gap. _'Gods- damn it…!'_

-+- _Vs. Tadiyuki Ha, Artificial Hakurei Project, Former Ha Maiden_ -+-

 _Clack!_ Sendai's sandals touched down on a slanted shingle roof. She was almost naked, aside from her fundoshi, bindings, and sandals.

 _Fwi- fwish!_ She dodged twice off the apex of the roof, taking into the air by accident. "Wh- ah…" She was avoiding something black that came at her.

As she slowly came down on the roof's other half, inadvertently avoiding a worse-aimed black thing, she got a proper glimpse of what it was.

Tadiyuki was hurling yin-yang shurikens, which were also torso-sized. After reaching out far enough, they would stop and come back. They ate light where they went, making them strange to sight and hard to immediately recognize.

Throwing her body forward, Sendai sprinted unevenly across the shingle rooftop. ' _If my body wasn't floaty- I'd've eaten shit ten times by now-'_

 _woosh._ Ahead, Tadiyuki leapt in an arc to another roof. Three splotches of black stretched in the air behind herself.

 _FWA- FWA- FWAP!_ Air trailed Sendai's talismans like bullets, as they met the shurikens, fully illuminating them.

 _KRA- KRAK- FZAP!_ The darkness of the shurikens contested with the Hakurei talismans, but the shurikens lost in the end, shrinking to a harmless size and faltering in velocity.

"Hup!" Sendai performed a great leap, clearing the gap between homes, making towards the next roof Tadiyuki was on.

' _If there was ever a time to just throw talismans around, it's now!'_

 _Fwa- fwa- fwap! Fwa- fwa- fwap!_ The black, obscure evening was filled with light, as Sendai planted talismans in her oncoming path, lighting up the village rooftops with holy, gold-white light.

As Tadiyuki made a trail of black across the long roof, running through the night, Sendai laid down a runway of light just behind her.

 _FWISH- swish! FWISH- swish!_ Sendai tried to mark Tadiyuki directly, but the dark shurikens were able to cut the holy papers apart at such close range.

' _God, it's cold.'_ The winter wind bit at Sendai hard.

 _Fwish!_ Tadiyuki leapt again, this time clearing a whole road, moving diagonal as she moved for a distant rooftop-

 _FWAP- FWAP!_ This time, she couldn't protect against oncoming talismans, which hit her in the butt.

Watching Tadiyuki beeline for the street, Sendai leapt down to ground level too.

 _THUD! Thu- thud!_ Tadiyuki's whole body rebounded hard off the ground. A big, red puddle was drawn across the ground in one moment, only for it to trace back into Tadiyuki's form.

She stumbled along the road, the Hakurei talismans fluttering off, and her arm contorting wickedly back into place. _"ehehe- Hehehe!"_ Despite her pain, she giggled heartily.

' _No wonder her nose was better…! Her wounds-... heal even faster than the regular youkai's!'_

 _WOOSH!_ Then, Tadiyuki broke down the road at an impossible speed, bounding on all limbs to escape.

Sendai broke into a good sprint after her, against the winter wind. Her nose began to run, and her eyes started to water almost immediately. _'Holy- shit…!'_

Within a few seconds, they were already on mainstreet, having blown past the alley behind Keine's school.

This early in the morning, only the occasional guard or night-favoring villager still persisted. A small band of guardsmen took pause-

 _SHINK- SHUSHUSHUNK!_ A huge, black yin-yang shuriken just ripped right into their ranks. Since most of them were only partialy clad, not wearing armor, the six or so of them were left with huge wounds.

" _Rrgh- faa~!"_

"What-...!? Youkai! _Youkai!"_

"Wh- what do we do!?"

"Send someone to HQ- we're- getting attacked! It's an attack! There's more of them!"

' _Oh, god. Fucking…'_ Sendai kept sprinting after Tadiyuki, as they blew down north main. _'Not looking forward to dealing with them later.'_

As they kept sprinting, undisturbed, they blew down mainstreet.

 _FWI- FWI- FWOOSH!_ Six shurikens came from Tadiyuki's form, spiralling out for villagers nearby. _"SURPRISE"_ Tadiyuki's voice was suddenly piercing, like glass.

 _Fwa- fwa- fwap!_ Three talismans from Sendai met the flat of three huge shurikens, destroying their momentum.

Sendai's heart jumped, as she saw the shuriken near herself arc for a stall, where a woman stood behind it, her eyes widening-

 _WHACK!_ Leaping, Sendai flicked a kick up against the flat of the shuriken, derailing its course. Like this, she could bounce off of her own motion.

 _Cla- thunk! Clack! Thunk!_ She hopped off the other two shurikens, disarming them and using them to get ahead at the same time. Unlike the first, they were spinning flat, making for easy platforms.

Ahead, Tadiyuki was making for the turn onto the aristocratic road of the village.

 _Cla- cla- clack!_ Sendai's sandals smashed against stone, as she tried to keep up after the delay of stopping the shurikens.

' _She can only run so far. Since she's not going on a roundtrip of the village, she's going somewhere specific.'_

 _Scree~ch!_ Almost cartoonily sliding to a stop, Sendai beheld the well-paved road ahead, and the path of light-eating shade that was slowly dissipating.

 _WOOSH!_ Sendai threw her whole bodyweight ahead by elbowing the air, actually getting air for a moment before she kept sprinting down the road.

Past the diversion towards the council hall, the trail of grey lead Sendai through a series of turns. Twisting ninety-degree alleys lead Sendai farther, into a more communal part of the village she'd seldom visited.

Then, Sendai slid to a stop again, after entering a clearing. The trail went dead here.

Before Sendai, a fairly sizable, white and grey shrine stood. It looked similar to the Hakurei Shrine, she realized, except it both wasn't on a hill, and a lot of the design was, while the same architecturally, different aesthetically.

The shoji had grey lines drawn on white, drawing sharp contrast. The white and grey aesthetic felt oddly official and final, Sendai felt.

She looked around for Tadiyuki.

Tadiyuki was to the left.

" _evil left its mark"_

 _Whi- whish!_ Sendai wove her body down, to the right, away from a knife slash that came down vertically.

" _So, tell me-"_ Tadiyuki's eyes were wide, her own heart pumping hard.

 _SWI- SWI- SWISH!_ Three stabs came at Sendai in one heartbeat.

 _Fwish!_ Sendai just slid back, avoiding all of them-

 _Fwish!_ She jerked her muscles, skirting around the right of a huge yin-yang shuriken that jutted out just to try and clip Sendai, before returning to Tadiyuki's body.

" _ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK"_

 _WOOSH!_ As Sendai took in the booming reverb of Tadiyuki's yell, the knife was thrust forward, to puncture straight through Sendai.

The wind left Sendai's form, as she felt her breath pause, despite the winter's gales.

 _Whump._ With her greedy thrusting attack, Tadiyuki had thrust her own stomach right into Sendai's right knee, when Sendai took a step to the left. _"nhn-"_

Sendai held onto Tadiyuki's blade arm with both hands, and couldn't resist grinning. ' _Gotcha.'_

 _CRUNCH._ Sendai's left knee met the underside of Tadiyuki's extended arm, snapping her elbow.

" _Aa-"_ Tadiyuki's black maw hung open in pain. _"wh- why"_

 _fwish._ Before Sendai could clock her in the face, Tadiyuki slid back five meters, in an instant.

"Tsukiko-..." Tadiyuki grit her teeth. "You _pissed me off."_

"Goo- good." Sendai's body shook from the cold.

"I don't need a talking down to from some _fuckin' mother."_ Tadiyuki shivered from the cold, too. "I'll kill you. I'll kill you, I'll kill my parents- and I'll kill every worthless piece of shit in this village! The youkai can have a festival! Aa- and- when someone finishes me off, I'll make sure to rip my own guts out first!"

"...I was wrong." Sendai clenched both her own fists, feeling at how cold they were. "You aren't-... you aren't as much like me as I'd feared."

Tadiyuki's maw hung open.

"I saw myself in you." Sendai admitted. "...But, my sorrow was for the mother I'd lost, and the family I scarcely had. Your sorrow… it's founded. Yet, if you don't know how to use your anger right, you're as much of a waste as the dumbasses you hate."

"Shut _up!"_ Tadiyuki bellowed back, the edge of her voice provided by the dark dropping. "No one's had it as hard as me! You fuckin' _liar!"_

Sendai's expression soured. "Stupid, selfish _bitch._ "

 _Cra- crack._ Tadiyuki's broken elbow fixed itself. "That's- ngh- what I wanna hear." She began to crouch, one hand to the floor as she held the knife up with her now better arm. "Be honest. You just wanna fuck with me, like everyone else. An' I just wanna fuck with you. Nothing more, nothin' less."

That made Sendai even more annoyed. "Running from your problems will only make you worse off."

"That's why I'll be _dead_ at the end, too!" Tadiyuki thought she had it all figured out. "All I gotta do… is get past _you._ "

Sendai let out a breath, her brows furrowed.

"I'm used to killing people stronger than me." Tadiyuki remarked.

 _CRA- CRA- CREAEK._ The dirt beneath Sendai began to stir.

Beneath her, there was a dirt circle. It was set between the alley exit and the shrine ahead, and it was almost big enough to comprise the core of a house in square size itself.

' _I should've noticed- how the stone before the shrine, it's broken in a huge circle here!'_ All around the dirt pad, were shattered chunks of rock, indicating paving that was broken.

 _KABOOM!_ The dirt floor beneath Sendai exploded, and she felt herself launch into the air. ' _Ooh- damn!'_

A huge, tacky metal coffin erupted from the earth below. It was like the body of an iron maiden, but much more imperfect, fit with yin-yang shurikens inside, uneven knife and katana edges, and cogs that churned as the huge mess of edgy objects raised.

Huge white circles filled Tadiyuki's eyes. _"HEHAHAHA"_

 _CREAAANK._ The iron maiden folded open fully below, to catch Sendai.

The subtle nature of its janky movements implied something to Sendai. ' _I won't be able to escape it.'_

Her eyes rested on the laughing, giddy Tadiyuki below.

' _You…'_ Sendai's anger began to bubble up again. _'Stupidity like yours is what ruined your life. It's what ruined my life. And-...'_

 _Fzzt- Fzzt!_ The holy shell of light bloomed around her body, as she steeled herself. _'I'm not letting your selfish stupidity step on anything else.'_

With the holy shell around her form, not of Sendai's volition, she arced her limbs back in the air.

" _Fantasy Heaven!"_ She yelled-

 _CRACKA- KABAM!_ The iron maiden clapped up in an instant, capturing Sendai's form.

"He- _hahahaha!"_ Tadiyuki bellowed with joy. "Wwh- hahah! Get _fucked!_ _Yes!"_

Coming up to the hole in the soil Tadiyuki searched for the trickle of blood.

There was a gross, decayed mess of flesh and blood in the hole under here, obscured by darkness. She'd lured guardsmen she couldn't fight here, where her most thought-out trap took care of them.

Even though she couldn't see into the black below, she'd be able to see the glinting trickle of blood in the night's light.

 _drip. drip. drip._ But, there were only a few drops coming from the bottom of the mighty metal maiden. That could have easily been old blood. It'd never dripped so slowly before.

 _KR- KRACK- KABOO~M!_ That's when star-like light exploded out, the giant metal casket snapped open instantly.

 _THOOM- THOOM._ The being that had emerged was no longer Sendai. It touched down, two huge, red sandals connecting with the dirt, digging in.

She- or it- had one huge, red-orange horn coming from the right of her head, arcing up, and the broken stump of a similar horn on the left of its head.

It was also taller, bigger. Standing at two and a half meters tall, it towered over any human that ever was.

" _Huu~h…"_ It inhaled, taking in the evening air. "HaaaAAA _AAAH!"_

 _WOO~SH!_ The force of it exhaling pushed Tadiyuki back, stumbling as she tried to keep her balance. "Wh- hah…!?"

 _Whi- whish!_ A black shuriken was tossed forward. As it neared the oni-like being, it was actively repelled by its existence, not even getting close before the mere magical aura from the being sent it flying in the opposite direction.

" _Hrrgh…!"_ Amber affixed around both arms, as it lifted them up.

 _vhoosh._ It seemingly lifted the shelf of air before itself with its motion, a huge vortex blipping in the air overhead itself for one moment.

Both fists touched down with the floor.

The paved stone clearing around the white shrine erupted from the floor.

 _KRAKAKABOOM!_ Tadiyoki was ejected into the air by the raw force. _"Hwu- aaa- aah…!"_

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ From the one motion, three holy magical seals were drawn along the floor, amidst the chaos and rubble.

 _KRAWFWAAA- FWAA- FWAASH!_ Three columns of purifying, ultimate holy magic erupted into the air, stretching up infinitely.

"Aa- aa-" Tadiyuki spiralled in the air as she fell, making sure to avoid the pillars of certain holy annihilation.

" _YOU-"_ It spoke in explosions. _"WILL REPENT"_

It reeled both arms back. This would be the second standard attack of its combo string.

It fell side-first into the ground, bringing both arms down at the same time.

 _KRIKRAKA- KRAKOO~M!_ A geyser of stone and dirt was launched into the atmosphere.

" _Hughu-"_ Tadiyuki went flying back into a house.

 _CRUNCH- CRACK!_ Her spine smashed hard against the edge of the shingles. _"Khu- ha- kh…!"_

 _WOO- WOO- WOO- WOOSH!_ An orbiting ring of battle axes forged around the oni-like being, comprised of neon-white Hakurei talismans.

" _Hnngh…"_ Getting back up, the dirt ground itself shifting so it could stand up right, it reeled its arms back for a third greedy hook.

As rocks and dirt clattered all over the rich neighborhood, its voice raised. _"Nee- EEEON…!"_

 _Thud._ Tadiyuki landed on her knees, clattering from the roof. "Ha- aah… aah…"

 _WOOWOOWOOWOOSH!_ As the divine blade storm expanded from the oni's form, Tadiyuki darted forward.

 _Fwish!_ She dodged through the expanding ring, avoiding them all, as she shambled for the bigger woman's body. "Aa- anh- nnh-..." Her spine was still recovering, ligaments snapping back into place, causing her to seize up in places.

"FAA _AAANTASIA~!"_ The oni roared, suddenly reeling its whole form back on one leg, as if it were to throw its fist like a baseball.

 _KRAKABOOM!_ It stomped down on one leg, and threw its punch.

 _Fwish!_ Tadiyuki went to dodge.

 _THOOM._ The air of the punch, and its light, traveled faster than Tadiyuki could even move, despite attempting to dodge preemptively.

 _KABOOM- BOOM- BOOM- BOOM!_ Tadiyuki was shot straight through the house behind herself, wood walls exploding open.

 _Boom- boom- boom- boom!_ The nearly naked oni beat its own chest. _"Hrrgh- nnh…!"_

It moved to take a step forward-

 _thud._ It fell into a kneel instead. "Kh- _kaugh-..."_

The horns retracted. The all-encompassing holy shell of undeniable, ultimate power retracted into Sendai's form, and her limbs traced back to their normal length.

"God-..." Sendai had used up all her item crashes at once, fueling an entirely different beast within herself.

The cold was now getting to her. The numbness of her body had left, and the many tiny incisions left by the metal coffin left bleeding marks all over her body.

' _I'm-...'_ She felt light-headed. _'I'm not doin' so hot, here…'_

She looked up, at the huge hole in the house to her left. _'Is-... villagers- get insured, for youkai attacks, right? They better…'_

Sendai looked down, realizing her bindings and fundoshi were lost, stretched by the transformation. _'I feel naked. Because, I am naked. Fu~ck, fuck…'_

She didn't have access to her inventory of items without her clothing, even if she could keep making yin yang orbs. ' _Forgot about that… not used to- this hammerspace shit…'_

Looking to the right, she saw someone.

It was a fierce-eyed, adult man with brown hair done up in a ball along the back of his head. As the morning sun rose, he sat in his yukata along the porch, drinking tea.

...Sendai frowned at him, raising a brow as she stood up straighter.

He gave her a neutral, fair frown in return. Swallowing his tea, he thought on this.

Sendai lurched closer, as if to speak to him.

"Mmh." He supposed he had to make some sort of noise. "It is as they say, then. It takes a monster to fight a monster."

Instantly, Sendai stopped.

' _But-... of course.'_

The man drew a talisman, as Sendai neared. "Not another step, youkai."

"If-..." Sendai huffed. "If I had another drop of strength in me… I'd punch you so damn hard you'd have another hole."

He snorted. "Am I to expect otherwise?"

"You- don't _get it."_ Sendai growled back. "You don't get why-..."

"No." He had an annoyed look. "No, I think I _do_ get it. Our youkai daughter got in the way of your feeding. She lures her victims here, so she lured _you_ here. Only, this time, you bit off more than you could chew. See?"

A stupid smile began to creep up Sendai's face.

"I'd also like to know of any human who walks around naked." He took in Sendai's form. "...A shame, really. You would have been a fine maiden, were you human."

Sendai smiled even wider, leaning back, stumbling in the process. "Holy~... _shit._ Wow."

 _Thu- thunk._ Wood rubble fell from the side of the house Sendai had accidentally smashed Tadiyuki through. Tadiyuki herself limped out, blood running down half her face. "Rgh-... kh- kngh- _kauff…"_

Face still impassive, the father watched his daughter fall over herself, almost crawling as she came back, seeing that Sendai was done annihilating her…

"What a waste." He shook his head.

"Hh-..." Tadiyuki looked up. "Da- dad…?"

 _FWAP!_ A grey-white talisman met her head, thrown by her father.

 _FWABOOM!_ Instead of sealing, like the Hakurei talisman, it exploded into a raw blast of faith.

" _Rghk-"_ Tadiyuki tensed up, the holy magic reverberating through her body.

Sendai tensed up. "He- hey…!"

"I don't know what I was expecting." He regarded the matter simply and numbly. "There's no such thing… as regression from being a youkai, after all. I'd never heard of such a thing."

"Nn-..." Tadiyuki crawled forward, dragging her face along the gravel and dirt. "Pl-... dad…"

"Hear her out." Sendai demanded of him. "She- she cares about you, y'know?" The cold made Sendai's teeth chatter fiercely…

He just gave Sendai a plain look, before returning to staring his daughter down.

It seemed like he was thinking on something, but Sendai wasn't sure what…

"Dad-..." Tadiyuki pushed herself up a little, with her arms. "Stop…"

"No." He shook his head. "We finally have you here. I can put an end to what we started."

Sendai tensed up. ' _He doesn't mean…'_

 _FWAP!_ He tossed another talisman at his daughter.

 _FWABOOM!_ It detonated, filling her face with light. "Ekgh- _hnn!"_

"Stop!" Sendai came closer. "She's- your daughter-"

"This is _unrelated_ to you." He gave her a stern look. "Shouldn't you be grateful? Stay out of my way, and I'll even exempt you from our exterminations. This is something that must be done."

"She's your _daughter!"_ Sendai felt herself breathe harder. "Damn it! You can't just-"

"She is _not_ my daughter." He stated. "She is a _youkai._ Why- if I'd known-... if I'd known we'd give birth to a youkai who'd have created a decade of her own personal escapades… we'd have never chosen to conceive her."

Sendai's brows raised, and her mouth hung open.

"But-" She protested this. "Think-... think of your times- as a family-"

"They're worthless." He reaffirmed. "They all lead up to this moment. Already now-"

 _FWABOOM!_ He threw another exploding talisman at his daughter. "Nn- nnh…" She whimpered, quieter this time. "Da- dad-..."

"-I struggle, hesitating to finish her, just because-... of what she could have been." He, at least, gained a somber look. "Instead, her name has plagued us for years. Now, I finally put… I put this to rest. I put the memory and legacy of Tadiyuki to rest."

"She-... she loved you!" Sendai yelled at him. "She's so broken- because of losing you! A- a daughter-"

"What is it to _you?"_ He gave her a hard frown. "This was never our daughter. She stole our love and care for years. I finally may end this worthless period of our lives, and _you_ ask me to turn back now?"

"You- you made her suffer. You-... you co- could have loved her-"

He stepped down the steps, up to Sendai. "She suffered because she _deserved to._ Youkai are not like humans. Everything is fair in the fight against youkai. As for _you…"_ He held up a talisman. "My mercy towards you is also reaching its end. This is your last chance."

Sendai's heart couldn't take this. "Your- your daughter's- right there." Sendai thought of Reimu, and the years she spent alone. "She's crying for you. Ca- can't you-"

 _FWABOOM!_ He threw the talisman at Sendai's chest.

She took one step back, the dark energy in her own body yelling.

" _Stop!"_ Sendai yelled back at him, teeth bared. "You _moron!_ _You're_ what ruined her!"

 _FWABOOM!_ He tossed another talisman at her. "Resistant one. Give up and die, already."

Sendai couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I- I-... I don't give a shit! Love your daughter, damnit!"

 _FWABOOM!_ He kept sporadically chucking a single talisman. "Stop wasting our paper."

' _He- had a chance- and everything-...'_ Sendai's mind raced.

"Da- dad…" Tadiyuki tried to push up off the ground again.

 _FWABOOM!_ He tossed another exploding talisman at her, and it blew beneath her, sending her flying onto her back. "Ugh- uuh…"

"Nn-..." Sendai held her arm out towards her, then looked back at him, as he held up another talisman.

Sendai imagined, only for an instant, her doing that to Reimu.

Tears streaming down her face, Sendai stood in his way, arms held out.

' _This-...'_ She felt her body pause.

Her mind ran over the idea, again and again. The happy life this young woman, Tadiyuki, could have had. The help her mother and father could have given her.

Instead was this raw moment of misunderstanding, destruction, and hate. It went against everything Sendai thought was sensible.

The man took pause. "...Are you a mother?" He questioned Sendai.

...Sendai exhaled. "Yes. Yes, I am."

"If I haven't killed your daughter already, I'll do it someday." He smiled, and gave her a nod. "When the peace ends, and the fighting continues."

 _Fwish._ He threw his talisman at Sendai.

' _It's moments like these.'_

Sendai had a revelation. _'Moments like these… are why I have the strength to fight.'_

 _Sendai learned Last Stand * REBORN._

-+- _Vs. Atsutane Ha, Ha Shrine Geki_ -+-

 _Fwish!_ _"Hra~h!"_ Sendai flourished her arms out, white light bursting from her body in the form of heat, or smoke.

 _FWABOOM!_ The holy Ha talisman burst against her, but it had no effect.

Sendai sprinted through the blast, right up to his face. He raised his arms, ready to fight.

 _BAM!_ Her left palm struck his face like an oncoming rock. _"Uhk-"_ Face tensed up, he tried to slide his own left palm into her torso.

 _Fwish!_ Sendai slid back once, after tensing up her muscles and jerking back. There was hardly any range to it, but it avoided his lame palm swipe.

 _BAM!_ Her left palm met his nose again, a spritz of blood confirming the damage she inflicted.

 _WHUNK!_ Her right palm dug into his stomach, making his whole body cringe. " _Uhu-"_ His legs kicked, the palm having thrown him back off his feet-

 _WHAM!_ She connected the next palm with his shoulder in the next instant, tilting his entire body back.

Still, despite all of this, he stumbled back, guarding himself with his arms.

 _Whap!_ He stopped Sendai's fourth palm strike with his forearm, and yelled back. "Predictable!"

She inhaled. Before he could drop his arms, he kicked her left leg up.

 _WHAM!_ His guarding arms were blown out of the way by her sandal.

 _WOOSH!_ In the next instant, Sendai spun around on her right heel-

 _WHACKRACK!_ Then, she unleashed the thrusting kick once more, this time twice as strong, sliding it deep into his stomach. This was the Dragon's Kick she remembered.

 _Wham- bam!_ Falling back, he hit his back against the raised porch of the grey-white shrine. "Uuhn- ngh…!"

She felt like she was running mid-marathon, as she darted up to his form in an automatic moment.

 _BAM- BAM!_ A thrust of her palm connected with his face, crushing the back of his head against a beam of the wood railing.

Holding onto the collar hems of his yukata, she pulled him from the shrine porch.

"Hrr- ra~h!" With all her strength, she pulled him over her head with both arms, forcing him to flip forward over herself-

 _THUD!_ She slammed him down on his back. _"Uuhf!"_

...Quickly, because Sendai gave him the moment, he fought to get off the floor. "Aa- nnrh…"

"You and your daughter could have been happy together." Sendai seethed down at him. "But, you threw that all away."

As he stood again, he exhaled, his breathing labored from pain. "I- I can't believe-... some infiltrator- has pushed me so far, so quickly… who- who are you?"

Sendai didn't answer him.

"I see…" He exhaled again. "Then…"

Reaching in the air above himself, he grasped something that wasn't there.

 _Shi- shi- shink, shink._ Tiles clicked into place, of grey and white, forging a katana in his hands. "Behold. You are one of few youkai, who has witnessed the Ha family katana."

Sendai blinked, feeling like she was on that street side with Keisuke again, facing down that one generic guardsman.

"Staining it pains me." He glared at Sendai.

 _whish._ Then, his form blurred, as he snapped towards Sendai faster than something should be able to start moving, blade raised.

 _WHUNK._ Reacting on instinct and adrenaline, Sendai punched down into his collar at a familiar angle, stopping his charge, and even his cleave. "Hu- a- aa-..." All the air was knocked from his lungs.

' _Then-'_ Following her memory of that day with Keisuke, she held her left arm up, and looked up.

 _Pap._ She had to watch it, but she still caught the handle of the Ha katana with her left hand. ' _Got it!'_

The Ha Shrine Geki looked at his hands, then hers. "Wh-... _what!?_ But- a youkai cannot-"

Putting what the aged samurai taught her today to the test, Sendai came up to his form.

 _Swish!_ She passed a simple stroke into his side, as he tried to retreat. "Hu-"

 _SHINK!_ Then, after stroking the blade inward and across his side, she thrust it into his gut.

" _Ergh-"_ His eyes widened, and he fell back. _"Hraa~gh!"_

...Sendai stumbled back a little.

She looked to her right. Tadiyuki's mouth hung open, and she watched in simple awe.

...Sendai lumbered for her, holding onto the katana. "Let's-..." Sendai was finding it hard to catch air. "Let's- get out of here-..."

"Let-..." Tadiyuki began to stand, having healed in the time Sendai worked on her father. "Lemme help you. Ba- back to Keine's? I- I don't live anywhere particular- so…"

"Yeah-..." Sendai was dreading the oncoming tiredness. "Hurry."

"You- you got it." Tadiyuki came up to her…

 _woo- woosh._ When she let Sendai lean onto her, her darkness wrapped around the both of them.

...It simply made their figures pitch black, and nothing else. But, pitch black shades walking through the village would be less attention-drawing than a fully naked, well-endowed woman doing the same.

 _Sendai remembered Essence of Seizing: Blade._

 _Sendai obtained Ha Family Method-Katana._

 _Knock, knock- knock- knock, knock._ Sendai and Tadiyuki messily wailed on the door in tandem, for someone's attention…

... _Crea~k._ Plainly, Mokou was the one to slide it open. "Keine ain't home right-... ah." She stared at Sendai's bruised, bandaged, cut-adorned, shaky, pale form. "...You _really_ ought to drink a potion. Holy shit."

"Nn- no shit…" Sendai looked light-headed, her gaze distant. "He- help…?"

Mokou quickly retreated inside, noticing how faded she seemed.

"I-... I did it…" Tadiyuki let out a shaky, shuddering sigh. "I-... I'm sorry- for all of this-... Tsukiko. I- I really-..."

"Save it-..." Sendai brushed her scalp against Tadiyuki's face. "For- when I'm not-... minutes away from dying…"

Strolling back up, Mokou held out a potion, now standing casually at the front door. "Yo."

 _POP!_ Sendai rended the cork off the bottle, and chugged it so hard she choked. "Kh- _kaugh-_ kauf- nghk- nnh…!"

"Ho- hold on, you're choking…!" Mokou grinned, grabbing Sendai's arms. "I said hold on…!"

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Keine's fireplace crackled with warmth. It wasn't placed anywhere accessible, like the living room, Instead, it was inside her paper-adorned study, so that the heat could emanate into the upper levels better, through custom-constructed, thin airways. Magic probably helped, too.

Sendai sat curled up in a blanket ball before it, still jittery and numb, despite the potion undoing the blood loss, blade wounds, and bruises.

' _We-... we still have to beat up that bitch Rio, at some point…'_ Sendai gave the fire a tired expression. ' _Damn it. If I was as strong as I used to be, I'd be able to fight all these shrine maidens at once with one hand behind my back.'_

"So." Mokou spoke idly. "...Marcus and Keine went shopping for things for the guest room. Rinnosuke and Aina are out looking for you… and by that, I mean they're having a date."

' _Good to know everyone was able to do so much for me.'_ Sendai gave the fire a jaded stare. _'Where would I be without Kourin and his bimbo girlfriend to watch my back.'_

"Also, I think that Kasen chick was trying to find you." Mokou held a hand to her own chin. "Wherever the hell she went. And-... I took a day from work to see the aftermath of all the shit we did. Not that I ever work consistently anyway."

Sendai snorted. "The hell you even _do._ "

"I sell grilled lamprey." Mokou had a surprisingly mundane answer. "In the bamboo forest."

"Of course you do." Sendai furrowed her brows. "To who, the youkai? They carry money now?"

Mokou grinned. "Well, yeah. Lunar and earthen bunnies alike, sometimes kappa. Real occasional human."

' _My mugging adventures shall continue even outside the village, I see. Wonder how fuckass random the money drops are gonna be.'_

Tadiyuki sat on the single-seat chair behind Sendai, looking low-energy…

' _I've turned around the lives of two girls- no, three girls, in one day, practically.'_ Sendai was drained. ' _And I guess Aina turned around herself. Can I just-... can I sleep yet? I'm already hungry again. Holy shit.'_

"I can't catch a break." Sendai spoke plainly, not really complaining.

"You really can't, apparently." Mokou still agreed, however.

' _What a-... series of days. I can't really think of any notable… fuckin' assassins, aside from miss stabby here.'_

...After a moment, Sendai realized her mistake. ' _I'm gonna get jumped by Marisa the second I walk out of here.'_

' _I think… I'm just, gonna lay low, for most of today. Maybe read one of those books I got so many days ago.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

NEW SKILLS:

 _x Shrine Maiden of Paradise Style:_

Last Stand * REBORN - When Tsukiko's health is critical, she regains her extreme shrine maiden speed, some force, and the ability to use critical actions.

Essence of Seizing: Blade - Punching her enemy once in the collar in an exact manner, Tsukiko steals their katana or sword after it flies out of their hands. A fancy technique that she discovered by sheer repetition in her previous life. Only works in Legend Style.

Now inherits Konpaku Shot Stopper, Guard, and Quick Step from Youkai Style.

Konpaku Katana Basics - Inherited from Tengu Style.

x _Tengu Style:_

Konpaku Katana Basics - A single target-focused, very generic katana style which relies on sudden thrusts and stabbing attacks, as well as parries when focused against other katana users. Benefits greatly from speed.

Essence of the Katana * Dual Lethal - Sendai uses her strength to rip the katana across an opponent's throat, before backhanding it into them, leaving it stuck in their gut. Powerful katana move best used on youkai and amateur humans.

Essence of Crane * Unleash - A Konpaku family art. Letting the form of her sword become vague, Sendai smashes it into her opponent's form, inflicting a status debuff or magical effect on them. Amplifies the power of the sword used. Consumes item crashes relative to the sword's effects.

NEW ITEMS:

 _Ha Family Method-Katana_ \- Infinite uses - A family heirloom forged of magic. Inflicts holy damage upon enemies, and can block both holy and dark magic easily. Despite this, the strange tile-like material it's made of renders it subpar at cutting at best, dealing more magical than physical damage in most cases.

 _Discount Assassin's Dagger -_ 12 Uses - Cheap steel knife. Good for thrusting techniques, but really not much else. Easily slides into flesh, and can be thrown as a projectile even.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

another big boy-sized chapter. i'm getting too used to writing these, but they're really fun to write…!

it's fun when you can fit a whole bundle of crap into one chapter, though. it feels like i've covered so much ground now!

also i didn't originally plan on this much to happen with tadiyuki and sendai's legend style but the opportunity struck and it felt organic so i rolled with it

the only downside is now sendai is REALLY tired of the village's shit and just wants to chill - w -

no tadiyuki's original name in chapter 7 wasn't tomodachi shut up… you're wrong! ! ! ! !

XD by that i mean yes it was but i just kinda started writing this chapter with it as tadiyuki and me and my editor ki~nda liked tadiyuki better so by the time this is released tomodachi probably got retconned into tadiyuki

i dunno when i'm gonna post sendai's full inventory again, maybe it'll be just sendai's since you don't really need to see what marc and kourin are up to

anyway… this was a pretty fun chapter with a lot of variant moments

also i think it's safe to say now, but fantasy heaven has wildly different effects depending on style!

whereas youkai style has the rather conservative, craftsy and fear-based dark youkai sendai, oni style has AN ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE WOMAN who emanates the essence of loud, turns paved roads into gravel and also consumes item crashes like a son of a bitch

as in, sendai's standard combo hook attacks eat one item crash while in that form, approximately, so IT'S NOT CHEAP OR SENSIBLE TO USE ON THE REGULAR REALLY

absolute power and indomitable invincibility can't be achieved on an empty tank yo

i really like giving all the various random shrine maidens yin-yang item affixes

like aina and her kinda vanilla TOPS, then tatsuako and her megaton punch armor, and then keiko's… keiko pretty much just uses that tail doesn't she, and those katanas

then ya got rio's SAWBLADES and tadiyuki's shurikens

i'm really likin' how this village is starting to feel like a nice full place

inb4 people in my server who stopped reading sendai continue to comment on how empty the village felt in the no chapters they read

explorin' shit takes time man; if ya go to a fair and leave in the first two hours without talkin' to anyone, of course it was an empty, soulless time!

also where i am admission to fairs is ass expensive, freakin'...

honh

as always, see you all next time!


	23. Party Hard

Sendai gingerly sat down the volume she read…

' _Cute.'_ It was Love Hina volume one. _'Short as hell. What gives? Are they normally this short? I haven't seen many books with intricate images like these. Ones that weren't a writer's attempt at illustrated erotica, anyway. '_

Manga wasn't particularly common in Gensokyo when Sendai was alive, so this was new for her. The first volume of Ninjas of Love, it being pure literary erotica, was far more engaging overall. If, only because it didn't cut off awkwardly like a manga volume did.

' _That was an awfully cute little romance. It's books like that, that remind me how my life has been… atypical. How me and Keisuke met, my teenage years… hell, this land. These books speak of the outside, and the mundane safety and sanity it holds.'_

When opening a book, she always remembered the mornings, days and nights she spent in her room reading what her mother brought for her. A kind of cozy, comfy security, all contained within her tiny world atop the Hakurei hill. What a tiny, wistful, lovely world it was.

Thinking back to it, Sendai felt her eyelids swell, but she fought the urge and the bad tinge in the back of her head. _'No use being sad about it.'_

Even though it drew sorrow and anger from her, she still smiled.

The memory was vivid.

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE: FINAL MIX

23

Party Hard

-+- _39 Years Ago_ -+-

It was seven in the morning, about. Maybe seven-thirty.

Thirteen year-old Tsukiko Hakurei sat awake in her futon, reading the novel. It had some strange name she never quite attached to, a compound word that mystified her.

It was the story of two adventurers who encountered a sand woman, while doing errands on their estate grounds. It was a Japanese tale, and it spoke of large, complex structures larger than the shrine she lived in, and countryside that made her think of the clearing around the Hakurei hill.

In that story, it was early morning. She turned from the pages, smiling at the pale land out her wooden, open-air window.

The sun, and the airy sky was distilling the sedating blue hue of before dawn. White-gold, weak, not yet warm sunlight was beginning to make everything alive.

' _I wonder how it must be, to be mom.'_ Tsukiko thought of her mom. _'I don't think she got back from last night's patrolling stuff yet.'_

Setting down her book, Tsukiko moved to get out of the futon.

The futon was on a raised wooden platform, because Tsukiko had wanted to see out of the window when she woke up. Getting off of this platform, she stretched. "Hnn…"

She had bindings on, but these were just to get used to them. She didn't have a chest to speak of yet.

' _Are these bloomers smelly yet…'_ She bent down, and wiggled her nose. _'Um. Not too bad yet.'_ It was late spring, so when things really warmed up, she'd be going through bloomers every day, she was sure.

Scratching her scalp, Tsukiko felt at the back of her own neck, too. _'I wish mom let me grow it out long, like hers.'_ She still had to admit, having short hair for the summer was nice.

It hung only halfway down her head. It was all messy and fwoofy, because she never really had to look presentable for anyone anyway. When she was eight, she remembered a few uncles who stopped by from time to time. When she was ten or eleven, she'd never saw them again.

' _This morning is so cool.'_ She romped for the door, not bothering to put anything else on for now. _'Let's see if mom's home yet…'_

 _Shoof._ She slid open the shoji door, stepping into the main shrine room.

"He~y." She called out at medium volume. Not that yelling would be much louder, coming from her. "Hee~y..."

No response. She moved to the kitchen door.

 _shoof._ Nope, no one in here. No breakfast being prepared, and nothing out of place from last night.

 _shoof._ She slid open the door to her mother's room next, along the back of the kitchen, and the futon inside the dark, plain room was empty.

' _She really didn't get home yet. I had a feeling…'_

With an adorably steadfast stride, Tsukiko's feet stomped against the floor as she ran deliberately wastefully back into the main room.

' _Guess I'll grab a water and wait.'_ She smiled. _'Mornings without mom feel strange sometimes, but she comes back. She's… probably not gonna want me to see her coming back, so I'll just 'sleep in' like I happen to, when she does.'_

After a long night, Tsukiko's mom would be one of a few things. Sad, angry, both, or bloody and one of the former. This issue only compounded, after her uncles and aunts had ceased being spoken of.

The latter only happened every so often. But, Tsukiko didn't like seeing that, and her mother didn't like her seeing her like that.

Tsukiko got the picture. And, in part, felt that if she didn't fret over it, her mother would sort it out.

...Quickly, Tsukiko moved back for her own room, as if her mother would arrive any moment, and shut the door.

 _Shoof._

' _Let's read until midday.'_ She was excited to finish that book. _'It'll hold me over until mom's ready to talk.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

...Eyes closed, as she laid back in the chair, Tsukiko almost fell asleep thinking of her mother.

"Um."

The voice brought Sendai back. _'Please, figure that I'm asleep already.'_

"Tsukiko…" Tadiyuki's baggy-eyed stare emanated a strange sympathy. "Are you awake?"

...Sendai slowly opened her eyes.

She was in Keine's back common room. She wasn't sure what kind of room it was, but it was sort of like all of the home's rooms rolled into one. Lined with less-important paperwork and files, fit with comfy furniture, had at least one necessity- the fireplace- and even framed the backdoor.

Also, a door to a bathroom. The necessity sort; no baths were in there.

She sat before the fireplace, her almost nude body soaking in the heat. No, she hadn't bothered putting anything on. She hadn't moved from this chair for awhile, and she was loving it.

' _...I haven't really changed much, have I.'_ She was actually doing one worse than her thirteen year old self, having only the scraps of bindings on now, her healthy chest exposed.

"Hey." Sendai's gaze rested on Tadiyuki.

' _Ever since I remembered that day with Keisuke, and more of how I used to be… I feel as though I've become more whole.'_

Tadiyuki let her brows curl up. "...Wh- why'd you, like, help me out?"

Sendai let her gaze drift to the fire. "People love asking me that."

Tadiyuki snorted, one cheek twitching to curl half of her lips. "Do-... do they."

...Slowly, Sendai panned her gaze to her. "You reminded me, of some things I cared about."

The events of the last evening- or morning- returned to her. _'Her dad… fuck her dad. I'll fight him again if I have to. I'd be glad to. I hate it when pompous shitheads get by like that.'_

' _It's like an insult. My mother cared about me- and she got fucked. I cared about Reimu, and I got fucked. He's fortunate enough to get so many chances to bond with his daughter, and to have such a fancy shrine in the middle of this real estate-strained village, in the most expensive part of town. And what does he do? He ruins her. Creates his own problems, spreads stupidity, and just-...'_

' _The fact that he gets by, being like that. Being an idiot works. Being a caring mother fucking doesn't.'_

She glared at the fire, the bridge of her nose tracing up along the creases forming on her forehead. White energy slowly burned from her body as she glared at the flames.

' _I tried so hard. I tried so fucking hard. And people like him- don't try at all.'_

' _They'll have to try- when I'm fucking done with them-'_

She breathed in through her nose, and felt the onset of it clogging, if she continued on this train of thought.

So she stopped.

Tadiyuki silently watched Sendai brood. Then, Sendai met her gaze again.

"Don't throw your life away, because your dad tried to, or because you feel like you should." Sendai practically commanded it. "Prove him wrong. Prove them all wrong. You don't need a knife to do it. Live for yourself. Let your spite and misery fuel you, but don't let it _control_ you."

Tadiyuki's mouth went ajar, and she stepped back. "Aa-..."

"I mean…" Sendai relaxed back into her chair. "Come on. Isn't it the most cliched trope in the book? You, controlling darkness, yet your darkness controls you? You'd be more interesting, if you broke free from that shit."

"...That's-..." Tadiyuki wasn't sure what to make of her advice. "Ho- how… how did you relate? How do I know you're not just saying this?"

"I'm a mother." Sendai's voice raised. "I lost _twelve years_ with my daughter because of _stupid bullshit._ Until I find out _whose_ fault that is, I'm going to keep cracking the skull of every scumbag who gets in my way. Whatever their excuse is."

She remembered Dieter, and the retrospectively insane ease with which he commanded simpler villagers. How he'd made a dynasty in the works of the village's women and its youth, all using immense, fraudulent resources.

Tadiyuki's father, she now realized, pissed her off in the same way Dieter pissed her off.

A village like this was volcanic at heart. Disturbing variables and influence, money and power, could all come from almost thin air, given the right strings being pulled.

' _These people, knowing my struggle, would spit on it and try to drag me down, just for their… their crappy grasp for the top. They would hardly view anyone else as a person.'_

She sighed.

"I hate this village." Sendai decided. "I hate the common villager. I hate the way they looked down on my love, and my daughter, and me. I hate the important people here. Hell. At this point, I might just hate a good portion of other humans."

She stood from her warm chair, in just her fundoshi.

"Back in my day…" She stepped up to Tadiyuki. "Me and the villagers had a mutual understanding. If they didn't fuck with me, I didn't fuck with them. For how stupid they could be, I was gracious enough to leave them be. They have their lives. I have mine."

Tadiyuki took a deep breath. "So-... so, why help- me?"

"Shit's changed." Sendai summarized. "I have friends involved in this village, now. The place being stupid? It's their problem, now. And- being so involved, doing so many favors like this…"

She started to shake her head. "I can't let it go, now. For Keine's sake, for Kourin's, for Reimu's, and for all you stupid teenagers. I'm going to beat sense into all of you, at this rate."

' _I didn't want to get caught up in this. But damn it, I am now. Everyone behind all this shit's going to regret it. Things are coming back to me, and when it's all back, there's going to be hell to pay.'_

She beheld her own, rough left hand. _'The village's greatest protector against youkai...'_

"Um…"

Keine was in the doorway, staring at the two of them.

Sendai noticed where her stare was. _'Ah. I see being slightly gay isn't unique to were-hakutaku form. Well-... I guess a lot of girls might get distracted by my muscles, actually...'_

"I- I washed your clothes." Keine reminded Sendai. "...It- it might be time for you to pu- put them on."

"Probably." Sendai admitted. "...Man. I'm still so tired."

Keine looked sympathetic. "I'm sure you can tough it out."

Sendai snorted. "Yeah- first thing that's gonna happen when I walk outside, is I'm going to get jumped by Marisa, sidetracked by something outlandish and slightly nuts... _then,_ we're going to get caught up with whatever shit's going wrong at the Golden Grin, and I'm going to feel like smashing my head against a wall when we're done."

...Keine pursed her own lips. "How about breakfast. Lunch. ...Brunch."

"Mmh." Sendai lurched towards her. "Sounds good…"

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Today, Sendai wore her pink-white shrine maiden outfit again. The one with the arm sleeves with extremely unnecessary presence, and the purple sweater-like base shirt beneath her white, kimono-resembling top.

' _Today, I want to improve my affinity with the wind, and agility.'_ She had a goal in mind. _'...I'm probably gonna get a workout just being in the village, no matter what.'_

As they sat together in the living room now, Keine evenly stared around the table, at everyone there…

"Wow." Mokou's stare emanated cynicism. "Where'd you get _that_ getup from. ...Goes for both of you, actually."

...Sendai idly ran her gaze over Tadiyuki's outfit, as she sat next to herself. _'Black and purple shrine maiden outfit. Points for consistency, and being a unique set of colors compared to everyone else, but ow.'_

Tadiyuki's gaze was on Sendai's pink-white, flared up shrine maiden outfit.

' _I don't think she'll be impressed with mine either, considering her tastes.'_

"...I had mine, uh, made." Tadiyuki voiced unsurely, to rebuke Mokou. "It-... it looks cool."

"Nope." Mokou immediately shut her down. "How about you." She focused on Sendai next.

Sendai wasn't sure what to say. "...I think it's ironically flashy. Considering how the wind is, I don't think it's out of place."

Not really connecting with what was said, Mokou blinked. "What the hell's the wind have to do with this. Those arm sleeves…" She noted Sendai's completely overdone, fluffy pink-white sleeves. "Is it a symbol of status among shrine maidens, now? The one with the biggest arm sleeves wins?"

"It's- not _supposed_ to be imposing or intimidating, but…" Sendai thought on that. "If I were a lesser shrine maiden getting railed by one with bigger sleeves, I might actually consider that intimidating, just because they're bigger."

Mokou snorted. "I- I didn't really _mean_ that, but okay."

"What makes it- not cool?" Tadiyuki worked up the courage to question Mokou's judgment.

"You look like you're trying _really hard_ to be some unique dark cultist or something." Mokou's response was immediate. "...Hold on. Didn't we see you at Heaven Springs?"

...Sendai snapped her fingers. "Oh! She was that ridiculous assassin, who tried to stop us on the final stairway."

"Ri- ridiculous?" Tadiyuki quickly looked at her, too. "If I'd attacked anyone else- they'd be pissing themselves."

"Villagers would piss themselves if a little girl came at them the wrong way." Sendai still wasn't impressed. "That, and _anything_ becomes threatening if it can actually _hurt_ you. Anything becomes a joke if it can't. Bark versus bite. As it turns out, bite's more important."

"...I- I guess that's right." Tadiyuki admitted, staring down at the table.

Keine huffed. "Eat your _food_ , already. I didn't make it so you all can stare at it."

Sendai grinned. "Yeah, yeah, we're on it…"

Today, it was Yakizakana for breakfast. Miso Soup was served aside it, steaming and warm.

' _Lots of fish, today. She probably decided to vary it up, since steak everyday does kind of get to you…'_

Slowly, Sendai began working on the food. ' _These- big arm sleeves might be a problem here, actually.'_

"So." Mokou hadn't been caught up yet on anything Sendai recently did. "Tadiyuki, yeah? What persuaded you to drop the edgy act? S'not often your kind talks to people like _reasonable human beings_ these days."

...Tadiyuki took pause, downing some food before replying. "Um… Tsukiko helped me out, I guess. I can't really bear to fight her, anymore. Honestly…"

Tadiyuki slipped her fancy dagger from her skirt, and slowly placed it on the table. "I don't know what I wanna do now."

Sendai gave her a flat look. "...You know a chick named Keiko?"

Tadiyuki snorted. "That crazy bitch? Didn't she get interned at Heaven-... oh."

"She got a job as… _water production,_ the other day." Sendai provided. "Maybe you could have her help you find a job as well."

Eyebrows raised, Tadiyuki grinned at Sendai. "Wh-... ta- _talk?_ To _her?_ Have _her_ get _me_ a job? Do you know who Keiko _is?_ She's practically a homeless legend."

' _Sweet irony.'_ Sendai recalled Keiko's marveling over Tsuruko's supposed 'legendhood'.

"I'm sure you've heard, about how Heaven Springs literally just _exploded_ the other day." Sendai brought up her experiences… "That was me and her. After that, I was able to talk some sense into her."

' _I'm not gonna say she's not crazy, but… she's still a person who can be reached. Not like some of these other shitheads.'_

"You-" Tadiyuki's mouth slowly opened. "What."

Mokou leaned back in her seat. "Well, of course. Dieter piss ya off that much?"

Sendai smiled at that. "Perhaps he pissed Keiko off that much. We fought across the village underside, until we came to the underground spring part of Heaven Springs, where the water came from. She created that megalithic geyser to kill me, because she wanted to be seen as powerful. I'd gotten above ground before it went off, and it missed."

"So Keiko…" Tadiyuki stared at the kitchen, in the vague direction of where Heaven Springs would be. "You're saying she… she could make shit that big _this whole time?"_

"Yeah." Sendai nodded once. "...With the power of her goddess, of course. It might be ironic, but she's actually a sort of shrine maiden. If you didn't already know, she has the power of pure water."

"She- she just-..." This was news to Keine. "She wanted to _kill you?_ To be seen as _powerful?_ Why…?"

"Some kinda inferiority complex." Sendai figured. "She wouldn't shut up about Tsuruko. She admired her, but hated her cruelty. At the same time, she thought Tsuruko was right in being cruel to people. She thought _I_ got friends by being cruel to them."

Keine was left with a very mixed expression. ' _Pft.'_

Quietly, the girls continued eating. _'I'm gonna need all the warmth in me I can get. Winter's not gonna slow down for anything.'_

"...I figure she's over it now?" Keine guessed.

Sendai looked up from her meal, almost finished with it. "...Yeah."

Mokou herself was already finished, since she hadn't been saying much. Leaning back, she relaxed on the rightmost couch.

Tadiyuki and Sendai sat together on the middle couch, which faced away from the front door.

' _Now…'_ Sendai's thoughts shifted to the Golden Grin as she ate. _'We'll probably still have to make a stop there. That Rio chick, or Metal Ann, or whatever the fuck she called herself… she's the next on my 'people to pummel sense into' list.'_

When she was done with her meal, she closed her eyes, and sank back. _'Now… now, I'm ready. Ready as I'll ever be.'_

"Tsukiko." Tadiyuki looked over at her. "What's… your plan for today?"

"I'll be stopping at the Golden Grin later today, for some unfinished business." Sendai decided. "Someone named Rio is carrying out Tsuruko's dumb orders there. She goes by Ann to most people, apparently."

"Ah. Her." Tadiyuki seemed to know her. "...Yeah. I could see why she'd get under your skin. Far as I knew, she was partying all night at the club. Not sure what happened after that."

Sendai's curiosity was piqued. "Did you know her?"

"On business, only said a couple things." Tadiyuki elaborated. "Never dealt with her, like, personally."

' _I see.'_

Sendai stood from her seat.

"Um." Keine stood from the chair where Marcus typically sat. "Tsukiko?"

"...Hey." Sendai plainly met her gaze.

"Don't you have more important things to be worrying about?"

...The question made Sendai pause.

"You've already done so much for this place." Keine reminded her. "The… Heaven Springs incident, and everything. I didn't necessarily know, that you… still felt like you had obligations here. You're not the only person who seeks to defend this place. I'm sure Kasen can cover any further mishaps."

...Sendai exhaled, and felt at one of her own shoulders, which was covered with purple cloth from her under-partial kimono sweater.

' _Where did this begin?'_ Then, she traced her thoughts.

It began when she went to persuade Rinnosuke into having some fun together again, with herself and Marcus. That's when they'd met Aina, who quickly grew magnetized to Rinnosuke. She introduced Sendai to Tatsuako, whose fighting spirit was soon reinvigorated.

Following a tip from Tatsuako, Sendai found Keiko underground, and convinced her- at least in part- that power wasn't everything.

' _...Then, I met Tadiyuki here. Angry vengeful teenager, because her parents are raw ass. Not quite usually how it goes, is it.'_

"No." Sendai shook her head. "I'm the only one who can set these things right. Kasen-..." She remembered how Kasen agreed with her briefly, the other day. "Kasen would agree."

"This isn't twelve years ago." Keine insisted. "You don't have to do everything yourself."

"This is something _I_ have to do." Sendai wouldn't back down. "Something is wrong here, and _I'm_ getting to the bottom of it."

...Keine just looked confused, now. "But, why?"

Turning, Sendai gave the closed front door a long look, before meeting Keine's gaze again. "Because, these problems I'm finding…"

' _They remind me of mine. Some of them are in spite of mine. And… I'd like a reason to be strong again.'_

' _Not only as the defender of humans, but a defender of what I care about the most. That's what I want.'_

"They speak to me." Sendai wasn't sure how to put it, or why it was so hard.

Keine blinked. "...Do they?"

"I hate to admit it, but parts of the problem in this village… I've realized I do care." Sendai announced. "I've realized exactly why I hate this place. Now that I have no other pressing obligations, I'm not just going to let the same bullshit fly. Especially not in this supposed era of peace."

Moving for the door, Sendai reached for the knob.

Mokou stood from her seat, casually strolling up behind her, hands in her own pockets.

"I'm bored." Mokou declared. "Lemme tag along."

...Sendai gave her a vague look, but didn't object. _'Don't really see why not.'_

"Aa-..." Tadiyuki suddenly got up, brandishing her designer knife. "Tsukiko-... let me help, too."

This made Sendai seriously pause, however.

"It's-... it's the least I can do." Tadiyuki gave her a level look, as she rounded the couch. "I'd like to dig others out of this shit, too. And- I'm strong..."

"Are you sure?" Sendai didn't really want someone as young as her getting any further into this. "...You might heal fast, but emotionally, you're vulnerable. I'm sure I already have all the force I need."

"If- if you have all the force you need, you can protect me!" Tadiyuki almost leered back. "Come on. I'm-... I'm not new to fighting, or seriously hurting people. I've put men out of work before."

Sendai bluntly stared at her increasingly happy expression. "I don't _think…_ that's something you should be proud of."

"You know what." Mokou had a half-smirk, leaning against the wall near the door. "Why not?"

Sendai panned her gaze to hers, brows slightly furrowed.

"She's big on getting away and ambush tactics, right?" Mokou supposed. "She might be a dynamic we need. Especially in a shitty office building, like the Grin."

' _The Grin, huh. Villagers seem to have a shorthand name for it… not that it'd take much thought.'_

"Think about it." Mokou parted from the wall, getting closer to Sendai. "I get my ass kicked and murdered, you follow up and clean up all the over confident people, and-... _edgy_ there can jump people while they're trying to slaughter me. Sounds like a winning strategy to me."

"Nn- no." Keine objected from afar. "You're _not_ making a strategy around self-harm, Mokou."

Mokou's eyes slowly slid up. Sendai hid a smile that began to form.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Strolling out into the cold, flighty winter day, Sendai stared up at the overcast sky. _'One of those dream-like overcast days. The sky's so bright.'_

"So, um…" Tadiyuki spoke up. "When're we gettin' this shit on?"

Sendai blinked, staring back down at the ground. "Mmh. Not right away, I imagine."

' _I wonder what Marc and Kourin are up to. They seem to be still gone. Not sure if they're still looking for me, or just out doing their own things.'_

"Let's hit the square, first." Sendai supposed. "Get some snacks, maybe. If we don't run into anything or anyone on the way, we'll head to Golden Grin to settle things."

' _I think I could use more potions, perhaps. Or, those Tauriner things.'_

Mokou didn't say anything, unopposed to the plan. Tadiyuki accepted it, also keeping quiet.

So, Sendai began to move down the alley ahead, onto west main street. _'It's an airy sort of cold day. There must be some wind.'_

Despite the sweater-like insulation of her ReMix miko outfit, it did little to stop the passing breeze from piercing to her skin. When she exhaled, she saw her breath.

 _thu- thump, thump._ Ahead, she heard something jostling. _'...Hmm. What?'_ But, nothing would have made that noise.

 _thump- cla- clack._ Soon, her ears traced the noise. A metal garbage can on the side of the alley from Keine's house was shaking.

"Looks like a cat got into the trash again." Mokou noted casually.

"Awh." Tadiyuki took pause… "Strays are so cute. If I could care for a cat, I _would._ "

...After an idle moment, she rambunctiously turned to Sendai. "We should get its attention!"

"When has that ever been a good idea?" Sendai knew not to mess with wild animals…

"Aw, c'mon. They know _I'm_ friendly." Suddenly energetic, Tadiyuki romped up to the trash can. "Man, it's really going at it, too!"

 _Cla- clack, clack!_ The can shook violently. _'It's… it's a little bottom-heavy to be a cat doing that…'_

Sendai strolled up to it.

 _Click._ The garbage can lid began to lift on its own. _'Wa- wait…'_

Marisa had a downright dirty smirk on her face, as her head slowly poked up out of the empty trash can.

Sendai's body jolted with shock. _'Oh- god, fuck no.'_

"Mommy- _cha~n!"_ Marisa bellowed, grin brilliant.

 _KLACK- WOOSH!_ A broom shot up out of the trash can, carrying Marisa up out of it, the lid soaring off into the aether.

Lowering down before the three, Marisa now sat on her broom, kicking her legs.

"Wha-" Tadiyuki doubled back, knife held out. "You-..."

"What-..." Mokou had a vague, open-mouth expression. "What the fuck, Marisa."

"Looks like ya found me!" Marisa's beaming smile was huge. "Now we've gotta _do it!"_

 _Woo- woo- woosh!_ Nearly instantly, she did a hand-stand atop her broom's center. The entire magical 'vehicle' spun an innumerable amount of times in place, a circle of amethyst light flaring off of it as it went.

Instead of her witch hat, Marisa was wearing a headband with black cat ears attached to it. Her golden hair flailed against gravity, the air off her rapidly spinning broom keeping it along her back.

 _Clack!_ Leaping from the broom with her one hand, Marisa landed on it with both boot heels. "Time to get down, every- _nyan!"_

' _Gods, why.'_

-+- _Vs. Famous Youkai Exterminator, Secondary Primary Incident Resolver, Ordinary Magician Marisa Kirisame_ -+-

Mokou still stared on casually. "What the hell do you want?"

"Hand over the MILF and no one gets hurt!" Marisa's grin became impossibly strong.

"Wh- what." Mokou was completely lost.

The wind was already along Sendai's limbs. ' _Let's put what I've learned to the test!'_

 _FWASH!_ A blast of yellow came from the bell end of Marisa's broom. Instead of wielding her mini-hakkero, Marisa had left it in the slot she'd made for it along the broom's back.

 _WOOSH!_ Afterimages of amethyst and pink trailed behind her, as she shot like a bullet straight for Sendai's stomach.

 _Fwish!_ Sendai slid out of the way, passing right behind Mokou in one motion. _'She really thought she could hit me with that…?'_

"What-" Tadiyuki whipped her gaze back to watch Marisa go, but was a whole second late. "What're you doing!?"

"Tippin' her ove~r!" Marisa shouted back. Sendai looked, to see how far she'd gotten…

Marisa's dash had cleared the entire clearing before Keine's house. She was now over thirty meters away, doing a U-turn.

"We don't have time to deal with your shit today, Marisa~!" Mokou yelled back. "Knock it off, 'fore I knock _you_ off!"

' _...We really are going to need snacks after this, if they start engaging Marisa. More potions, too.'_

 _WOOSH!_ That's when Marisa roared up the clearing, down the alley, strafing left and right an innumerable number of times in the process.

Upon closing in on Sendai and her party, Marisa's broom spun one-eighty.

 _FWA- FWA- FWAM!_ Immediately, a shotgun spread of green starbursts came from the broom's back.

" _Hn- ngh!"_ They were aimed exclusively at Mokou, washing the whole front of her body in danmaku.

"Heh!" Marisa flipped upside-down onto one hand, as the broom began spinning impossibly fast beneath her again.

Sendai watched it near. ' _What the fuck…'_ It seemed like, as Marisa's broom spun, its shaft elongated, becoming glowing and pink. _'How do I get close…!?'_

Marisa stopped dead in the air, upside-down, eyes wide.

' _Now?'_

 _WOOWOOWOOWOOSH!_ Instantly, when both of Marisa's hands gripped the shaft, it accelerated, and the quiet moment ended. It charged around in a huge, revolving circle, which expanded outward. _'Oh- shit-'_

 _Fwish!_ Within an instant, Sendai made the decision to slide right into the expanding circle.

 _Woosh!_ Sendai crouched, weaving right, as Marisa's limp body almost clothelined her. Marisa was barely holding onto the broom as it did its huge revolution, caught within the inner line of the circle.

Tadiyuki had her knife drawn, but wasn't sure what to do. "Aa-..."

Suddenly, Marisa's broom traced a cone-like pattern up into the air over everyone. Her spin reached its final flourish, with her standing above the nearby rooftops, broom tip drilling into the air.

With its tip pointed straight up, the broom's bell-end swiveling insanely fast, Marisa yelled as her body was slung around. _"Stylin' Sign! Carousel Spark!"_

' _Oh, fu~ck.'_

 _Vrr- VRRRRR~!_ Suddenly, a clumpy splotch of rainbow power fell from the broom's bell end.

 _VRRRRRR~!_ Raw, absolute prismatic magic power boomed down onto the alley, careful not to strike the buildings nearby.

 _Fwish!_ As a ribbon of annihilation came for Sendai, she slid right again, trying to avoid it.

 _KABOOM- BOOM- BOOMBOOMBOOM!_ Each clump was an echoing, light-warping explosion of scary might that threw dirt and the muddy remnants of snow into the air, over the two story houses.

" _Nghu- aaa~h!"_ Mokou was blown the fuck away, not prepared for the spell. She went flying far up into the air, spinning around as she took flight beyond the house rooftops.

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Heart pumping, Sendai danced around amidst the echoing booms. Dirt and magic flew every which way around her as she slid.

 _BOOM- BOOM- Bam! Boom! Boom!_ Soon, the explosions trailed off, as Sendai stood in the epicenter, safe from the blasts.

 _VRR- rrr._ The magic weakened. The uneven, clumsy spark came to an end.

Sendai's eyes were wide, as she searched for Marisa amidst the silence and dust that faded in after the crashing magic.

 _fwish._ Tadiyuki snapped back down along a line of black into the clearing, from a nearby rooftop. "Oo- oh my _gods-"_

 _KRI- KRA- KRACK!_ Then, Tadiyuki was absolutely blown away, Marisa's broom arcing down from above, straight into the side of her ribs. _"Huwaa~!"_

Marisa was standing on it, doing loops in the air so tiny, the center of her torso basically didn't travel anywhere. "Who- oah- ah- ah- ah!"

Seeing the loop of thrusting doom approach, Sendai leapt into it.

 _WHAM!_ Her body met Marisa's in the center, tackling her out of it.

" _Wuu-"_ Marisa went flying, thrown from her broom's revolutions, spinning limply in the air. _"Aa- haa~h!"_

Landing floatily on her legs, Sendai exhaled. "Ee- enough of that shit! Damn…!"

 _Bam!_ Marisa bounced off her torso, into standing. "He- hehe! Owch…!"

 _BAM!_ Mokou touched down hard from above, sprinting straight for Marisa in an instant. "You _fucking- moro~n!"_

 _WHISH!_ Before Mokou's thrusting kick could meet Marisa's torso, the broom swooped right in from the aether.

It carried Marisa _right_ behind Mokou, and she aimed its bell-end straight into Mokou's back, like it were a rifle's barrel.

 _BOO~M!_ A huge, magic bazooka blast shelled Mokou in the back, sending her flying again. _"Nngh- eraa~h!"_ Mokou howled in anger, as she spun away again.

 _swish._ Tadiyuki's grin was sadistic, as she roared in for Marisa's back, ready to shank her. _"how the mighty FALL-"_

 _WOO- WOOSH._ Marisa's broom did a backflip, as Marisa held onto it. Her own saliva exploded from her mouth, the near-instant flip carrying her right over Tadiyuki, broom's bell-end pointed right down.

 _KRAK- FWA- FWA- FWASH!_ A rain of green orbs pinned Tadiyuki to the floor, her pitch black form now glowing with non-elemental light. " _Eee- aaa~!"_

 _Fwii~sh!_ Landing quick, Marisa skidded to a smooth stop on her own boots. "He- _hahaha~!"_ Mind on overdrive, she did a cute little jumping flourish, broom held close to her chest like a gun.

 _Fwi- fwish!_ Sendai slid up to her. _'How- how are Mokou and Tadiyuki absolutely no match for her…?'_

 _SWOOSH._ Marisa slid right behind Sendai in an instant, ready to repeat the shotgun blast she annihilated Mokou with-

 _Fwish!_ Sendai slid straight behind her, ready to thrust her knuckles into her gut-

 _SWOOSH._ Marisa repeated the same motion again. "S'time- fer _top ten anime battles, ze!"_

 _Fwish!_ Sendai slid right behind her again. _'Fucking-'_

 _SWOOSH._ Marisa had her broom carry her back around Sendai once more-

 _Whap!_ Sendai just turned around, and punched her in the face. "Aa-" Marisa had even spun her broom around, to shoot Sendai if she dodged behind herself again, so it wasn't ready to shoot ahead in retaliation.

 _Pap- thump!_ As Marisa tried to stumble back, Sendai slid a left jab into her soft stomach, then a right jab into her gut's side.

 _Whunk!_ "Ee- _ngh!"_ Marisa tried to say something, but Sendai hooked her fist up into Marisa's jaw.

Mokou was running up from behind. ' _Aa- oh shit-_ '

 _Fwish!_ Sendai slid her whole body away-

 _WHAKRACK!_ Mokou sent a spinning, thrusting kick into Marisa's spine, sending her flying away. _"Hngh- nhaa~h!"_

 _WOO- WOOSH!_ Two huge, black yin-yang shurikens came down from above, to roar down onto Marisa's form-

 _BAM!_ Marisa's broom came in above herself, taking out the shurikens-

 _Pap!_ Holding onto the broom, Marisa's limp body rode it by one hand's tight clasp. With terrifying speed, it arced right past the entire party in one lightning-fast, widespread motion.

 _CRUNCH._ It powered right into Mokou's torso, faster than she could anticipate. " _Fhu- fhu~ck!"_ Mokou was sent hurtling into a wood wall nearby. "Unh- nh!"

Somehow poised, Tadiyuki silently crept up behind Marisa as she leapt off of her broom, and landed on her boots. "Nnh. Ye- yer kicks still pack it, phoenix girl! Damn!"

 _Swish._ Tadiyuki tried to shove her knife into Marisa's gut again.

Marisa leaned to the right, and her left hand slipped down and yoinked the knife right from Tadiyuki's hands. "Oh-"

 _WHUNK!_ From past Sendai, the broom shot in from nowhere at insane velocity, brushing past Marisa's new designer knife.

 _KRACK- UNK!_ It hit Tadiyuki right in the abdomen so hard, she went flying, curling up as she flew. _"Nnh- aa- aa-..."_

Holding the knife up, Marisa looked like she considered licking it, but thought better of it. "Where'd this come from? Don't mind if I _do,_ ze."

 _Fwi- fwish!_ In two motions, Sendai was in Marisa's face-

 _Whunk!_ Her palm met Marisa's gut faster than either could anticipate. "Nn-" Marisa hardly let it phase her, gaze focused as she suddenly drove the knife forward.

That's when Sendai weaved left, down, then right under Marisa's knife arm entirely. She grabbed onto the arm, and used it to push Marisa past herself.

"Wh-" Marisa blinked, looking right, even though Sendai snaked off to her left, right under her nose. "What- where'd ya-"

 _Wham!_ When Marisa turned left, the top of Sendai's foot met her face. "Nghk-"

Back in neutral standing, Sendai looked up, and saw the broom arcing back down from above-

 _woosh._ When Sendai wove her body down again, it bulleted past her right ear. ' _Holy fuck…'_

 _Papapapapap!_ Mokou roared down the alley, before flipping forward into the air as she neared Marisa. "Hrrgh-"

 _Woosh!_ Suddenly, Marisa's broom looped back around overhead, and came up underneath herself, carrying her directly up into the flipping Mokou. _"Woo~!"_

 _SHINK!_ She slid Tadiyuki's knife right into Mokou's abdomen, in passing. _"Wh- gh-"_

Leaving it stuck in Mokou's torso, Marisa let herself snake overhead of Sendai, before touching down behind her, wielding the broom like a gun again.

Sendai spun around-

 _Fwash!_ She slid right, out of the way of an oncoming shotgun spread of green stars. "S'time ta put ya _down,_ ze." Marisa had a playfully aggressive smile. "Yer gonna be sleepin' wit' the strays tonight…!"

 _Bam- fwash! Bam- fwash!_ She tried to blow Sendai away with raw danmaku, but Sendai kept bobbing between the spreads, sliding around.

' _I need to make her dizzy.'_

Then, Sendai saw it.

The trash can Marisa had abandoned.

 _Fwi- fwish!_ In a ninety degree arc of sliding motion, Sendai came up to it, and reeled her right leg back.

 _Clack!_ She gave it a cute kick, and it hurtled into the air.

 _Bam- FWAPFWASH!_ Marisa gunned down Tadiyuki, who neared again with no knife, the stars washing her form with pain again. _"Nngh- fuck- angh…"_

"Ho- holy shit." Marisa chuckled at her frustration. "Ya tried so _ha~rd,_ an' got so _fa~r-_ "

 _BO~NG._ Then, the spinning metal trash can beaned Marisa in the head. _"Dh- ouh…!"_

It hurt more than Marisa would've thought, even. As it turned out, being struck by a flying clump of metal hurt. "Da- damn-"

Sendai was in her face the moment she looked up, grinning back.

 _BAM!_ A hook reinforced by wind plowed Marisa in the cheek. _"Nhn-"_ She aimed her broom forward-

 _WHUNK!_ Wind spread out, a hook meeting the underside of Marisa's ribs, almost making her drop her broom. "Sh- shit-"

 _Whap!_ Sendai gave a lesser jab to Marisa's face, leaving her blinking.

Marisa clunked the back of her own head against a house's siding. "Nn- aa-"

 _WOOSH!_ Wind carrying her form, Sendai spun, leaping off the floor.

 _KRATHUNK._ Her left foot boomed into Marisa's right cheek, a shockwave of wind blooming off of the impact.

 _Thud! Thud!_ Marisa met the floor hard, her head bouncing against it as her body met the dirt. " _Nn- nnh…"_

...Sendai exhaled. "Just, stay _down._ "

Her dazed expression grinning from the floor, Marisa half-coughed, half-chuckled. "Nn- no, fhuck yhou…"

Her broom raised from under herself, propping her body up again-

' _No. This ends now.'_ Sendai felt her heart pump.

 _Fwish._ _"Hrah!"_ White energy bloomed from Sendai's body, as she flourished her arms out.

Marisa's broom carried her way down the alley, and once she was on her boots, she beamed, aiming her broom-gun down the alley. "Y'all gonna be _real damn sorry-_ when I use my _Machinegun Spark-"_

With the wind still on her limbs in this brief moment, Sendai saw the raw vulnerability Marisa's tired form excused.

As Mokou worked the knife from her gut, muttering swears, and Tadiyuki mumbled an apology too quiet to hear in the background, Sendai snapped forward.

On the wind's whisper, she'd moved faster than the human eye could see.

Marisa's eyes widened, as she looked down. Sendai's form was crouched down, sliding in at bullet velocity.

 _WHAP!_ The ball of Sendai's palm met under Marisa's chin, shooting her into the air.

 _SLAP!_ Reeling her arm back, then jerking forward, Sendai's left hand slapped Marisa silly as she landed.

 _SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!_ One after another, Sendai unleashed visually clumsy, yet precise full-body slaps across Marisa's face, her whole body rocking back and forth with each impact.

 _WHAM!_ Sendai's left hand roared into Marisa's right cheek again, and kept going.

 _Thud- thud._ It smashed Marisa straight into the floor, saliva and blood splaying out from her mouth as her left cheek met the stone of the main street she'd pushed Marisa back onto.

 _Sendai remembered_ _Essence of Sumo Slapping._

' _The lines the wind travels…'_ Sendai stood from Marisa's fallen form. _'I still don't quite… perfectly remember how I did that, or used to do that. But… it came naturally. Instinctually.'_

"That-..." She clenched her fist. "That was weaker than it should have been. Slower."

' _I used to use that kind of motion to focus down greater youkai. Meeting a human's head with that kind of force… that'd just be murder. I don't know if the neck would snap from the force, or if the seismic culmination of magic at my palms would just explode their head.'_

"Oo- oww~." If Marisa's whining was any indication, she was basically fine. "That-... if- if _that_ was weak, I feel bad fer the youkai a' twenty years ago…!"

Mokou stepped up to them, her abdomen healed, but her shirt still bloody.

 _Whunk._ She kicked Marisa in the ribs. "Wh- _ow-_ hh- hey-"

 _Whunk._ She kicked Marisa again. "Go _fuck_ yourself. Dumbass. Fuck you."

"We- we actually _got 'er!?"_ Tadiyuki was now before them, leering down at Marisa's form. "Tsu-... Tsukiko! If- if she's been bothering you- I can get her a _real_ nice job at Golden Grin!"

"Don't bother." Sendai snorted. "She'd just find a way out of it."

' _Her perseverance… is something to be admired. I don't think anything can stop someone like her, when she puts her mind to it.'_

Kneeling down, Sendai took Marisa by a hand, and helped her up.

"Nnh…" Slowly, Marisa rose, holding her gut where Mokou pummeled her. "Damn, ze. I never even _hit ya_ once."

"I hardly got to hit you at all." Sendai countered. "I have to thank my party here for pressuring you."

' _She held back again, I'm sure.'_

"Yeah, they were alright." Marisa admitted. "Coulda used more _projectiles,_ or _buffs._ Mokou was _su~per_ holdin' back. Pro'lly 'cause she'd turn the village inta mount Fuji if she didn't…!"

"...What the fuck kind of relationship do you two _have._ " Mokou glared at Marisa.

"She wants to help me re-learn my former skills." Sendai had figured. "She just won't say that outright."

"The hell're you talkin' about!?" Marisa did her best to seem surprised. "I've just got a _mommy fightin' addiction!"_

"...I- I didn't know Marisa Kirisame's such a fuckin' weirdo." Tadiyuki's expression was jaded. "I bet you get off on miscarriages."

...It took even Marisa a moment to react to that. "Wh- what the fuck'd ya just say to me."

"Uh, nothing." Tadiyuki took a step back. "I- I said, 'she probably likes to ride carriages'."

"I'm gonna stick my broom up yer skinny little ass is what I'm gonna do, buster…!" Marisa slowly grinned wider at her.

' _...I still don't have enough skills to use my original style. I was hoping I'd learn something Tengu-esque, but… I suppose that slapping technique will have a use, eventually.'_

' _There's always later today.'_

"Well…" Mokou huffed. "If- that's what that was about, whatever. Fucking say something next time, Marisa. If I knew it was a duel, I would've kept my head out of it."

Marisa gave her a smirk. "Aw, but then it wouldn't have been fu~n. I enjoy a good challenge myself, y'know! An' sandbagging for ol' and crusty over here only gets so interesting!" She gestured to Sendai.

"I'm going to shoot you with a shotgun." Sendai casually threatened back.

"Anyway!" Marisa twirled on her heels, and began to walk off. "I'm off ta mooch off Reimu! An' actually… mm~h." She looked up into the sky, thinking of something. "Just you wait, _Mommy-chan!_ Next time I see ya, yer gettin' _smoked!"_

' _Any fight with Marisa involved is always gonna feel awkward. Fucking mages.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Trailing into the village square, Sendai wrinkled her nose slightly, as the breeze met her.

' _That's probably Marisa's antics done for today. Broom antics are just, unfun to fight. Fun to laugh at, but actually fighting them is just… nngh. There's no tells, there's no martial effort on her part. Just positioning and shooting.'_

"...About them snacks." Tadiyuki was tired already.

"I need a beer." Mokou wanted to drink. "It's too early for random bullshit like that to be happening."

Since Sendai had accumulated a small fortune from shaking down smaller and more fragile shrine maidens, she didn't care. "Sure. I'll pay for whatever. In fact..."

Reaching into one of her great, fluffy arm sleeves, she drew four thousand yen, and divided it, giving it to either. "Go nuts."

Mokou snorted. "...All of it?"

"Do whatever. I don't need it back." Sendai was slowly tracing her gaze to the Eientei stall. "...Actually, correction. Get me some snacks, too."

"On it!" Tadiyuki bounded off.

' _...If someone recognizes her from earlier, she's gonna be in hot shit. I'll keep my eyes open for her, since she seems to have forgotten.'_

Mokou plainly walked off, looking sedate.

' _Let's see what Reisen has for sale today. If Reisen's always- or at least regularly- at the stall, that is.'_

Coming up to the somewhat oddly sterile-looking medicine stall, Sendai gazed in at its clerk…

It was indeed Reisen, who was setting down a tubby backpack on a plastic-metal chair inside. She was in her villager-like disguise, and didn't seem to notice Sendai there.

' _Honestly, I'm just really looking for an excuse to use my windy fighting style to punch people and get some practice in. Marisa wasn't doing that for me, really.'_

There was a certain rush to constantly dancing around, avoiding getting hurt, Sendai supposed. _'At the same time, that's most of what I've done with it so far. Prance around and wait for an opportunity.'_

"Hey." Sendai spoke up, done simply watching Reisen get sorted.

Reisen's gaze shot up to meet hers. "...Oh. Oh, it's you."

"It's me." Sendai confirmed.

"...It was hard to tell at first." Reisen smiled back at Sendai, as she leaned to fix some kind of facet on her backpack, which sat in a rather low chair. "With that big… _weird_ outfit."

"Yeah." Sendai had to admit, it looked quite different than her usual sleeves-and-apron combo. Having a sweater-like insulator on instead of a leotard felt weird, if superior to latex in this weather. "I've been experimenting with different styles."

Standing from her backpack, Reisen snorted. "Can't look _too much_ like Reimu now, can you?"

"It's not that." Sendai wasn't going to explain everything to her, however. "I'm here for recovery items."

"Aah." As Reisen came to the counter, her smile became smug. "That'd figure. Might as well throw on the 'incident resolver' discount, considering who you are."

"You better." Sendai remembered complaining about the base prices… "Any news on those bunnies that were expunged from the village underground?"

Reisen took pause. "...Mmh. Nothing notable. No one's tried any breakouts or anything. None that were successful."

"Good." Sendai was pleased to hear this 'Eientei' place wasn't falling apart at the seams either.

' _...I still have a Tauriner on me. Whatever the hell that is. And… ah, no potions.'_ She thought she had at least one left.

"Do you know what a _Tauriner_ is?" Sendai asked her question flatly.

Reisen perked up, suddenly. "...Who told _you_ about them?"

"Kirisame." Sendai kept quiet about which Kirisame it was. "Gave me a few, and told me about how they restore _faith,_ for some reason."

"...Must've been the older one." Reisen intuited. "You see-... we gave them to him to give to Reimu, because we were wondering about our ability to package supplemental faith in consumable doses. She was one of the most convenient tester zeros, next to Kochiya."

...Sendai processed this. "So you're saying you're using my daughter to test drugs."

"We- well-" Reisen quickly backpedalled. _"No._ We've-... quality in safety's a big concern, you know. We- we test this shit vigorously before the consumption phase. Faith's a magic bullshit territory sort of thing as it is, and substances of that vein tend not to produce as complicated scientific effects or side effects. It's basically just an extreme energy drink combined with, well, liquidized faith."

" _Liquidized_ faith." Sendai let her brows raise. "How in the _fuck_ do you turn _belief_ into _liquid form._ This better not be some poetic metaphor."

Reisen let her gaze drift up. "That's not a question I can even _answer._ It's just as whacky to me, honestly. If you want my opinion, Eirin's just trying to corner the market on faith revitalizers. Because, you know, anyone can make _potions,_ or _ethers,_ but right now, she's the only person who can do _Tauriners._ If she makes it big producing faith, even gods will be forced to purchase from us when their followers run dry."

' _That's some crazy shit.'_ Sendai considered… _'Doubt me or Reimu will have to be around to deal with the aftermath of that. Not like I can just tell them to stop. Not yet, at least.'_

"On _that_ note," Reisen reached under the counter…

She brought up a plastic bottle, with a yellow and black label, and brown plastic. "We're also trying to corner the potion market."

"Of course you are." Sendai exhaled… "With what product?"

"This is called a _Toughness Z."_ Reisen held up the mini-bottle. "It's not a full body heal like a potion, and it doesn't work as quickly. But, it hyper-vitalizes the body's recovery processes, quickly undoing recent wounds and applying a pain killing solution, too."

Then, she smirked. "None of it is magic, making it way healthier for your cell duplication."

' _...You know.'_ Sendai had to admit it. _'This sounds like something I've wanted to be sold for a long time.'_

"Is there a catch?" Sendai wondered.

Reisen tilted her head. "It's about thirty percent as effective as a potion. Yet, that's usually still more than enough to heal all of a typical human's wounds."

' _Potions always leave me feeling like shit for awhile. So…'_

"How much?" Sendai was willing to make a purchase.

"A hundred fifty yen per." Reisen rattled off.

' _...Kinda dicey price, but considering my income's going nowhere but up, whatever.'_

"I'll take… ten." Sendai gave her a single nod. "Two Tauriners, and two more potions."

"Fifteen hundred for the Toughness, two forty for the Tauriners, five hundred for the potions." Reisen broke down the price, as she went to go fetch the items from the shelves behind herself.

' _...I think the potions were half off.'_ Sendai seemed to remember them being priced at five hundred yen before, for some reason. _'Not sure if the other things were discounted as well, but they're already so cheap that it doesn't matter.'_

 _Fwish- fwish, fwish._ Reisen deposited the items into a brown paper bag, which had art of a lunar rabbit on the front and back of it, giving a big thumbs-up.

"Here." Reisen placed the medicine down.

Sendai slid the yen coins and bills onto the counter. "Thanks." Reisen swiped them up in the next moment.

Sendai claimed her drugs. "Cool."

 _Sendai obtained ten Toughness Z._

 _Sendai obtained two Tauriners._

 _Sendai obtained two Potions._

Sliding the entire bag into one sleeve, Sendai strolled away from the stand, back into the center of the village square.

She was able to spot Mokou by the vibrant red of her clothing, over at one of the storefronts that sold snacks and light alcohol and beverages. _'Looks like she's making out.'_ Next, she searched for Tadiyuki…

"I'm just- trying to buy some _cookies._ " It sounded like she was already in trouble.

"I don't care." The middle-aged woman with short, black hair at the stall reacted unfavorably. "I- I recognize you. This morning, you tried to kill me."

"That-" Tadiyuki grimaced. "That wasn't _me_ though, I keep telling you! Just 'cause I'm wearing _black-_ "

"Leave. Before I get the guard." The woman got very defensive. "I'm not going to fight you..."

Casually, Sendai stepped up past the various onlookers, approaching the scene.

"I'm not a _youkai,_ you dumb _bitch!"_ Tadiyuki snapped at her. "I'm just here to- nnrgh!"

The taller woman began to leave her stand, hands to her mouth, as if to yell. But, she paused, seeing Sendai approach.

"Oo- oh." She seemed relieved. "Tsuruko. That's… a strange outfit. Aa- are you here to help me?"

' _I thought I said I was Tsukiko. Well, whatever.'_ She thought she'd talked with this clerk before, perhaps…

Actually, she did. She protected her husband from shrine maidens, the other day. _'Hard to forget.'_

"What's going on here?" Sendai's expression was flat.

"This youkai, who attacked the stalls earlier," the woman pointed at Tadiyuki. "She's returned to harass us again. She's even pretending to, um, act normal. Te- tell me you heard about her earlier…"

...Plainly, Sendai moved up to Tadiyuki. "Ah. Yes, leave now, uh, youkai."

Then, she leaned closer, speaking in hushed tone. "What'd you want."

"Ju- just some cookies, in a bag." Tadiyuki answered, vaguely mystified.

With that, Sendai stepped back from her, and gave her a nod. That's when Tadiyuki caught on.

"Damn." Tadiyuki monotoned. "You got me. My curse has been lifted. I will never attack this stall again."

"Stay dispelled, _demon._ " Sendai put extra effort into sounding cheesy. "This world is not yours to exist in."

...After an awkward pause, Tadiyuki turned around and jogged away.

Returning inside her stall proper, the woman bowed, and smiled. "Thank you so much again, Tsuruko. You do so much for this place."

Sendai blinked. "Do I?"

"Yes." The woman nodded. "This is the sixth time this month."

' _What-... the fuck.'_ Sendai was sure only _one_ of those was also herself.

"You're… welcome. Again." Sendai gave her a nod. "Anything to help out."

"Do you want something, again?" The baker woman offered. "I can't give you anything big, this time. But, you can take maybe-…"

"Bag of cookies?" Sendai knew exactly what she wanted.

"Oh." The woman smiled, and nodded again. "Certainly. No problem."

' _I get the feeling I accidentally imitated a scam.'_

"You know what?" Sendai reached into one of her sleeves… "How much those normally cost?"

The short-haired woman paused. "...Oh, you don't have to-"

"I insist." Sendai asserted herself.

"But-" The woman furrowed her brows. "You're broke, Tsuruko. You shouldn't feel like you have to pay me anything."

' _Yeah, uh huh. It's all coming together.'_

"I'm not that broke. Not… anymore." Sendai placed some yen on the counter. "Just, have… have this." She sat ten thousand yen down on the counter.

"What?" The woman's eyes widened at the money. When she looked up, Sendai was already walking away with the cookie bag, snagged from the counter's top. "Hey! Aa-... mmh."

 _Fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish._ Before the woman could think to leave the counter, Sendai's form slid across the whole square on the wind, getting out of there in record time.

 _Sendai obtained Yellow Dough Cookie Bag._

Sendai came back to the square a few moments later, when she felt it was safe.

Tadiyuki came up to her, brow raised. "How come you left her _money?_ Tsuruko always just took it and went. And honestly, she deserved it."

She deserved it? Sendai snorted at the notion.

"You actually tried to kill her earlier today." Sendai reminded her.

Tadiyuki faltered. "...We- well… I mean-"

"If I was her, I'd have clocked you in the jaw the moment I saw you." Sendai put it bluntly. "I don't know why she didn't figure you were there for peaceful business, but some villagers are simple people. Perhaps she really hated the idea of you trying to murder her. People don't typically like that."

"Aa- alright, I get it." Tadiyuki folded her arms.

They were standing on the east side of the village square, opposite of the stand they'd made a scene at. As the overcast faded in and out, sun threatened to just barely poke through. A breeze washed over the girls.

Tadiyuki exhaled. "Damn… I- I never really thought like..."

"Never thought trying to murder people would bite you in the ass?" Sendai wondered.

"Yeah, I didn't!" Tadiyuki admitted, now focused. "People get _really_ upset, apparently. I- I mean, it makes sense when you think about it… but, at the time, I was like… 'who cares'. All the people here are nobodies to me."

Sendai was reminded of herself again. "Nothing's more terrifying than someone who's lost everything. And, people will fight to protect what's theirs. Remember that. You can't just go around leveraging your suffering against other people's blindly. If you could do that in clean conscience, you really would be a youkai."

Tadiyuki pursed her lips, brows furrowed. "But, wai~t…"

"I say this in reference to mostly innocent random people." Sendai returned. "They did little to earn your ire, other than maybe be a little stupid. But you don't know them, and they don't know you.

"If you knew everything about them, you might discover they were actually someone like you. Or, if not that, someone with depth, cares, dreams and purpose. To throw that away blindly isn't justice for your suffering. It's just making other people suffer."

' _I might be vengeful in ways myself, but I know when to mind my own business. Such is why I don't bother with the rumors exchanged amongst villagers, or their petty bullshit.'_

That said, Sendai had to clarify her own position. "If you're convinced they're awful, or deserving of your anger, then go wild. Some people are just too big of a problem. Some people actively work in spite of you. Those are the people who you fight."

' _Judgment is subjective. Sometimes, the only solution for those with bad ultimatums is to fight back, with force.'_

"Fine." Tadiyuki begrudged out her agreement. "...I- I still have to do _something_ about my parents, at some point."

Sendai snorted. "Do you?"

She met Sendai's gaze again. "Yes. I do. The whole reason, I had that… big metal thing in their lawn, it wasn't just to make fun of them for not being able to stop me."

Sendai didn't say anything, to let her continue. _'I'm betting on summoning ritual.'_

"Tsuruko showed me it, in one of her occult books she borrowed from the Suzunaan." Tadiyuki felt tense, as she elaborated. "A ritual to summon a massively powerful youkai, using the drained blood and bones of humans."

Sendai nodded. "So, you wanted to summon it."

Tadiyuki slowly responded. "...Ye- yeah."

"Are you stupid, or something?" Sendai's response was blunt.

"You _know,"_ Tadiyuki grinned at her. "I'm starting to think so!"

Sendai grinned back suddenly. "Well, good, because you are. Trust me. Summoning giant fuckoff demons doesn't end well. No giant youkai summoning _I've_ ever witnessed has turned out well for the summoner. The first thing it'd do, is rip _your_ head off, and then attempt to rip everyone _else's_ head off."

"I couldn't get away?" Tadiyuki supposed.

"Of course you couldn't." Sendai assumed. "Do you even know _what_ it was you were summoning?"

...Tadiyuki pursed her lips. "There, um, weren't any pictures, so… I- I just took Tsuruko's word for it."

...Slowly, Sendai held her own head, running her fingers through her own black hair. "I'm _so_ glad I broke your stupid coffin thing, now. Gods."

"Me-... me too, I guess." Tadiyuki was still uncertain about the whole thing. "I don't know what I'm gonna do now. I can't just _go back_ and yell at them. That's never worked. It's never going to work."

"Then, forget about them." Sendai proposed impulsively.

Tadiyuki's face soured. "Easy for _you_ to say, fucker. You never had a parent who loved you, then _hated_ you."

The breeze meeting Sendai's face in a nice way, she calmly nodded. "I guess not. But… I believe it'd be strength to show them that you could succeed without them."

Tadiyuki paused. Considering that, she became silent.

...While they stood near an empty, unmanned stall on the east of the town square, Mokou sauntered up to them, holding some kind of alcoholic beverage. It was almost empty.

She gave the two a tipsy smile. "Alright. I'm feelin' good again."

Sendai gave her a plain look. Mokou looked between the two of them. "...Y'know, if we're _all_ the silent broody type, talking's gonna get _pretty hard,_ pretty quickly."

' _Speaking of parenting issues, didn't Mokou lose her father, too? Over a thousand years ago, but still.'_

"Should we just head to the Golden Grin _now?"_ Sendai considered. Still, she felt like she'd forgot something.

"Not until I eat my cookies." Tadiyuki declared.

 _fwish._ She stole the cookies from Sendai's hands, and tore the bag open. "Oo- ooo." She noticed the yellow coloration, and smiled. "They're the _dough_ cookies."

' _...Guess we'll wait. Actually… hmm.'_

She started to look around the village square-

"Ah… _Tsukiko._ " -only for Kasen to pop out of the woodwork a moment later, waving as she came up along the east main street. "There you are."

' _Oh, right. She'd be a help, I'm sure.'_

"Weren't you at the house, earlier?" Sendai asked her. "Where'd you run off to?"

"I went to go check on my pets." Kasen explained simply. "...And, I wanted to grab some supplies. You _do_ plan on investigating Golden Grin today, right?"

"Yes, I didn't forget." Sendai eased her suspicions. "We're all planning on doing right now."

"Oh." Kasen didn't seem to expect that Sendai would remember… "Well… good." Her gaze centered on Tadiyuki. "I see you've somehow placated that aggressive shrine maiden."

Tadiyuki inhaled her yellow cookie, and chewed it as fast as possible so she could reply. "Whn- 'oo're 'ou 'nhn' a're'h'ive?"

"We hea~rd _none_ of that." Mokou announced.

...Tadiyuki swallowed. "Nnh. Wh- who're _you_ callin' _aggressive?"_

"You." Kasen's reply was blunt. "You tried to kill Tsukiko in her sleep. I can only assume she performed some kind of miracle, else you'd be in jail or worse, by now."

...Tadiyuki slowly turned to Sendai, as if confirming.

"She's right." Sendai agreed. "We'll see if that happens with Rio tonight, too."

"Wh- who." Tadiyuki wasn't caught up.

"Ann's real name, before she took on that stupid nickname." Sendai elaborated.

"No shit…?" Tadiyuki was actually surprised. "Huh. _Rio_ sounds more unbelievable, honestly."

' _...But, Rio's actually a native name. Ann… is quite western, and while we have a few westerners here, she… isn't one, I don't think. Her body's so strangely pale and her eyes are so odd, it's hard to tell.'_

"Om-... mmh." Tadiyuki munched on her cookies.

"No time like the present." Sendai began to move, feeling the nice wind meet her face again. "Let's go."

' _Never got my snacks. Ah, well. Not like I needed much extra shit in my stomach when I'm about to exert myself, as it is.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Sendai came up to the entrance of the Golden Grin. The crater in the wall left by Tatsuako's fist the other day was already repaired. The bricks there looked notably newer.

The four surveyed the exterior from across the street. The tall, bleak brick building seemed less glamorous in the daytime, even with the purple and gold flourishes along its front. The sun and overcast only barely failed to overshadow the neon lights.

"I'll try an' get us in." Tadiyuki turned to the rest of them. "They trust me."

"Why are you helping us, again?" Kasen hadn't necessarily caught that… "Weren't you working _against_ Tsukiko, not eight hours ago?"

"Yeah, well, fuck Tsuruko's bleak bullshit." Tadiyuki decided. "Tsukiko's where it's at. Bitch's actually got _answers,_ and fights for a good reason. Tsuruko's, like… she's kind, but just impossible to read. I don't know."

' _I'm not sure whether to take being called a bitch by her as an insult or not.'_

 _woash._ Cutely, Tadiyuki's black aura wrapped over her skin and face. Where her mouth was, an uneven maw of glowing, black-and-white strands of stretched tar were there. Her eyes were replaced by two cartoony, glaring grey ones, without pupils or irises.

" _let's make some noise"_ Tadiyuki exhaled black mist through her gooey maw. _"by the way this is my clubbing outfit"_

"You- _really_ didn't need to add the last part." Sendai cried internally, thinking back to her own youthful dark-related adventures…

Ignoring her, Tadiyuki pivoted around, and walked across the street, clad in light-devouring energy.

Instead of the usual bunny girls at the door today, a green-haired man stood there. His arms were folded, as he stood in the way in his maroon suit.

" _it's me"_ Tadiyuki stared up at him. _"shadow"_

...He gave her a hard frown, and leaned closer, before nodding. "Alright."

" _and also some friends"_ She gestured back to Sendai and company, who plainly strolled up next.

One of his brown brows raised; his hair was only dyed green. "...Well. Is- is that Fujiwara?"

" _why…"_ Tadiyuki's grey maw grew in size, as if inflating with air. _"they want to join"_

"Se-... seriously?" He blinked. "Then- right this way!" He gestured for them to get inside, and bowed as they did so.

Examining him curiously, Sendai followed Tadiyuki and the others inside, moving behind them.

When she got into the club, it was warm. _'Ooo.'_ It was sweet relief to her body, chilled by moving quickly in the breeze outside.

Today, there were no guests along the Golden Grin's aisles, or at any machine.

In the center of the room, there was the stage, many disco lights and colored spotlights splayed all over it.

On the center stage, Rio sat atop the back of a blonde, bobby-haired girl in a shrine maiden outfit.

' _That's Chine.'_ Sendai recognized the meek nurse girl from the other day, who was seen off by the greater, shrine maiden-esque Ena.

Rio's arms were reclined behind her head, as she kicked her legs back and forth, straining Chine's back.

"Hey, Ann…" A guy walked onto the stage. He wore only a red hakama, brighter tinted than Sendai's red hakama pants would have been, if she was wearing them. "As hot as it is ta just see ya _sittin' there…"_

Rio paused, her heterochromatic eyes narrowing as she twisted to look at her. "Oh, what _now?"_

"You gonna stop hoggin' the stage!?" He threw his arms to the empty seating. "Go be a dominatrix ta her in the crowd! I'll set the mood!"

Rio clicked her tongue. "Tch. You sound like shit, Minami."

He leaned back. Sendai assumed he rolled his eyes, too. "Ooh, come o~n. You ain't much better. Yer hokey auto-tuning shit's so damn fake."

Rio sat up, giving him a little frown. "Is that any way to talk to your _superior?"_

"You're not the boss a' me." Minami frowned hard back. "You know you'd be in hot shit if you laid a finger on me. Y'know, in a way that wasn't _sensual."_

"So you _don't_ want to have sex, later?" Rio smiled. "Tha~nks. My schedule's freer, now."

He snorted, and smiled. "As if I had a chance to begin with…!"

Important notes included the metal studs along Minami's face, and the fact he wore no shirt, exposing an intricate tattoo along his shoulders, stomach and back.

Mokou, Tadiyuki, Sendai and Kasen strolled forward together, down the central aisle leading up to the stage.

Rio saw them, and her gaze lit up hard enough for her eyes to start glowing. _"Oo~h…"_

 _woosh._ She floated up off Chine's back. Rio's limbs glowed with cyan-white light, and cyan-white energy wings spread from her back, as she leered down at the four.

"...Oh." Minami saw them, and smiled too. "These the hoes you expected?"

Pausing in the air, she gave him a brief glance. "Shut up."

"Rio!" Kasen stepped forward. "What are you doing!?"

' _What's it look like. She's being a jackass.'_

" _Welcome to my hote~l!"_ Suddenly, Rio sang down to them, her soft voice projected across the casino. _"My name is Metal Ann!"_

' _See?'_ Sendai nodded. _'Being a jackass.'_

" _I thro~w, metal blades, from my lovely ha~nds!"_ She spun around in the air.

When her hands were obscured from the party, they'd obtained huge, torso-sized saw blades during the spin.

"I'll dance around, with _style and finesse!"_ She spun to the right, swinging her arms out. "You better watch out for my blades-"

' _She's winding up a frisbee toss.'_ Sendai saw the way Rio reeled up her body.

 _WOOSH- VRRR~!_ Within a near instant, Rio spun innumerable times in the air, one of her sawblades rocketing down for Sendai at bullet velocity.

 _Fwish- SHINK!_ The saw blade stuck in the floor beside Sendai, where she used to be. She'd slid away from the oncoming blade.

" _Or you'll end up headle~ss."_ Her smile was huge, as she leered down at them all.

...In the ensuing silence, Sendai stepped ahead.

 _Clack!_ She performed a floaty leap onto the stage, glaring up at Rio as she floated overhead.

"Is this your plan?" Sendai announced her own presence loudly.

Rio gave her a strange, adoring smile. "Hmm?"

"Are you _really_ this confident?" Sendai questioned her, considering her record. "Will you face me on your own? None of my help, and none of yours?"

Rio rolled her eyes, and sighed. "Oh, you."

Sendai heard loud steps on the tile floor behind herself.

 _Fwish!_ She tensed up, and slid her whole body to the left preemptively.

 _WOOSH!_ A stage-controlling remote flew past her body like a brick, meant for the back of her head.

Turning around, Sendai scowled at Minami, who stood behind herself. "...Really."

 _Click. Click._ On either side of the stage, staff doors opened.

" _As soon as you stepped foot, inside that door."_ Rio continued to sing, as her company joined the room. _"You fell victim to my, metal da~nce."_

" _Boys!"_ Minami yelled. From the left door, the one behind him, all male staff came out. "If we bag 'em first, we get first pick! Don't let the girls get 'em first!"

From the right door, the one nearest Rio, all girls came out. Hostesses, bunny women in imitation lunar suits, girls in nurse outfits and shrine maidens emerged.

 _Cla- clack, clack!_ Behind Mokou, Tadiyuki and Kasen, some of the slot machines began to get up. Their top lids opened, exposing that they were sentient beings, with female heads.

 _Clack!_ "Nye- hehehe…" On the stage beside Minami, a blue-haired cat man landed next to him, wearing an open dirty brown jacket, no undershirt, and black shorts.

 _Bam._ A huge, two and a half meter tall man with magnificent brown hair propped one leg onto the side of the stage, glaring at Sendai. Two curly, cow-like horns came from his head, pointing forward.

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Preemptively, Sendai threw a salvo of three talismans at him.

 _Ti- ti- tink._ When they struck him, cyan-white light like that of Rio's emerged from each impact. The talismans disconnected from his form, fluttering away.

' _Ah.'_ Sendai smiled. _'Bullshit like that. Now I'm in my element.'_

"What-" Kasen was awed. "What _is this!?"_

"A gangrape, dumbass." Mokou replied bluntly. "A really badly planned one, at that."

" _hehehe"_ Drawing her knife, Tadiyuki lurched down, keeping near the floor.

Inhaling, Sendai stretched her arms out, slowly bringing them up from around herself, her pink-white sleeves swinging. Amidst the blaring stage lights and the club's hazy neons, she glared around at the horde.

"I'm better than _you."_ Sendai declared. "And anyone you send at me!"

-+- _Vs. Daisaku Min_ _ami, Junior Chief of Village Finance, Golden Grin Staff, Golden Grin Clientele, Hostesses, Artificial Hakurei Project, Miscellaneous Youkai Enemy Exhibition -+-_

 _whish._ Wind crept up Sendai's form, as she stood rigidly on the stage. Enemies were filling in from all sides, in varying strength and numbers.

Minami stretched his muscles, crouching and then standing again. "Yo, _Orato._ Tell the ladies an' gents we got this. This one hoe's bomb enough fer the three of us."

 _Thump, thump, thump._ The massive cow youkai man stomped up beside him, cracking his knuckles. "...As you wish. I have a score to settle with her. It would be a shame, if the no-names intervened."

' _Does he?'_ Sendai furrowed her brows briefly. _'Wait…'_ He was the suited cow youkai she'd fought when she'd discovered those neon-eyed youkai girls, while chasing Dieter down.

"Y'know this broad, Orato?" Minami slid out a bottle he'd somehow concealed in his hakama and tilted his head back, uncorking it in a smooth motion.

 _WHISH._ In a near instant, the blue-haired cat man snapped towards Sendai, scraping one hand down.

 _Fwish!_ As he came at Sendai, she slid in a fluid half-circle behind him.

 _Fwish!_ That's when he slid in a similar half-circle, except away from her, turning around to face her. The distinct, heavy scent of cinnamon filled the air as he went by.

"Hey." Half-leering, half-grinning, he casually stepped towards Sendai. "Name's Kugo."

 _RI- RII~P!_ Behind Sendai, Orato began to rip his own suit off.

 _RIP!_ In one final tug, he had it off, amber energy flourishing from his body and many muscles.

"Kugo Koin." Kugo gave Sendai a salute, and an assured smile.

 _Fwi- fwish!_ In two sliding motions, he was behind Sendai.

 _Fwish!_ Sendai jerked her muscles and twisted her whole body around, the wind rotating her in an instant. As she spun, she leapt, flicking a kick out.

 _Whack!_ Her foot's top met Kugo's face, but he hardly flinched. "Nnrh-"

 _WHACK- Whap!_ He punched her in the stomach as she righted, and thrust his opposing elbow into her ribs. _'Fhuck-'_

Eyes wide and energetic, Kugo stood on one leg. He bent and practically kissed his own right knee as he spun, and flicked his left leg one-eighty from the ground into the air.

 _Fwish- WOOSH!_ Sendai slid back from an upward kick driven by Kugo's heel, azure light flaring off his worn wood sandal.

' _Apparently I don't hit hard enough. But, he's also fucking fast.'_

Orato and Minami were both leisurely coasting around the side of their encounter, ready to intervene.

' _I'll focus on them one at a time, if I can. Minami looks like the weakest link. He might even be human.'_

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ First, Sendai slid for him, coming up to him within a second, her hair billowing.

Awkwardly, Minami seemed to almost fall back away from her. _'Um?'_

Sendai maintained a cautious distance. _'What is he doing?'_

 _woosh._ As he fell, Minami lazily kicked his left leg up, a dusty rose-colored energy following his movement. It had an odd, unreadable power behind it.

"Hy- _yah!"_ Somehow, with spontaneous force, he snapped ahead into a forward flip towards her, barreling through the air.

 _Woosh!_ He intended to scrape both forelegs down Sendai's body, tackling her with his rosy weight and force. Sendai sank her whole body down, and weaved parallel to his legs.

He landed perfectly on his legs by a seeming miracle, and his whole upper torso twisted right in an instant.

 _Pa- pat, pat._ As he spun slowly and clumsily, his palms met Sendai's sides thrice, his right, left, then right palm again meeting her stomach.

Slow as they were, each impact was a spike of slow, flowing pain through Sendai's body. ' _What- the fuck…'_

 _Pap- whap!_ Ignoring the vague building pain in her sides, she jabbed her left and right fist's knuckles into his gut in succession. "Nn- rgh-"

As if drunk, he spun rightward in odd spite of the force of her punches. Now facing away, he seemed to be falling back into her.

 _Fwish!_ Sendai slid in front of him, avoiding the impact of the back of his head. _'That motion made no sense. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.'_

Instead of falling into her, like he looked like he was going to, his body began to twist to his right more.

Sendai leaned to her own left again. She was feeling really bad about going right, despite her senses. _'In front of the opponent is where you normally wouldn't want to be, so-'_

" _Hra~h!"_ He jerked his left palm out, to the right of her, using the way his body twisted to do so. Dusty rose energy exploding out from the lightning-fast thrust of his hand and fingers.

Minami's attack hadn't landed, because Sendai was directly in front of him, instead of to his side. He thought he'd outsmarted her.

' _The force off of that…! He was dead certain he'd hit me!'_

Wind curling along Sendai's arm, she beamed at his glaring face.

 _WHAM!_ She rammed her knuckles down his features with similar speed and certainty to that of his attack. His head recoiled from the blow, kicking back.

As he fell backwards-

 _WHAM!_ One of his feet met Sendai's chin, and she dropped backwards like a rock. _"Nngh-"_

 _Thud!_ Her back hit the dancefloor.

" _Nye- he!"_ Kugo scraped across the floor in this instance, snapping into a cartwheel as he came at her.

Eyes wide, Sendai smashed her elbows into the dance floor, and thrust her legs into the air.

 _Woosh- WHAM!_ Tossing her legs to make herself spin, she avoided the impact of Kugo's knees meant her ribs and gut. Instead, his legs met the floor beside Sendai.

 _Wha- whap!_ Her rising, curling motion off the floor threw Kugo off his arms, her hips and legs brushing him off balance. "Ny- _nnh-"_ He rotated onto his legs faster than the eye could see.

But, Sendai was rising into standing again, her wind-aided rotation ending with her facing him.

 _WHAM!_ All the wind from her revolution met Kugo's cheek as a left-armed hook, as he twisted to face her, sending him backwards-

 _woosh._ "Heh…" He did an impossible backflip, never even dropping, regaining his balance three meters from where he started.

Minami looked like he was going to crash into the floor as he stumbled up to Sendai, but dim light flourished along the leg he meant to kick, his whole body creating glowing afterimages.

" _Raa~gh!"_ Sounds of violence filled the background. Sendai couldn't look in the direction of her party members, at the moment.

 _FWOOM- BAM- BOOM!_ Ambient explosions were casting their orange light on Sendai's own encounter.

When Minami finished his slow kick that'd come short of Sendai, she snapped up to his form.

 _Whap- pap! "Rrh- nn-"_ She punched him in the face twice this time, and his whole body staggered back.

He slid his left arm up, to palm her side again. In this moment, Sendai weaved down and around him, leaving a trail of pink-tinted air in her wake.

 _Whap- pap- whack!_ Sendai was behind him, a jab meeting the gut, the side of his head, and then the back of it. "Nnh- ah?" He didn't know what even happened.

 _WHAM!_ Then, with all the wind along her body, Sendai leapt into the air, and her left leg pounded into the back of his head as he turned the wrong way to face her.

' _Got 'em!'_ She saw the way his body went flying, flipping around, and beamed. _'That- hit harder than I expected-'_

" _Hahaha~!"_ Laughing suddenly, Orato lumbered up to her and held his arms out. "Wilt in _my embrace!"_

Facing him, seeing his arms move to clap around her, Sendai weaved under the arm left of herself. She pressed her right palm to his stomach while hooking her own left arm past him.

 _Woosh._ He was so heavy, she'd simply pushed herself behind him. Normally she'd shove the person she weaved around with this motion, but Orato was too heavy.

Rolling onto his back, Minami began to get up. "Da- damn, the fuck'd-"

' _Don't give him a chance!'_ She needed as many enemies to be encumbered as she could. Group fights like this weren't a joke.

She thrust herself past Orato as he turned for her, and came up to Minami as he sat up.

 _KRACK!_ Sendai slid her left sandal into his head at extreme velocity, awkwardly ramming its tip against Minami's head. _"Ou- kh-"_

"You-" Orato reeled his right arm back, unholy amber energy exploding from his bare muscles before he even threw it out. _"Shall- fall!"_

 _WOOSH._ As Orato's arm slung in from behind, Sendai just jogged away from it, because it was that slow.

 _Thud!_ After a single spin through the air, Minami landed on his back again, facing up. "Nh- hnnh…" Fighting the pain, he grinned, and thrust his own elbows into the floor.

 _Woosh!_ Kugo blurred by Minami and Sendai-

 _SHINK!_ Sendai weaved herself right into a thrust of Kugo's claws as she went for Minami's form. "Ff- nnh-"

Kugo slid to a stop well behind her, ribbons of her pink-white outfit stained with blood along his claws. "Nye~h?"

Refusing to just simply sit up, Minami tried to roll backward on his shoulders, to contort onto his legs in a fancy and dexterous way.

Sendai stopped his waist's momentum with her knee as she stood over him. "Aa-" His back uncurled, his legs falling.

 _PAP- PAP._ Her wind and heartbeat slowing, Sendai grabbed onto both sides of his head with her hands.

 _Pap!_ That's when Kugo came from behind, grabbing onto her. Instead of grappling her arms, he gripped onto her breasts, his cinnamon scent washing over her. _"Damn-_ you're _soft…!"_

' _Fuck- off!'_ She punched an arm behind her own head, where Kugo's would be.

But, she didn't intend to use force. Instead, her thumb met his eye. _"Nngh- reow!"_ Kugo howled like a cat, jumping back from her.

Gripping Minami's head again, Sendai suddenly reeled her entire body upward. Using her arms against his cheeks and scalp, she curled her legs back and did some mutation of a handstand atop his face.

' _Ho- holy shit…'_ She was amazed she could do this, honestly. The wind's aid let her body defy gravity for this moment...

Then, she thrust her knees down for his skull, letting gravity drop them.

 _WHAK- KRACK!_ A shockwave of wind exploded from the impact, the windy, hammer-like knee motion smashing the back of Minami's head against the dance floor.

' _Fuck your drunk boxing style.'_ She exhaled, as her arms finally grew too weak to hold onto the sides of his head, and she beheld the pool of blood growing under it.

That's when Orato picked her up by an arm, lifting her off of Minami. "Nn- aa-"

 _-+- Vs. Orato, Golden Grin P_ _leasure Specialist, Gold-tier Host, Former Obstacle Course Junior Director -+-_

"Ow- ow-" Sendai hissed at the way her arm bent, as Orato held her up like a doll.

"You move fast, for such a curvy woman." Orato's smirk was immensely smug, as he met her pained eyes. "So elegant, so delicate."

He placed her on her feet- and then some.

 _Bam._ Her knees buckled, before meeting the dance floor, as he pushed down on her shoulders. "Fu- fuck-"

Kugo's hands laid on her shoulders from behind. "Aw- c'mon, you damn lug. She's not gonna be any good after _you_ use 'er." Slowly, he slid her hands down to her breasts again.

"Excuse me for not _pussy-footing_ about." Orato shook his head, his smile sure. "I actually do my job, around here."

Sendai glared at the center of Orato's pants, where his arousal was already certain. Meanwhile, Kugo kneaded her chest, and one hand traveled to her face to caress it.

Her left eye was covered by Kugo's hand, and she felt him press his waist against her butt. "I wanna _fuck 'er_ so bad…"

' _These-...'_ She felt her heart pound, and her adrenaline spike. _'Stupid, fucking, youkai!'_

Kugo pushed her head forward, to be against Orato's bulge. "Mmrh- hehehe!" Kugo giggled at Sendai's stern face, despite her situation.

 _Kra- krack, zap._ Amber, holy energy began to pump from within her own form.

When Orato stepped back a single pace, arms still on her shoulders, Sendai glared up at him, as Kugo worked her chest to a rhythm. "I-... why the hell- would you do this to anyone?"

Orato snorted. "You should ask our hostesses that. ...Oh, don't _glare_ at me like that."

Holy, gold energy kept spreading around her body. "Do- do you even _know me?_ I- I have a daughter-"

"Reimu Hakurei." He knew. "Maybe when I'm done with you, I'll have you help me add her to my harem."

That more than did it. Anger spiked through Sendai's mind.

 _KRACK!_ Amber exploded from her form, and she pushed against his grip. "Hr- _hrraa~h!"_

"Aa-" He blinked, as she just barely got back into standing despite all his force.

Clumsily, Sendai reached for her arm sleeves. Kugo tried to pull against her arms, and knee her to the ground, but he didn't have nearly enough force.

She drew the stun gun she purchased the other day. Gripping it hard, she held it forward, into Orato's abs.

 _ZA- ZAP! "Enh-_ aa-...!" He stumbled back, eyes wide, letting go as fast as he could, which wasn't very.

 _Wha- whap, whap!_ As Sendai stood there, Kugo's legs wrapped around her waist, and he pummeled an arm into her side-

"You-" Minami was back up, his nose bloody. "Fucking _who~re!"_

 _PAP!_ Bottle gripped hard in one arm, the left of his free palm met her side, and she felt her body awkwardly shift. _'What-...'_

 _Whap- whap- thunk- thunk- whap, wham!_ Sendai felt her body grit her teeth on its own, as they attacked her posture. Kugo kept pummeling her ribs.

 _ZA- ZAP, ZAP!_ Holding the stun gun back, she poked Kugo on the shoulder with it.

"Ee- _eehehehee~!"_ He just fell off her back, like a bug. "Ow- ow-"

 _Thu- thunk- pap- thunk, pap!_ One after another, Minami slid sideways palms into Sendai's gut, and she felt her body loosen and limp.

 _Kri- krack, krack._ She stumbled to the side, letting her holy shell and angry amber magic fade back inside for now. "Ff-"

Then, the pain.

' _Fff- fuck- ff-'_ She felt her eyes begin to water, rings of pain dizzily revolving up her body-

 _Fwish!_ Catching wind as she slid ahead, half-stumbling, she got between Kugo and Minami.

"He- heheh…" Minami reeled back, bottle held upside-down to his face. "Mmh- mgh- nnh-" Sake spilled all over his features, as he messily doused his bloody nose in alcohol. "Aa~h…"

Kugo was already on his feet, when Sendai faced him.

 _WOOSH!_ Kugo threw a hook for Sendai's face, to send her down. But, weaving was an all-too easy motion for her, her body already aching to fall over.

 _WHAM!_ When she ducked, Kugo's knuckles met Minami's face instead. " _Hku- uu-"_ Minami outright fell back, dazed.

Moving- or half-falling over- Sendai fell in a C-like motion, like the one she saw Marisa use with her broom to get behind people.

Pushing a palm against the ground to regain her balance, Sendai got behind Minami as he staggered, his hands on his own nose.

Hugging onto him from behind, she kicked her left leg under his-

 _THUMP._ Minami's left ankle was forced to meet Kugo's crotch.

"Aa-" Kugo's jaw dropped. _"Nr- reoo~wh!"_

 _WOOSH!_ He leapt back so hard, he flew back into the crowd of staff, clients and hostesses.

...Blinking, Sendai let go of Minami.

 _thud._ He fell onto his back. "Mo-... mo'er fhu'er…"

Orato stomped back up. "You insolent _bitch._ You realize, I serve my wives well?"

Stumbling, Sendai focused on his glare, and glared back.

"What?" He smiled, trying to push her buttons. "You should _want_ me to breed your daughter. Keep the line strong, yes?"

Sendai reached into her arm sleeves, and pulled out her shotgun.

Seeing it, Orato blinked twice. "...That's not a-"

 _Chik- chik- BOOM!_ The sound of the gun was deafening, above all other violence in the club.

" _Gkh-"_ Eyes wide, Orato staggered back. His muscular torso was now riddled with red holes. "Yh-... yhou-..."

That's when Kasen made it onto the stage. "Tsu- Tsukiko! Are you alright!?"

' _No.'_ Sendai gave her a flat look, and slid the shotgun back into her arm sleeves.

 _SWISH._ In that moment, right after she stored the gun away, Kugo snapped back in from the crowd, blowing past the two of them in an instant.

Sendai's sleeves fell right off, cut down the middle of each. ' _Aa- shit!'_

-+- _Vs. Kugo Koin, Golden_ _Grin Platinum-tier Male Host, Manager of Hosts, Barkeep_ -+-

Turning around, her arms now clad only in the sweater-like undershirt she had on, Sendai raised her fists.

"Yer a damn hard catch." Kugo admitted, as he faced her. "Whaddaya say…" Dropping his arms, he held them out casually. "Me, you. My place 'er yours. Could be either."

"Are- are you retarded." Sendai asked bluntly.

Kasen stomped forward. "You'd better _fuck off,_ little cat."

 _Thu- thu- thump!_ Mokou ran across the stage, covered in syringes. "Fh- aa-"

Eight robotic maids with wheels for legs followed after her, unloading syringe guns in her general direction.

 _Wham!_ Suddenly, some random brown-haired guy in a suit came up from the crowd around the stage, punching Sendai in the gut. "Uhu-"

Kasen grabbed him by the back of the collar. "You- _fucking-"_

 _WHAM!_ Suddenly, Kasen's face met the apex of a bunny's crescent kick. Her head jerked back only briefly. "Nngh!"

Kugo bolted for Sendai in this moment, eyes wide.

 _Pap!_ Before Sendai could move, he leapt straight into her, his hips and legs locking around her head. "Nn- aa-" Her face was trapped firmly against his crotch, the scent of cinnamon suffocating.

Flipping himself forward, he took Sendai's entire form with him.

 _WHAM!_ Forced to forward flip with him, Sendai's body bounced off the dance floor, on its back. _"Aa- anh-"_

 _THUNK._ As he stood, Kugo reeled a leg up, and stomped down into her ribs. _"Nh- ngh!"_ Sendai's body shook.

"If yer sore after, that's _fine."_ Kugo's voice was plain. "I'll do all the work, yeah?"

Then, he looked up, and slid back.

 _Woosh!_ He slid away from one of Mokou's thrusting kicks, when she tried to follow up on him. "Yh- ng- kaugh-" Bile and blood ran down her mouth and shirt, her whole form unevenly ablaze, the syringes in her all slowly feeding her doses of some kind of green-rainbow serum.

Then, she flipped forward, trying to follow-up on him with a flipping kick, like she tried against Marisa.

 _FWISH- VRRR- SHUSHU- SHU- SHUNK!_ That's when Rio sent a saw blade down from above. It cleaved Mokou straight in half.

An amazing fountain of blood sprayed everywhere, Mokou's halves thrown into two different directions by the spinning blade. Red and crimson mist were made by its ferocity, as drops and clumps dulled the dance floor.

 _BOOM!_ Kasen punched a maiden in red-white in the face, and she went flying somewhere behind the visual. _"Nnrghk- naaa~!"_

' _Oh-... oh my god.'_ Sendai saw Mokou's body parts, organ pieces and blood splay across the room. _'These- fucking monsters-'_

Kugo snapped up to Sendai's form, and laid a hand on her shoulders.

Then, he thrust his body forward, attempting aggressively to kiss her.

She put her hands up to push him away, but the wind's aid didn't help in these matters of simple force, and he easily pushed them open, holding onto her arms. "Come _on._ Yer makin' me _sweat_ here."

Letting the wind leave her, Sendai saw the amount of men swamping Kasen, didn't see Tadiyuki anywhere, and saw Mokou's pieces, and Rio's giggling form…

' _Fuck…'_ She grit her teeth, eyes flaring.

"Come- mmh- on…" He lunged his face in to kiss her, but she swerved her head away.

"Fu- fuck _off-_ " Sendai felt her voice come out surprisingly strained.

Her legs buckled against the ground, as she pushed against him, and he grinned. "Awwh. Weak at the legs fer _me,_ nnn?"

She was forced to kneel down onto one knee-

"Mmm…" His lips met her cheek, when she tried to avoid his kiss again.

' _I'm not going to let this all fall apart here.'_ Sendai's heart pumped, adrenaline overwhelming.

"Mwah." His lips parted from her cheek-

Sendai was too weak. When he parted her arms, he used his hands to grab her face, and forced her to look at him. "Your red cheeks're so damn _cute._ God, I just-"

Azure light bloomed from Sendai's arms, and breeze parted Kugo's hair as it dissipated from Sendai.

' _I'm going to survive this!'_

Her arms grabbed his wrists, and pulled. The force was greater, her tugs easily twisting his arms away.

Giving up on simply manhandling her, he beamed with the cleverness of a cat. "Hup!" Smugly he leapt, to plant his crotch in Sendai's face again-

But, this time, Sendai grabbed onto his hips with her own arms, and pulled down.

 _WHAM!_ She powerbombed him by what was essentially an accident, slamming him shoulders-first against the floor by leaning ahead and pulling down.

 _Thud!_ Rolling off his head and shoulders, he was back into standing nearly instantly.

Sendai had him by the collar, him not expecting any form of force from her. "The- the fuck-"

Her heart pounded increasingly hard. _'This stupid bullshit- isn't stronger than me!'_ She reeled her right arm back, her left on Kugo's collar still.

 _KRACK!_ She hammered her right fist into the side of Kugo's head, hard enough to make it twist ninety degrees the other way.

As he righted it, staggered in place, she grabbed his head with both hands, like he'd done to her-

 _CRUNCH!_ Tilting him forward ninety degrees, she pulled his head down into her right knee, which broke his nose.

" _Nkh- sh-"_ As Kugo shot back up into standing, spine arched from the pain, Sendai reeled her whole body back.

Blue, enduring light boomed from her form, as she brought both arms back overhead to hammer down onto him. _"Fuck-"_

 _BOOM!_ A shockwave of black and blood exploded out, where her dual-armed hammer of fists met his face. _"Yo~u!"_

 _Thud- thud._ Kugo landed on his back, mouth open, eyes blurry with tears. "Fh- fhuack-..."

Orato was still lurched where he was, a puddle of blood forming under his rapidly regenerating body…

Minami was slowly trying to get back up, but he didn't look very able now.

Sendai saw the flock of syringe-shooting robots that came at Mokou. Mokou was nowhere to be seen, the syringe bots now aiming their pistol-like weapons at her.

 _Fwish!_ Her body jerking to the side, she worked up a run, collecting air and wind along the way. _'Fucking-'_

 _PATATATATATAT!_ A rain of syringes came down where she was, trailing her path across the shimmering dance floor.

Bending down, she picked up an arm sleeve that Kugo had diced up, and slid her hand along the cloth where the hem would be. It disappeared when she inserted it at the right angle. ' _Al- alright-...'_

Once she had enough wind, she drew some ofuda to slip into her outfit, and the Dragon Palace's flintlock.

 _Fwi- fwi- fwi- fwish!_ She slid straight into the crowd of neon green-dressed, crude robot maids.

Her body shook in anticipation of her holy technique. It'd worked on Rinnosuke's armor, and since these enemies looked metallic too...

" _Vol Fulger!"_ With the flintlock in hand, she arched her body back, holy energy bubbling out of her body, mixed with the pink-tinted, esoteric pleasure of knowing the lightning's effect.

Punching her right arm into the air, she thrust it up-

 _KRACK- KRAKOO~M!_ First, the flash of thunder, ball lightning emerging from her form and encapsulating the many maid robots.

 _ZA- ZAZAP- ZAP- ZAP- KRAKZAP!_ Lightning danced between them, visible and violent, cyan and white.

 _BOOM- BAM- BOOM- BOOM- BOOM!_ Then, they all exploded into messy blasts of failed machinery.

"Ngh- _kh- nn-"_ Sendai got beat up by the flying metal and force, as she stood amidst them.

"Wh-" Someone yelled, from around the casino. "My- my _maid bots!_ What…!? Damn i~t!"

...Slowly, mouth ajar, Minami crouched near Kugo's form. "He- hey, buddy. Nee' so' _bhooze?"_

Kugo pouted, glaring up at him, his nose bleeding openly.

 _WHA- WHA- WHA- WHAM!_ Kasen was holding a man by the legs to the right of the stage, spinning around, using him to bludgeon others-

 _BANG! BANG!_ Someone shot a pistol at her, to little effect.

 _Whunk._ Sendai looked to her left, and saw Mokou's disembodied legs kick a faux-Hakurei maiden to the floor.

Sendai doubletook. _'What.'_

"Tsukiko." Orato spoke in baritone.

His wounds were healed, amber flowing from his body as he marched back up to Sendai. "If you'd forgotten… we're not human."

Kugo was crawling back onto his legs, wiping the blood from his nose. "We can keep this shit up- all _fuckin'_ night, Suki-chan."

"Spea' fer yerse's…" Minami fucked with his broken nose. "Fhuh…"

' _Damn it…'_ She looked down at her own arms. _'I had more force than this!'_

 _Woosh!_ Kugo thrust up to her, grin becoming wild as he approached, intent on uppercutting her into nothing.

 _Wha- CRACK._ Sendai saw it coming, and thrust her elbow down into the rising fist. Wind plumed out from the impact, Kugo's arm cracking unhealthily as her elbow stopped it. "Wh- aa-"

 _WHOOM!_ She followed up with an uppercut of her own, connecting it with Kugo's nose. "Fh- _nyhah!"_

Orato continued towards her, smiling. "That's enough fun and games, is it not?"

...Holding up the fragment of her arm sleeve, Sendai reached into its hammerspace.

She drew the Ha family katana. Letting the sleeve drop, she held the strange, square-patterned katana firmly with both arms. The wind along her forearms curled around the blade.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Orato stared at it plainly. "Do- do you just carry an _entire_ armory around?"

 _Fwi- fwish!_ Sendai jerked up to him. When he began to raise his arms, she acted.

 _Shink._ She thrust the katana into his abs. "Ffh-"

 _Swish!_ Then, pulling it back, she flicked it across his collar, marking a red line there.

Holding it backhand, she lowered, and weaved along Orato's side.

 _SHUNK!_ She plunged the katana deeper into his gut this time, using her weaving motion to drive it in. "Ffh- _nn-..."_ She plunged it hilt deep. A stream of red jerked out of Orato's rugged back.

 _Shunk._ When she retracted it, he had his arms up, as if to grab it. "Nn-... yh- _kaugh-..."_

 _Cla- clack._ Casting her katana aside, Sendai cracked her knuckles, and lumbered closer.

He guarded himself with his arms. "Useless bitch. Yh- _khk-_ can't just _hit me-_ "

She slid her hand up past his guarding arms, and gripped his head.

 _KR- KRACK._ Dark energy blooming up her bare left arm. She twisted Orato's head, cracking his neck.

 _Thu- thud._ Curling up, Orato fell to the floor, shuddering in raw, stacking pain.

"God-..." Mokou rubbed her face, having fully reformed along the stage's side. "God, _damn it."_

Kasen stood atop a pile of defeated men and maidens. "Hah-... ha~h…" She panted, glaring around the room.

"You-" The green-haired guy from the entrance ran up, wearing brass knuckles-

 _SHUNK!_ Tadiyuki's knife met his back from behind. "Aa-... aah…?"

" _nnhehehe"_ She giggled into his ears, as she pulled back on him, for him to weakly flop over aside herself.

...Standing over the currently defeated youkai, Sendai heaved, taking in air as she beheld them.

' _I really am better than all of them. Even like this...'_

 _Sendai learned Essence of Crushing * Elbow._

 _Sendai learned Essence of Friendly Fire._

 _Sendai learned Essence of Air Knee Piston._

 _Sendai learned Essence of Extreme Youkai._

"Nn-..." Sendai continued to heave, her chest pumping hard. "Ha~h… nn- aah…"

Rio floated down, a hand on her chin as she reclined in the air, her white wings gently flapping as she beheld them all.

" _You want to fight- and try to be the one to bring me do~wn…"_ She sang to them. _"But I know, that there's no cha~nce! And I know- as soon as you'd stepped foot inside that door, you'd fall victim to my, metal da~nce!"_

"Fight me." Sendai demanded. "Get down here- and _fucking_ fight me!"

"Mmm?" Rio smiled again, warmly. "A fight? Nnn… no."

"Fuck-..." Sendai exhaled. "Fuck you…!"

"I'm just finishing what my toys started." Rio declared. "Finishing the four of you off."

"...Mmh?" Mineta twisted, from where he shakily stood on the sidelines of the stage. "Finishin'...?"

Rio slowly rolled her eyes, accenting her fluffed up hair and posture. "...Yes, Mineta. Tsukiko Hakurei, Kasen Ibaraki, Tadiyuki Ha, and Fujiwara no Mokou die here."

' _About that last one...'_ Sendai blinked vaguely.

"It's as Tsuruko penned it, for me. I couldn't be more grateful." Rio closed her eyes.

Mineta blinked. "Wh-... you _fuck!_ Boss wanted the woman _alive!_ _We_ want the women alive!"

"Actually. You know what?" Rio beamed wider. "After this, how about I kill you _too,_ Mineta? I can't have people like you questioning my divine right. After all…" She flourished her wings. "I am the new Hakurei God, of the human village!"

Unholy white light spread throughout the casino, drowning out the various spotlights and small disco dots.

' _It just keeps getting worse.'_

-+- _Vs. Rio_ _Harue, Artificial Hakurei Project Advisor -+-_

 _Kri- krack, krack._ Cyan, white energy began to envelope Rio's form.

She arched her whole body back, her wings flourishing out meters wide. _"Thousand Blades!"_

From her light, a cataclysm of revolving sawblades de-merged and spun out from her form. Ten or so round blades expanded out, neon white aside from their cyan accents, drifting out and into the club.

' _Oh- oh, fuck!'_ Sendai saw the increasing, huge ring of blades expand out, light crackling along their faux steel as if it were electricity.

Weaving back, she picked up her tatter of an arm sleeve, and moved straight for the blades.

 _Fwish!_ Her breath stopped. She made it through, sliding past them without being murdered. ' _Fu- fuck…'_ It was reckless, but paid off.

The blades got even faster as they were unleashed out. The whole ultra-fast ring began to tilt on its side now, curving to envelope the floor and cause a bloodbath of the defeated club staff.

 _BAM- KRACK- KLANK- BAM!_ Kasen tried to defend the people she'd smashed through, using her body to stop the giant blades from causing an absolute massacre. _"Mh- Mhokou!_ The- _the other side!"_

 _FWOOM- FWOOM!_ Pillars of flame erupted from the other end of the stage, the hot air repelling and misaligning the saw blades.

 _woo- woosh._ Rio dove down, coming straight for Sendai.

 _Chi- chik!_ Drawing her classic shotgun, Sendai aimed it up at the winged Rio.

 _BANG!_ She fired a volley of lead-

 _THUNK!_ Rio's body took it. _"Nn- hehehe!"_ She giggled openly. _"Bullets-... don't work on gods._ I- I thought you were a shrine maiden, but I guess I really _am_ the smarter one! He- hahaha!"

' _Are- are ya fucking kidding me.'_

 _WOO- WOOSH, WOOSHWOOSH._ Rio spun around, waving her sword around, making meaningless chains of slashes that failed to connect with Sendai as she backpedaled.

 _VRRR- VRRRR~!_ That's when saw blades began to bloom from around Rio, to make up for her subpar katana skill. Two of them flourished out, holy and bright.

' _I need-'_ Sendai turned and ran. _'I need a way to deal with all these fucking- sawblades!'_

Then, she looked across the room.

At the edge of the stage's landing, there was the green-haired man who Tadiyuki shanked. He seemed to currently be bleeding out on the floor…

Sendai bolted for him, intent on theft. _'Idea.'_

Coming up to his fallen body, she held up one of his arms at a time, stealing his brass knuckles and fitting them onto her own hands.

 _VRRRR~!_ She slid to the side, eyes widening as a saw blade of sure death whizzed by her. ' _Fu- fuck me…'_

"Rio!" Sendai decided to try and argue with her. "...Do- do you really think- this is worth it!?"

" _Are you stupid!?"_ Rio's angelic voice was energetic and mocking. "Everyone _loves_ me! Why wouldn't this be worth it?"

"You're-" Sendai needed to get closer, so she could yell louder.

 _VRRRR~!_ Another sawblade whirred at her-

 _KRANK- KLANG!_ As it passed Sendai's side, she punched the flat of it, the metal of her new brass knuckles drawing holy sparks in the air against the white steel.

 _Bwomp- woowoop- clack._ The blade bounced away uselessly, its momentum tarnished by Sendai's interference. The metal's holy white color faded away, becoming plain grey steel.

' _...Yes. Exactly what I needed.'_

 _Fwi- fwish!_ Sendai instantly slid closer, but not too close.

As Rio waved her katana around, and her sawblades began to bloom from her once again, she spun. _"Nnn- hehehehe-"_

 _KRACK- KLANG!_ While she spun, Sendai punched one of the revolving saw blades in the flat. Promptly, it abandoned its rotation around Rio, arcing off into the abyss of colors offstage.

As it fell away, Rio blinked, uncertain of the great noise-

 _KRACK- KLANG!_ Sendai unleashed a wind-amplified punch into another blade, causing it to awkwardly drop into the floor and become useless too.

"You're hurting people with _real lives!"_ Sendai barked back, as Rio had no defense for a brief moment. "People- who _actually care about shit!"_

 _Woo- woosh!_ Rio flicked her katana up, and back down, but Sendai weaved to the left, away from the vertical, awkward swings.

' _I need to- stop that fucking blade.'_

"All this murder and bullshit- isn't gonna _fix anything!"_ Heart flighty, Sendai brought her fists up in anticipation.

Her own heart leaping, Rio crouched, held her blade out along the ground and spun around.

 _Woosh!_ Sendai leapt overhead of her. _'Being in the air- it's bad, it's bad-...'_ Yet, Rio didn't follow up. She fully though Sendai would be tripped by her spinning motion.

Sendai landed behind her, as Rio floated into the air again. She pivoted to leer down at Sendai.

She danced in place with a stony face, swaying her hips and jiggling her chest, as if revelling in Sendai's mortality. _"You want to fight- and try to be the one to bring me down! But I know, that there's no chance!"_

She recalled Rio's motivations, when Keine talked her down some days ago. _'Where the hell'd her wish to help people go? She wanted to, what, fix the village? Like this?'_

" _And I know, as soon as you'd stepped foot inside that door…"_ Smiling angelically, Rio brought her katana up overhead. _"You'd fall victim to my, metal-"_

"Your attempt at helping everyone's a _fucking disgrace!"_ Sendai held her fists up, knuckles white within her brass dusters. "You're not built for that! _I am!"_

Rio's eyes flared, now pure cyan. _"Go- fuck yourself- Hakurei!"_

 _FWISH._ She flicked her katana down, its form blurring out for a moment as her immense faith made it appear to be a magical blade.

 _TIII~NG._ That's when Sendai punched the oncoming blade with her left arm. Her metal knuckle's impact with the katana's iron rang out across the whole club.

Rio lifted her katana back, not sure what happened-

 _KRACK- KRA~CK!_ Lunging forward, Sendai jabbed her right arm's knuckles into the base of the katana. She followed up with a jab of her left fist-

 _Cla- clack._ It broke. Sendai had broke the katana by punching it really hard repeatedly. Its metal lost its magical tint, the plain iron doing flips as it bounced off the floor behind Rio.

 _woosh._ Rio swung the hilt, and blinked. "Wh-"

 _BAM._ Sendai's windy fist, combined with the force of iron, met between Rio's eyes.

 _Woo- woosh._ Rio flipped back, using her wings to stop herself from eating shit. _"Wh-_ what-...!?"

Sendai felt it. Her adrenaline pumping, the pleasure from the sheer surprise on Rio's face, and the crushing advantage her knuckles had given her…

This was the final round. All she had to do was shut Rio down here, and she could sleep the rest of the day away.

 _Fwish._ Amethyst light billowed up Sendai's form. _'I'm gonna pummel her.'_

 _VRRRR~!_ From Rio, a horizontally aligned saw blade came at Sendai-

 _Woosh._ Weaving beneath it, eyes wide, amethyst stars and galaxies were illustrated in Sendai's flowing hair, as it too dipped beneath the oncoming blade.

 _WHAP- BAM- BAM- WHACK!_ Two jabs to Rio's gut were like poles of iron being stabbed through her. "Uu- _nngh-"_ Two hooks to the face were like being blindsided by tonfas.

Rio's wings shielded herself-

 _WHABAM!_ But Sendai was already behind her, a reeled up hook meeting the back of Rio's head.

" _Anh-"_ Eyes uneven, spit flying from her lips, Rio whipped around and thrust the sharp hilt of her katana forward-

 _pap- woosh._ Sendai dipped beneath Rio's arm and her left wing, using her own right arm to push herself past Rio. "Stupid."

Rio wanted to rebuke-

 _WHABAM!_ But, another hook met the back of Rio's head. "Nn- gh-" Blood caked Sendai's metal knuckles.

 _TING!_ When Rio whipped around, swinging the hilt like a knife with both arms, Sendai punched it again, forcing Rio to spin a little.

 _WHA- WHA- WHAM!_ Sendai rolled three jabs into Rio's soft gut, blood staining the fetishistic, maid-like outfit.

 _Whack!_ She uppercut Rio into the air with her left arm-

 _CRUNCH!_ Then, she drew a hook back down with her right, catching Rio by the gut as she flew up.

 _Bam- thud!_ Rio bounced off the floor, trying to limp away when she was thrown into standing again. _"Nn- hk- ah…"_

Running after her, Sendai dipped down near the floor.

She found her last abandoned arm sleeve, and lifted it up into the air.

Feeling her holy energy bubble, ready to burst, she felt her heart jump too. _'This is it!'_

" _Thousand Blades!"_ Reeling her body back, Sendai hovered into the air, ofuda pouring from that open sleeve like a waterfall.

She drifted, spinning around, talismans pouring from the sleeve like a stream.

After they formed a ring around her, the ofuda all shifted into huge, origami axes which spun and churned, ten making a huge revolving gold-red-white ring around her.

Rio's jaw dropped. _"Nn-..."_ Then, she huffed. "Thous-... thousand- bla~des!"

 _Woo- woosh._ Three saw blades lamely came from her form, slowly floating outward. Gravity gradually pulled them down, their force immediately dying.

 _WOOWOOWOOWOOWOOSH!_ Sendai's blades roared outward, eclipsing hers.

Rio shielded herself with her wings.

 _KRACK- SHUSHUNK- SHUNK- SHUNKUNK._ Rio was impaled, blood splaying into the air, a huge holy axe breaking her own anti-holy barriers, cleaving her wings open, and piecing her flesh.

" _Nhn-"_ Rio wailed. " _Nhaa- aanh!"_

 _Sendai learned Essence of Sword Shattering._

 _Sendai learned Essence of the Iron Fist._

 _Sendai learned Fighter's Secret * Final Round._

 _Sendai learned Powerful V._

 _Sendai obtained Iron Knuckles (8 uses remaining_ _)._

Rio laid in a bloody, jittery mess on the floor. Her wings had stopped the giant Hakurei axes from piercing her too deeply. Much of the blood, strangely, was from the wings themselves.

From the stage, Orato, Kugo and Minami stared in open-mouthed awe of the pile of Hakurei talismans around Sendai. Now that Rio was gone, so was their faith-induced immunity to the Hakurei sealing technique.

Stomping across the stage, amethyst billowing from her body, Sendai had a huge grin, as she raised her fists again.

"Which one of you fuckers-" she exhaled, "wants a piece of me!?"

 _Cli- click._ Almost dizzily, she punched her two fists together, her knuckles clicking. "I'll keep fighting _forever…!"_ She began to march closer to them. "C'mon!"

"Y'know-" Kugo slowly backed up. "How's about a uh, _rain check,_ on the whole-" He turned and sprinted away.

"Ha- hey-" Minami held up his arms-

 _WHOOM!_ Sendai punched him in the face faster than he could see coming, and harder than his body could take.

"Oo-" He fell onto his back, a meter away. "Nngh- nn…"

Orato had a somber expression. "...I don't suppose your clan values forgiveness."

 _CRUNCH._ Sendai pumped a fist into his nose. He shut his eyes, taking the damage…

"Tsu- Tsukiko!" Kasen lumbered up to her, and grabbed onto one of her arms- "It- it's okay-"

 _WHAM!_ _CRACK!_ Sendai's fist met Kasen's face so hard, the iron knuckle she used broke. "Aa- ow-" Sendai shook her hand about, the recoil hurting.

Kasen blinked, only slightly disoriented. "It's-... it's _okay._ It's over. You- you won. You can stop now."

"But-" Sendai objected. "These- fuckers- this guy- and Reimu-"

"You _won._ " Kasen stated slower, her expression flatter. "...I can't speak for that cat man, but a cow man surely isn't going anywhere."

"But- he's not dead yet." Sendai remembered her usual strategy, for dealing with youkai like him. "Youkai you don't kill come back."

Kasen furrowed her brows. "That's-... that's not how we do things-"

"He's raping women…" Sendai objected. "He's destroying this village. He'd ruin me- my _daughter._ " She was boiling with anger and adrenaline. "Youkai infiltrators-... deserve death. It's always been that simple. Why stop me _now?"_

Kasen wasn't really sure what to say.

"...You." Looking for reason, Kasen addressed Orato. "What- what do you have to say?"

Smiling, he held his arms out, his nose already in working order. "So are the rules. This is the game I agreed to, after all. Yet, I'm sure there's some deal I can make. Humans are like that, after all. But, if you kill me here, then kill me here."

It really wasn't an argument that helped her stop Sendai from commiting murder.

Sendai tried to work her way from Kasen's arms, but Kasen held on tighter.

"Let go of me." Sendai's request was flat. "Le- let go of me…"

"Tsukiko-" Kasen cringed in concern. "I-"

Orato folded his arms. "Therefore, I won't die here."

Kasen met his stare, her expression declining in hope.

"Kasen Ibaraki is clearly attracted to me." Orato smiled, and held open his arms. "Unfortunate for you, Hakurei."

Kasen nodded. "Tell you what, Tsukiko. You can reduce him to a pulp, and I'll stuff him under a really fucking big rock. It's not murder."

...Sendai nodded. "Better."

Orato blinked.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Rio shakily stood in the cold outside the Golden Grin, her body jittering as she stood in a plain, long blue t-shirt that covered her panties.

Sendai wasn't sure when, but someone tore off Rio's clothes and left her with a t-shirt. ' _The fuck-... whatever.'_

Stuffing Orato under a big rock proved to be more difficult inside the village than she'd thought, so it actually took an hour or two. At this point, her stress was starting to alleviate itself. The sun was setting, again.

' _All I wanted to do was practice my wind techniques. Instead, it was a fucking… youkai melee, almost like what I used to deal with, except way more stupid. If I was at my original strength, those fuckers would have been dead in seconds.'_

Still… she couldn't argue with the results. _'I really had to think about how I did that. Failure felt so close, at moments.'_

' _They're far more creative in hand-to-hand than humans, too. That Mineta… his drunk-esque style had deceptive force, and left my muscles withering. Even if he himself wasn't a youkai, I'm sure he got lessons from all his youkai friends.'_

Rio eventually centered her gaze on Sendai as they stood together outside the casino.

Clearing her throat, Rio spoke up. "Tsu-... Tsukiko."

"You better be grateful." Sendai leered at Rio. "I could have killed you. But, I figure Keine'll be _more_ disappointed in you than I am."

Rio glared back. "You-... you idiot. You ruined everything."

"Moron." Sendai was tired of her.

"Slut." Rio wanted a name-calling competition.

Having none of that, Sendai just shook her head.

' _I want to go to bed. Dealing with idiots like this… it gives me a headache.'_

"Re- relax, Tsukiko." Kasen placed a hand on Sendai's shoulder. "You're not thinking straight."

"...Ye- yeah." She was exhausted, after all of that. Even if she'd only been minimally cut up, her whole body ached from the hits she did take. All the effort and focus that went into sliding around and maneuvering around people took its toll.

Rio gave Sendai a smarmy smile. "When _I_ needed to relax-... all I had to do was find a nice host. Te- tell me, Hakurei-... have you ever had _real sex?"_

...Sendai wasn't sure if she should laugh or just be amazed.

"So, hey." Mokou stood idly next to them, emerging from the Golden Grin's doors behind them. "Should we, like… tell the guard about this shit? Someone's gotta keep watch an' make sure crooks don't just tail it."

Kasen took a breath. "...I- I'll get Keine, move Rio, and have her help me get the town guard. You-"

"Then me and Teddy-yuki whoever'll stand around and wait." Mokou figured. "...How about you, uh… Tsukiko, was it?"

...Sendai exhaled.

She'd collected her stuff off the floor inside the Golden Grin. She wasn't sure where she put her arm sleeves after that, but she _did_ collect everything.

Despite youkai like Orato and Kugo being there, many of their adversaries were more human than beast in some way. It wasn't a true youkai horde.

"I think…" She looked away from everyone. "I think I'm going back to the shrine, for awhile."

Mokou didn't have much to say to that. Kasen stared at her for a moment, before smiling. "I think-... I think that's a good idea."

"You- didn't answer me." Rio's heterochromatic eyes glared up at Sendai. "Have you-... have you ever had sex _with a youkai?"_

Sendai shook her head. "The heck happened to your parents."

"They- they didn't see my vision." Rio sounded like she'd had to reiterate this answer before. "...Metal Ann doesn't have parents."

Sendai snorted, grinning a little. "I don't want to even _see_ what Keine's gonna do to you."

Rio beamed back. "He- heheh. I- I'll bounce back. I always do."

Smiling, Sendai nodded at her. "If you do, I'll be there to push you back down. Stupidity like yours shouldn't be allowed, even by persistence."

"You'll see…" Rio shook her head. "I- I'm sure-... this is all part of Tsuruko's greater script for me. I-... I'll be a legend yet. I'll be a god, yet."

Nodding again, Sendai simply began walking away. _'You do that.'_

' _Next time, I'll be stronger, and you'll still be stupid.'_

"Um…" Kasen saw her leave. "Bye-... bye, Tsukiko."

Sendai gave a plain wave back, not bothering to turn and see anyone off.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Without her arm sleeves, Sendai strolled down the path towards the Hakurei Shrine. _'...I forgot my sleeves. Without that cloth, I can't access my other outfits or items. Whatever.'_ The clothier was somewhere in the Forest of Magic to her left.

But, she wouldn't need such access at this moment. It could wait.

' _...Speed is nice.'_ She supposed. _'Yet…'_

There was something lacking, in that whole previous bout, for her. Dodging around and stalling, while it opened up options for her, didn't perform well against multiple enemies. It was doable, evidently, but she didn't appreciate the amount of stalling and maneuvering required.

' _I had ten times easier of a time dealing with that damn cat the moment I stopped relying on the wind. And, nothing in my techniques can deal with big asshole youkai, like that cow. That's a problem.'_

' _I've been neglecting my power. But...'_

She remembered trying to rely on blunt anger and holy power, and only received crippling pain for her attempt. _'I don't have any techniques that rely on that raw power. If I fixed that balance… I might be closer to my former self.'_

With raw speed and technique, she could easily wipe out single opponents, but the price of actual power was steep. Sometimes, the precision required just wasn't possible, especially against youkai who were comparably fast as it was.

' _I'll try relying on my raw power for awhile. I bought all those recovery items. I'll get over the pain it leaves me in.'_

"So~." As Sendai sauntered home, taking in the late day's windy overcast, someone spoke up alongside her. "You _really_ Reimu's mom?"

She looked to her left, and saw Kugo walking plainly there, arms behind his head.

Stepping back, she raised her fists, as if getting ready to fight, strafing back. She walked off the path, positioning near a tree.

He snorted, and held up his arms. "Ea~sy."

"No." She wouldn't forgive him. "If you don't want to die, you'd better turn around and leave."

He held his arms out. "Now, are you in _any_ shape ta be pushin' people around like that? You don't got yer hammerspace on ya, either. I didn't come here ta fight ya."

"What, then?" Sendai inhaled.

"I came ta ask ya fer a date." He grinned with the cleverness of a cat. "I can call ya Suki-chan, right?"

"Fuck off." Sendai wasn't interested.

Taking in her glare, he stepped closer. "...Man. I _love_ angry ladies like you. Y'know, that Rio-chan? She was a lot like you."

Unsheathing his claws, he kept advancing, as Sendai glared back. "How's about we make a deal? I-"

"Hey, moron."

Kugo froze where he stood.

He looked to the left. Reimu stood there, gohei slung behind herself on one shoulder.

"Oo-" Kugo stood stock still, where he was. "Oh-... oh, fuck."

"So." Reimu plainly walked closer. "What kinda deal's that? Is there money involved?"

"I-..." Kugo looked rapidly between Reimu and Sendai. "...She- she ain't yer mom, is she!?" Kugo pointed at Sendai quickly.

Reimu nodded once. "She is. Why?"

His eyes widened slightly. "...Um. Nn- no reason. She, um, sure looks it. I mean-"

Sendai interjected. "He tried to rape me, earlier today. He's trying to rape me right now. It's really fucking annoying."

Kugo actually glared at her, dropping his cool. "It- it wouldn't be _rape_ if you were _down fer it!_ You chicks always adjust! I-..." He looked back at Reimu, making an 'o' shape with his mouth.

"I'd start running." Reimu floated into the air. Her gohei rotated around before herself, its motions drawing a yin-yang circle in the air before herself. _"Divine Spirit! Fantasy Seal!"_

 _Fwish!_ Kugo took off down the path, sprinting with inhuman velocity-

 _FWA- FWA- FWA- FWA- FWASH!_ Huge, intimidating yin-yang orbs of light-warping rainbow power bloomed from around Reimu's form, and took off after him. At first, they were slow, but their speed never stopped building.

...Sendai watched him sprint a good half-kilometer down the path, before the orbs became faster than his cat-like reflexes.

 _BOOM- BAM- BLAM- KABAM- BOOM- BOOM!_ Seven yin-yangs of different distinct colors exploded with such holy ferocity, that their light could be seen even at a kilometer's distance. The energy warped the overcast above treetops. Mid-winter birds fled the scene from the volume and ferocity.

"Takes care of that." Reimu nodded plainly.

Sendai was ironically glad to not have to fight him. _'To think, I felt pressured by a fucking cat youkai, of all things.'_

...Slowly, Reimu brought her casual stare to her mother. "You must've had a lot to do, 'cause it took you awhile to get here. When we separated the other day, I didn't think you'd just return to being a hobo in the village."

Sendai snorted. "We- well… I had things to do that couldn't wait. Fortunately… I know it sounds like bullshit, but I literally just wrapped up some of the most pressing issues today."

' _What a fucking weird road it's been. To think this all started, with trying to find and help out some homeless chick… to saving a girl from her crappy family, and then shutting down- or at least inciting investigation- of that shitty casino. That was...'_

It was hard for her to think about it in the moment, but it was the strangest thing. _'So many youkai… and their operation-... those youkai acted like they were used to getting their way. They had money, women, numbers, and power.'_

' _If they're as rich as I think they are… even what we did today won't be it for them. No, Rio didn't lead them. She was probably just one of their most valuable members. But, why? How?'_

' _Was it just… that faith power she wielded?'_

"Well, if you're _telling the truth,_ you won't mind spending a few days around the shrine, then." Reimu had her hands on her own hips. "Right?"

...At this point, Sendai didn't mind at all. She smiled at her daughter. "Certainly. I'm sorry, for having left you alone for so long."

Reimu blinked, not expecting her to take it in this direction. "...That's okay. Considering you look like you got jumped repeatedly, you probably _actually_ had things to do."

"My word isn't enough?" Sendai raised a brow.

That made Reimu feel guilty. "I- I mean… I don't know _what_ you've even been doing. I _heard_ that building explode, though. Was that you?"

Sendai felt a nice breeze meet her sweaty, aching form. "Would it be any surprise if I said yes?"

"No."

"...If only the village had a legitimate hot spring." Sendai lamented. "If it does, I don't know of any."

' _I could really use something like that-'_

"Did you already forget?" Reimu smiled. "The shrine _has_ a hot spring."

' _Wait- hold on… what.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

' _Oh, gods.'_ Sendai dipped her body into the hot water without hesitation. _'Sweet, sweet release.'_

She had no idea when the shrine had gotten a hot spring, but of all the random things that could have happened in her absence, this was perhaps the best of them all.

...Reimu gave her mother a smug nod. "They say the healing energy of the Hakurei springs are no joke." ...Then, she searched Sendai's body with her eyes. "Also, what the heck happened to _you._ "

She noted Sendai's bandages, fresh scratches, and many bruise marks.

The hot spring was open air, but even amidst the cold of winter, the air around the spring itself was steamy and warm, if slightly chilly. Mist permeated from the reservoir of cozy liquid, and it had a healthy, natural gold tint to it cast by the magi-lights set up around the fence that contained it.

"...Hmm? What?" Sendai hadn't caught on, her mind not even crossing her wounds. "You said... 'they'. How many other people use this hot spring?"

"Wh-... don't remind me." Reimu didn't want to talk about it. "I uh, meant all those new cuts and stuff. Did you get those just recently?"

' _Ah, right. Reimu's shrine is… filled with many colorful faces, these days. I'd almost forgotten.'_

"...Yeah." Sendai didn't have much to say about them.

With that, silence set in. The spring's water shifted plainly.

 _fwi~sh._ A gentle stream pattered down into the water from inside a cave nearby. This rock wall had root in the side of the fencing for the spring.

' _Big hill thing. Was that always there…? I think so, yeah. That cave wasn't there before.'_

"So, um…" Reimu wanted to speak more. "What've you been doing in the village?"

...After collecting her thoughts for a moment, Sendai elucidated. "I was dealing with that fake shrine maiden situation. A lot of the chicks involved in that were… really broken up, and kinda pathetic, in some ways. They were also a big source of crime and vulnerability. The problem seems far smaller now."

"Yeah. I remember those idiots." Reimu nodded, as she sank deeper into the water… "Why even bother? They don't hurt anyone…"

Sendai snorted. "...But, they do. One of them participated in what seemed to be a... _rape ring,_ whatever you'd call it. One of them was homeless and unstable, and one was trying to kill villagers to summon a great youkai."

...Unease setting into her relaxing form, Reimu slowly cast her gaze up. "Re-... really, now? It's gotten that bad?"

"Yeah."

"How do you know?" Reimu focused on her mother's gaze. "Or rather, um… how'd you even find out?"

That was a mystery to even Sendai. "...I followed my intuition random places."

In this instant, Reimu felt what it was like to be on the receiving end of this explanation. "...Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense."

Sendai returned to sitting peacefully amidst the water, slowly sinking deeper into it herself.

Once she was in up to her chest, she closed her eyes. _'Gods…'_

"If I had this spring, when I was your age…" Sendai shook her head. "I'd live in it all the fucking time. Nn- not that that'd be a good thing, for my weather tolerance… and-" She had a thought. "Could a human just sit in water for long periods of time, as a defense mechanism?"

"No." Reimu shook her head. "You prune and your skin gets bad. Probably worse stuff happens, but I don't think anyone's tried to find out."

' _Fair.'_ Sendai wouldn't try to find out, either.

...Slowly, Reimu approached her mother while she wasn't focusing, her mouth hidden by the water as she slowly snuck up.

Eventually catching on, Sendai stared down at her, and was instantly endeared. "...Wh- what's with that." Then, a thought came to her. "Actually, really, when'd we get this _spring._ "

 _splish._ Reimu poked her mouth out of the water. "Few months ago." Then, she sank back in.

Sendai smiled down at her. "That- doesn't tell me anything."

 _splish._ Reimu poked her mouth back out, again. "...So- sort of a long story. But, I did some errands underground. One thing lead to another, and I made a geyser erupt behind the shrine. When it settled, it was warm."

' _...Wh- what the hell was Reimu doing underground.'_

"...This is weird." Reimu eventually decided. "Nn- not the situation I just spoke about. Like-... us. You being… like, alive."

Smiling, Sendai nodded. "It is, isn't it?"

"You just, being back home again." Reimu wasn't sure what to make of this. "...It- it was harder to be distracted by, when I took you on tour. But like… I don't really know how to act around you."

Sendai's gaze was tired, as she looked over her daughter. "...Well. You still do cute things, like when you were five."

"Do- do I…?" Reimu seemed opposed, for some reason. "Like what?"

"...When I could only see your eyes above the water." Sendai suggested. "You were trying. Don't act coy."

"Alright- fine." Reimu couldn't argue with that. "What'd I do that was so cute when I was five, then…?"

Sendai's brows raised. "Do you not remember? I feel like I brought it up, that first time you beat me up."

"...I- I had a buzz that evening." Reimu may or may not have forgotten the details of that night.

"You'd do a little stomping motion." Sendai remembered, the last evening of her old life. "It was adorable."

"...Ah. I- I think I um, remember that, actually." Reimu felt weird, as she searched the water with her gaze. "That-... that was so long ago."

Sendai paused. She had a question she needed to ask.

"What happened, after I died?" Sendai wondered. "How did you get by?"

Reimu took pause, for a moment. "...It, wasn't so bad, actually. I ran around in the village, until I met Marisa's dad. He kept a distant eye on me, until I became powerful enough to look after myself. Genji was more hands-on."

' _Wait- Genji-...'_

Sendai felt herself pause. "Oo- oh, right, he's alive." She remembered when she froze over it on tour. "I need to meet him again. I have to thank him, and apologize."

Reimu snorted. "For what? Dying?"

Sendai blinked. "...Yes?"

' _Also, repeatedly forgetting about him after coming back. Just- between Reimu and the village, my mind's been full. I know that's no excuse, but…'_

Reimu felt her own heart churn a little. "Stop with that. You don't have to say sorry to anyone. I-... I still remember how you died. It wa- wasn't your fault. Even then… death just comes to humans. When I grew up, I like, thought a lot about how I was the only surviving member of the family. Something about it... feels natural."

"...I'm glad you feel that way." Sendai stared into the dimming overcast sky. "Sometimes, I felt… like the world was just really empty. I ran around, beat up idiots, got money to survive, and just… I was still alone. After my mother died, I felt like I was living after the end of the world, or something."

"I only had a couple years like that." Reimu remembered back. "Things all changed real quick in my teens. Now… well, I'd basically accepted you being dead. You being back, was just-... I don't know. It- kinda makes me really happy, but at the same time… y'know, you don't see me jumping for joy or anything. It's weirdly happy, but also kinda awkward."

"Yeah." Considering how long it took for them to acclimate to one another even existing on friendly terms, Sendai had to agree. "We'll get over it, I'm sure. I'm… when I was just back, I was still in the mode of caring for you, and everything. I'm sure I told you, but the first thing I did when I came back, was rush to see how you were doing."

Reimu smiled awkwardly, staring into the water.

"It felt really weird, to just… suddenly have no responsibilities." Sendai confessed. "Or rather, I've made myself some again, considering my friends and their lives, but… I don't have to patrol the lands anymore, keeping tabs on the youkai. I don't need to even watch the shrine, with you here, able to care for yourself. I don't need to struggle to make income to survive, either."

' _Honestly, I prefer everything being harder to fight, but money is common and easy. For some reason those shrine maidens were carrying… eighty thousand fucking yen. That's-... I could've stopped going on hunts for like, weeks, with that money.'_

"Does it feel good?" Reimu wondered, regarding her mother's responsibilities, or lack thereof.

"...Yeah." Sendai admitted. "I wish I could have seen you grow up. But… this isn't the worst situation."

Reimu suddenly pursed her lips. "Wait. Like… if you're-... are you forty?"

Sendai nodded. "Good guess. Unless, you'd heard it from somewhere."

"I'm almost _half_ as old as you." Reimu considered.

"...I suppose you are." Sendai found it hard to wrap her head around. "You're already an adult. Gods…"

' _I'm so happy she's okay. Even… even if it's so many years later.'_

"Anyway." Reimu stood taller, exposing herself from the waist up. "Let's stop talking about depressing stuff."

"Sure." Sendai didn't mind changing the topic.

' _We have so much to catch up over.'_

 _fwi~sh._ As the tiny water stream continued flowing from that cave ahead, another nude figure slowly rode down it, her limbs splayed out. "Woo~..."

 _Spla~sh!_ Then, she was deposited into the water. _'Who-... who the fuck was that.'_

...Ignoring that, Reimu faced her mother again. "Have you gotten any better at fighting since I last saw you?"

Sendai exhaled, taking in the heartwarming nature of the hot spring. "Mmh. Some. I've been relearning some of my old techniques… but, they come slowly compared to the new ones I master. Yet…"

She leaned back, resting her back against the side of the spring. "You see… I have… _four distinct_ styles of approaching combat, at the moment."

"Oo- oh?" Reimu blinked, and smiled. "What?"

Closing her eyes, Sendai searched her body.

With her daughter there, she very quickly felt a sense of peace and ease.

 _Fwish._ White light bloomed from Sendai's body, floating along with the spring's mist.

"...Aa- ah." Reimu could sense that change tangibly. "You- just got a lot more… something, all of a sudden."

"This is the energy I used to wield." Sendai stared down at her own chest, arms held up, beholding her own, semi-luminescent form. "It's slow. It's weak. Like this, I have few compatible skills."

' _Only when I'm pushed to the edge, am I even able to make it usable, by raw adrenaline and force.'_

Wading into the midst of the spring, Sendai looked more tired. "...You've seen the foundation of my speed-based style. Where I call the wind, and become much lighter."

' _I bet if I fought something one-on-one like that now, I'd just annihilate them. But, I can work on honing my technique later. Right now… I need reliable power, for when blows come to blows. Not everyone is as weak and predictable as a human.'_

"Then…" Sendai searched her body.

It was easier to find her holy, orange energy when she was angry. In this moment, it became really difficult. Thinking over the day frustrated her. As did considering Tadiyuki's plight, Rio's blind self-absorbed zeal, and Keiko's own blind form of belief.

But, in this moment, all it did was make her glad her daughter was a saint by comparison. Even if she was perhaps lazy and a mooch.

Losing her original train of thought, Sendai gave her daughter a ginger look. "I think you need to eat better. You also need to get out and make more money, the honest way."

"Wh- where's this coming from." Reimu grinned back, but looked slightly indignant, too. "I get by just fine."

"Marisa told me about how you do things." Sendai explained. "That's something that really makes me wish I'd been able to raise you."

"I- I get by. I'd like more money, but no one donates." Reimu frowned. "I bust-... I really push myself, solving huge, land-threatening issues, and stopping people from selfishly claiming the place, but it's never relevant to the human level."

"How much time do you get between these huge events?" Sendai wondered.

...Reimu's mouth became smaller. "So- some weeks, or months."

Sendai clicked her tongue. "Plenty of time for you to do _something,_ even if it's small."

"But- people come buy and give me stuff all the time." Reimu asserted herself, folding her arms. "I'm not wasting my time, just 'cause your time used to be different."

"Oh, please." Sendai's gaze became cynical. "What happens when they don't give you stuff?"

...Reimu wasn't sure how to retort, but came up with something. "I-... I deal with it. That's really rare, though."

"Do you just starve?" Sendai assumed.

"Yes." Reimu didn't want to lie. "Yes I do. But- I get better. I get food."

"Gods." Sendai felt somewhat guilty. "...How about I just _give you_ some money, to start out with. Don't just _spend it._ Use it as a… a _financial cushion,_ so to speak."

...At the notion, Reimu smiled. "A cushion, huh. Sounds like the next thing to buy."

"If you actually do that, you're not getting anymore money." Sendai shook her head, grinning too. "Seriously. Only reason you get by half-starving is 'cause you're eighteen. When I was young, I could channel my hunger into youkai-murdering energy."

Reimu looked slightly displaced. "Yo- youkai murdering energy? Hold on..."

"Starved animals fight the hardest." Sendai reasoned. "I was a starving animal. Either I became a youkai's bitch, or I killed it and bought food with the money I got for bringing the corpse back. Or, I starved. It sucked. I didn't know how to fight, either, so sometimes I just stole from people, or hurt other humans. I take pride in my despair, but not necessarily what I had to do to get by."

"...Well." Reimu nodded. "I don't have to kill youkai _often._ I do it sometimes, to preserve the village's… villageness. Wait-... y'know what, I'll ask later." She planned on questioning the 'rape ring' Sendai had mentioned, but she didn't particularly want to deal with it yet either.

' _Huh. So… even with this big thing about 'danmaku', she still just murders youkai once in awhile. I might've heard her say this before.'_

' _In any case, I guess I'm not working myself into anger like this. I can't be angry at Reimu, at least, not so easily-'_

 _Spla~sh!_ That's when the orange-haired, short oni leapt from the depths of the spring, and wrapped her arms around Sendai.

"Wh- _aa-"_ Sendai's eyes widened-

 _sploosh._ Suika hugging onto her from behind threw her forward, and they both sunk underwater in the next moment.

" _Mm- mmh!"_ Submerged so quickly, Sendai barely got any air, and paused as she sunk.

' _Quick-'_ The being that had hugged her was like a rock. Force couldn't be summoned so easily underwater, so Sendai had a quick, instinctual plan.

Using her arms, she climbed along the bottom of the spring, clutching uneven rocks and stone surfaces, working to the rim.

Soon, she scaled the not-so deep wall up to the edge, and emerged.

 _Splash!_ "Fw- aah!" She inhaled air, escaping the warm spring water. "Ha~h…" She needed to go for a dive anyway, she figured.

"He- hehehe…" Suika's face pressed into Sendai's back. Her arms kneaded Sendai's chest from behind. "So _damnh_ shoft…"

The little oni's hands were rough and applied a heavy pressure to her pilowy place. "Just- ngh- _who_ were you, again?" Sendai had forgotten Suika's name…

Reimu had a dull look. "That's Suika, if you don't remember. She did this to you last time."

"Aa- and she wash like- 'do it again, an' I'll smash ya'!" Suika reminded Sendai... "Bu', damnh, she'sh… she'sh goht a body _like_ an oni!"

Now along the more shallow rim of the pool, Sendai huffed. "I'll make _good on that,_ too. Let go of me."

"Mmh." Suika closed her eyes. "Naa~h. Why not jus' relax…?"

"I've had _enough_ of being felt-up today." Sendai voiced louder. "I'm tired, I'm annoyed, and I have enough to think about without _you_ being an asshole."

"Hey…" Reimu didn't like the tone of her mother's voice. "Suika."

"Then _do_ shomethin' abou' it." Suika didn't particularly care. "If ya got enough energy ta pissh an' bhitch a' me, ya got enough energy ta tug me off, _Hakurei._ Wh'ever yer name was."

' _I can't even bathe without getting pestered by idiots…'_

"Suika." Reimu waded closer. "What're you _doing._ Just- leave her alone, for now-"

"No." Sendai felt a headache coming on again. "...Fine."

"Mmh?" Suika stared into Sendai's back.

 _Kri- krack, krack._ From within Sendai's body, the glowing, holy shell actualized again. She used this anger to draw her holy affinity out.

' _I asked for this, anyway.'_ She'd wanted an excuse to be pissed off again. _'I might be wiped after this- but it'll be progress. No use complaining about it now.'_

-+- _Vs. Hug of Suika Ibuki -+-_

 _SLOSH, SLOSH, SLOSH._ Sendai's body was like a ten ton weight in the water. As she moved, her limbs seemingly ignored that it was there, the liquid being pushed away by her stomping.

"Next time oughta bhe a _phiggyback ride."_ Suika remarked, getting comfy, kicking her legs as she clung to Sendai. "Those're hot… I think."

Reimu floated back in the water, watching her mother trudge through it cautiously.

' _If I go too deep, it'll get in my face. I don't have a lot of room to move. But…'_

 _SPLA- SPLASH!_ She reeled her left arm back, and threw it forward, unleashing a massive hook only made more massive by the leverage her body gained in the water.

 _SPLAA~SH!_ The massive, whipping hook forced her to jump in the water, her massive bodily force carrying her further along the depths, the whole spring rippling.

" _Hnnh-"_ Sendai readied to sling her right arm out, flinging her left arm back at the same time-

 _SPLASH- SPLA- SPLAA~SH!_ With the massive, right-armed hook, she plunged her whole body underwater, then back out of it, her weight pounding the spring's surface like a bowling ball dropped on a pillow.

"What-..." Reimu's eyes were wide, as she swam against the tides both forward and backward. "What the _hell…"_

Charging her arms overhead, Sendai felt her body shake with the energy it unleashed, the force going straight up her own spine.

" _Ya~h!"_ Sendai slapped her right arm down, and hooked her left arm down after it-

 _KRAKSPLASH- Sploosh._ The spiking motion made a geyser of diamond-like drops explode into the air behind herself, and plunged her down.

Straight down. Right to the blackest crevice the spring had to offer, five meters down here.

 _thump._ Her bare feet met the rocky underside of the reservoir. Bubbles emitted from Suika's mouth, as she stared up at the shimmering light.

Crouching down, Sendai hoped her numb body wasn't taking too much water, and she reeled her left arm back.

Then, the motions were familiar. First, a memory of the evening she came to the shrine. The evening Reimu beat her up.

She'd attempted a dark-accented uppercut, to get onto the rafters, but came short by far.

 _woosh._ She uppercutted with her left arm, and beautiful orange light lit up the dark under-spring. Her muscles worked at maximum capacity to fight the water's weight, propelling her body straight up through it.

 _Woosh!_ She uppercut with her right arm now, following up on her own momentum. The water's surface rippled, as the raw power she exuded with each uppercut displaced the entire column of water she was under.

 _KRASPLAA~SH!_ She pierced the surface looking like a solar eruption, her yellow light mingling with a geyser of water, lighting up the entire spring with violent, explosive orange.

Up this high, however, she had no reliable method of landing. She was three meters over the water's surface.

"Nn- _ngh-"_ She braced herself. Bringing up both arms, she saw the water approach her eyes.

 _KRAKA- SPLAASH!_ She hammered both arms straight down, onto the water. An explosion of drops beneath her forearms cut her flesh, but propelled her forward, back to the shallows.

"Fuu~." Suika nonchalantly spit out a stream of water into the air behind them, still clung to Sendai's back.

 _SPLAA~SH!_ Skidding to a stop in the shallows, her knees scraping open against the underwater rock, Sendai bounced into standing amidst the water. "Rr- rgh…"

' _How- tight is an oni's grip!? Fucking…!'_

Though the pain didn't register yet, she could _feel_ the soon-to-be-bloody abrasion along her knees, and her body pulsed with some kind of power.

" _Hrr~gh…"_ Like she'd seen countless youkai do before, and Orato, as well as Okane- the village's potentially former farmer baron- Sendai twisted her torso, reeling both arms back to the right, like they were girders attached to her shoulders.

 _WOOSH!_ Then, she threw the left one out first, then the right, and her whole body spun around once amidst the water.

 _SPLA- KASPLA- SPLA- SPLASH!_ The tornado-like whipping motion was far faster than most youkai's, however. The raw, absolute explosion of amber, vague frustrated anger from Sendai's body created a shockwave amidst the spring.

 _FWUUU~SH._ All but the water near her ankles was pushed back from her for a meter, a neat half-sphere of air created by the mighty, clumsy tornado-like technique.

" _Wh- oa~h!"_ Since Suika's hands were on Sendai's boobs, and only her legs were trying to hold on awkwardly, the lack of friction did no favors to the force with which she clung. She flew away, spinning off further into the spring.

 _KRAK- SPLASH!_ Her body hit the surface like a huge rock, stopping for a moment, before quickly being consumed. "Wh- _gughblgh- ngh-"_

 _Sendai learned Clothesline Bash._

 _Sendai learned Giga Uppercut._

 _Kri- krack-..._ The amber energy around Sendai's muscles faded, and her body lost the sheen of the holy shell that had formed around it.

As she expected, but couldn't truly brace for, the rush of pain enveloped her.

Teeth bared, she let herself flop against a large rock amidst the spring's rim, convulsing in degrees of agony. "Fh- _fhu~ck…_ _nn-..."_

The pain pounded through her legs, and her arms felt like they'd blow off, her biceps and arms suddenly on fire.

It's not the worst thing she'd ever felt, she reminded herself. Her mind fixated on the color of the grey sky above, darting around, seeking _something_ to distract herself, if even insignificantly.

Then, ease, and lingering ache. The explosion of recoil was over.

Sendai sighed, her ribs shuddering. _'I-... I want to sleep…'_ Her body experienced aftershocks.

"Mom-..." Reimu came up to her, and seeing her distraught look, called her 'mom' by impulse. She wouldn't admit it, but seeing her mother melancholic or somber was surprisingly common, before she died. "Are... you okay?"

Sendai felt like she'd exercised literally every muscle in her body. She wasn't panting; it was that kind of lingering ache one might feel after vigorous exercise, but multiplied by some, over all her muscles.

' _...Either that holy form takes a lot out of me-... or I'm just out of shape…'_

"I-" Regardless, Sendai was exhausted. "I don't-... know. I just-... want to fall over."

Reimu looked worried. "We- well, don't do it in _here._ You can use my futon, if you need to."

' _Your cold futon, because the shrine isn't heated.'_ Sendai remembered. Despite her growing ire for the spring and water in general, she knew she'd sorely miss the warmth.

"...Maybe," Sendai considered, "more time in here. For-... for my muscles to unwind, _again._ That- took a lot out of me."

' _I just haven't been getting a break, lately. Which… is basically ideal, but damn is it annoying.'_

 _Spla~sh._ Suika gently surfaced. "Ma~n. Like that, yer stronger than Reimu! By a whole lot! An' I thought _Reimu_ could hit hard!"

"Suika-" Reimu's own anger spiked. "Look what you did! You made her miserable!"

Suika waved it off. "Aah, she'll be thankin' me one way 'er another. If yer momma's really as tough as they say, she'll get over it. That was _nothin'._ "

' _...Perhaps she's right. Doesn't stop my body from feeling like crap…'_

Closing her eyes, Sendai let herself sink down, sitting on a conveniently positioned rock. Considering how many ideally placed and smoothed rocks were in here, the design of most of the spring was probably custom work.

"What'd _yhou_ think, big Reimu?" Suika grinned at her. "Was that _awesome_ 'er what!?"

...Admittedly, while Sendai remembered her outward force being immense, it wasn't immense enough to essentially displace _whole_ small bodies of water, or to smash herself across surfaces with her mere motions.

"...Interesting." Sendai conveyed as little agreement as possible. "If only I didn't need _more_ scrapes and aches on top of the ones I already have."

' _Most of them are little things.'_ She realized. Sure, she had blade or cut wounds in the near double digits by this point, but they weren't grievously deep for the most part. _'Maybe I just need another night's sleep, and some food.'_

' _Food.'_ She realized. _'I haven't eaten since this morning. ...Just like back in the day, huh. Me forgetting to eat between my random happenings...'_

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Suika dismissed the complaining as bullshit. "If yer gonna be like _that,_ y'oughta spend tomorrow sleepin'. Maybe chewin' _marshmallows,_ an' starin' at the _sun_ all day."

...Reimu glared at Suika. "If you're trying to piss _me_ off, it's working."

Sendai snorted. After looking over at her daughter, she continued. "You're right. I really shouldn't outwardly complain so much. My body needs all the experience it can get, as fast as it can."

Reimu paused, staring at her mother in vague surprise.

Suika raised a brow, smiling. "Ah…?"

"I'm still spending tomorrow sleeping." Sendai clarified. "'Cause fuck today. Marshmallows, even if they were the only thing we had left to eat, are probably still a hard _no._ "

...She met Reimu's gaze, and Reimu was closer, looking casual. "But- marshmallows are _good._ "

Sendai let her brows drift up. "...Please don't tell me you _routinely_ buy bags of _marshmallows."_

Reimu smiled sheepishly, giving her mother a little shrug. "...What if, I _did."_

"How did you even _get_ as strong as you are." Sendai was mystified. "I don't care what you say, I'm fixing your diet."

"What…?" Reimu furrowed her brows. "No, you _aren't._ It-... it doesn't even _matter_ what I eat, almost!"

"Wh- what?" Sendai smiled wider, taken by that idea. "Reimu-... I didn't get muscles by _downing bags of candy._ And, you know seasoned meat is pretty good."

"Seasoned meat's _expensive._ " Reimu contested. "Candy's cheaper."

"Is it?" Sendai wasn't sure. Prices very well could have changed in a decade or so. "Still… you're-... you're _the_ Hakurei maiden. Even if a human's muscles mean almost nothing to a sword, gun, or magic bomb, good stamina and health could mean the difference between withering into nothing, or being able to overcome."

"...Well, I'm not _dead._ " Reimu contested. "Aa- and I get a lot of exercise flying around, and hitting things."

"Do you use _any_ muscle to fly." Sendai doubted it immensely.

...Reimu smiled. "My mind?"

Sendai didn't even say anything in return. Her stare was enough for Reimu to chuckle under her breath, and look away.

Suika leaned back, and floated atop the water, inadvertently giving the other girls an eyeful. "Ma~n. I could watch ya two bicker forever. Didn't take long fer tha' whole 'mother daughter' shtick ta sink in, huh…"

...Reimu snorted. "I just realized. If I ever go, 'who are you, my mother', you'd uh…"

Sendai grinned. "That's true, isn't it? I have a right to complain. I don't want you to die one day because you spent your youth downing bags of _fu-_ bags of _candy._ " The rare event of Sendai abstaining from swearing had occurred.

"...Well." Reimu wanted to bring up her one defense. "They'd never _degrade_ my health. From like, lower than it currently is."

"Yes it would." Sendai replied casually. "Please, Reimu. Don't try to convince me you're stupid."

Reimu glared, but also smiled. "Se- seriously! One of the yin-yang orbs blessings… is that it prevents the Hakurei maiden from getting fat when eating sweets."

"Pft." Sendai appreciated the jest. "I mean, it might as well. Big damn pinball otherwise."

"Really!" Reimu could tell she didn't believe it. "...It also lets you turn into a _cat._ "

"Mmh." Sendai ignored the mediocre joke.

...Glaring into the air for a moment, Reimu reached into the water, and drew a yin-yang orb, somehow. Floating it into the air, she focused-

 _poof._ With a flourish of white magic dust, Reimu was gone from the spring.

Sendai blinked. "...Huh."

She looked to the right. A little, white-brown cat walked up, coming waywardly up to Sendai.

Mouth ajar, Sendai blinked rapidly. "Nn- no fucking way. What. Are-... are you _fucking_ serious."

"Mrr- row- mrow, row." Reimu spoke cat.

"Bwuh-" Sendai wanted to object. She really did. "...Aw."

Then, she waded up to the edge of the spring, and held her arms out. "C'mere."

Awkwardly, Reimu-cat submitted, letting Sendai pull her closer.

Sendai put her face against Reimu's flank.

...Slowly, Reimu began to purr. _'Oh my god. This- while entirely goddamn useless, is pretty okay.'_

 _poof._ Then, Reimu dispelled the magic.

...She was now on her arms and knees along the spring's side. Sendai's cheek was now against the side of her stomach.

"Keep purring." Sendai requested the impossible.

"...Burr." Reimu failed. "Bu- burr, burr-... bu- pu- bubh-..."

Taking in the complete lack of purring, Sendai moved to pick Reimu up, to put her back in the water. She reached out and gripped her torso from under her arms.

"Wh-" Reimu's eyes widened, as her mother pulled her backwards. "What-"

 _splish._ Slowly, Sendai lowered Reimu into the water, and noted the way her body flinched when meeting the heat again. "Ee- aa- _nnh…"_

...Once she was on her feet again, Reimu twisted around, her cheeks red. "Wh- what was _that_ about?"

"Nostalgia's sake." Sendai remembered bathing her, using a similar grip to place her in the small tub they used to have. "You've gotten a little heavier since then."

"Ye- yeah…!" Reimu grinned back, holding herself. "How'd you _move me_ so easily, just-... without using your magic _anything?_ I'm _eighteen!_ I'm adult weight!"

' _Even though I need a lot more deliberation to fight and use force now, let it be known that I'm still pretty damn strong for a human, even without relying on magic or faith.'_

"I'm strong." Sendai summarized her thinking. "...You're also still fairly light. By my standards, at least."

"No wonder you impressed Suika…" Reimu shook her head. "That's some spooky strength."

...Sendai relaxed back onto the submerged rock face behind herself. "I'm a spooky maiden, so it fits."

"Mmh…" Suika was still floating around before them. "Man, tha' was _hilarious."_

' _...My attempts at flinging you around, or Reimu literally turning into a fucking cat? I didn't know the ying-yang could even let you do that. Actually- if I could've turned into a cat, I could've sneaked into so many places as a kid. I could've hid in the shrine as a cat to survive cold winter evenings! The Hakurei God is fucking useless…!'_

"Could-" Sendai was morbidly curious. "Could _I_ be able to turn into a cat?"

Reimu blinked twice. "Are-... yeah, you didn't know about it. I- I don't see why _not._ "

"How." Sendai had literally no idea.

Reimu held up an orb. "Here."

Claiming the yin-yang, Sendai stared at it. Playfully, she expanded and shrank it meaninglessly.

"Close your eyes and want to be a cat." Reimu explained.

"Aa- are you serious." It couldn't be that simple. It couldn't be.

"Yep." Reimu nodded.

...Frowning, Sendai held up the orb, and focused. _'...I want to be a cat.'_

The orb floated from her palm, lighting up with divine light and right.

 _poof._

From the blur of white smoke and magic, Sendai found herself blind for a moment, before her vision came back.

She was by the water's side now. She felt like she was practically inside the floor, from how short she was. _'Holy-... holy shit.'_

She had the floof of a British Longhair, and her fur was jet black.

Coming up to the edge of the water, Reimu's smile spread, and her cheeks grew slightly chubbier.

"Mr-" Sendai spoke in cat. "Mrowh- rrh…" Her voice was deep and hostile.

' _I- I don't even know what's coming out of my mouth. It was supposed to be along the lines of 'are you fucking serious'.'_

' _...Also, I at least now know why I never found this out. I can definitely say… I've never wanted to be a cat before.'_

"You're _really_ fluffy." Reimu decided, as she went to pet her mother.

Sendai instantly felt a great, carnal satisfaction from being pet. _'Oo- oh, god, this is weird. This is weird. It's good- but really fuckin' weird!'_ Somehow, it was similar to getting her breasts massaged, or her body caressed.

' _I've had enough of being a cat- I wanna go back!'_

 _poof._ And so, the wish was heeded by the Hakurei god.

...Sendai was on her arms and knees, naked next to the spring.

Reimu kept petting her scalp, but it was more mundane. _'...Still weird, but- at least it's not sending off some strange… sensation, in my head.'_

"The orb's got one last secret." Reimu revealed. "...It lets the user change their scent, to whatever they want."

"Ah." Sendai nodded, still by the spring's side. "Pe-... perfect. Abso- fuckin'- lutely astounding. Our god is truly a fierce and powerful one."

Slowly, as Reimu held a yin-yang, her scent became that of apples. She gingerly stared at her mother, as the apple scent intensified.

...Reimu handed off an extra orb to Sendai, and she held it as she climbed back into the spring.

 _Spla- splash._ On entry, she considered a smell. ' _...Cinnamon.'_ She remembered it from Kugo. While he was completely resent-worthy, she had to admit the scent was enticing.

...Slowly, as she and Reimu quietly stared at each other, Reimu smelt the heavy, husky cinnamon scent. She narrowed her eyes a little, obviously affected by it.

' _Wonder if that scent is made to affect women specifically. Normally, I don't notice things like that…'_

Reimu slowly began to smell like pears, as she blinked.

Sendai slowly took on that offbrand, sweet scent that Keine sometimes emitted, despite not knowing its name.

"I'm gonna kick so much ass by changing my scent repeatedly." Sendai shook her head. "Holy _shit_ , this is the most ass-backwards, _useless_ ability of all time."

Reimu nodded. "Yup. I mean, you never have to bathe to smell good, so everyone always thinks you're ultra clean."

Sendai had the urge to brush her palm across her own face. "That's powerful."

 _Sendai learned Fantasy Heaven * Cat Style._

 _Sendai learned Fantasy Heaven * Essence of Scent._

"...Being a cat _does_ seem like it'd have use." Sendai had to admit. "I'm not sure _when_ I'd use it, but to sneak around… I could see it. Having no _negative_ dietary effects is also nice… but, that could be sidestepped by eating healthy in the first place."

"Mmh." Reimu nodded in vague agreement… "Personally, I like… I never _use_ being a cat. 'Cause it's… so rarely useful."

...Sendai was tempted to rebuke. _'Maybe you're just not creative. Ah…'_ Then, she realized she could critique herself in the same way. _'Damn.'_

Having left the springs, the two were now back at the shrine. They were both bundled up in multiple towels, the icy walk up the hill from the hot springs less than pleasant. Neither had wanted to put on their clothes, not that they would have helped much at all.

...Behind them, Suika scratched her own butt cheeks. "Y'coulda gone _cat_ ta walk up the hill. Cats have _fur…_ "

' _...I can't believe we were just outsmarted by an oni.'_

' _Now that I think about it, I could transform into a cat to spy on people. Yeah. That's an idea.'_

The shrine was dark at first. Then, as Reimu looked around, it slowly lit up, but only some.

The sun had set only enough to cast the land in a comfy, blue-black shade. The sky was a full, navy blue; it'd only be minutes until it was black.

Staring out the back door, despite the biting cold, Sendai resonated with the distant black around the Hakurei hill.

' _...This is more of what I'm about. Nature, and darkness.'_

It was ironic, but Sendai felt most at peace now when she was alone. _'I was always sort of a loner going into my teens, my mother being so hands-off in some ways… and then, yeah.'_

The shrine was a bleak, dim white. Slowly, Reimu changed the tint to a warm orange.

"...Is _this_ a product of the yin-yang, too?" Sendai expected not, but at this point…

Reimu snorted. "Ah, yeah. Might surprise you, but no. It's just some magi-light stuff Marisa helped me hook up. I used to just wallow around in the black, and go to sleep 'cause it was too dark to see. I- I mean, I could make light with my talismans, but…"

' _...Mmh.'_ It sounded a little ridiculous to think about, but Sendai supposed she also had a time like that, when she was younger. Provided, she was used to light before bed as a teenager. When her mother was alive, she'd go to sleep with night lights. Wasn't so possible after the shrine fell into dereliction.

' _Going to sleep in the dark felt so hopeless.'_ She liked the lonely feeling that being surrounded by black emanated, but she didn't care for being immersed in it. _'Again, it was like my whole world had ended. It basically did.'_

Sendai yawned.

 _Shoof._ Suika slid the door shut behind herself. "Wha's it matter. When y'sleep, y _'sleep._ S'not like yer gonna see how dark it is when yer _asleep._ "

...Sendai nodded. "Not _exactly_ what either of us were thinking, but you're not wrong. What was your name again?"

Suika beamed. "Y- ya _forgot!?_ Wh- how'd ya forget? Name's _Suika!"_

"You forgot _mine."_ Sendai plainly countered. "I don't usually remember the name of the people who try to grope me."

Suika's gaze became wry. "Ooh? It happen that often? Pft. I mean, not _surprisin'..._ "

Sendai's gaze flicked up. _'Walked into that one. And… you know, she's not even wrong, at this point.'_

"Less than you'd probably think. More than it should." Sendai decided strategically.

Reimu shivered in the shrine's empty cold. "What do you _usually_ do, to people like that?"

' _...She must be getting tired, because that's a pretty vague question.'_

"I flip 'em over." Sendai didn't answer seriously, but she didn't answer incorrectly either. "What do you _think_ I do."

"...Hit." Reimu had to give her that. "It- it's so _cold…"_

She moved up towards the kotatsu, to climb under it. "Now I wish we had some hot chocolate, or something…"

"How about _soup._ " Sendai proposed a healthier alternative. "Warm meats, maybe."

"Hot chocolate's perfect, thou~gh…" Reimu drawled, as she snugged beneath the kotatsu's cloth. "Warm 'n' lazy… like a snowy day."

"...Sure." Sendai lazily agreed, her body slowing further.

' _Where's the futon…'_ She was really feeling out of it, now. She felt slightly energized, but only because of the cold of the empty shrine.

Her eyes settled on the kotatsu. "...We- should really just, move the kotatsu onto the futon, or something. Actually… how's that kotatsu _work._ "

"It's a blanket that holds heat well." Reimu told her, as she still shivered some. "Once you're under it for awhile, it gets warm…"

' _No heating mechanism? Convenient for napping, not so much for everything else.'_

"Actually… hmm." Sendai thought it over. "You got any guest futons? Considering how many people _come_ here…"

Reimu hummed. "Hnn. Yeah… I'd hafta set it up, but-"

"It's in the kitchen, isn't it." Sendai guessed. "Rolled up in a cabinet."

"How... how'd _you_ know." Reimu was slightly displaced. "It's not _that_ obvious, is it…?"

"We've never had anywhere else to store anything." Sendai intuited simply. "Unless you got some shelves or cupboards when I was sleeping."

Reimu snorted. "...Sleeping. Funny way of saying that. Not really."

 _Shoof._ Sendai slid the sliding door into the kitchen open.

It was almost just as she remembered it. The dimensions of it were off- as were the entire shrine's vague dimensions- but otherwise, it obeyed all the same layout principles.

Plain table in the midst. Counter along the wall farthest from the main room, with a sink bowl, and some shelves. The backmost door must have lead to Reimu's room.

Notably, the separate shrine expansion Sendai didn't rebuild when she was alive wasn't here either, and now there was nothing to suggest that it had been there to begin with.

' _Good riddance.'_ She associated that attempt at expanding the shrine with the loss of her husband.

Looking up, she even roughly saw the rafters she'd scaled on the last evening she shared with Reimu.

 _Shoof._ Sliding open the door to Reimu's room, Sendai stepped inside…

Again, very little had changed, even if everything was subtly different.

' _She must have had the shrine… refurbished, or rebuilt. But, she chose to keep everything the exact same.'_ Sendai wasn't sure how to feel about this.

Back in the kitchen, Sendai slid open a cabinet she was sure she herself wouldn't open otherwise. It was where she herself kept guest bedding-

 _thump._ The guest futons rolled out. Unlike when Sendai was alive, there was way more than one. _'Woah. Do- you just run an inn? Who needs these many futons…?'_ There must have been ten of them, all crammed in here.

...Some of them even had different patterns. No, they all had different patterns on their covers. _'What. Uh.'_ She pulled up one covered with many colorful stars, reminiscent of the bullets Marisa regularly fired.

One was two shades of blue, in a plaid pattern. One was metal grey, with random strange tiered circles on it, and another was a faded sea green, with stripes near the bottom.

There was a faded red one, with white flower symbols on it. Another was just neon green, for some reason.

Finally, there was one supremely elaborate one, with patterns of dolls surrounding a blonde woman. The woman's figure stood posing atop a castle top, and all below her were the tiers of the castle's walls, lined with the imposing images of lance, shield and spear wielding dolls.

' _...I take it she made this one herself.'_

There was a somewhat plain blue-white inside as well, and a very thin, tattered brown one, made with lower quality cloth than the rest. _'...This looks like Keiko would use it.'_

...Unsure, Sendai picked out the plain blue-white one. _'I'm sure someone plainer wouldn't mind me borrowing this. I'm gonna bet these are all for different frequent guests, or something.'_

' _On that note… where're we setting up?'_

When Sendai turned back to the main room, she noticed Reimu's futon was now in there, under the kotatsu. She'd slunk into her room, took her bedding and set up shop in the time Sendai had been looking through the drawer. _'She's silent and speedy…!'_

Lugging up the futon, Sendai stared down at the dim table plainly. "How're we gonna make this work. Tangle our legs together, or…?"

"Mmh." Reimu was already sinking. "Sure."

' _...Oh, well.'_

Reimu had claimed straight through the kotatsu, and lying with her, while possible, would somewhat defeat the point of bringing an extra futon. Lying down the extra futon under the current kotatsu would be slightly clumsy, but…

Crouching down, Sendai did it anyway, laying the futon's bottom over Reimu. _'I'll just let my legs lay on top of hers.'_

Since she kept the futon's blanket ordered with the mattress-esque piece itself, she was able to slip into the futon in the next moment, discarding the towel.

' _...Where's that Suika.'_ Sendai briefly scanned around…

Suika had lumpified somewhere random; along the floor to her left, lying on her stomach, her chin against the floor. _'Ah. Of course. Oni must not care for silly things like body posture or cramps.'_

' _Ah. This really is warm.'_ When Sendai got settled, she noticed the kotatu's heat. _'Warmer than I expected. This is pretty good. Awkward, but not awful.'_

Admittedly, it'd take a little adjustment to get used to how her legs were caught over Reimu's, or rather, how Reimu's legs made a bump in her bedding.

But, she'd probably fade out quicker than she expected. _'...I already feel it.'_

Thinking of the growing black outside, and how the stars were likely starting to shine now, Sendai let her eyes drift shut.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

NEW SKILLS:

 _x Tengu Style:_

 _Essence of Crushing * Elbow_ \- A critical maneuver executed whenever Sendai is pressured by a greedy uppercut. Smashing her elbow into their rising fist, Sendai is able to follow up with an uppercut of her own, driven by the adrenaline produced when she shuts down an opponent's finishing move.

 _Essence of Friendly Fire_ \- Strafing aside, Sendai lets her opponent punch their friend in the face. Coming up behind that fallen foe, she kicks her leg under theirs to kick the first opponent in the crotch. Requires two foes.

 _Fighter's Secret * Final Round_ \- When Sendai's health is critical in Tengu Style, her punches gain more ferocity, and her maneuvering speed increases. Doesn't usually occur if she doesn't think the fight is over, so she wouldn't push herself as hard.

 _Essence of Air Knee Piston_ \- When an opponent is down on their back, Sendai grips the sides of their head, does an impractical handstand atop their face, and drives her knees down into their skull, delivering the back of their scalp to the floor with piston-like pressure. Very debilitating finishing move on downed opponents.

 _Essence of Sword Shattering_ \- Requires equipped knuckles. Sendai parries a katana's swings with her knuckles, and punches the base of the katana so it breaks. Disarms foes with katanas. Will work on weapon masters, but won't disarm them or break their weapon.

 _Essence of the Iron Fist_ \- Requires equipped knuckles. Ferocious hooking combo that launches a foe into the air, before they're punched back down into the floor at an awkward angle.

x _Youkai Style:_

 _Essence of Extreme Youkai_ \- Requires opponent to be tired or in critical health, and Sendai needs a flush of adrenaline or survival instinct. Grabbing onto her opponent, Sendai scrapes her arm across their head, knees them in the face, and then puts all her weight into a massive, downward hammer of both fists, her will to survive exploding out from her body and adding to her power. Annihilates foes. Temporarily disables a youkai's health regeneration.

x _Oni Style:_

 _Clothesline Bash -_ That really dumb spinning technique many heavy humans and youkai do, except faster and stronger. Launches foes, and more heavyset foes will crumple, or be staggered by the sheer force. Requires Sendai to be attacked first while tanking damage, or to be grappled.

 _Giga Uppercut -_ A mutation of Sendai's old almighty, cliff-clearing uppercut. Has little distance, but incredible power, a shaft of amber might created by Sendai's motions. Can be chained into two uppercuts, before Sendai has to figure out how to land.

 _x Shrine Maiden of Paradise Style:_

 _Essence of Sumo Slapping_ \- Traveling along the wind, Tsukiko appears under a foe's vision impossibly fast, catching even seasoned veterans of combat unaware. After palming them into the chin, launching them, Sendai uses her entire body's weight to slap them back and forth, before driving them into the ground. Shuts down enemy offense instantly.

x _Body:_

 _Powerful V -_ After rigorous unorganized exercise, Sendai's muscles are beginning to improve again, boosting the average strength of her attacks above that of a general human's.

 _x Misc:_

 _Fantasy Heaven * Essence of Scent -_ Sendai can change her scent at will. Loses effect when she stops focusing on it.

 _Fantasy Heaven * Cat Style_ \- Not actually a style. Turning into a cat, Sendai… is a cat. Allows Sendai to deal cat damage. May make Sendai lovable.

 _Yin Yang Orb's Secret * God's Metabolism_ \- Sweets won't actively degrade Sendai's health. They still barely help her heal, or anything.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

hi

ANOTHER HUMUNGO SENDAI CHAPTER

when i think about it this one had a metric fuckton of fighting

the beginning somehow carried a lot of sudden charisma, and i wonder if that carried throughout the many fights it exposes sendai to

i know the marisa fight's fairly quick and approachable, but the HUGE TIME AT THE GOLDEN GRIN i'll hafta see during the proofreading pass

she spends a staggering 10+ pages fighting, but she _is_ fighting two youkai and a THUG for the most of it, and getting harassed by some mooks sometimes too

she also learns a lot of skills! but i dunno how well it entirely flows, or if i incorporated the amount of theme into them that i entirely wanted, but that might also be things to look for in revision/proofing

and then there's the rio battle, which i wanted two things for:

i wanted it to NOT be long, because the reader's probably tired after the three man assfuck triad beforehand (and sendai was too)

also i wanted to show that rio was kind of a bratty pushover and ironically sendai's already fought harder opponents

rio relies heavily on the instant death chance of her saw blades and otherwise just excels at being annoying and charismatic on the battlefield, which doesn't help her at all if she's actually pressured somehow

compare this to keiko who had metric assloads of raw, genuine faith power, or tadiyuki who at least can take a beating and sometimes stab people; her shurikens, while not as deadly, fulfill the same role basically, and aren't _neon white and cyan_ like rio's either, making them more tactically effective since sometimes they can't be seen

although i guess tadiyuki's shurikens would have less overall spinning force than rio's sawblades

oh yeah, rio also knew sendai's _Thousand Blades_ item crash! or at least, well enough to use it once to try and spook everyone and murder like fifty people in the process

i definitely wanted sendai to follow up with her own _Thousand Blades,_ since i'm not sure if we've _seen_ it after my revisions to the guard fight in chapter 4

it might be a little odd, since we've never shown sendai _use_ the hakurei origami axe, but we might see more of it when she focuses on oni style, since that'd synergize well with heavy, huge fancy assfuck weapons and objects

now that i think about it subweapons literarily would flow pretty well on actual belmont characters because they don't have any skills or techniques otherwise, other than _swing whip_

so a lot of focus and description could go into them

not to say it doesn't work with sendai, since when i focus more on the youkai-combat aspect of things, she and me will quickly realize more tools and holy application is required to actually do anything since some youkai are just too assfuck to punch up

so at that point "attention to tools on the expedition" will be an effective thing and not just like "c'mon you're already describing punching to a clinical degree, what's these TWO PARAGRAPHS about pulling out an axe about"

maybe next chapter can have a segment focusing on some of sendai's tools again… especially since she's got a moment to do whatever she really wants

next chapter's got good odds to start out right, and this chapter started out right, so i'm just countin' on that good start for this chapter pulling through all those fight scenes!

...well, then we got the fight against _suika's hug_ but i consider that less a fight scene and more shenanigans and foolery

aw man i also got SOME IDEAS going forward…!

as always, see you all next time!


	24. Hakurei Weekdays

The morning began slowly.

"Mmhn." Sendai was warm, in her futon under the kotatsu.

This time, she got a full, complete night's sleep. The strangeness and unique danger of yesterday was gone. The aches and pains of her body, while still vaguely present, were overshadowed by the comfort.

There was something oddly juvenile yet serene, about waking up under a kotatsu in a futon like this. The presentation was so much less than that of Keine's home.

Yes. This was home. It reminded her of all the nights she used to spend here. Sometimes, she'd sleep unorthodox like this, either for safety reasons, or for practical reasons. But, something about the aesthetic and experience had grown on her.

' _What a raw morning…'_ She could feel the dampness in the air. Perhaps it had rained, or was still raining…

Everything was a fraction more normal.

She would have to return to the Human Village at some point, to find her final closure on the events of the Artificial Hakurei Project.

But, it could wait, surely. Despite everything about it that pissed her off, she wasn't one to let her emotions alone guide her anymore.

' _I wanna do my own thing.'_ Or rather, it was more like she wanted to slack off, for awhile.

That wasn't entirely true either. She may have wanted to feel like she had autonomy from this long, exhausting situation, but…

' _I need to work on my strength, today.'_ As always, Sendai was about amassing and retaining her power.

' _Admittedly, it's quite novel to have to work my way back into strength. It was somewhat tedious, maintaining myself in my… previous life. Maintaining myself, but never quite progressing.'_

' _I think it's time to get out of bed.'_

...When Sendai leaned up, she saw her daughter already there at the kotatsu, sitting down with her legs crossed. She was half-asleep over a cup of tea, looking peaceful.

' _...Gods.'_ Sendai adored her daughter. _'She's so damn cute.'_

The first, most obvious question, was what _exactly_ she'd _do_ to train her strength.

Oni style. She'd focus on her oni-like style, where she abandoned all skill and laid waste to all the furniture around herself. A far cry from her more tengu-esque style, where she gave up all her power and dedicated it to raw skill and speed.

' _I'm starting to get the idea that neither tengu or oni are particularly well-rounded.'_

She had problems the other day, using speed and technique against multiple outright stronger foes, and even wound up in a few grievously tight spots. Switching to pure strength wasn't good either; she was only human, albeit a superior one, and they were all mostly youkai.

It was a breath of fresh air to just rely on _neither_ and wail on people with her bare, magic-accented fists.

' _Maybe… hmm. I need to become better at recognizing when each is more effective for a certain situation.'_

Yesterday, she was trying to use the wind's aid as much as possible, and while it worked out, she couldn't even continue using it consistently the whole time. Not without sometimes using the power of something else to quickly get the long, sloppy mess of a job done.

' _Perhaps not the right tool, against so many youkai and enemies. It worked a lot better on Rio at the end, however… she was unskilled. She was a single target, too.'_

Reimu's tea was still steaming. But, if she didn't stop dozing, she wouldn't be able to enjoy it.

"...Reimu~." Sendai realized how dry her own throat was. "Mmh…"

...Reimu's eyes unevenly pried open. "Whh-... nn…"

' _Oh. She's awake.'_ Sendai had a small expression. _'I need tea myself, before I try talking more…'_

Slowly, Sendai scooted from her seat, and got onto her knees on the futon.

' _Ah, right. My inventory of random crap… I can't access it, until we go to Alice's, and grab a spare. Until then, I'm stuck with a torn up pink outfit.'_

The outfit was laying nearby, folded up. _'Oh, nice… wait.'_

She distinctly remembered forgetting it at the spring, the other day. She was even about to be annoyed at herself, too.

' _...Did Reimu put this here?'_ Sendai for some reason vaguely doubted it, but-

 _shoof._ One of the shrine doors slid open. _"Oo~h!_ She's awake she's awake!"

' _What the fuck-'_

Suddenly, a woman outright tackled into Sendai.

" _Uhf!"_ Sendai collapsed into her futon, careful not to hit her head on the kotatsu edge. "Wh-"

" _It's yo~u!"_ A girl with faded green hair beamed down at Sendai. "Oh my god you're so _so~ft!"_ The girl squeezed Sendai's chest hard with her hands, before outright hugging her. "Mmh!"

" _Wh-"_ Sendai held her own arms out awkwardly. "Aah…"

' _This-... this girl, I've seen her at the shrine before…'_

Still drowsy, Reimu snorted idly. "...Bhetter-... you, than me."

Aunn nuzzled her cheek against Sendai's with ferocious friction. "Mmh! Hey, mom!"

"Wha-..." Sendai was slightly taken by this random youkai calling her _mom._

"Wh- why're _you_ calling her that." Reimu had a look of snuggly opposition.

"...'Cause she's mom!" Aunn felt it was obvious. "And you call her that all the time!"

"I-" Reimu opened her mouth to retort, as is natural, but… "That- doesn't mean _you_ -... nnh."

She didn't have the energy for this. "Nnh." She went back to being dizzy over her tea…

Sendai pushed Aunn back. "Ge- get the hell offa' me-"

Sliding back some, Aunn felt Sendai's boobs again. "They're so _big…"_

In revenge, Sendai grabbed Aunn's own chest, and began kneading it. "Fucking-..."

...Awkwardly, Sendai sat there in vague frustration, while she groped and was groped in turn.

' _This isn't even effective. She's almost flat…!'_

"Mm-" Somehow, Aunn felt no shame, and even winced an eye shut. "Mmh…"

"This-" Sendai grinned back. "This is about the point where _you should stop._ "

"But-" Aunn leaned down into her, hugging her again. "I missed you!"

"That doesn't mean you gotta feel me up!" Sendai's grin intensified. "Is-... is this how you greet someone…!?"

Aunn smiled. "It's how I greet Reimu!"

' _Re- really. Then…'_

"Yep." Reimu nodded. "Not today, however. Have fun with her, mom."

...Brows vaguely furrowed, Sendai pouted up at Aunn, who pushed herself back up. She pushed at Sendai's chest again-

"Alright." Sendai grabbed onto Aunn's arms, and pulled to the right.

"Ooh!" Aunn didn't expect the strength, and rolled onto her side. "Woah…! Mo- mom's strong!"

' _God, it's cold.'_

Getting onto her legs, Sendai felt at the clothing aside herself. _'Let's dress quickly. We might stop by Alice's early, so I can collect my clothes… and, maybe find a way to plan around getting my sleeves ripped off.'_

She hadn't realized it, but losing her inventory, along with the access to her on-the-go wardrobe was slightly problematic. _Especially_ when it was attached to her arm sleeves, like with the pink, wind-oriented outfit. _'Sleeves are the first thing to go. Especially such big ones.'_

Soon, everything was already on. She didn't want to waste any time, when it was so cold.

She slid back under the kotatsu. "Any more of that tea…?"

"In the kitchen, yeah." Reimu nodded idly. "Sugar's with it on the counter…"

' _Sugar? Wonder how much. Straight tea kind of sucks, but… it gets too sweet pretty easily.'_

 _whish._ Wind wrapped up Sendai's limbs as she stood, her skin gaining goosebumps.

 _Shoof._ She shuffled up to the kitchen door with amazing speed, sliding it open smoothly. By the time Reimu turned her head to even think of watching her move, she was already in the kitchen.

Healthy light shone through the paper walls.

Sendai, despite the variable ice age that beset this room, bounced on her legs to keep warm as she jogged up to the tea set there.

Her waist bumped against the counter, as she strafed up to it so fast she felt like she was gliding for a moment. _'Nnh. Having so much speed while drowsy-...'_

Ice age. This phrase gingerly recurred in Sendai's mind, as she suffered slight physical discomfort amidst the cold kitchen air.

' _So-... ah, tea kettle.'_

She poured herself a cup, and added the slight tinge of sugar she appreciated. Staring down at the cute, stubby cup, she took in its stoutness...

' _Won't this tea just make me more tired? ...Mmh, fuck it, it's warm.'_

But now, a problem.

Her body jolted away from the counter, the wind helping her practically bolt from it-

 _splash._ The cup's contents rocked violently, a whole splotch of tea unhappy with Sendai's sudden velocity.

 _fwish._ When she realized her mistake, the wind left Sendai's form, and a flush of azure light flared along her limbs, the ability to exercise dark magic returning.

It was only too late, though. The floor was already stained.

' _Fuck.'_

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

24

Hakurei Weekdays

Sendai shivered under the kotatsu. _'Yes. Warmth. Life returns… to the Hakurei maiden. She can stop freezing her fucking tits off.'_

For some reason, Aunn was seated right next to her, hugging onto Sendai's side.

"Why." Sendai felt Aunn squeeze.

Aunn nuzzled against Sendai's left breast. "You're _warm…_ "

"So are you. Still." Sendai's gaze remained flat.

"She's a lap warmer." Reimu agreed. Then, she shivered. "Nn- eeh…"

...Aunn smiled at her big time. "You should cuddle with us!"

Reimu felt awkward about the idea. "Wh-... _why._ "

Sendai felt awkward about the idea. _'Now that I think about it-... would this Reimu really be comfortable with that? I never, um…'_ She'd used to cuddle her daughter when she was younger. But, with so many years between them…

Despite this, Aunn refused situational awareness. "Well, 'cause she's your mom! And she's got _big boobs!_ And she's _warm!"_

"How's that second one _help._ " Reimu's gaze was still dry too. "I- I'm not that cold."

"That's what you always say!" Aunn countered. "But you always _warm up_ ta me. Ehe, ehehe!"

"Oo- oh…" Reimu suffered a crippling physical blow from the pun. "Oo~h. You…"

"Your dog's a real shitter." Sendai brought a hand up to run through her own hair. "Pf- pfft…"

"Hehehe~!" Aunn giggled louder. "C'mere." Then, she squished Sendai's boob with her face. "Mmh…"

"...I think your dog's confused, as well." Sendai added.

"Me too." Reimu agreed. "Aunn, quit-... _molesting_ my mom. She's not-..." She considered saying 'she's not that hot', but thought better of it. "Mrgh."

Sendai sighed, as Aunn pressed her face in deeper. "Bu~t… they're so warm and stuff…"

 _Shoof!_ That's when the back door of the shrine roared open.

" _Woohoo~!"_ Suika roared into the room, pumping her fists into the air.

She romped up past the shrine maidens, before standing there idly as they failed to share her enthusiasm. "...The hell's wit' you two. It's _mornin'_."

"You just answered your own question." Reimu countered. "When have I _ever_ been excited in the morning."

"...S'true…" Suika conceded. _"I mean!_ Yer mother's- like… alive again?"

"She has been for awhile now." Reimu countered again.

"Whelp." Suika nodded. "Piss."

Sendai snorted. "I thought oni were supposed to be jolly."

...Gradually, Suika gained a big grin at this idea. "Who the hell's goin' 'round sayin' that…?"

Then, all of a sudden, she paid attention to how Aunn was nuzzling into Sendai's left breast. _"Ooh!_ Aw- now _she's_ got the right idea!"

' _...Good.'_ Sendai stared down at her tea plainly, as Suika slowly circled around her…

Plopping down on Sendai's right, Suika pushed Sendai into Aunn more, and wrapped her arm around Sendai's back. "Mm-... ah, watch yer head." Suika had a hard time moving her horns-

"If your horns faceplant her into her own tea, I'm going to kick your ass." Reimu advised from a distance.

"He- hoh, oh shit…" Suika heeded the warning, tilting her head ninety degrees to hook her horns ahead of everyone.

Then, past Sendai's body, she pressed her left cheek into Sendai's right breast. "Mmh. Y'know, this _is_ a pretty nice way ta wake up…"

Sendai wasn't that cold anymore. "It's not _cold,_ I guess."

"Bitches an' booze." Suika winked an eye shut as she squeezed Sendai closer. "Hehehe…"

Sendai had a moment of clarity. "...You _really_ wanted an excuse to say that, didn't you."

"Aa- am I that fuckin' obvious." Suika looked worried. "I was try'na piss you off…!"

' _I took a chance there. I read her correctly, it would seem.'_

"Huh." Reimu was even just about to be irritated at the disrespect herself. Did her mother know boisterous types that well…?

"Why would you make her _mad?"_ Aunn leaned past Sendai's chest, to question Suika. "She's so _warm and fluffy._ And she's _mom!"_

"Pft." Suika didn't take Aunn very seriously, it would seem. "Aah, I'm just joshin' 'er."

' _Or rather, it's because she really wants to tussle with me, for some reason. Perhaps because of my reputation.'_

"Suika…" Sendai recalled her name, after a moment's uncertainty. "You want to fight me, don't you?"

...Suika looked up, her mouth obscured by Sendai's boob. "I'm glad _that_ was easy ta read. We doin' this outside?"

Sendai snorted. "Ho~ld your horses."

"Oh, fuck _off."_ Suika beamed up at her. "Y'can take an oni no problem, right!? People _say_ yer like an oni! Even Reimu here!"

Sendai raised a brow. "That was twelve or so years ago. I've been dead. I'm not such hot shit these days."

"...Really?" Suika was about to be angry, or disappointed, but remembered last night. "Pretty damn strong for a failure. Usually, regressed warriors don't like, y'know, _toss an oni_ offa' them, an' uppercut from the bottom a' ponds. I swear, if yer _lyin',_ I'm gonna-..."

When she took pause, Sendai considered her words.

Looking down at Suika properly, shifting away from her slightly, Sendai gave her a firmer look. "I'm trying to find myself again. I'm nowhere near as strong, skilled, or fast as I used to be. Even though I'm far above a human, I'm nowhere near my own standards. So, if you're looking for a true fight with the me of the past, you're going to need a time machine."

Suika snorted. "Ti- _time machine…?_ The hell'd that- mhn-..." Shaking away the strange phrase, she continued. "So-... yer _relearnin' shit_ is what yer sayin'."

"Yes." Sendai agreed. "I'm learning things again. Practicing techniques. Today, I'd like to be-... I'd like to work out my strength, actually."

...Suika seemed to pause, at this idea.

"So, if you fought me now, I'd be walking away with broken bones, and you'd be quite unsatisfied." Sendai was pretty sure. "Unless you like beating up weak people."

"Like _hell_." Suika saw her logic. "Well… fuck. I guess I'll wait. No use in kickin' the granny when she's down, ah."

"Yeah. Fuck you." Sendai lifted her tea plainly.

"Pft- oh?" Suika beamed again. "You an' _what muscle,_ ah?"

' _...I wonder if oni are immune to shotguns. Probably.'_

Reimu looked slightly perturbed, but decided it was better not to comment, lifting her own tea…

Taking some more sips, Sendai slowly lowered her own cup. _'...If there's anything that's certain, being weak… being weak- in the practical sense- sucks.'_

This made her think. _'Not that I'm truly so weak. With my intent and resolve, I'll get stronger, I'm sure. But, even in these down moments, people don't think of potential, or respect one another. Sometimes, it takes reality to make people think of things the way they should already be thinking of them. Or, thinking at all.'_

' _Not that this oni would be thoughtful. Especially with shitty youkai around, someone like me sorely needs to be present. Both for Reimu's sake, and my own.'_

At her core, she felt disrespected- and the prospect she had to work towards dismissing the oni's fickle opinion made her think less of her. _'Stupid drunk.'_

"So, uh…" Suika scratched the back of her own head. "You, uh…"

"Mmm?" In this thinking, she grew more dismissive of Suika. She raised her tea, to go about her morning plainly. Or, at least, that was her intention; inside, she'd probably remain disproportionately bitter about this until she was distracted by something else.

' _If there's one thing I pride, it's at least the strength to silence foolish people. If I'm not strong, and she does something actually stupid later, I'll do nothing but kick myself over it.'_

' _Especially since she's a youkai. Fucking… I'm still not entirely on board with Reimu about all this peace shit-'_

"Mind if I helped ya?" Suika proposed, dispelling her angry inner monologue. "...Wit' the whole _strength_ training, thing."

...Sendai hadn't expected- or read- this. "You're-... _certain_ that's a worthy use of your time?"

Suika grinned again. "Da- as if I _do_ anything! Fuckin'-... ish so I can _fight ya_ faster! In fact- it'd be an even better use a' my time than fuckin' nothing! It'd mean we could beat each other up quicker!"

' _...Maybe she's more thoughtful than I thought.'_ Sendai felt somewhat silly, now.

Reimu sighed in vague relief. She was pretty sure that it was obvious to see how Sendai grew more somber after being insulted.

"Do you have any ideas, then?" Sendai wondered. "...Also, just going around punching people doesn't make you terribly stronger. I would know. I've been trying."

"Ah, damn." That was Suika's first idea out the window. "We- well… _try harder."_

...When Sendai didn't reply, Suika thought on it further. "I've gotta think about it. Like, an _oni_ would lift huge rocks… an' _hit other oni._ So…"

Suika would have snapped her fingers, but thought better of it. "Yhou- ah- ya can fight _me!_ ...Ee- except I'll uh, just kinda let ya wail on me, maybe."

This, Sendai was especially skeptical of. "You'd _really?_ Are even _oni_ that enduring?"

Smiling widely all of a sudden, Suika was staggered where she sat. "Pft- ooh, now _that's_ a challenge! Nothin' yer fluffy human ass could do would leave me hurtin'!"

' _I'll hold her to that, then.'_

...Slowly, Suika and Aunn returned to leaning into Sendai's chest.

"Alright-" Sendai began to scoot back, done with this. "Freaking-"

When she stood up, getting away from the kotatsu, Aunn and Suika ended up leaning into each other instead…

"Get-" Suika didn't want to cuddle with Aunn specifically. "Get, _get-"_

Aunn didn't see the hurt in at least trying. "Awh..." She was fended off pretty quickly, however. "But you're _tiny…"_

"No." Suika looked vaguely jaded. "I already _woke up_ wit' ya draped all over me- we don't need more _quality bondin' time._ "

Now that she was standing, Sendai panned her gaze to her daughter. "Reimu. What are your plans, for today?"

"None." Reimu's smile was soft.

...Sendai blinked. Then, she tried again. "When will you visit that clothier, Alice, next?"

"Sometime." Reimu closed her eyes, and nodded once. "Not today."

"...Why not." Sendai was beginning to sense a pattern.

"It's cold." Reimu explained. "I'm tired. It's time to sleep…"

"...But, we just woke up." Sendai, while adoring, was also put off. "You'll warm up better if you do something."

"No." Reimu thought she knew better. "The shrine's warm. I don't need to do anything, today."

Sendai was briefly quiet, her reasoning and intent at a momentary standstill from how rigidly her daughter didn't want to do anything.

"We're-... _I'm_ going to visit Alice's, today." Sendai announced her own plans. "For my clothes."

"You can do that." Reimu agreed it was a good idea. "I'm gonna _doze."_

...Sendai blinked again.

"Why not come with?" She suggested.

"Why would I."

"It'd be _something_ to do." Sendai couldn't understand. "Aren't you bored?"

"No. I'm cold." Reimu countered. "And I can just sleep…"

Sendai considered why this might be. "...Did you have a big battle, the other day?"

"Pfft… no." Reimu shook her head. "Cold mornings make me tired. So, I'm gonna sleep."

"...Do-" Sendai blinked gingerly. "Do you do this every day?"

"Well, yeah." Reimu revealed. "I don't really have a reason to go anywhere…"

"You could hang out with me, going to Alice's and back." Sendai suggested.

Reimu was about to say 'that's not an activity', but… "Alright. Let's look at it this way. _Why_ would I do that."

"So you don't sit on your ass fusing with the kotatsu all day." Sendai couldn't imagine sitting still so long for no reason, unless she'd gotten all her routines and chores finished, which was seldom.

' _Provided, when I had Reimu, I had a lot of reasons to sit still for awhile. When I killed time with Keisuke too, I had reasons to stay still. Right now? Neither of us have a reason to… be here, the whole time.'_

"What if I _wanna_ fuse with the kotatsu." Reimu supposed. "It's _warm."_

"Reimu, it's not good to sit around all day." Sendai was somewhat disbelieving… "What do you do, when you fight youkai? Are you really at your strongest?"

"...Well, no." Reimu admitted. "But, I don't _need_ to be. I got my friends to help. Marisa is always at least with me, on most actual incidents. Sometimes we race each other to see who gets it solved first."

"Incidents…" Sendai found the phrasing strange. "I see."

' _With flight and the talismans, I suppose even someone martially inexperienced as her would be able to drift through life to degrees. But…'_

"You shouldn't rely so much on others." Sendai advised her daughter.

"It's not my problem that they choose to help." Reimu spoke back firmer. "I just do what I do. I'd be doing it with or without them, even if it killed me."

"...Would it kill you if they weren't there, then?" Sendai noted what Reimu had added herself.

Reimu smiled. "Maybe. Well… we used danmaku. Still, even if it wouldn't have been death, it would have been bad. But, the way things are today… it's proof of my resolve. It's proof of my strength."

"Also proof of your luck." Sendai wanted to add.

"Isn't that fighting in general?" Reimu proposed.

Sendai exhaled. "Fair. Still…"

When it seemed certain that Reimu would return to dozing, Sendai propped arms onto her own hips. "I'm just- kind of baffled, that you wouldn't use this supposed time of peace to make sure it _stays_ a time of peace. By that, I mean keeping yourself healthy and strong."

"As if I need to bother." Reimu didn't want more work. "My hands are full with stupid things as it is. Being healthy and big, strong, or magical never helped the youkai I've fought with anything _they_ wanted to do. I've shut down the plans of literal invading gods."

"Aa-" Sendai opened her mouth. "Ex- excuse me, what."

"...I'm- making it sound bigger than it is, kinda." Reimu admitted to hyperbolating. "Doesn't change the fact that I've fought wind and earth gods and won. With help, yeah, but…"

' _What the fuck.'_

"There _was_ also that one time with the invading western gods." Reimu looked into the air, thoughtful. "But, I think they were holding back…"

"Are-" Sendai was skeptical. She looked at Suika. "Is she lying?"

"Pft." Suika grinned up at her. "Turns out, she ain't! I mean-... didn't ya _fight 'er_ the other day? She hits like a sack a rocks, don't she?"

"A sack of rocks wouldn't mean anything to a god." Sendai grinned back. "I feel like-... wouldn't the Hakurei talismans not even _operate well_ against gods?"

Reimu snorted. "...Well, _I_ usually helped with defense and harassment and such things. Marisa was damage. I, hmm… I think it was just me and Marisa against the gods. Yeah, it was. So, Marisa did the shooting and potion slinging, and I did barriers. I was a lot more useful against their other shrine maiden, Sanae, who actually kinda got under Marisa's skin at the time."

"And-..." Sendai found this all almost incomprehensible. "You just, _did this all_ … with _danmaku._ "

"Danmaku can stun gods." Reimu nodded. "It's one of Gensokyo's enforced magical rules, imposed by the Hakurei Barrier since… well, since I was like _twelve._ Didn't I tell you about it already?"

"Yes, and it's never quite fully clicked, no matter how many times you and others have bothered." Sendai just couldn't connect with, or understand, what the whole situation was. "I still think that Yakumo is playing you for a fiddle."

"I still think you don't know how much good danmaku's done for the land." Reimu shook her head in turn. "It-... it allows for an expression of strength and will beyond something dumb like hitting each other."

...Sendai considered that, for a moment.

"That sounds like something out of a crappy novel." She didn't really buy that. "Nothing's so fantastic. Magic isn't so flowery. It's an annoying tool for killing at worst, and mild convenient innovation at best. It especially makes no sense that the elusive gap youkai would give a single shit about such concepts."

Reimu didn't have much to say back. "...You _really_ lived in a different time. It's something you'd really have to see to believe, I guess. I mean… it still takes strength, and effort. But it's a more even playing field, one that's more dynamic. I'll admit, it favors me, because I understand the rules, and I… well, I don't _prepare,_ but I'm really good at what I do. Marisa does all the preparing."

"Where did that kind of outlook get you against me?" Sendai argued back.

"Ah, shut up." Reimu flicked her gaze up. "That wasn't even danmaku. If I'd gone all-in on bullets and not just beating you out of frustration, I would have had you easily. I just don't lose fights often."

' _Really…'_

"Other than Marisa, not a single person in the village has given a single shit about this danmaku system of yours." Sendai was starting to get into this argument. "Not everyone is going to refrain from tackling you and beating you to a pulp."

"If I treated you completely like a weird youkai, you would have been dead." Reimu cringed at herself as she said that. "...Li- like… like, that time I nailed you in the chest with those needles. I _still_ don't know how you survived that."

' _...On one hand, I can't complain that she restrained from killing me.'_

' _On another… if I'd lost a fight like that, to a doppelganger of my own mother, I would be dead, or a sex slave. Or, something worse, depending on who got ahold of my broken body in the end.'_

She thought of Reimu in the same position. _'Nngh.'_

"You two got the _thickest_ skulls sometimes."

Reimu and Sendai looked up. Marisa sauntered into the room.

Marisa was beaming wide, doing a cocky, somewhat cute jig on her way to the kotatsu. Kicking a leg out one at a time, she came up slowly…

"Mhmhm~..." Humming happily, she spun around, and pointed at them. "Yer both _fookin' stupid!"_

"I lied." Reimu stood from the kotatsu. "I'm always warm enough to beat up Marisa."

"Nhehehe!" Marisa laughed the threat off. "Mommy-chan. Reimu here only lost 'cause she didn't wanna kill ya! _And,_ she wanted ta play on _your_ rules."

' _Well- I just came to that answer myself, but-'_

Then, Marisa faced Reimu. "Mommy-chan's super afraid yer just gonna get raped by a youkai at some point!"

 _Clap!_ With that, Marisa clapped her hands together. "Tada~!"

Sendai and Reimu were both unamused. "I'd already-" They began speaking at once, over one another.

' _Oh, fuck. Deja vu…'_

Reimu opened her mouth. "I- I already thought of-"

Sendai did, too. "I came to that conclu-"

They stopped again, giving each other a solid stare. _'Alright-... ho- hold on, now…!'_

"You people're _weird."_ Grinning, Marisa shuffled for the kitchen next. "Hey, Reimu, got anymore tea?"

"Wh- no." Reimu gained a somewhat fluffy look of aggression. "Get your own…"

"So ya _do!"_ Marisa knew. "Woohoo~!"

"Mmh…" Reimu exhaled. "Suddenly, a trip to Alice's isn't sounding so bad..."

...When Marisa was out of the room, raiding the shrine's tea, Reimu and Sendai looked at one another.

' _Even though we both came to good conclusions, we weren't about to be honest with one another about them. It took Marisa acting like an idiot to make me realize…'_

Sendai gave her daughter a nod, and a very slight bow. "Tha-... thank you. For the restraint you used, in our fight."

Reimu looked weirded out. "...Do- don't sound so formal. And, well… I- I should probably show you more about how danmaku works. And, maybe you could tell me about those really dangerous youkai you used to fight. Maybe I've yet to see them, or something. Everyday's full of surprises, around here…"

Smiling, Sendai nodded idly more. "I'd like that."

' _I need to get my act together. Reimu's grown up now. She's my daughter. I'm… well, I'm her mother. If I tried to avoid being petty before… I especially have to do so now.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Reimu's outfit had very few changes made for the winter. Except, she wore a big fluffy scarf, which Marisa had given her some time ago…

"No wonder you're freezing." Sendai's stare back at her was flat, as they stood on the shrine's front porch. "Your armpits are exposed."

"You're not even _wearing_ sleeves." Reimu countered. "...This outfit works for all seasons."

"Yeah, _works,_ doesn't excel." Sendai countered. "Also, your armpits are exposed. I lost my sleeves in fighting."

"In- in fighting…?" Reimu contemplated that. "Yeah, that tends to happen, doesn't it."

"Right?" Sendai grinned back. "Happens to you too?"

"Yeah."

Moving down the shrine steps, Reimu took in the cold-blasted land, and the frosty dew on the grass before the shrine.

"If I lose my sleeves while fighting, I tend to be really hot from the fighting itself, so it all works out." Reimu went on to explain.

Following her to the shrine's front steps, Sendai nodded. "That really is how it goes, isn't it."

The shrine steps, again, were icy. _'Oh, damn it.'_

"Here." Reimu moved behind her mother. "I'll help half-carry you down so you don't slip and die super hard."

"...Beats de-icing the damn thing." Perhaps, Sendai would think of de-icing it as a workout when she got back from Alice's.

Slowly, Sendai began to walk down the steps, with Reimu keeping a cautious hold on her.

"Why?" Reimu thought that was funny. "Why would you de-ice it _ever_. That sounds like huge effort."

Sendai's stare into the icy forests ahead was slightly taken aback again. "...Do you get _any_ donators?"

"No one comes, so I don't bother." Reimu had given up on that dream long ago. "I mean… it'd suck that the one person who might come can't make it up my stupid stairs, but it'd also suck spending twenty hours of the day getting ice off the stupid thing."

"It doesn't take _too_ long." Sendai contested…

Reimu sat her mother down at the bottom of the shrine steps, on the dirt path. With that, she continued to float ahead, Sendai trailing behind her.

"No way, nuh uh." Reimu was adamant. "If you wanna clean the stairs just 'cause, _you_ can do that. I don't even _use_ them."

This, Sendai couldn't really argue with. "...That's fair. Donors were really damn rare for myself, too. Half of them were malicious."

Reimu had never thought of it, because she didn't even get _those._ "Malicious donors… that's awful. Not sure if I'd uh, like… take or leave those."

"Trust me." Sendai shook her own head. "You don't want them."

' _Less I think about those damn perverts, the better. Still…'_ She also remembered Keisuke donating to the shrine from time to time. He didn't meet her by donating, but he eventually made it a habit, before outright moving in. _'It wasn't all bad.'_

' _Keisuke was practically homeless, and he still donated to me. He couldn't get enough of me, I guess.'_

As they went on the path on the right of the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu grazed towards the path that went into the Forest of Magic.

' _Kourin's probably not at his shop.'_

"Ooh. We should stop by the Kourindou." Reimu immediately deduced. "We can get hot chocolate…"

Sendai snorted, having to explain her thinking. "Kourin's probably not there."

...Reimu loosely shrugged. "If the door's locked, we'll stay out. If it's open, it's open."

' _That's-... um.'_

However, when they reached the door of the Kourindou, it was closed. Reimu tugged on it with both arms, putting in what visually seemed like a huge amount of effort, shaking her entire body to pull on it. But, the quick way she let go and began to ignore it suggested she was only intentionally trying to look like she wasted a lot of effort. "Nnh. Locked…"

' _What was with that pulling motion. God, Reimu is too adorable. She might not be a little kid, but she's still Reimu.'_

That's when a youkai came up to them. Her hair was silver and blue, and she was shorter than Reimu, her expression oddly gentle.

Reimu adopted aggressive posture when she saw her, however. "Ah. Look out, mom. Youkai."

"What're-..." The youkai girl reached into a satchel that was around herself, and pulled out a plain, brown book. "It's the fault of you two!"

' _What.'_

-+- _Vs. Tokiko, the Youkai who Read a Book_ -+-

Tokiko romped up to Sendai, and swung her book wide with one arm, like a fan.

Sendai stopped it plainly with her own arm. "Wh- why…"

Reimu walked up, and put a talisman on Tokiko's shoulder.

 _FWA- ZA- ZA- ZAP!_ Tokiko seized up, annihilated. _"Nnhu- hnaa~h!"_

 _Sendai obtained pocket lint._

...Slightly more under the weather, Tokiko held her arm where Reimu poked her with a Hakurei talisman. "So- so… you two _didn't_ shut down Kourindou…"

"No." Reimu began to float away. "Bye."

' _Wh- what a fuckin' abrupt exchange…!'_

"Uh…" Watching Reimu float off, Sendai gave Tokiko a brief look, and a wave. "Bye."

"Mmh…" Tokiko was applying a fluffy band-aid to her clothed shoulder, while Sendai lazily jogged away.

When Sendai caught up to Reimu, she had some simple questions. "...Who was _that."_

"Someone." Reimu forgot her name. "She always rubs me the wrong way."

"...Good." Sendai supposed it was better safe than sorry.

' _Actually, ironically… it's my fault that the Kourindou is closed right now. So, that youkai actually had the right person!'_

' _Not that it can be helped now. Kinda surprised Kourin has any customers at all.'_

They continued until they came to the point in the terrain that Sendai had to previously jump over; that one icy gap over a snowy expanse of bramble and leaves.

There was a western bridge there now, fit with dim, blue lantern lights. It was accented with blue and green wood. _'Um…'_

"Oh, hey." Reimu looked down, and landed on it. "Alice put up that bridge I asked for."

"You asked for this?" Sendai suspected why.

"Yeah. For you." Reimu gave her mother a nod. "...Alice _was_ actually _at_ the shrine the other day, and asked me about how your clothes were doing. I didn't know. You hadn't _come back_ for like, half a week."

"Sorry." Sendai knew she owed Reimu quite a lot of lost time.

"...Don't, um, don't be." Reimu smiled back awkwardly. "I know you're like… busy and stuff."

"Still." Sendai felt obligated. "You deserve more out of me. I know it's no excuse, but… I've not been quite sure how to approach you."

"Oo- oh?" Reimu found herself more phased than she normally would be. She wasn't sure why, either. "Why's that?"

"I mean… you're almost an adult, already."

Idling on the blue-green wood bridge, Sendai stared past Reimu, into the dim magic woods. This far in, it had become dim like night, frost sparkling amidst the bark of trees.

"The Reimu I knew was five." Sendai met her eyes again. "...Even after knowing you, for a few days…"

Reimu took pause.

"Do I still feel like your daughter?" She wondered.

"Ye- yes." Sendai nodded hard. "Yes. I-... do I still feel like your mother?"

...Reimu looked soft. "I- I mean… I only remembered you being there for like… a little bit. So… it was like I never really had a mother, in- in a way. But- I missed you. I wished I had a mother. That's… _kinda_ why I hated when people mentioned you, even if I was curious."

"That's _part_ of why I was so worked up, the other week." Reimu finished. "...I didn't want anyone to disgrace you. Nothing ever gets under my skin like family stuff."

"...Thanks." Sendai did appreciate it. "You shouldn't feel bound to who I was, or my memory. But… if the anger helps you remember, I guess that's fine too."

...Reimu began to smirk. "Not like it matters _now._ Don't really need to remember someone who's _here."_

Sendai snorted. "That's true, isn't it…"

With that, Reimu continued to trail to Alice's house. "It's gonna be noon by the time we get to Alice's. C'mon…"

There was a lot Reimu left unsaid.

Her mother, Tsukiko Hakurei, was revered by some as a remarkable person, and a great hero. Even those who regarded her morality skeptically attested to her power.

Growing up, Reimu had posed herself questions, about the enigma of her mother's death. Or rather, the questions were of the aftermath.

How could she compare? To be the _Hakurei shrine maiden_ she was supposed to be- when apparently her mother did it so well before her? Her mother who, before now, was never there.

This act of her revival awakened a dormant feeling in Reimu's soul. She'd resolved to know- her mother was always there with her in spirit, smiling from above. That was her solace. Her mother lived on in her- and as long as she lived, the memory of her mother would endure.

Now… to put it lightly, circumstances had changed.

Reimu let out a breath, as she floated alongside her mother.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

After using Alice's stairs like a normal human being this time, Sendai knocked on Alice's door herself.

Reimu clapped for her. "Congratulations. You didn't suspect Alice of wanting to murder you."

' _Oh- shit.'_ Sendai realized she hadn't paused to check the stairs for traps. She vaguely wondered if she _could,_ and if she did last time. _'...Oh, well. Didn't get ambushed, or anything. Not that it'd be very professional, but you never know. We're in the Forest of Magic, after all.'_

Then, another thought occurred to her. _'...I don't think I remember how I used to check for magical traps. Man.'_

The door gently swung open. Alice's gentle, somewhat dull expression panned out to them, before perking up. "Oh. It's you two. Pleasant surprise."

Reimu snorted. "He~y. Yeah, I know. This was actually mom's idea."

Sendai held up her bare, rough arms. "I got fucked up."

Alice snorted. "Is- that so. I was wondering why I couldn't even so much as send you a message through your hammerspace. You even managed to lose the sleeves."

...Leaning past Alice, Sendai saw the many copies of the pink ReMix outfit on the counter inside. "If you didn't already make a bunch of copies, I'd probably ask for the storage to be like… _in the dress_ instead."

Alice clicked her tongue. "Mmh. Yeah, that _is_ painful. All I can suggest is you hold onto the scraps that are bound to your storage space and draw another outfit as soon as possible."

' _Yeah. It was really my fault that I forgot those sleeves back at the club. Even if I reclaimed my katana and shotgun…'_

"So…" Alice held onto her own right arm, as she seemingly slid back inside her own house. "How have your clothes served you?"

...Sendai wasn't exactly sure what to say. "They've been comfy. I can't say I've acknowledged their benefits in combat, but there's a tangible difference between each outfit."

' _It's also nice to wear some things that aren't red-white for a change… especially since I'm not technically the serving Hakurei maiden anymore. Not that there was ever a mandate on me wearing that anyway, but… it just felt right. I like red.'_

"That's good." Alice expected as much. "Was the pink-white outfit okay? Considering you got beat up in it…"

Sendai took pause at the question. "Ah. Yeah. I bit off more than I could chew with just raw speed and technique alone. Two competent youkai and a human at once was challenging."

Moving for a nearby chair at the coffee table, Reimu snorted. "Don't tell me you _chose_ not to seal them, just to punch them…"

Sendai visually traced Reimu's movements, before replying. "No. You see, they had resistance to the talismans. Some villager girl was helping them."

"Resistance?" The notion piqued Reimu's interest. "...Really now?"

"Yeah." Sendai nodded. "That news to you?"

"It is." Reimu's expression was firmer, now. "Who'd you fight?"

"Some idiots at the Golden Grin." Sendai wasn't sure how much she _should_ reveal… but, in this moment, she somewhat randomly hazarded that Reimu would appreciate as much information as possible. "They were planning a-... a _gang rape,_ by using sheer numbers. Mokou, Kasen and myself shut down the party."

' _I don't need to mention Tadiyuki. Just more explaining that doesn't need to happen. Maybe I'll tell Reimu that story later.'_

...Reimu's expression was now more vague. "Alright- I know I've been _sort of neglecting_ the village, but-... a- a _gang rape._ Are you sure?"

"Positive." Sendai wasn't joking. "The men and female staff all came out together, and competed to see who could break us down and claim us first. Turned out to be neither, but it was sort of close. After that, I was just… so done, that I chose to go to the shrine to relax."

...Slowly, the two girls focused on Alice, who had a look of bemused amusement.

"Like daughter, like mother, I suppose." Alice shook her head. "Every time someone mentions their adventures, I'm not sure if I should be glad I'm a homebody, or jealous that I missed out on something exciting."

Sendai's stare was flat. "You don't want to be near a gang rape. _Attempted_ as it was. Usually, they're disgusting and intense, and they tend to spread slightly."

"Are-... are you speaking from experience." Alice was morbidly curious. "Actually, don't answer that."

' _Yeah, less said about that shit, the better. Provided, villagers were very, very seldom the culprits back in the day. Usually youkai-on-youkai, or youkai-on-youkai-centered-on-some-humans. Interesting thing- they found big fuckfests like that mostly pointless without at least some humans as the focal point. Probably something to do with fear or belief. Only the real sex addicts would continue otherwise, and those are actually less beings than you'd think.'_

"No wonder you needed that shotgun." Alice nodded, turning to the clothes and supplies at the room's back. "Hmm…"

"Mom- I'm worried." Reimu was growing more incredulous as this went on. "Is everything okay at the village? I don't need to come… like, swing my gohei at people, do I?"

Sendai snorted. "It'll be fine when I'm done with it. You-... some days ago, I'd thought it poor showing of your overseeing of the land, that it wasn't in a better state. But, I don't think I can blame you. Nor would I have wanted you to expose yourself to its… roots, so to speak."

"I've never really… like…" Reimu gave Sendai a half-smile. "You didn't care about the villagers yourself, right?"

"...Yeah."

"Same deal with me." Reimu agreed with her. "They just got progressively meaner to me the older I got. And, I mean, I don't want people to _die,_ and I for sure want to stop the youkai from murdering anyone… but, when they make these really complicated, stupid problems, I-... ugh."

' _I don't think there's any easy solution to the amount of stupidity there. There's just enough people to be too much.'_

Alice came up to Sendai. "How about an outfit meant to help with using weapons?"

Sendai was suddenly taken by the idea, as if it were a confrontation. _'...Using weapons?'_

"It would boost accuracy, and provide utilitarian pouches for ammunition. I plan on giving it a flexible design, and perhaps… a bow, to get you started. Something not as pricey as a shotgun."

A _bow._ Sendai looked incredibly vague about this. "...I've never even _thought_ of touching bows, outside of as makeshift fight openers."

"Then, maybe that's what you can do." Alice considered. "...Of course, I'd charge for the ammo and such. Just a reminder that I'm not running a good will, here."

"Mmm." Sendai had neglected this, but it didn't really matter, considering her current funds. Only if it were somehow egregiously expensive, of course. "Sure thing."

' _That sounds interesting. I've never really given weaponry much thought before. Maybe something more martial might suit me… but, not a katana, and not necessarily a bow. Hmm.'_

 _Knock, knock._ Someone knocked at the door. Reimu had closed it earlier, when she entered last.

"...Must be Marisa." Alice figured, raising a hand to call out. _"Come in._ Anyway, I'll-"

 _Crea~k- bam._ The door loudly swung open, before banging on the inside of the wall.

"So~..."

Instead, it was Kugo, the blue-haired cat youkai who had harassed Sendai yesterday. "You guys hang out _here,_ huh?"

Alice took pause, pivoting at the voice. "...Who are _you?"_

' _Oh, fuck no.'_ Sendai snapped towards the door, to glare at him.

Reimu stood up from her seat. If looks could kill, he'd be dead. Even in spite of that, her contempt would certainly substitute. "How would you like to be sealed?"

"Aw, don't be _mad."_ Kugo shook his head, smiling at the girls. "Yer all so damn hot. There ain't no reason to be angry."

"...You don't seem welcome." Alice noted. "What do you want?"

"Me? Ah, I don't want anything." Kugo held his hands up. "Just came ta check up on my babe Suki-chan."

Sendai stomped up to the doorway.

Standing before him, looking past him, she could see he brought company.

Confident cat men stood at the door, trying half-assedly to be discreet behind him, talking and jeering amongst one another.

"Y'think we can fuck the doll girl, too…?"

"Nah- nah, don't fuck with her, she won't fuck with us. Alice's no damn joke."

"Listen, you fuckboys. Deal with _Reimu_ first, then we can wear down Suki-chan. 'Specially you guys into teens!"

"I- I should- I shoulda given the money to Alice first…! C'mon- Kugo! Hey, _Kugo~!"_

With that, Kugo walked up to Sendai. "Tell me. You ain't a _little_ lonely, after yer husband died?"

Seething, Reimu stomped up beside her mother. "What-... what the _hell_ are you saying?"

"Aw!" Kugo beamed down at Reimu, before crouching slightly to level with her. "An' don't little Reimu here want a _boyfriend?"_

Sendai briefly imagined Reimu being harassed by him.

No, that wasn't believable. Her mind latched onto the idea of her being completely overrun by like-minded brutes. Touched or forcibly kissed perhaps, leading into more extreme harassment, and she didn't know if Reimu had the strength to keep up.

Then, she perked up, when Reimu threw an arm out.

 _Fwa- fwa- fwap._ A three-salvo of talismans from Reimu met his exposed abs, as he was only wearing shorts and an open, dirty jacket.

 _VHIR._ Magic hummed, red light pulsing along his skin where the talismans met, the paper completely rejected.

"I'm tellin' you." He held his arms out. "Give us a sho~t."

Sendai was taking a moment to register this.

She was seriously tired. She hadn't known the mess poking the village's innards would get her in. "Why… won't you leave us the _fuck_ alone? Do you _really_ get off on this shit?"

"Hey. When a babe gets inta my head... I don't quit 'till I know how good she feels." Kugo made his intent clear. "We got two ways a doin' this. We can go crash at my place, party it up an' down a few beers together, _or_ y'know, we rough ya up and do that anyway. Either way, I _know_ yer gonna feel like yer floatin' on a cloud after _we're_ done wit'cha. You just gotta give me a chance."

"Excuse me." Alice was behind the two shrine maidens. "Do you know where you've stepped foot?"

Kugo held a hand up, so Alice could see it over the other two girls. "Ah- yeah! We got a couple million yen fer you! Alice, yeah? You sit back and watch, an' that's an easy _twenty million yen."_

"Unfortunately, I am not _that_ in need of money." Alice countered. "The price of a life can't be measured with such small numbers."

Rolling his eyes, Kugo clicked his tongue. "Told 'e~m. Well, whatever."

Strolling up to her as she glared, Kugo laid his hands on Sendai's shoulders, his face nearing hers. "Anyway, c'mon-"

Quickly, Sendai pushed him back with all her force, and he stumbled a few steps back.

Reimu had her gohei out, and Alice was starting to articulate her own fingers, dolls shifting from the shelves around herself. "Seriously…" They both muttered the same word, before looking at each other awkwardly…

"Mmh." Sendai looked back at them, and held an arm up. "...No. Reimu, Alice. Neither of you need to do anything."

Youkai, thieves, bandits- humans and supernatural beings of ill-intent were nearly the same to her, and they'd been at this shit since day one.

Sendai thought back to her childhood. The men who'd donated to her shrine just to pray on her natural beauty. The youkai and men who attacked it out of their sheer greed, and those who wished to profit in both pleasure, and the power that came with dominating a Hakurei maiden.

She thought back, to not just herself. To the village, which repeatedly lost ground, housing, and populace to the youkai menace. The village was five times as massive in her mother's time, it was supposedly a whole Hakurei _clan._

' _And what do you think happened to them?'_

' _Darkness. Not a vague magical curse, no. Ruination. Deaths. Pillaged and plundered. In a number of evenings, month by month, families, people- good and bad- suffered fates unknown and unspeakable. Such that, even in my era, only decades later- no one could even tell those tales of horror.'_

Memories of anger came back to her. _'The bones I've found, around the Hakurei hill- around the whole damn lake…'_

' _I can't fathom what could have happened. Akyuu did not live to see the clan's downfall. But, judging by the slaughter which happened before my eyes, the village homes reduced to miniature madhouses of stupid bullshit…'_

The notions were so stupid, so _infuriating_ to her. Humanity, through all of this unguided force, was reduced to nothing. Thoughts, care, and dreams turned to ashes overnight.

The true failing of society. The families, the people, they couldn't keep the darkness of nothing and death away. Sendai realized it then; human society in Gensokyo was on a slow collapse, and that scared the living shit out of her when she first realized it. _She_ was human, after all. As macho and as much of a loner as she was, she didn't want to be the sole survivor in a land of horrible enigmas. Such an existence was meaningless. She'd rather be dead.

' _The village- it was so much worse back then. It-'_

"Hey. Chin up." Kugo stepped up to her, and stroked under her chin with his hand. "Kitty's gonna make it all better, nyah?"

A fool who ravaged women so abashedly like this, he must have seen so much success; to become so sure of himself, in the face of someone like her.

An echo of the past; of youkai who behaved like him, and got what they wanted more often than not. Sendai thought this kind of bullshit was gone and done; it had seemed that the village hadn't been shrunk down any further than when she was last alive. That was a whole _ten decades_ of the youkai doing nothing to its borders.

Then, with her life returned, there was these people. As if from out of the woodwork, singling out _her_ in particular.

' _Reimu… Reimu isn't going to have to put up with this shit.'_

She wasn't sure _why_ they waited. _What_ the waiting was for, or their motives. Kugo said he wanted a good time; but what did he _really_ want? Sendai had no idea.

' _No one I know will have to put up with the shit I did.'_

She imagined Reimu pinned down by Kugo. The final dereliction of the human village, Reimu pushed to the brink after her mother's death, and the death or enslavement of everyone she knew.

' _This was done twenty- thirty years ago.'_

She remembered the humans she's killed in self-defense, because they'd almost gotten the better of her, when they'd invaded her shrine to loot it, or loot her. Even if they were human, they were part of the corruption that would undo the meager flicker of light that was the remnant of human civilization- at least, in Gensokyo. To Sendai, that might as well have been the entire world.

' _I'm not the little bitch I used to be, either.'_

"Uh. Hey?" Kugo patted Sendai on the cheek, as she glared. "...Yo, Reimu. I think ya momma's busted."

"Yeah, uh…" Reimu blinked at her mother. "Mom?"

' _And, sometimes… you need to fight force, with FORCE.'_

 _Kri- kra- krack!_ Anger sparked from her chest, amber and white dancing across her skin and clothes like miniature fireworks.

It was sudden. It felt stupid, unwieldy. But…

She remembered the one last stand she had that kicked off her violent escapades as the Hakurei shrine maiden.

Some youkai took cleverness, intelligence and wisdom to best; apparitions of the metaphysical and conceptual realms.

Some youkai took a big girl, with bigger muscles, and a bigger heart.

Fighting technique? Skillful punches, and weaves? The time to strategize and guard? All meaningless. This was the proving ground- the breakdown of all of that intelligent shit anyone else would have to favor.

Sendai grinded her teeth, and her eyes widened. The amber around her body was building, blooming, billowing- about to blow, to erupt.

Not catching on, Kugo grinned back at her. "Come _o~n._ I _really_ don't wanna fuck up yer pretty face. I'll even eat you out first, if like-... y'know, the tongue of a cat is like-"

Sendai had enough. Her anger, frustration and fear all boiled over at once.

" _HRAA~H!"_ Lurching up before Kugo, Sendai held her arms into the air, and let out a pure roar.

Kugo flinched back, smiling in shock. "Wh- what the fuck-"

-+- _Vs. Kugo Koin's Klan_ -+-

Arms held out, amber forming a dreadnaught-esque silhouette around her, Tsukiko bored holes into his form with her fuming glare.

 _KRAKA- FWASH!_ Amber exploded from Sendai's body, her form washing with orange-brown shade in one moment as the explosive holy light detonated from within her. It was a nuclear blast of pure frustration, the energy flaring off of her like electricity, arcing to the walls and the door's overhang.

Kugo had a small, increasingly incredulous smile as he held his arms up before her. "Nnn- nice trick- with the-"

Amber orbs flared, briefly replacing Sendai's eyes, as she snapped her heavy, hurting arms for his.

"Wh-" He tried to skirt back, but she clutched onto his shoulders.

 _CRU- CRUNCH._ She pulled down, and dislocated them both in an instant.

Yellow, explosive fire billowed off Sendai, as she whipped her left arm back, twisting herself two-seventy degrees.

" _FUCK YOU!"_ She would show him the weight of what he owed. What he owed humanity- herself, her daughter, and everyone he ever _interacted_ with.

 _KRASLAP!_ Exaggeratedly twisting herself back around, she roared her wrist across his head.

His whole upper torso twisted on his pelvis one-eighty, his arms jiggling limply as blood burst from his mouth. _"Nghk- hu-"_

" _Hrr~..."_ Kneeling down, Sendai grabbed onto his back and belt.

Exercising herculean strength, she pulled his whole body over herself, like he were a bodypillow. _"YAA~H!"_

Kugo's head met the overhang of Alice's door. Sendai tugged him so hard, his head _smashed open_ the whole overhang, wooden chunks flying inside the room from the absolute force. His neck scrunched, blood flaring out in a ring from his collar.

 _THU- THUD!_ Inside, Kugo was deposited as a crumpled heap; fed through the trash compactor that was the previous Hakurei maiden's anger.

Alice's eyes were wide as she stared down at Kugo's bloody, mangled form, as it uselessly lay on its side. Reimu's jaw was slack, beholding the broken overhang.

 _CLACK!_ A chair gravitated out between Alice and Reimu, meeting Sendai's grasp in one hand.

With that, Sendai stomped outside. The whole porch rocked with each thumping drumbeat of a sandal's step.

" _Come at me!"_ Sendai roared. She flared her arms out, one held overhead, and one near the ground, as she hunched forward and yelled. _"Hraa~h!"_

Before them, she hoisted the chair over head in a show of power, and plunged it _straight_ down into the floor. She used both arms to put a hundred and ten percent of her power into it.

 _KRACK- KRABOO~M!_ Amber billowed into the air like a miniature nuke blast, the chair's fragments bouncing off the now cracked wooden porch, sailing above the canopy overhead of everyone.

...Some of the smaller, more boyish cat youkai began to just leave.

Other boys were on the verge of incredulous tears, excitement welling up in their eyes. What the hell was _this?_ How _badly_ had they been conned into doing this?

Detecting the rapidly falling morale, an orange-haired cat man came up, beaming. "Ay- you big-tittied whore! Y'don't _fuck_ wit' my boy _Kugo_ like that!" He tried to save face for the other cats.

"Yo- Mitsuhide, c'mon man-"

" _Fuck_ off!" Mitsuhide glared back at one of the more generic-looking cat men. "Look at this stupid _whore!_ She's got all us men _dyin'_ fer her, and she won't even let us fondle 'er!"

"I- I think you're too used to the village women…" Someone voiced from the sidelines.

"Ay- who said that!?" Mitsuhide threw his head back, to look for the voice. "I'll make you suck my dick too! When I find ya goddamn ass-"

He looked forward. Sendai was lumbering up to him.

" _Hrgh-"_ She flailed her right arm out, reeling up an ungodly left hook, as if she were about to wade through a tide.

 _WHA- WHACK!_ Her right arm's knuckles scraped across Mitsuhide's chest, and her left plunged its knuckles right into his gut. _"Ough- ay-"_

Despite recoiling from the force- her muscles weren't _that_ powerful. Immediately, his hands met her full chest, feeling it through her sweater-like, pink-white top. "Nnh! Damn- check these _fuckin' soft-"_

She tried to push him back, but even like this, he was too strong, and kept on her. "Hey- hey-" His impulsive, fierce eyes smiled, his face nearing hers. "On yer knees, bitch. C'mon-"

Sendai hooked her left arm onto the yellow-orange, tacky choker he was wearing, and pulled. _"Hrr-"_

"Wh- _fh- fhuck-"_ He grabbed at his own neck- he was being choked by the choker, ironically enough-

 _Woosh- WOOSH- WOOSH!_ Sendai walked in place in a circle. As she slowly spun, her pull took Mitsuhide right off his own sandals.

Still clumsily spinning around, she picked up speed, putting as much posture and power into her left arm as possible.

 _WHA- WHAM!_ Two approaching cat-like teens were clotheslined by Mitshuhide's body. He was horizontal in the air; Sendai's pull had removed any control he had over his posture. _"Oou- hgaa-"_

 _WOOSH- WOOSH!_ With one more spin, Sendai let go of Mitsuhide's choker.

 _THUMP!_ Mitsuhide landed atop the other two cat youkai, bouncing off of them hard. He was sent rolling away, writhing. _"Nghk- reo~w…"_

That's when Sendai was approached by a ton of the softer looking cat boys. If Mitsuhide, the clan bonehead was man enough to try her, they had to be too.

One of them leapt right onto her, wrapping his legs around her waist, and burying his face in her boobs. "Mmh-"

"Co- come _on!"_ A particularly soft-voiced boy pulled on Sendai's left arm. "I just-... I _really wanna fuck you!"_

Soon, six, eight cat boys were on her. Sendai was awash in the scent of different perfumes, her head instantly degrees hazier. _'What- the fuck…!'_

Standing rigidly, she glared into the air, her body aching with numb, vague pain as the boys pulled on her, some hit her, and others played with her erogenous zones.

Fingers slid into her mouth, claws scraped her breasts, lips met her flesh, and fingers met between her legs-

' _The dark…'_ Her mind pulsed with the idea again. She imagined being anyone else- losing this fight, losing her family- losing the second chance she'd been granted.

It was like she was back in 1980- or in Gensokyo's terms, the 100s. If she was turned into a toy here, so would the families the village had left.

" _Rrgh-"_ She growled, her anger and pain and frustration fueled by all of this abuse.

She twisted her whole body around. Her mind flushed with adrenaline greater than the vague pleasures, and the blurry, spiking pains; like a car's gears whirring into overdrive, crushing gravel.

Like the reversing of a record, her heart pumped with unhealthy force as she spun both arms out.

" _RHAA~H!"_ Both arms extended- silhouette of a dreadnaught reaffirmed- she unleashed an unholy clothesline bash of unknowable force, her whole body twisting around in place one-eighty.

She had to kneel down as she unleashed her arms and twisted herself, posture betrayed by the absolute spinning motion.

 _CRACK- CRUNCH- KATHUNK- CRUNCH- THUNK- THUMP!_ The sound her arms made as they brushed cat boys and men aside was unreal. It was like a sledgehammer to a couch cushion, except also like a knife through butter.

" _Huuaa-"_

" _Nghk- nyahn- aa-"_

" _Owgh- haa!"_

"Hit-... hit me harder!"

"My- _my arm…"_

Ten boys lied on the ground around Sendai. It was absolute destruction; they were wiped out in seconds flat.

Sendai beamed. It was like she was taking the force humans feared; the onset of societal collapse, and sent it all _right_ back.

Now _they_ could feel what it was like. To so effortlessly be felled, stomped flat, abused and broken without another thought.

This is what it felt like. To be like an oni.

Then, a black-haired cat came up to her, gripping one of her breasts with his left palm. "Hit- hit me more! Hit me!"

Sendai grabbed his neck. _"Nghk-"_

" _Go-"_ She spoke messily, no effort being put into being understandable. _"GO- AWAY."_

 _KRAK- CRUNCH!_ She reeled her head back, and when she thrust it back forward, she pulled him into the world's biggest headbutt. A shockwave of holy amber boomed from his nose, blood flaring out into a hilarious ring of annihilation.

Mind blank, the black-haired kitty teen fell back like a corpse.

Reimu and Alice stood on the porch outside, mouths still ajar as they beheld the violence.

" _Heh-..."_ Wiping the blood from her face, Sendai beamed down at him. _"Hehahahah!"_

Not to be outdone, Mitsuhide ran up to her. She turned, seeing the angry-eyed man power towards her.

" _Nyehehe~!"_ He beamed, and raised a leg.

Mitsuhide's leg was cast in orange, amber energy. His own anger and adrenaline was about to erupt. No human _bitch_ was about to make a loser out of him- or of his clan of youkai cats. He was about to show her just what it meant to fuck with Kugo's 'Kats', and why the Golden Grin trusted them as go-to street enforcers.

" _SEE YA!"_ His mouth curled inhumanly wide, and the mighty, burning kick arched for Sendai's ribs.

 _THUMP._ Sendai tensed her own abdomen and took it. It was like hitting the side of a tub with a rock.

Mitsuhide was recoiled into standing, like his kick played in reverse, almost like it never happened. But- he _knew_ it landed. What the _actual_ fuck was she made out of?

"Rrgh-" She reeled arms back to one side again, kneeling down-

 _WOO- WOO- WOOSH!_ Yellow, fire-like energy exploded off of her when she unleashed her one-eighty, dual-armed clothesline again.

They met nothing. Mitsuhide wasn't stupid enough to stay in range of that.

 _Whump!_ After avoiding the swinging arms, that's when Mitsuhide tackled her. _"Ny- nnh!_ Aawh-"

Sendai stumbled back, supporting his weight. He had a hard-on from fighting her, and she could feel it; where his shorts met her bust, his legs curled around her upper body

' _These- stupid, fucking animals!'_

"Come on!" Mitsuhide's voice drawled. "Im- impressed yet…!? I don't go down _easy-_ "

 _Fwish!_ He snapped into a near-instant backflip off of her, landing right before her.

Diverting the momentum on landing, Mitsuhide sprang straight forward for her. Magic wrapped his whole form in yellow-orange might, and he threw his left arm out.

" _PURR FOR ME!"_ His sadistic beam curled up either cheek. He'd elbow-drop her to the floor, and claim the reward he thought he deserved. He'd start with her chest; it was healthy and huge, and all so alluring. The way it swayed in combat drove him, his instincts giving him that extra ten percent power.

Sendai's heart pumped. _'I-...'_

Beat, beat, beat. Her fiery heart pulsed with unrealistic energy, her chest suffering an unhealthy, churning ache felt even through her numbness.

' _If I get floored, I'm not getting back up. This stupid asshole… will have won me.'_ She knew the rules of the game of beasts.

She thought of her daughter, Reimu.

' _For Reimu-... for Alice here- for Keisuke, for fucking EVERYBODY-'_

 _WOOSH!_ She threw her whole body forward, putting all her muscle force into her left arm, to clothesline him.

There was no way for her to avoid his arm, and no way for him to avoid hers.

It was might against might. Instinct against instinct. Predator against predator.

Whoever was the strongest, would be right.

Sendai's mind went blank with anger. Mitsuhide's heart paused in excitement.

In their mutual rage, neither realized the reality of the situation. Sendai had thrown out a clothesline. Mitsuhide was going for a grapple; a pass-by elbow-drop that would floor the back of her head.

 _WHUMPA- KACRUNCH!_ Sendai's arm met Mitshuhide's midsection. Though his own arm met her neck, it wasn't an outright clothesline. He was putting all his might into a pull; not a push, not a strike. He allocated wrong.

He'd neglected the rule of power. _'Just as I had, when I missed my dual-armed bash attack thing.'_

He thought he could nuance it; he thought he was clever. He was a cat, after all, his instincts told him such a direct exchange would be a bad idea. He thought wrong.

The move's absoluteness was so fierce, Sendai's arm so strong, he was thrown upside-down by the sheer crushing, bone-snapping force. He had no chance to pull her, to tilt her backwards and dispel all of her force. Instead, it was him who was undone in his entirety.

Maybe, if he'd actually gone all-in on force, this story could have ended differently. No one would know. Such an outcome was obscured by the darkness of force.

Sendai felt the heat, pivoting around to the upside-down cat man as he hung in the air.

' _You'll never bother my family ever again.'_ Sendai was about to make sure of it.

She grabbed onto his midsection, as he hung in the air. "Nngh-..." Eyes wide, he stared at her slightly stained crotch.

Sendai crouched down. Then, she sprung into a leap, and tossed him right up into the air.

" _HORY- YAH!"_ As Mistuhide flew up overhead, Sendai uppercut an arm into the air.

A sea of amber, explosion-like light was parted by her fist, just like when she uppercutted from the spring's bottom.

 _CRUNCH._ As Mitsuhide flipped around mid-air to try and right himself in the air, Sendai's knuckles met his crotch.

 _KA- CRUNCH!_ Sendai gnashed her own teeth, unleashing another uppercut, boring a hole of force between Mitsuhide's legs.

It was like death. His body ragdolled, shot above the treetops, everything limp as he spun away into the aether, unconscious from absolute pain.

Reimu leaned forward, watching the limp man soar over the canopy, and away.

People weren't joking about her strength after all, then. In fact, they may have undersold it.

 _Thunp- crunch._ Sendai landed on her legs hard. "Nhn- anh…" Her body involuntarily grunted, the pain overcoming it itself, and not her mind. The holy shell of anger kept her senses dulled and shielded for what needed to be done.

' _Who else- wants a fucking piece of me!? I'll kill all of you!'_

...Stumbling onto her legs, her body shook. "Nn- nhn-..." Despite her adrenaline-fueled hype, her body was on the brink of collapse.

Kugo's arms crept up her sides from behind, cupping her breasts.

"Da-" She froze up. "...Da- damn it-..." Through her holy shell, she could feel it now. The odd, involuntarily satisfying feeling of kneading.

"Can't move anymore, can ya…?" Kugo kneaded her chest, pressing her softness in both directions. "How's this feel? The-... the perfume- you smell it yet?"

Sendai was starting to smell it. The cinnamon husk, which ate at her senses.

' _Force…'_ She remembered it.

Her holy shell's pain immunity was a crutch. In her prime, she would have taken all this shit- and it wouldn't have mattered, because she'd have still been the last one standing.

"Hate and desire're _closely related_ , nyah?" Kugo spoke into her left ear. "Imagine how it'd feel, if ya just broke down here. Moanin' for my hands, lettin' me rub ya off 'fore your daughter even thinks ta hop in..."

Sendai found the strength and drive to move. Her body jiggled like jello as she plowed her sandals into the dirt.

Kugo pushed her forward. Sendai felt the sensation of falling.

' _If I hit the floor…'_ She felt the rush of her youth; where meeting the floor like this would mean certain failure.

With one leg, she stopped her fall. It shook. It took a herculean effort for her to stay standing.

Now in front of her, Kugo grabbed onto her head. "Actually. Better idea." He reached for his zipper. Even if he probably couldn't do anything with _it,_ he could at least embarrass her; drain her pride, and show her up in front of her daughter.

There it was again. The mistake. Kugo thought he could approach the game of power in a nuanced way. And, sometimes, that sort of thing worked. More often than not, when it _did_ work, it was because of power backing it up, or the opponent's mistakes.

Sendai sprang into standing. _"HEA~H!"_ Her arms snapped to his sides, in the moment he ceased to pressure her.

He made sure she only got his muscled sides, and not his arms. "Nnh- hehehe! Not _again,_ cutie! Wh- what? Ya wanted ta feel my abs- ah? Aa-"

Sendai pulled her arms up. " _Rrgh-... HHRRR~...!"_

She held Kugo's entire body over her head. Slowly, she began to rotate him around...

"Uuh- aa-..." Kugo's eyes were wide, and he began to kick his limbs around. _"Hoo- holy shit-_ alright- chill chill _chill-"_

She'd positioned him around, head pointed forward; essentially holding him upside-down.

 _WOOSH._ Sendai leapt clear off the ground with the last of her energy. _"HOAAH!"_ She curled her legs back, to land on her knees.

She remembered Keine doing this to Dieter, during their final encounter. _'This one's for you…'_

Then, Sendai slammed both arms down, slamming Kugo to the floor.

 _KRUNCH._ The top of Kugo's skull met the soil, on a rocky patch of dirt.

Blood shot from his head and shoulders, coating the ground in a crimson tint. Blood trickled from his abs and arms too, the absolute destroying force echoing throughout his entire body, rending all his skin.

His limbs screwed up, mind seized by the blow to his skull.

 _...Thud._ With that, Kugo's form went limp. He laid on his back, annihilated.

...Sendai stood back. Tears ran down her cheeks, and she beamed at the sky.

" _Yaa~h!"_ She let out a guttural yell. _"Fhu~ck, yo~u! Fuck you- fuck you- fuck- fuck-"_

 _Sendai learned Essence of the Oni * Torture._

 _Sendai learned Masochistic Drive._

 _Sendai learned Essence of Piledriver._

 _Sendai learned Essence of the Oni * Entangle._

 _Sendai found 155,600 Yen!_

As the holy shell of power receded into Sendai's body, she kneeled over the fallen crowd of cat boys. "Nn-..."

A dizzying array of sensations flooded her mind. Pleasure, lust, anger, pain- _pain, a lot of pain-_

The colossus had crumbled. "Uhf…" Light as a feather, Sendai flopped face-first onto the floor, warm and defeated.

Overtaken by the aching pain, Sendai shuddered on the floor, her mind fading out.

' _Re-... Reimu-...'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

...Somehow, she felt a lot better when she opened her eyes.

She was in a western bed now. The transition was so abrupt, she had the urge to suddenly giggle. "Nn- nnh…" She kept it inside, mostly.

' _This bed's… nice and warm.'_

She rolled over in the western-style bed, pulling the covers with her.She distinctly recognized this as Alice's guest room.

' _I'll never get used to how it feels like I'm sleeping on a table in a way, but the bed itself feels so right.'_

There wasn't any grogginess, which was strange. But…

' _Ah. I know why. One of those shock-induced naps, or something similar. Ah...'_

In the air around Sendai's bed, various dolls floated around. Some had odd devices that projected warm, healthy auras onto Sendai, while others had conventional medkits and cloths.

' _Healing magic, of sorts. Some kind of magical repair. Feels good to have mage crap on my side, for a change… mages really do have everything way easier.'_

Sendai leaned up, and took a deep breath. Her head began throbbing. _'There we go. Nnh.'_

She was only in her bindings and fundoshi, now. Alice must have undressed her. _'Probably used her dolls to do it surgically-like, too.'_

...She took in the light through some of the windows, as she laid in her bed.

"Mmn..." Reimu suddenly romped in from the door, although it felt like she came out of nowhere. "You're up."

"I am." Sendai confirmed. "How long was I out?"

"An hour." Reimu figured. "...You were already well-rested. Pretty sure you just passed out from pain."

"...My favorite thing to do on a day off. Pass out from sheer pain." Sendai began to grin…

Reimu shook her own head. "It was _your_ idea to one-on-… one-on- _twenty_ a horde of cat men. I didn't think a human could just-"

"That's 'cause a _human_ didn't." Sendai returned. "A Hakurei did that."

Reimu pursed her lips. "That's-... that's true. I think you're one of few people to notice that sorta thing. I- I thought I was just freakishly hardy for some reason, but… I guess it's a bloodline thing."

"I don't know how much work it does _for you_ … but…" Sendai found it awkward to speak from the bed, looking down at the plain covers with slight annoyance. "We shouldn't take it for granted. Mo- more than we have to, at least."

' _I say this especially because fu~ck, that hurt…'_

She always looked back on those sorts of fights with pride. To think she _took_ that immense pain, stomached it all down, performed well in the fight, and came out on top.

When she was _in_ the fight, however? She savored the pain a lot less. Preferably, she'd do without it.

Such is why she probably fought in a more balanced way, more often. Seldom was abandoning one's self-preservation techniques actually a _good_ idea.

The very act of playing her cheesy 'game of might' with youkai was almost, in and of itself, a needlessly nuanced action, because it was a way of fighting so hilariously overdone, wasteful, and self-destructive that it'd only shatter foes she'd probably have slaughtered anyway.

' _You can't deny… if force was already the answer, more force is a double positive. Shits on those worthless douchebags damn hard.'_

In terms of tactics? It was at least frightening to behold, she was sure. It saved time fighting worthless enemies, and… she had to admit, it _was_ fun. It was stress relief.

"Still." Reimu kept on her original point. "You just tossed _twenty or so_ youkai around with your bare hands like it was nothing. _I_ couldn't do that. That was, like… it wasn't as pretty as I thought your fighting would be… but, it worked."

"Yeah." Sendai definitely didn't _prefer_ such hilarious power. Particularly not with the logistical price it carried.

' _For example… if I was fighting a tengu, I'd just be dead. It'd do circles around me while I was chucking rocks, and just whittle me into defeat. Also, if I took on an actual oni, I'm pretty sure they'd just fold me into a pretzel and I'd die.'_

' _On that note… I wonder if my speed would actually help me against a real tengu. Maybe not. My generic youkai-like style is looking better and better every day...'_

 _Cr- creak._ She got out of the bed, and stumbled around. "Fa- ah- nnh…"

' _It's like-... all my muscles are aching. What a fucking fullbody workout.'_

Somewhat mechanically, she trudged towards the main room, the many healing dolls following her and attending to her limbs as she moved. _'This is gonna get weird.'_

They pressed on her arms, sides, and legs with precision and care, trying to work on her muscles. Though, for her torso and legs, they abstained as she did things.

Once she reached the main room, she saw a few new developments.

Two small stacks of unique, new clothes sat upon the coffee table.

Three dolls drifted ahead hands on the edges of a wall-mounted wheel of torture. Kugo Koin was blindfolded and bound to it. On closer inspection, it was just a roulette wheel hung up on the side wall.

"...Yo! Hey!" He called out, having heard Sendai's footsteps, but not having yet sensed her otherwise. "Help?"

"I _told you_." Reimu's voice came from the other room, still. "You should've _gagged him."_

"We can't get answers from him if he's mute." Alice countered. "I'm also anything but merciful on attacks upon my homefront. If the youkai of the forest are starting to forget who's boss, I'm just going to have to remind them."

' _...There's something oddly humorous about someone as fluffy looking as her saying that.'_

"He also won't _shut up."_ Reimu finally entered the room.

"Y'know it'll grow on ya!" Kugo raised his voice back. "Mmh…"

' _Not with an attitude like that it won't.'_

Coming up to the roulette wheel, Sendai just now noticed it was a strange roulette wheel. "...Why a _roulette wheel."_

"...Aesthetic." Alice had no good reason. "Also, it's fun when deciding on torture activities."

"Y'all girls inta some kinky shit!" Kugo beamed, despite his situation. "I- I can dig it!"

"...You're not charming." Sendai spoke plainly. "Even discounting how much of a douchebag you are, you're just annoying."

This seemed to actually get under his skin. "Wh- rh- what the fuck you _want_ me ta do!? You just don't know when to _quit!"_

"Because I like not being raped." Sendai returned. "Really. Alright, let's-... let's set this straight. What _even is_ your opinion _,_ on raping human women?"

He frowned, before forcing himself to grin again. "Look. _I'm_ just havin' fun. An' you know what? Human women get over it. They adapt. An' if I fucked you good, you would too. I'd know. I know sayin' this ain't winnin' me any points, but that's life."

"Yes. Humans adapt to adversity and abuse." Sendai nodded, even if he couldn't see it. "Humans also adapt to being shot with fucking guns. Doesn't mean you should shoot 'em."

"But-" Kugo was frustrated on an ideological level. "If I shot ya with a _bullet,_ you'd be hurtin' after the fact. If we _had sex-"_

Sendai spoke over him. "It'd still be a shitty outcome that would step on many things I personally stand for."

...He grinned more genuinely now. "An' if ya threw them _things_ away, even if it hurt… wit' even a few weeks time, would it matter? Especially if ya had somethin' to cling to? Like _me?"_

"Yes." Sendai wasn't sure where he was going with this. "Yes, it would. Even a submissive rape fantasy is just that. In reality, people have _responsibilities._ People have a level of sacredness in their relationships. A level of security in their lives, routines and connections. Those who don't understand this respect for romance and social behavior-"

"Shut the _fuck_ up." Kugo heard enough of this. "Don't give me- don't _feed me_ bullshit like that. It doesn't hafta _be_ so-... so _stupid,_ so _locked up._ You humans're missin' out."

"Maybe." From a certain angle, Sendai could agree that a level of respect for tradition could be unnecessarily binding. However… "Some things deserve to be left alone."

...At that, Kugo nodded, despite still disagreeing. "If y' _say_ so…"

' _It'd be something if life was so simple, and everyone could enjoy carnal pleasures and luxury without any effort. Even aside from the fact that such a world could perceivably be boring, life is not designed that way.'_

' _This youkai thinks he's really smart. He thinks he's seen past the scheme of things, and he thinks every person works in a certain way. And, he's not fully wrong. Some people do have that wisdom.'_

' _But, it's in this confidence that he's also blind to situations unfamiliar to him. Such as, actual, passionate love, and not mindless screwing around. That's partly why he's so incredulous about this.'_

' _...He's also a complete douchebag who doesn't seem to be able to gauge human problems, and he lacks a serious amount of empathy.'_

' _I dread to think of what he's done to human women. This man is contributing to the undoing of human life. If all the village was bedlam like his, families would be done for. Society would regress from its shitty iron blades, back to rocks and sticks.'_

She had nothing else to say to him. With that, Sendai casually strolled towards the new clothing Alice had arranged. _'Ooo…'_

"Why not gimme a try?" Kugo tried to bait her into replying. "Ladies _love me,_ y'know? I know what makes yer body tick."

Sendai ignored him. "These outfits…"

"Also, what are _you_ doing up." Alice finally addressed Sendai. "You should be resting. Aren't all my dolls working on you enough of a clue? That aside, your muscles are seriously exerted."

"I've been through worse." Sendai may have felt like shit, but that didn't mean she had to lie around like it.

"But-" Alice huffed. "Ugh. You're just like _Reimu."_

Coming up to the table next to her mother, Reimu grinned. "Wh- what's _that_ supposed to mean."

"It means you're both out to destroy yourselves, that's what."

Sidling towards the table with a strange rhythm to her motions, Alice gestured to the clothes lying around. "Also, my dolls can't attend to you so easily, if you just-... _get dressed_ right now."

' _Hmm? Ah…'_

Sendai looked along her own arms, at the dolls she noticed earlier. "Are-... are they just-...?" There were green-white dolls which had crosses sewn onto their dresses. They were currently pressing their tiny hands against her arm muscles…

' _I hardly noticed them.'_

"Yes, they're massaging you." Alice noted. "...I'm more familiar with anatomy than I really should be. That said, how is it?"

Now that she focused on them- and Alice focused as well- it was an unreal feeling, Sendai had to admit. "...Go- good. Really good, actually." Usually, a massager only had two hands, but in Alice's case, she had as many hands as she needed, and it certainly felt unique.

It was like the entirety of her arms were being massaged at once.

Alice noticed how Sendai's eyes became more sedate, lulled by the good feeling across her arms. Then, she smiled. "...If you'd _sit down_ , I could focus on you in your entirety. I'm sure your muscles need it."

"Are you gay for my mom, too." Reimu had a somber look. "I can't believe you, Alice."

Alice gave her a glare. "Oh, _sod off,_ Reimu. Wh-" She giggled at herself. "Ehe- nnh… just-"

"You never gave _me_ a full-body massage!" Reimu contested. "...But I know you've given _Marisa_ some."

...Alice had an immensely mixed expression, as she beheld the combination of meanings behind the things Reimu said. "...Would- would you _like me_ to?"

"I really don't care." Sendai wasn't having any of this awkwardness. "Think of it, Reimu. Full-body simultaneous massage. Gods…" Just thinking about it made Sendai feel good.

' _Mages really do have everything easier, gods damn it.'_

"You girls…" Kugo struggled against the metal clamps that held him against the roulette wheel. "Fu~ck. I wanna _fuck you_ so bad…"

...Sendai and the others idly looked around amongst one another, in visual agreement that they were put off by him.

Sendai moved for the guest room again. "We starting now, or…?"

"Mmh. Sure." Alice nodded. "Come along, Shanghai."

' _Who?'_ Sendai looked around, before realizing she was gesturing to one of her dolls. _'Oh. Well- of course she talks to them. You have to be a little crazy. Prerequisite of both being a mage, and being a puppeteer.'_

' _Anyway…'_

' _These things. Family interactions… stuff like me and my daughter, or this curious exchange with this clothier…'_

' _We take these things for granted. They can be so easily taken away from us.'_ Sendai would know. _'The world strives to take this order away from us. Hate the village as I might… I think the idea of anyone there losing the family they have… it- it's horrible.'_

' _I hope, some day, Reimu's not as jaded as I am.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

It was later that day.

"Mmmh…" Sendai fidgeted in the bed.

Alice's many dolls applied an unreal, oddly pleasurable pressure to her whole body. Right now, they focused on her sides, and she felt like she was getting her spine readjusted. In a good way, that is.

Articulating her body around, stretching her legs, back, and arms, she closed her eyes.

' _Fu~ck… yeah.'_

It was hard not to think of Keisuke, too. He used to give her informal massages before they… bonded, in a manner of speaking. As such, her body was somewhat conditioned to remember that anticipation. Bad things were being done to her composure, but as long as Alice never claimed the blanket she kept bundled just around her waist's front, she'd never have to know.

Alice knew, though. Her face was somewhat red, as she articulated her fingers, controlling all the dolls, and every movement. She could _sense_ Sendai's reaction; and it was wholly unintentional. Alice _had_ pleasure massage techniques, and this wasn't one of them. She wasn't sure if she was doing something wrong...

Earlier, Sendai had considered the unreal precision that went into each intricate movement of the dolls. Now, she wasn't considering much at all.

Reimu had been watching with a mixed expression. "...Actually. Since _when_ could you give massages?"

"Since- since always, technically." Alice sassed her. "...I mean that both humorously and otherwise. I came to Gensokyo with some fair knowledge of how to do so. Then, as I learned anatomy for doll construction… some talents _do_ lend into one another nicely. I only began practicing it for the incident resolvers, actually. Heaven knows this place has essentially become a gas station for the lot of you."

"Ga- gas station…?" Reimu wasn't familiar with the term, but she could figure out what it meant.

"Oh. Maybe 'candy store' or 'corner store' is more like it." Alice figured. "...Regardless, I'm looking for _something_ to charge, and perhaps a luxury like a massage will be it."

"...What do you even _do_ with all the money you nick off of us." Reimu hadn't ever really thought of asking. "You keep taking little amounts here and there."

"I buy reagents." Alice returned. "Sometimes I've saved for particularly pricey ones. Patchouli sits on many, but the mansion is wealthy and seeks to stay that way… which means I need some yen to get anything done. Or, if I wanted to trade them outfits and dresses, I'd still need to buy silk and outside-type goods from the village.

"Worst comes to worst, I end up getting ahold of Yukari, and she charges exorbitant and exotic taxes for either common goods, or equally exotic items. I can tell she doesn't like doing it, so I don't ask her often at all."

' _Yukari…?'_ Sendai took brief pause at the name, before wincing an eye shut. _'This massage-...'_

Reimu snorted. "She doesn't like charging you, or she doesn't like getting those reagents?"

Alice flicked her gaze up. "...I guess that _would_ be vague. She doesn't like fetching reagents from the outside in general. I take it she doesn't want me to start requesting precious materials like untapped gold, gems, or magical artifacts. On that end, she'll make a big deal out of even little things, like massive amounts of cardboard, cloths, or outside synthetics like steel or processed plastic."

"...Weird." Reimu wasn't really able to say _why_ that would be. "Maybe she just doesn't want influences to mingle…?"

Alice softly snorted again, and shook her head. "Well… no. High-grade plastic here only exists in Eientei's hands. If various entities begin trading for it from the outside- or rather, from Yukari- suddenly she becomes a big materials supplier that she'd also really rather _not_ be. She's-... you know, Yukari, not a hardware store."

"Could've fooled me…" Reimu shook her head.

"That, and, wanton spread of materials in such a tilted way would be dangerous to the environment." Alice assumed. "...Everything said, Eientei itself is pretty reliable for modern outside materials like rubber and plastic. The market's not big for it, so Eirin doesn't gouge me for it either."

"Wh- when'd we start talking about _plastic."_ Reimu curled her brows up, as if worried…

"...I mean," Alice's stare back at her was vague, "it was tangentially related."

' _What the hell was that…'_ Sendai was vaguely awed from how Yakumo was so nonchalantly namedropped and compared to a hardware store.

As she stared up from the bed, she saw dolls drift around her, some before her face, looking down at her.

Their figures were strangely cute, but the lifelike features, and the flesh-like touch of their small limbs was… hard to place.

' _They're all really good at giving actual massages, I'll give them that. Visually and conceptually… they're still slightly creepy.'_

' _Especially because their hands and arms… they feel like real skin, just really tiny. Not that I know for sure, because they're so tiny it's hard to tell, and they definitely don't show real signs of being alive. Right now, their hands are only warm because my skin is warm.'_

A doll stepped up onto Sendai's chin, and looked down at her. _'...What's this little one doing.'_

As Sendai met its immensely tiny stare, Alice spoke up again. "We're just about done. How do your limbs feel?"

"...Articulated." Sendai began. "Nnh. Really… really damn good…"

' _I don't know if she mixed healing magic with it, but my muscles and limbs all feel… alive again, as opposed to after I'd woken up from my shock nap.'_

"Good." Alice nodded. "Then, that's about where the de-stressing course ends…"

Reimu snorted. "...There's more than one, then? Do you even do this enough to have a bunch?"

"...No." Alice admitted. "I- I'm being fancy, Reimu. Though, I _do_ know some of my mothers… techniques. I- I wouldn't use them here, however…"

...Sendai sat up, and the doll girl that stood on her face darted back into the air, still floating before her. "You know… when I think about it, a massage is a pretty… strange thing, to offer me so suddenly."

"You're Reimu's mom." Alice monotoned back. "That kind of gives you a free background check. If you'd forgotten, I too watched you fight the cat marathon off my lawn. That, and, I figured of anyone to massage, a worn-out martial artist would be able to quickly tell me what I did right or wrong."

"...Sorry to say, but I've seldom been professionally massaged." Sendai couldn't really offer her any advice. "I will say… that was _pretty good."_ She felt at her neck, which was free of aches she previously didn't know she had…

"I believe the results tell me most of what I need to know." Alice smiled back. "Now, go throw an outfit on. I'm as excited as you are to see how they'll fit."

' _Ah, yeah…'_

The bed groaned when Sendai got out of it, and she meandered for the main room…

Here, Kugo was still bound to the wall. He was upside-down now, his face red with blood that had rushed to it…

"Nn- hey!" He yelped from where he hung. "That-... that you, Tsukiko? I- I can smell yer beauty from anywhere!"

' _He's been saying that to anyone who walks out of here.'_ Sendai heard the line earlier. It was 'booty' before he'd revised it to 'beauty'. He'd said it to Alice about five times, and Reimu about twice.

"Guess again, dumbbell." Alice casually insulted him.

He clicked his tongue. "Nnh, shit."

Quietly, Sendai moved for the outfits on the table.

There was a green-white one, which featured one normal arm sleeve, one all black sleeve, similar to the blue one's tight sleeves. It had a green hakama to go with the top green cloth apron.

' _...It seems similar to my regular outfit, but green. Except…'_

The apron itself had a bunch of minute details; pockets meant for arrows, general pockets that were perhaps for bullets, as well as interior pockets. The hakama had strings on the side meant for katana sheaths, as well as a set of premade sheathes laid atop it.

All of this aside, there was also a huge bow laid next to the outfits on the table, with a green and gold design, and a gold arm ring next to it.

' _How unorthodox. It even has two entirely different sleeves.'_

The last outfit was very different to the others.

It was black and yellow. It was more like a proper kimono top than any of Sendai's other outfits, but the kimono-like folds on the front were more for show, as it was actually a shirt.

The arm sleeves were built into the top itself this time. While they were still separate sleeves, huge stitches ran from the top's arm holes to the entrance of the sleeves; such that they would expose her shoulders, within the shell-like, flared out sleeves and collar pieces.

Sendai grasped this outfit. Its materials felt heavier, almost shell-like compared to the finer materials of the other outfits.

"The hell's this?" Sendai broke her vow of silence to question it.

Alice looked up from where she was near Kugo's torture wheel. "...In a good or bad way? It's an outfit I thought fit your recent method of fighting. I didn't think you'd have developed your preferred combat in such a… _blunt_ way, so I figured all my thinking with the other outfits was somewhat moot by comparison."

Coming up to the table, Alice pointed at the outfit. "It's hard to rip. It's sturdy. Your inventory is still in the sleeves, but now the sleeves are bound to your shoulders by steel fiber wires. It absorbs shocks. Only downside's that it's heavy."

Taking the top away from the hakama bottom, Alice held up a yellow band. "The sash that keeps this together will react to holy magic and tighten. Like this, the clothes will be genuinely almost tougher than _you_ are, and shouldn't succumb to nearly any wear or tear."

Finally, she addressed the green outfit. "...If you're feeling pragmatic, this outfit should generally do everything physics-wise the others could. It lacks the right enchantments, so it's kind of just… what it is. Pockets, options, so forth. Just in case I was wrong with the whole omega durable outfit, and you still wanted something different."

' _Hmm.'_ Sendai felt like the yellow-black one called out to her, at the moment. _'I really do need way more physical protection, if I'm going to be so clumsy with my motions for awhile…'_

Alice did that thing where she reached behind her own back to hold her other arm. "If you think it looks garish… you know. Garish design for a garish fighting style. You're only a few steps away from an oni, if all you do is swing your arms around and throw people."

"You're not wrong." Sendai didn't argue with her.

"Mmhn…" Kugo grimaced, the blood rush getting to his head… "You girls-... yer makin' it _way more complicated_ then it's gotta be. How 'bout a _bikini?"_

"You're right." Alice agreed. "How about I take out your bones. That seems like the most efficient solution."

He grinned. "Pft- nyahaha!"

"Where did you even come from?" Alice actually got on with the interrogation. "If you'd tell us who your employer is, or boss, or _leader,_ or what have you-"

"A _to~n!"_ Kugo wasn't shy to talk. "As in, a _ton_ a' people wanted me here. Like-..." He blinked, the feeling of blood in his head making everything harder… "Like uh- Tsuruko-chan, or _Suru-chan,_ she gave me a couple yen an' a quickie- ta come down here and harass Suki-chan 'ere."

"Also!" He kept talking. "When I got out the door- I thought I was damn _dead,_ but that witch chick Marisa, came down an' was like, 'they ain't at the shrine, they's at Alice's, which is that way'... which was good- 'cause I didn't know where the hell this place was."

' _Wh- why. Marisa, the fuck. Wait… she was even at the shrine. Did she literally leave right after we left, to tell him where we were going?'_

"An' _then!"_ Kugo beamed, as he hung upside-down blindfolded still. "Some a' the club's bunny babes came 'round, said they'd party with my crew, but only if we went through with the whole 'attack this Alice chick's place' thing. Which was good, 'cause while like… _I_ hardly knew what the fuck an Alice was, _my crew_ were gonna piss themselves, 'cause some of 'em lived in the forest."

"So that's how I actually got my clan ta come along!" He grinned, finished. "...I mean. Might be in hot shit _now,_ but Suru-chan's so fuckin' hot- and those bunny babes too, my crew needed that shit. No way I _wasn't_ comin' here today. And- _dude…!"_ He seemed to get excited. "Imagine if we _really_ fucked Reimu and her mom! We'd be the talk a' the _world!"_

"Or dead." Alice proposed an alternative.

He chuckled. "Oo- or dead! Hey. I'd rather live fast, than spend another year bein' a pussy, y'know what I'm sayin'!? He- nyehehe!"

"Or you could live still, 'cause you'd be dead." Alice nodded warmly.

With that, Sendai had her new outfit on.

 _Sendai obtained Hakurei Dreadnaught Outfit: Beast_.

 _Sendai obtained Hakurei Maiden Combat Outfit: Strategist._

 _Sendai obtained Emerald Bow (infinite uses)._

' _She wasn't lying about the 'it being heavy' thing.'_

Sendai had black sandals fit with yellow bands on, black-yellow hair tubes, an all-black hakama, the usual all-black leotard worn on the inside, and the edges of her black sleeves had yellow string fed through the dotted lines.

Compared to her other outfits, in terms of practical martial skills, this outfit was pretty useless. It weighed her down, had excessive cloth, and while it helped her soak up blows, normally taking blows wouldn't be her train of thought to begin with.

But, today, she'd be an absolute bruiser. For the purposes of just ramming herself against everyone and everything, it was perfect.

' _This is really going to draw me back in my tengu-like approach to fighting… but, for my general youkai-esque one, it'd be okay, probably. Not great, but…'_

' _The weight of just wearing this thing and moving in it should help me rebuild muscle mass, too. It's… it's not light.'_

It was like a suit, on another suit, inside another suit. Give or take a couple more suits, perhaps.

She stomped up to the door of Alice's place, before pausing and stomping back. "How much will this run me?"

"I took a hundred thousand yen off of the cat people you blew away." Alice decided. "That already paid off all of the process, and then some. I left you the other fifty thousand or so."

' _What? Damn, those cats were loaded. Like-... really loaded. What the fuck.'_

"I'll make a bunch of duplicates again." Alice told her. "You… do as you do."

' _Do as I do, huh.'_

"I guess we'll get going." Reimu decided. "Thanks for your help, Alice."

"Mmm." Alice gave her a nod. "...As for me, I'll be experimenting on this cat."

"Nyaa~..." Kugo meowed. "Do te~ll…"

"With knives." Alice's voice was flat. "I'll be experimenting on you with knives."

' _She's probably got everything under control.'_

"See you around." Sendai gave her a wave, and moved for the door.

"Mmm."

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Soon, they were back at the shrine steps.

"Mmm…" Reimu stretched, arms raised to the sky. _"Hnn-..._ ah."

"This ice…" Sendai cracked her knuckles. "I really ought to clean these stairs."

"But _why."_ Reimu was really curious… "You can just walk up the grass."

"Fuck that." Sendai wasn't about that. "This is _my-..._ _our_ shrine. We should be able to do something as simple as walk up our own stairs."

"...I don't think we _want_ to walk up stairs this big." Reimu shook her head. "No one I know does either."

...Sendai gave her a blunt stare, before shaking her head. "Yeah, well, in _my day…_ nnh." She felt bad saying that. "I always savored my march up the stairs. The effort, the visual of the land around me, and how our hill was so great, that it stood above the woods around us. It was a testament to my position, my role in the land, and my power."

Reimu's stare was soft and plain. "I think you put too much thought into it."

"Probably." Sendai admitted. "But, the walks after patrols and hunts, or when getting back from a crappy day at the village… it was therapeutic, you know?"

"I guess. Yeah…" Reimu was starting to see that. "I do like flying around at night sometimes."

Sendai nodded, successfully connecting with her daughter. "I'm not sure if that's quite the same, or necessarily safe, but something like that."

' _...In order to de-ice the stairs, I'm gonna need to break the ice. It forms in layers. Normally, I'd take a big hammer to it. Hmm.'_

Coming up to the stairs, Sendai took in a deep breath. If she wanted the strength her inner holy energy could offer, she'd have to channel it again.

' _Only way I'll get used to this is by using it… a lot.'_

 _Kri- krack, krack._ She searched her body for her anger, and for the holy light.

 _Thoom! "Hmph!"_ She flared her arms out, hanging them low, and stomped the floor with one sandal.

 _Kra- KRACK!_ The shell of amber, holy light spread across her form, her magic flaring out and fueling it.

' _...This'll be more effective if I'm into it.'_ When she wasn't pissed off, this felt somewhat unwieldy as a whole. While her tengu-esque behavior was effective even when she wasn't having fun, not being angry when she was like this felt… strange.

She looked up at the stairs.

' _The days I've spent chiseling ice off this damn thing. Repairing it, making new steps, patching faults…'_

She couldn't find anything to be truly angry about, but she found something to get mildly pumped over. _'I'm not wasting so much time chiseling away today! I'm showing this ice who's boss!'_

 _-+- Vs. Hakurei Shrine Stairs * Icy Weather_ -+-

Slowly, her whole stance aggressive and incredibly defensive, Sendai approached the frosty stairs like they'd kill her.

Reimu looked endeared, for some reason. "...You look like those stairs are _really_ opposing you, mom."

"I'm very opposed to the stairs." Sendai replied.

Coming up to the first step, Sendai raised her leg over it. _'...Oh, right, using stairs like this… mmh. That's not going to stop me.'_

Clumsily, she tried to maintain her balance upon raising one leg-

"Nn- nnh…" She stumbled to the side-

 _thump._ She slid back onto her ass. "Uhf…"

"Um…" Reimu blinked twice.

"Not yet…" Sendai growled, as she got back onto her legs.

' _With force! Don't give gravity a chance!'_

" _Ho~h!"_ Thrusting her arms down, Sendai pumped her left knee into the air, holy amber flushing along her leg as she practically bounced off the floor with her motion.

 _KABAM!_ She pumped her left heel into the stairs like a piston.

 _KRA- KRAKRACK!_ The entire sheet of ice on it shattered in one instant, the whole step suffering a miniature earthquake from the seismic, piston-like force of Sendai's sandal.

"Ho- holy crap…" Reimu stared at the ice as a few chunks fell from the step. "What…?"

' _It worked…!? I- I mean, good start. Now… while I can break all the ice like this, how'm I gonna sweep it all off quicker? I wish I had some wind magic, or something. A magician. Wait…'_

She reached into one of her sleeves, as she stood on the one step.

She drew the _Zephyr Bolt,_ an item given to her by the goddess Yasaka on Youkai Mountain. _'She gave this to me as a random trinket-tier gift, and I haven't bothered to make use of it so far. It's only charged by wind energy. Not that I'll be using it for that…'_

Normally, this object would be a lance of air when charged up, fit for tossing at youkai. That wouldn't help right now, really.

' _But… perhaps, if I were to feed my faith into it, I could request something from the goddess Yasaka.'_

She put it away, and searched her sleeves again. _'It will be most useful when all the ice is loose.'_

 _Woosh!_ She pumped her right arm into the air, graduating to the next step with a stride of her right leg. "Hnn-"

Her right sandal rested on the step. Then-

" _Hrrh!"_ She thrust both arms down again, and jerked her right knee into the air.

 _KABAM!_ She pistoned her right sandal into the ice like a bullet, amber flowing over the ice's surface and making it glow orange.

' _Wait! I do have something I could use!'_

"Haa-" Graduating another step, she threw her arms into the air.

A Hakurei yin yang orb expanded between her hands, filling the space over herself with its marble-like form.

" _Hnaa~h!"_ Sendai yelled, as she unleashed the orb down on the stairs-

' _Duck!'_ Immediately after tossing the orb, she felt that it was a bad idea.

 _KAKRACK!_ A shelf of yellow-amber light boomed from where the orb struck, against the third or fourth step away.

 _WOOSH!_ It hit the corner between one step and the next, which sent it roaring back where it came from. The orb roared like hell over Sendai's head.

...Once it was past her, It bounded off into the woods across the path, now unstoppable from the new power Sendai gave it. Now filled with destructive power, it was off to destroy a small ecosystem with its seismic energy. It'd be like the time the dinosaurs were wiped out by a meteor, except with ants and a yin-yang orb.

' _Oops.'_

Then, Sendai had another idea.

' _WIth my uppercuts…'_

She reeled her whole body down, and thrust her left arm into the air. _"Hroah!"_

 _WOOSH!_ She ascended. Amber rained down her left arm, down her huge black sleeves, and over her yellow-black hakama-

 _KRAKAKRACK!_ She plowed both legs into the ground, shattering both the step-shaped frost shelves beneath herself, and the ice beneath her sandal heels. Crystal-like, amber particles bloomed out from under her.

' _...Not enough strength.'_ Unlike her piston-like, single-footed stomps, her natural bodyweight wasn't enough to fully work these steps. The step before herself was still partially frozen, cracked and partially shattered, but not outright blown away.

' _Wait. I see it…'_

 _KRABAM!_ Cracking the ice on the step above herself, Sendai practically lept when she graduated her next leg to the proceeding step-

 _KRACKA- BAM!_ She pistoned it down, and immediately began her bounce-like motion to the next step.

 _KRACKA- BAM! KRACKA- BAM! KRACKA- BAM- KR- KRACK!_ Like this, she stomped up one step at a time with hilarious outward inefficiency, a miniature explosion of aura energy leaving her with every step.

Yet, for what it was, this was an efficient, utilitarian direction of power. Sendai worked out her legs as she scaled the steps to the Shinto torii, the clumsy ice powerless to impede her progress. Her raw power would suffice for this challenge.

' _Fuck yeah!'_ Sendai was pumped, when she was halfway up. _'Fuck this ice! Yeah!'_

 _KRACKA- BAM! KRACKA- BAM!_ As sun began to shine over the land, Sendai climbed the steps like a flare of solar light herself, coming onto the top of the Hakurei hill with the rising sunlight.

After the course of some minutes, Sendai stood at the top.

" _Hrr~...!"_ There were sheets of ice on the path up across the shrine's lawn here, too. As Sendai arched a knee into the air, twin orbs of amber aura spiralled around her form, as if representing the cranking of her joints, power feeding into that leg.

 _KRACK- BOOM!_ She stomped the ice so hard, the sheets of ice some meters ahead popped from the stone they rested on.

' _He- holy shit…!'_

Drawing another, huge Hakurei yin-yang orb overhead, Sendai-

"Aa-" She slipped and fell forward, roaring the orb down before herself, but not letting go-

 _KRAKABAM!_ She hit the floor so hard, she rebounded back into standing, ice exploding past herself from the orb's impact.

Still holding onto it, spinning around from her clumsy momentum, she skidded on her black sandals, before losing her balance again. _'Ho- wooh-'_

 _BAM!_ She embedded the orb in the minced plain of icy fragments before herself, now a third down the front path to the shrine.

Pushing against it, she leaned back into standing, holding it uneasily. _'That-... holy shit. That went better than I-'_

"Ooh!" A voice attracted Sendai's attention.

A sphere of light-consuming black ominously glided across the lawn, slowly nearing her. As it got closer, the holy aura from Sendai's body fought off the shroud, and a blonde youkai girl was revealed inside.

"You're-...!" She beheld Sendai's form with an odd degree of awe. "You're made of a _lot of meat…!"_

' _I saw this youkai girl when I first marched up to the shrine after reviving. I used a mana molotov to see her off that time. But, now…'_

Sendai inhaled. Lifting both legs, she spun around on one heel.

Heart whirring like she was changing gears, her adrenaline suddenly flushing, she used both arms to slam the orb down before herself.

 _KACLACK!_ When her spin finished, she kneed the orb she threw straight down, and did so with such force that it became enchanted with amber, exploding out towards the youkai like a curveball.

"Wh-" The blonde youkai girl's eyes widened-

 _WHAM!_ The orb blew into her upper body so hard, her dark shroud vaporized entirely, and she was left doing innumerable flips in the air. _"Nhk- ha- aa-..."_ A brilliant spiral of blood bloomed from her nose, the stream of crimson flecking across the shrine's lawn as she spun.

" _Get fu~cked!"_ Sendai arched back, and roared into the morning.

 _Thud!_ The blonde youkai landed on her stomach, eyes uneven. _"Whu- huh… hu- huh…?"_

Beaming at the youkai's devastation, Sendai reached into her sleeve again…

Drawing the Zephyr Bolt handle, Sendai tossed it into the air. Her body hummed with strange energy… _"Goddess Yasaka!"_

The red handle froze in the air.

" _Grant me powe~r!"_ Sendai held one arm up at it, twin spirals of amber 'flame' revolving around her.

 _woo~sh._ Her holy energy fed into the handle, and after a few seconds, the body of Kanako Yasaka was drawn by the wind, fading into existence. She sat cross-legged overhead, blinking.

"...Aa-" She also widened her eyes. "This-... this _faith…"_

Sendai gradiosely cast an arm ahead, taking a whole second to do so. She pointed at the woods. "Cast a _huge gale!_ That way! Brush the whole hillside!"

...Kanako took pause, not entirely certain of the situation's context. But, she recognized that somehow, Sendai had offered her a prayer, and had asked for a blessing, if in a very abstract and confusing way.

So, she wasn't one to decline a Hakurei's prayer.

 _Click._ She snapped her fingers.

...It took a moment of stillness, but then-

 _FWIWOO~SH!_ Sendai almost stumbled off her legs, but held her posture strong.

"Wh-" Reimu floated up the hill, but braced her arms. _"Whoa~h!"_ The wind took her away.

" _Nnh- aa-"_ The blonde youkai was flung off the hillside, carried by the wind.

 _FWRO- ROAA~R!_ Pure, godly wind met the hill with such ferocity that grass, dirt, and rock was being torn from the hill, Sendai's hair whipping around wildly.

An entire wall of ice exploded from the stairs, the hailstorm taking into the woods across from the Hakurei path, glittering and beautiful in the day's frozen sunlight.

Beaming wickedly, Sendai marched up to the apex of the stairs, beneath the torii.

In the wake of the dancing ice shards, a rainbow was drawn along the path beneath. Eclipsed by the torii, the colors framed the path's length just before the hill and the whole stone staircase.

Sendai thrust her whole left arm into the air. _"Fuck yea~h!"_

 _Sendai learned Charged Effort!_

 _Sendai learned Oni Furniture Technique!_

...Now back atop the hill, Reimu's hair was all fluffed out, shards of ice caught in it. "Mmh- nnh."

"...Was I simply summoned for a household chore?" Kanako questioned, still floating above the two shrine maidens.

Sendai slowly looked up at her. "Yes. Yes, you were."

Kanako slowly nodded in return, arms folded. "I'd be more upset, if that sum of faith wasn't truly… appreciable. I'd mow the lawn for prayers like that. Actually, Reimu-"

"Buzz off." Reimu didn't want any. "You're not gettin' any from me."

Kanako gave an idle shrug. "Typical. Oh, well."

Gradually, she began to float away. "If I'm not needed for anything else… I'm needed elsewhere, you see."

Sendai waved her off. "Thank you, Yasaka."

Except, Kanako took pause, blinking repeatedly at Sendai's current outfit. "...Are you-... what _is_ that outfit. Are you having a midlife crisis."

"Yes." Sendai snorted. "This is my emo phase, you see."

"Alright, I'll bite." Kanako shook her head, grinning. "What's the _actual_ reason for that…?"

"I'm training my strength." Sendai explained. "This outfit is heavy. Design-wise, you'd have to question Alice. The clothier in the woods."

With that, Kanako tilted her head back in recognition. "Oh. _Oh._ Say no more. I imagine you just let Margatroid do as she pleased."

"Mmh." In all honesty, Sendai also liked how it looked, but she supposed now wasn't the time to make that known.

...In the ensuing silence, Kanako's form simply blurred out, and a sharp wind met Sendai and Reimu for just a brief moment.

Inhaling, Sendai took in the brilliant day around herself. _'I can't feel the cold with the holy shell around my body. That's actually quite helpful, because it's more annoying that it is harmful, when you're up and doing things.'_

' _Feeling so neutral on a great looking today like today also makes me feel really macho, for some reason. This new black-yellow outfit is really warm on its own, too...'_

Notably, her armpits were not exposed either. Her shoulders flared out cartoonishly, and an exposed wedge of steel wire revealed Sendai's bare shoulders inside them. It was quite a far cry from just having her armpits exposed.

' _I feel like a hypocrite for chastising Reimu for her exposed armpits.'_ Sendai mentally compared their outfits… _'Provided, I have a practical reason for wearing almost basically nothing. Not sure why Reimu's top is so… skimpy.'_

Now, the shrine steps were free of ice, for perhaps a few days. It would depend when there was rain or snow next, and sometimes nearly invisible ice would be cast on surfaces in the evening...

' _At least I can use the stairs for today.'_

Her gaze centered on her daughter. _'Adorable daughter.'_ Sendai mentally commented on her, returning Reimu's idle stare.

Reimu spoke up amidst the idle silence, and the day's fair breeze. "...I like how many times you've just straight up fought ice."

Sendai snorted. "It-... it really is a never-ending battle."

"If you ever fought a yuki-onna, you'd be set." Reimu jested.

' _Yuki-onna…'_

"You'd think. Those are seriously annoying to fight." Sendai didn't have great memories of deep winter escapades… "It's the worst when you take a job relating to one. Since they avoid confrontations by default, it's a pain to track one down, and fighting them was basically a test of whether I was frozen first, or if my talismans landed on them first."

' _Being frozen sucks. I… I remember having ways to escape from being frozen easily, but if a yuki-onna has enough time to freeze you, it's already too late to fight them. They've gotten away. Whatever you engage is typically a snow clone.'_

"They make stuff colder, which is kinda annoying." Reimu agreed. "Winter's already cold enough as it is."

' _...Not-... necessarily a pressing problem, but I guess that's also annoying.'_

Sendai moved for the shrine again.

As she stepped up to the porch, getting used to the weight of the black-yellow outfit again, she kept speaking. "Often, on yuki-onna bounties, I'd just bring back ice. Or, if their clones were sophisticated, parts of those. Villagers couldn't tell the difference, and if they witnessed similar youkai, I'd just tell them yuki-onna travel, and the new ones look similar to the last ones."

...Reimu grinned. "Isn't that just scamming?"

"Yes." Sendai confirmed. "...Of everything, yuki-onna were a non-issue compared to the rest of the bullshit around. Yuki-onna attack travellers. You know who doesn't travel? Everyone in the human village."

"What about _you."_ Reimu questioned. "You travelled."

Sendai reached for the handle to the front door.

 _Shoof._ She slid it open. "...Yeah. Yes, yuki-onna have attempted to invite me to death. No, those exchanges didn't last long. They learned to stop."

Inside, Suika was wiped out, lying under the kotatsu, asleep. "Mmh…"

Aunn was for some reason snuggled up under her arm, embracing Suika's smaller body.

Marisa was playing with some strange technicolor blocks at the kotatsu, smiling genuinely down at the plastic pieces…

Sendai lumbered up to Marisa. Reimu opened her mouth, but Sendai quickly flared an arm up to stop her from speaking.

...Eventually, Marisa blinked, facing Sendai as she stalked closer silently.

"Hey." Sendai leered down at her.

...Marisa gained a catty smile. "Aw, you survived."

"Yeah, about that." Sendai smiled. "What the fuck."

Marisa attached some blocks to one another, before looking back up at her. "Figured ya needed _somethin'_ to get yer blood pumpin'. Ya wanted to start doin' strength shenanigans, right? That piss slow style a fightin' ain't goin' nowhere if you can't use yer muscle."

' _...Then, she directed them at me literally just so I had cannon fodder to work on my technique. Nnh.'_ She hated to admit it, but it wasn't a bad idea overall…

Marisa kept sticking the pegged blocks to one another. "An' I can't just let ya keep slackin'! Ya came to the shrine ta slack off, didn'cha?"

Sendai's expression was vague. "I came to relax after I nearly got gangraped by a bunch of youkai. Admittedly, not exactly a unique or new event for me, but..."

"Re _lax?_ Well, maybe ya can do a _bit_ a' that, but…" Marisa shook her head. "Ain't no rest for the living! Or- was it the wicked… either way, I'm not lettin' ya just veg out!"

"I- wasn't _planning_ on it." Sendai began to smile. "And, who the hell are you? My coach? Weren't you trying to kill me?"

 _Click, click._ Marisa fit more blocks together, nodding at them gingerly. "Aw…" Then, she looked up at Sendai again. "Well… yeah. Aw, who knows, then? Maybe this's my strategy, ze!"

Sendai's gaze centered on the blocks, as Marisa kept playing with them.

"What're you even _doing."_ Sendai wanted to know. "...I'm tempted to thrash you for sending a gang of rapists after me."

"Not _now."_ Marisa actually denied her. "I'm playin' with _Legos!"_

She lifted a tiny, blue plastic bin onto the kotatsu table. It was filled with the colorful, square blocks. "They're really cool, and very useless, but cool!"

"Those things…" Reimu remembered them. "Make sure Aunn doesn't try to _eat them_ this time. Taking her to Eientei's a headache."

Then, she perked up. "Aah, darn, right. I need a new fire for the kotatsu."

Sendai paused. "...There's hardly any underside to it. Aside from that… weirdly small metal canister thing. The fire's in _there?"_ It was the size of a large candle, almost.

"Yeah, a little one." Reimu nodded. "They don't go out easy, but I noticed this morning that the one inside was just about gone. The magical signature's running out."

Getting down on her knees, Reimu shifted beneath the kotatsu, before coming back out with a small, brass canister in her hands.

 _pop._ She opened the top, and a very tiny, fiercely red lick of flame was within. But, just looking inside, Sendai felt the bonfire-like heat pulsing from it. _'The hell. That's… an interesting flame.'_

"How much money do you spend on this kotatsu?" Sendai was somewhat worried. "Good flame consumables aren't cheap…"

"Oh?" Reimu blinked. "They aren't? ...Huh. Actually, since you wanna do _stuff,_ you could come with me. I'll show you where the fire comes from."

Sendai snorted. "...I know you didn't mean it to sound that way, but that sounded slightly ominous."

"I'm gonna show you where fire comes from." Reimu threatened her, before moving. "Anyway, let's go."

"Just- right now?" Sendai followed her, but was curious. "Not that I'm complaining, but…"

"It's not far at all." Reimu explained. "Just at the bottom of the hill. C'mon."

' _Wait- what?'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

They stood at the bottom of the Hakurei Hill, on its left side. Or, in other words, the side that would face the Misty Lake.

"Reimu, how in the hell are you getting fire from this place." Sendai recognized the spooky, stone passage that lead into the under-shrine.

It was a crawl space of an entrance. Sendai hadn't used it in years. There was no reason to go down there, really, even if it had memories.

' _When I was young, we used to live down here, actually. Really young, like five or eight, or something. Of course, it wasn't a cave when we lived there. The hill… I never found out why we put a hill on it.'_

Reimu got down on her limbs, and began crawling inside.

' _Wh-... oh, man.'_ Sendai was met with a wall of sudden reverence for the location. _'Reimu walking around what used to be… well, a home to me. How… how jarring. Life is so weird.'_

' _Also, she started crawling in so casually. ...Not that there's a problem with that, it was just really cute.'_

Getting down herself, Sendai began crawling in…

' _Oh, um… man.'_ It was kind of a tight squeeze, but she was making it work. _'...I- I'm not sure if I like this.'_ She never _did_ appreciate tight crawl spaces. There was no room to move or fight, and she felt like she could get stuck.

' _Not that getting stuck would be a huge problem for me, with my strength, but still.'_

She followed behind her daughter, until she saw Reimu exit the dark tunnel ahead, into a dim, luminescent room. _'What's that light…?'_

Coming up to the tight tunnel's exit herself, Sendai moved to push out of it. _'This costume- isn't helping either, exactly…'_

"Um-... uhf." Sendai got her butt stuck, for a moment. "Really… _nnh-"_

With a pull, she freed herself. "Ah."

Reimu chuckled internally. "...Do- don't get stuck, now. It's not like we can widen the tunnel easily, or anything..."

' _...I'm curious what my flash step-like technique would do while stuck in a tunnel, but at the same time, maybe I don't wanna find out.'_

' _Actually. Have I tried to use that, with the wind's aid? I keep forgetting about it. Not that I particularly want to rely on it. It hasn't really… gotten better, compared to my natural movements. I can improve how I move, but I can't readily improve that strange psuedo-magical technique.'_

In this main room of the under-shrine, Sendai stared up at something foreign in the midst of the room…

It was a huge, green-blue crystal. Ominous, sea green light statically splayed from it, the room dimly tinted from its glow.

Huge lines of chains hung from the walls and ceiling, joined onto the sides of the crystal. Dim, dormant ofuda stuck to the crystal, to the chains, and all along the floor, ceiling and walls of this big room.

This entire area seemed to split the under-shrine apart down the middle, creating a huge dirt and stone room in its midst.

' _Well, I guess the common room is fucking toast. What…'_

"Reimu?" Sendai was morbidly curious.

"Don't ask." Reimu didn't feel like explaining. "Someone annoying I locked up a long time ago. She won't ever matter to you."

' _...A long time ago? You're eighteen. You mean to tell me you sealed something that went into a big fuckoff crystal… like, at my age when I just started running around and being sad and shit? What.'_

Reimu moved for the north-west hall entrance, in one of the corners of the room. "This way. Wait-... wait, no." She went south-west instead. "Yeah. This place is a maze, sometimes."

"...Is it?" Sendai wasn't so sure about that…

"Well, not the _main_ area, with the shrine pieces." Reimu admitted. "The rest of the under-hill tunnels just keep going for a long time, however."

"Do they?" Sendai didn't remember that either. "Things have changed down here, then…"

"Probably."

Reimu lead Sendai down a smashed up, slightly twisted hallway. The shoji that comprised the walls were ripped, the frames and pieces broken in many different places.

Sendai watched the holes in the wood floor, avoiding them as she followed along. Meanwhile, nostalgia hit her hard.

' _This lead to the kitchen. The right door'll be the kitchen. The left of that is the pantry, and there was… a room for someone else who lived here, if you went left in there.'_

Reimu took the right turn into the dark kitchen room. With a swipe of her fingers, she drew a gently glowing gold ofuda to light the way.

"...You know." Sendai began to speak. "I used to live in this place."

Reimu paused at that, in the kitchen's entrance. "...Re- really? When?"

"Before I was ten." Sendai recalled. "...My mother sealed this shrine down here, for some reason. She and the remaining members of the clan buried it in dirt. It was a quick decision, done within a day. I don't really know why."

' _I've had at least a hundred different ideas. Maybe they wanted to seal away something evil. Maybe they wanted to preserve the structure… or have somewhere to fall back to if we were attacked. Maybe somewhere to hide? Maybe they wanted somewhere high up really quickly, and couldn't wait to build more. Maybe they thought the geological advantage of the hill was superior to this place. It did used to be at ground level, so…'_

"This was the kitchen. As if it weren't obvious." Sendai stared at the old stove model in the room's back. Counters lined the walls, the wood ages old. The ceiling was broken, shifted earth having betrayed some of the upper beams and all the shingles long ago.

Ignoring a wedge of rock, Sendai looked around at the counters here.

' _Gods. I still remember when the sun shined in through a window, on the wall there.'_ She looked at another wedge of rock that had replaced the wall there. _'I used to stare out that window, sometimes. I remember how the lawn looked, from here.'_

She stood where she sat one morning, at the island counter in the room's midst. _'There was a bowl of mandarins, right here...'_ She stared at the dust-caked counter.

"This place always has so many memories." Sendai swallowed, as she looked around. "...It's really something, to think-... that we can just walk around here, now. This was… such a distant, different time in my life. It almost-..."

She was about to say, 'it feels like it was another lifetime', but that'd be technically correct now.

"I guessed that you used to live here." Reimu had her own share of odd experiences with the place… "I used to come down here a lot and wonder, about stuff. It um, it feels kinda weird. To actually, you know.. have you _here_ to answer stuff. Especially now that I know you actually like, _lived here,_ once."

Reimu stepped around the counter Sendai was at, and looked at the floor there. "...Oh, right. I also guessed you lived here, 'cause I found that gohei you left me."

"That-..." Sendai took pause.

' _That memory of myself I left behind, in that gohei. Before I even had Reimu, when I was in love with Keisuke, I'd imprinted my magic into the gohei I seldom used. I-... I left that somewhere in the shrine, I thought? Wait, where-...'_

Looking around the counter, where Reimu was staring, Sendai saw it.

A jet black gohei laying on the kitchen floor. The tattered, somewhat raggy form of her red-white outfit and leotard laid abandoned next to it, colored grey with dust and dirt.

' _...What the fuck.'_ Sendai approached it gradually.

"Who put this here?" She was curious. "This is… awfully strange. Like I just vaporized down here. That's definitely not how it happened, though."

"I just found it down here, one day." Reimu didn't have a good answer, either. "...And, I mean, it's not like I had anywhere _upstairs_ for it. So, even after, you know… _solving it,_ I didn't want to disturb it."

' _Solving it? She must mean… she must've defeated the memory of myself inside of it, then. Then, she really must be pretty powerful. Or, she found a trick, or something. This was thirty-something year old me.'_

On that note, Sendai approached the gohei herself. "...I've never really found a use for a gohei, to be honest."

Reimu snorted. "Ye- yeah, I noticed."

' _Should I even bother to take it? Hmm. Might as well. It was at least reinforced from breaking, for the most part.'_

Kneeling down, Sendai grabbed the handle, and stood plainly.

Then, something she didn't expect happened. The darkness that shrouded its wood began to spread along her hand, and she couldn't let it go.

' _Oh.'_ She knew exactly what had happened. _'It doesn't recognize me? Or, has it been so long, that whatever magic I used on it is targeting me now, too? Damn it, Marc. Should've listened harder when he explained how the hell it worked. Not that I would have remembered.'_

The black of the gohei spread across her left arm, then up her chest, until it reached her face.

"Huh." Reimu smiled wryly. _"You're_ not immune to it?"

"Apparently not anymore." Sendai figured.

"Well." Reimu nodded. "Good luck."

' _...Actually, me being weaker now… this is going to be weird…'_

The black spread over Sendai's eyes.

 _thud._ Unceremoniously, her body flopped over, making Reimu jump a little.

-+- _Bloodlines_ -+-

Sendai opened her eyes, and sat up.

She was in a strange space. _'...So, this is what Marc meant, when he said it was bound to the shrine's… essence.'_

In the distance all around her, a moving, shifting panorama of the Hakurei Shrine from overhead moved around. It was a dim red, but as the light met where Sendai was, it became a neutral white, leaving the distance with a strange, red horizon glow.

The ground and ceiling were both black-white checkerboards. These surfaces blurred out as they met the distant, red horizons.

Looking down, Sendai realized she was in her red-white, stock outfit.

This space was restricted to her mind, and as such, it bent to some standards she had in her head.

' _...I guess because it's my most natural outfit. I've worn it most of my life, after all.'_

Then, she looked ahead.

Sitting with her legs crossed, the identical form of Sendai sat there, staring up at herself.

"...Aa-" The memory clone blinked, before furrowing her brows. "You-..."

Sendai stepped towards her. "How's holdin' down the fort been?"

"Where-..." Suddenly the other Sendai stood up, abandoning the jet black gohei. "Where the _hell_ have you been? Reimu-... Reimu thinks you're dead. She's already come and gone through here."

"Situation's changed." Sendai grinned back. "...I know it sounds like total bullshit, but… I came back to life."

...The other Sendai nodded. "Yeah, that does sound like total bullshit. You could've told me the gohei got sent back in time, or went on a pilgrimage, and I would've actually believed you. But-..." She furrowed her brows further. "You-... you're me, alright. How?"

"I've already told you. I still have much to learn myself. But, I've been reconnecting with Reimu." Sendai informed her. "...I've lost most of the skills I've used to wield, however."

At that, the mirror Sendai met her gaze. "...Really? How?"

"Revival's a bitch, apparently." That was Sendai's best answer. "I remember _doing_ techniques, and using skills… but, not _how._ Some fights are still vague to me… it just, _really_ sucks."

"...What are you saying, then?" The other Sendai frowned. "That you can't fight?"

"Not as well. Not anymore." Sendai shook her head back.

A silence ensued. For awhile, the mirrored copy of Sendai stared back at her slightly older self.

' _This version of me… she must be thirtyish. Probably thirty four. ...That's about when I decided to have Reimu.'_

"What a shitty joke." The other Sendai decided she didn't like hearing that. "What's the point in being alive again? You're just going to be killed soon as it is."

Sendai smiled back at her other self. "That's not to say I'm not working on myself again. That, and Reimu-"

"She still has so much to learn." The other Sendai spoke over her. "Were you about to suggest that she can pull her own? I offered my failure begrudgingly. She's very sloppy. She takes many risks. Being _trapped_ here in this _fucking stick-..._ "

She stomped towards Sendai. "You'd better regret this every day of your life. Reimu needed you. You _failed_ her. You failed _everyone."_

Despite her words, Sendai wasn't really taking it to heart. "...I don't think things are as bad as you might believe. But, I'd be fucking pissed if I was trapped in a stick too."

"Gods-" The other Sendai held her own head. "I _wish_ I was _real._ Fuck…"

' _Her existence is suspended when no one's… well, dueling her, in this space. This exchange is happening entirely in my own mind, imposed by the gohei's magic. Once she's never encountered again… she's effectively dead. That said, altogether, I can't imagine she's had a 'life' of more than a month.'_

"I'll probably lose." Sendai announced. "But… perhaps I'll learn a thing or two, from you."

The other Sendai glared back, now meeting her gaze again. "...Hmph."

She cracked her neck, then her knuckles.

Sendai copied her motion, almost exactly. "I am the miko who came before." She even said the line she knew her copy would normally say.

"I…" The copy glared back harder. "I am _Tsukiko."_

 _-+- Vs. Tsukiko Hakurei, Shrine Maiden of Paradise -+-_

" _Hmph!"_ Sendai stomped the ground, amber energy flaring up along her own body.

 _Kri- krack, krack!_ As the holy shell formed around her, she glared across the checkerboard floor.

Tsukiko simply walked closer. White energy gradually began to flow from her core, at first rainbow-like, then becoming solid white.

Then, Tsukiko flicked an arm up.

 _FWA- FWA- FWAP!_ Her three-spread of talismans met Sendai in the chest. Yet, they were nothing to Sendai, even though they were fierce impacts for what they were.

" _Hup!"_ Tsukiko leapt closer. Her jump was three meters high, and she was making for Sendai's form-

 _Woosh!_ Doing a backflip in mid-air, Tsukiko reversed her momentum instantly, pulling herself away from Sendai.

 _WOOSH!_ A fully expanded yin yang rocketed down for Sendai's form, grazing between Tsukiko's legs as it roared down like a meteorite.

 _THOOM._ Sendai braced her whole body, and took the glowing orb head-on. It rebounded off her chest, bouncing away. "Ha~h…"

 _CLACK!_ Tsukiko landed loudly-

 _FWISH!_ Then, she vanished, a sphere of air unleashed from where she was.

' _Behind me.'_ Sendai knew herself better than anyone else-

 _WHAM!_ From behind, a palm strike met Sendai in the back of the neck. " _Egh-"_ Despite having her whole body tensed, immune to pain, she felt her voice bark out between her teeth.

Then, lurching down, Tsukiko wrapped both hands around Sendai's right leg, and pulled. _"Hra~h!"_

 _WOOSH- WHAM!_ She'd pulled Sendai right off her feet, whipped her overhead by the leg, and slammed her into the floor back-first. _"Ouhn-"_

 _WHA- CRUNCH!_ Lunging down to the floor, Tsukiko kneeled and roared her left fist straight down into Sendai's nose.

" _Nha-"_ Sendai felt her vision flicker for a moment, her mind stalling. Despite her pain immunity, the merits of the holy shield didn't protect her mind from the disorientation that came with the back of her head meeting the marbled floor.

 _Fwish._ Tsukiko slid back on her heels, and held up an arm. "Weakling."

...Slowly, Sendai fought her limbs, back into standing. "Ngh-... nnh."

' _I don't think I'll be able to… just, use oni-like techniques on myself. Not at all. I'm too fast for that, and hit too hard. That sort of strategy is what the youkai I fought used, so it sure as hell isn't gonna work when I do it.'_

The holy shell dissipated, and she felt her dark energy flare again, free from either light or wind's embrace. _'Alright…'_

 _WOOSH!_ That's when Tsukiko simply bolted at her in an instant.

 _WHAM- PAP!_ Tsukiko met her with a fierce shoulder check, smashing her whole body into Sendai's.

But, Sendai had braced her arms against the assault, stumbling back when they were blown from guarding by the mere force of Tsukiko's tackle. _'Holy-'_

" _Haa~h!"_ Tsukiko suddenly dipped down-

 _WHA- KR- CRUNCH._ She uppercut her left arm into Sendai's ribs, under her guarding posture. _"Huu-"_

 _WHAM!_ Sendai's eyes refocused after her back met the ceiling, twenty meters in the air. A shockwave of black energy was blooming below, unleashed by Tsukiko's unholy uppercut.

" _Aa-"_ Sendai's mouth hung open as she fell-

" _Hydro Storm!"_ Tsukiko purposefully used a useless item crash, tossing a holy molotov into the air and pointing at it.

 _WHAM!_ Sendai landed on her limbs hard. _"Oou- nn-..."_ The pain from landing was unreal, her whole body shuddering from the massive fall.

Tsukiko ran up to her, and kneeled down.

Grabbing Sendai by the shoulders, Tsukiko stood tall again, forcing Sendai to stand. "Wh- nn-"

"C'mon." Tsukiko taunted her as she helped her up. "There we go."

 _fwish._ Tsukiko slid back on her heels-

When Sendai brought her fists back up, her ribs on fire, her limbs possibly sprained or broken from the fall, she saw Tsukiko.

 _vhir._ Her previous form blurring out, Tsukiko was gliding just under her vision, an arm poised to slap a palm into Sendai's underchin.

 _WHACK!_ As anticipated, her wrist met under Sendai's chin-

 _WHA- BOOM!_ Her left palm met Sendai's right cheek, an explosion of red-white magic flaring from the impact like a star-

 _SLAP- KABOOM!_ Her right palm met Sendai's left cheek, a blue-black blast tossing her whole upper body to the side-

 _SLAP- KRAKOOM!_ Amethyst exploded from Sendai's right cheek again, the starburst unleashed by Tsukiko's left palm.

 _WHAM!_ Amber flushed along Tsukiko's right arm, as she hooked Sendai straight into the floor.

 _THUD!_ Sendai's head bounced against the marble floor, as did her body. _"Uu- nn…"_

Holy rain fell all around the marble space, soaking her as she laid broken. A huge, three meter long cone of blood had shot out from her mouth when her head met the floor.

' _Ye- yeah…'_ Sendai knew. _'Seems-... aa- about right-...'_

...Slowly, her eyes teary from pain, Sendai fought into standing again.

' _Fuck… them- them skills-...'_

Tsukiko stood slouched before her, looking unimpressed.

' _I've realized, something. Back then-... my fighting style was actually fairly simple, wasn't it?'_

"Come on." Tsukiko stepped closer, fists raised. "Hit me."

' _It's a trap.'_ Sendai saw it from eons away. _'She's going to punch me in the gut, and I'm going to lose literally all the blood, air, and saliva in my throat.'_

 _Fwish._ Sendai let wind creep up her own form.

' _Let's… just play it safe for now.'_

Raising her fists boxing-style, Sendai ran forward.

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ She dodged a C-shape around Tsukiko in three motions.

Tsukiko pivoted right around, and thrust a palm forward-

Weaving aside it, Sendai beamed, and reeled one good fist back, curling her right arm.

 _Wham!_ Her knuckles met Tsukiko in the nose, quicker than she could react.

Unfazed, Tsukiko simply blinked, and scrunched her face a little. The punch didn't work.

 _Fwi- fwish._ Sendai slid back five meters in the next moment. "Kh- kaugh- cauff…" She coughed out blood, holding her own stomach.

' _I'm… already falling apart…'_

"What the hell was that?" Tsukiko had her brows curled up, in genuine questioning.

"I-..." Sendai grinned, her teeth bloody. "Ih- hiht yhou…"

Tsukiko let her mouth become ajar, for a moment. "...That-... you-... you call that _fighting,_ now?"

Her body paused awkwardly. Sendai swallowed blood and saliva. "...Ih-... my skills-... theh- they're all-... dishjohinted."

She almost fell over, but found her balance again, her head light.

Then, she closed her eyes.

' _...No. I need to do this… like this. I need to show her what's left.'_

 _Fwish._ Sendai flared her arms out, and despite her ribs disagreeing, she grinned. White light poured from her own core, without the prismatic, light-bending texture Tsukiko's exuded.

"But-..." Sendai glared with new resolve. "I-..." She swallowed again. "I'm fhindin' my wahy…"

' _I'm strong enough now to demolish villagers again, and send whole packs of lesser youkai packing. I couldn't say that of myself a week or so ago.'_

She mirrored Tsukiko's posture, arms ready for high-power palm thrusting.

Then, gradually, she jogged up to Tsukiko.

 _WHAP!_ Then, all of a sudden, Tsukiko had to snap her arms up to stop Sendai's left palm thrust.

 _WHAM!_ Sendai's right arm had similar intensity, Tsukiko skidding back on her sandals half a meter from the second thrust.

Even though it had struck Tsukiko in the gut from the sheer speed, she'd hardly flinched.

 _PAP!_ Sendai's left arm struck her in the face palm-first, but Tsukiko simply blinked off the disorienting poke.

...Then, Sendai staggered back. _'Why-... why am I tired? Fuck-...'_

Tsukiko had her brows furrowed, as she beheld Sendai's weaker variant of her own fighting style…

Then, as she focused on Sendai's eyes, she sighed.

"I don't know what the hell you're doing…" Tsukiko shook her head. "But, I'll be pissed if you don't pull yourself out of this. You're probably busting your ass, trying to get your shit back together. To be honest, I don't even know _where_ you should start."

Sendai inhaled, fighting the darkness that crept along her vision. "Me-... mhe- either…"

"But…" Tsukiko walked up to her. "With resolve like that…"

Holding up an arm, Tsukiko stared at her own left palm. "You haven't forgotten, have you? The mindset you-... the mindset I have, in fighting."

Sendai furrowed her brows. "...Mh-... mhaybe- explain…"

"Gods." Tsukiko flicked her gaze up. "...It's simple. Keep a clear mind."

Sendai blinked.

"Keep a clear mind, evaluate your options, and… be efficient."

Tsukiko smiled. "It's… it's second nature for me. But, I suppose, you might need a reminder. Even though you're not nearly as powerful, or fast, or together… even if you're fighting someone like _me,_ understand that even people like… _you,_ have limits. Diligence, persistence, and consistency pays off. For me-... for _you,_ fighting youkai and people, even beings with ten times the muscle strength, it became an automatic routine. A chore, or procedure."

Sendai was starting to understand again.

' _...While it's not exactly practical… she's right.'_

' _Sometimes, fighting was so regular for me, I'd zone out, and… get it done. Not always the best idea, but sometimes… sometimes, I'd do things I wouldn't have done if I was always thinking reactively. My subconscious would take over, and I'd… sometimes I'd accidentally discover new things, or internalize methods and strategies of fighting.'_

' _Then, against truly chancey foes, I'd need to retain my reactiveness and critical skills. Knowing the difference is key, however. Zoning out just because my opponent is difficult… that's the mistake of weaker, human warriors.'_

Sendai nodded. "I-... I think I understand."

Then, she fell to her knees. "Aa-..."

 _thud._ Collapsing onto her side, she blinked her eyes. "Nn-..."

A huge puddle of red had formed under her, while she was thinking.

Sendai bled out on the floor before Tsukiko.

...Tsukiko sat down. Then, she lied down on her side, and curled up.

 _Sendai remembered Hakurei Clear Mind._

 _Sendai learned Heat of the Hakurei Maiden * REBORN._

 _Sendai learned Maiden's Ascension._

 _Sendai learned Core Palm * REBORN._

Sendai sat up, inhaling. "Aa-..." She was back in the Hakurei Shrine underside.

"That took awhile." Reimu was sitting on a dusty counter, now peering down at Sendai. "You catch up with her? ...Also, did you win?"

...Sendai blinked, as she looked around. "Ye-... yeah. We caught up. Also, hell no. She kicked my ass."

' _Next time we fight… hopefully, it will be the other way around. She didn't have to use an ounce of her abilities to level me flat.'_

The skills Tsukiko had used- those were the skills Sendai remembered. But, there was so much more clarity in seeing them in action herself again.

' _I think I know what to work towards, now. I think…'_

She'd just had to practice it again. That said, she wasn't about to demerit her other makeshift fighting strategies either. _'They obviously all have their uses.'_

' _If I'd tried fighting like an oni against Keiko, I'd just be dead. Dancing around like a tengu didn't exactly help me against whole youkai parties. Although… speed seems like a safe option for many situations.'_

"Hey, hey." Leaning over her mother, Reimu snapped her fingers. "You good? Meeting yourself wasn't _that_ traumatic, was it?"

Shaking her head, Sendai began to stand back up. "Nn- nnh. It was- incredibly traumatic." She monotoned. "I'll never be the same."

Snorting, Reimu began to move for one of the kitchen's walls. "Well, I'm gonna show you something even more traumatic. C'mon."

...Raising a brow in mild interest, Sendai reached down to dust her outfit, when she realized she had the omega-clunky black-yellow outfit on still. _'Oh, right. Already forgot I'm not in my red-white outfit…'_

' _And, that the last fight was in my mind.'_ She wasn't sure if that made it more or less easy to forget. Her red-white outfit _had_ been the norm for decades, after all.

There was a hole in the corner wall here. Moving through it, Reimu floated into the air to avoid the rough, rocky cave floor.

Sendai kept marching along behind her, with variable ease. She was pretty used to fucking around in crappy caves, at this point.

Then, after moving down the semi-twisty path, they came to a threeway. To the left was a path to daylight, and to the right was a door.

It was a well-lit, purple-black door. _'What the fuck.'_ It stood out amazingly hard, drawing Sendai's gaze instantly.

Reimu and Sendai approached the door. Red-purple torches of unnatural, magical flame hung on the cave walls next to it, emitting a strange light.

It had wildly odd coloration. When Sendai neared, she noticed her skin looked pinkish under its color.

 _Crea~k._ Reimu plainly pushed the wild door open, and drifted on inside.

In here, the walls were made of some strange, red-crimson rock. Open, orange blazes were emitted from cracks, and various pits and dips in the floor had bonfires raging from nothing.

Sendai looked around in strange awe at how hard the scenery shifted.

Amidst the crackling of flames, Reimu drifted into the midst of a large open area ahead. Sendai double-checked the perimeter as she followed into the big room…

On the edges, exposed, open lava sat along one wall in a small crevice. The heat emitted from it was incredible. _'Wh-...'_

"Reimu…" Sendai wasn't sure what to say. "Are we in hell."

Slowly, Reimu grinned back at her, but didn't elaborate.

Sendai blinked back. "That's not filling me with confidence."

"Aw!" Then, a younger girl's voice chirped. "Hiya, Reimu!"

A fairy decked out in an American flag-styled body suit and a jester hat emerged from the hell cave's air space. "Also, you are now!" She answered Sendai's question happily.

"...This fairy lives here." Reimu gave the context. "She wanted it to feel like hell, 'cause she's from hell."

This didn't really help either. "Wh-... where the hell'd-" Sendai had the urge to punch herself. "Where'd a _hell fairy_ even come from. Why _here."_

...Reimu made a click with her tongue, and stared up for a moment. "That's-... an incredibly long story. But, to highlight the worst parts, we found her… on the _moon."_

"Alright, I've heard enough." Sendai could wait. "I-... I'd like some good booze for that one, I'm sure."

...Reimu pursed her lips, coming to a realization. "...We~ll. I dunno if I should be telling you this yet… but, there _is_ a sake stash at the shrine…"

It was in this moment, that Sendai was very reminded that Reimu was her daughter. _'...Provided, sake doesn't equal good booze, but whatever.'_

"Can I have some?" The clowny fairy asked.

"Fuck no." Sendai denied her for Reimu.

"On _that note,"_ Reimu drifted closer to the blonde fairy girl. _"Clownpiece._ I need another lick of your torch." She held up her kotatsu's strange metal interior candle. "The hell-whatever pebble you gave me ran out."

Clownpiece pouted. "Well, if I ain't gettin' _booze,_ why should I~?"

"So I don't freaking murder you." Reimu threatened her with deadly violence. "Don't forget this is _my hill_. I'm _letting you_ live here."

"Okay, okay!" Clownpiece U-turned her stance, and reached behind her self…

 _fwoom._ As Sendai took in the fairy's amazing, long blonde hair, she held her torch out before her face. _'Woah-'_

 _Whack!_ Reimu rapped her gohei across Clownpiece's head in one moment. "Wh- _aaa~!"_ Clownpiece yelled, and hid the torch behind her back again. "Ow!"

"Light my freaking _candle thing_ before you do anything stupid!" Reimu demanded. "...If you berserk my mom, she's _literally_ just going to kill you instantly. I'd like to not have to come back in two hours."

"You-" Clownpiece was staggered. "Yer _mom…!?"_

"...Weren't you there?" Reimu wondered. "Maybe you forgot. Well, whatever." She held out her brass candle.

Shifting her gaze between Sendai's flat and slightly perplexed stare, and Reimu's expectant, extended candle, Clownpiece held out her torch.

 _fwoof._ The fire was lit, the candle in Reimu's hands ignited with tremendous heat.

' _Wait.'_ Sendai just realized, upon focusing on Reimu. _'Those aren't mittens. Those are oven mitts.'_ She was curious how Reimu'd take the heat of holding such a fierce candle, but apparently that was how…

...Clownpiece was still curious, however. She held her torch out at Sendai.

' _What the hell's the point…'_ She was weirded out, by how Clownpiece kept presenting the torch. After a moment, Sendai centered her gaze on the warm flame…

It was nice to look at. Sendai found her gaze drawn to the torch's purple-white glow.

' _It's-...'_ It was like staring at fire, but more pleasant. _'I-... I feel like, I can see something in there…'_

She searched the pulsing light with wide eyes. The heat, the changing light, was phenomena like no other.

Clownpiece beamed, and pulled the torch away as Sendai was just getting properly fixated on it. "A~nd…!"

"Wha-..." The moment the light left, Sendai felt it.

The tinge of a headache in the back of her head. Pulsing, throbbing pain.

"You-" Sendai was overcome with unnatural anger. _"Fucking- fairy- bitch!"_

 _-+- Vs. Clownpiece -+-_

" _Uh oh!"_ Beaming, Clownpiece floated back at a slow, static speed. "I- I think yer mom's mad, Reim-"

Lunging forward, Sendai clawed at the air to grab Clownpiece.

"Ehe-" Heart jumping, Clownpiece pivoted in the air and shot off-

But, Sendai's hands gripped two clumps of her golden hair, and pulled back. _"Eh-"_ Clownpiece's heart stopped. _"Aa- ow-"_

 _KRI- KRA- KRACK!_ Amber sparks crackled and shined from within Sendai's muscles, through the exposed slits of her black-yellow outfit. She clutched Clownpiece by the sides now, and pulled down.

 _CRUNCH!_ Thrusting a knee up, Sendai smashed Clownpiece onto it ass-first. Crushing force met Clownpiece's crotch.

" _Whu-..."_ Clownpiece was released, stumbling forward on her feet with a stunted posture. _"Fhu-... aa…"_ Immediately after, she began crying.

Then, Sendai had an idea.

 _Fwish!_ Fueled by the building, eruptious pleasure of watching Clownpiece limp around while stunned from pain, wind flared up Sendai's limbs, the holy amber magic receding.

" _Nn-"_ Sendai grunted, as she ran up along Clownpiece's side. Clownpiece turned to her, eyes widening-

 _WHUNK._ Cool wind bloomed out from where Sendai's knuckles met under Clownpiece's ribs. _"Kh-"_

 _Thud!_ Clownpiece crumpled, sliding along the cave floor on her side.

Sendai ran up along Clownpiece's faltering form and felt her heart jump. _"Hya~h!"_

 _WHAM!_ She planted her sandal firmly into Clownpiece's ass.

 _Woosh!_ Clownpiece rolled across the ground, bouncing along it like a wheel, carried by wind. _"Nhk- angh- uu-"_

Clownpiece landed in the pool of lava in the room's back.

 _KRIKRAKA- KAFWOO~M!_ Clownpiece was incinerated in a blinding column of red fire. The explosion-like eruption of heat incinerated her clothes, flesh, hair and features instantly, before she became nothing but mana.

 _Sendai learned Essence of Ass Crushing._

 _Sendai learned Punt Torpedo!_

 _Sendai learned Secret of the Destroyer * Maiden's Wrath._

 _pap- krik, fwish._ Sendai blinked a bunch.

Reimu had tossed a snowball at her face, and suddenly, a wave of biting cold washed over Sendai's body. _'Wh-... what-...'_

She was now outside, on the Hakurei hillside. For some reason, she was hunched over. Looking down at her arms, she realized she was holding a really big stick in her left arm. _'Oh, woah.'_

...Sensing how Sendai had paused, Reimu gently hovered down from above. "Cool. You're back."

"I'm-... back, huh." Sendai stood, letting go of the big branch… "What- _exactly_ … happened?"

"Clownpiece magically pissed you off." Reimu's explanation was prompt. "I needed something to shock you back out of it, 'cause magical berserking is kinda whacky like that. Your anger switched to me, so I just kited you out of the cave and found some snow somewhere."

"...Oo- oh." Of all the things that ever happened to Sendai, berserk magic wasn't ever really one of those things. "I see. I think."

Her hands were cold and dirty, with grass and soil.

"...Well." Sendai took in a breath. She was out long enough for the cold to start getting to her, and a vague overcast had set over the land while they were inside the caves. "Let's… let's go back inside."

Reimu snorted.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Relaxing over a cup of tea, Sendai nodded her head peacefully…

The kotatsu was now really warm, despite the cool grey of the day outside. The shrine had this feeling of clumsy quiet, which in this moment, Sendai appreciated.

Marisa had apparently made a miniature house out of those toy blocks, or something. She'd fallen asleep under the kotatsu earlier, and was still out…

Reimu stared up at the ceiling, slightly perturbed. Only after Sendai met her gaze and stared her down for awhile, did she reveal her thinking. "No _way_ am I getting back to sleep now."

' _That's your biggest concern…?'_

All in all, the round trip to Alice's and back took Sendai more time than she'd figured. Even so… _'I've really learned a thing or two about fighting with raw strength. That, and I've discovered even more loose ends that will need tying up eventually… like that gohei with my past self imprinted in it.'_

 _Shoof- KLACK!_ That's when Suika slammed the shrine door open-

 _Crack._ She'd done so perhaps a little too hard. "Aa-... oh." Taking pause, she stared over the door-

 _CLACK._ The door fell off the wall, onto the wood floor.

"You-..." Reimu recoiled where she sat. "You _drunk-... stupid..."_

"He- ehehe- I'll fix it!" Suika put her arms up. "Ya know- I always do! Settle down…!"

"Mmh…" Reimu was still bitter. "You're letting all the _warm air out."_

...Suika beamed. "How about I just, take _all_ the warm air, an' bring it over here-"

"Nn- no, don't." Reimu grinned back, despite trying to glare. "You'd cook us alive."

"Anyway!" Suika pointed at Sendai. _"Tsukiko!"_

...Sendai looked over with a vaguely hassled look. "Mmh-... what?"

"You ready fer _trainin'!?"_ Suika pumped both arms into the air. "I made a deal wit' the local fairies- we're gonna play that funny cone ball game thing out by the Misty Lake! S'gonna be a fuckin' _blast!"_

Slowly, hesitantly, Sendai stared down at the kotatsu's surface. She looked down at her cup of tea, too.

"Mmh…" Then, she tilted her head back, and chugged all her tea.

' _What am I doing with my life.'_

 _Click._ She placed the cute, cylindrical cup down, and looked at Reimu. "Hey, Reimu. I need booze."

"Aaw, gotcha _covered!"_ Suika lumbered up. "Y'couldn'ta forgotten 'bout my _gourd,_ didja?"

' _Wait… oh, shit, that's right. She has infinite beer!'_

"I don't think my mom'd be _really_ into getting instantly smash-faced." Reimu voiced her concern. "...Wo- would you?"

"Probably not." Sendai thought a buzz would go good with this. Being hammered generally went poorly for her, so she'd learned to stop unless she was with friends or family. Which, these days, was seldom.

' _...Still annoyed that Kourin and- basically, no one else at that last bar crawl got drunk. Not even Kasen got drunk, or if she did, she was an oni so it didn't matter. Only I got drunk!'_

Some time before she died, she remembered Keine and Kourin getting shitfaced, and herself and Marcus watching over them as they did so. But, they were also youkai, so they didn't really need careful attention to stay safe.

' _It's still such whiplash. That I'm here-... that Reimu's-... eighteen now, and-'_

In the maiden's spooky silence, Suika stepped up aside Sendai, and poured her ceramic tea cup full of sake from her gourd.

' _And there's this fruity fuckin' oni here now…!'_

"...Whah, don' gimme that look." Suika grinned back at her. Her standing was just somewhat taller than Sendai sitting. Provided, Sendai was sitting on her own legs and knees. "If ya don't at least try it, I'm gonna be upset…!"

Sendai snorted. "I'm not _that_ much of a pussy." Gradually, she picked up the cup, and tilted her head back.

She took a small sip. The kick was immediate. _'Oh, god- fuck. Fucking oni…'_ She hadn't met many oni, but she was prepared to meet a trend. _'She just chugs this shit? This is-... pretty high-proof shit. Oh, gods.'_

"...I- I feel like I'm gonna get a buzz just for _sipping_ this shit." Sendai complained. "Better pack myself some-... whatever Reimu has here. Hey, Reimu, what snacks-"

"I got pretze~ls." Reimu monotonically sang-songed, gesturing to the kitchen with her thumb. "Also, yeah, take it easy on Suika's shi- _stuff._ It's… it's pretty hard."

"Nnhehehe!" Suika beamed at her. "Damn right it is! Even if ish kinda common swill- it's still _oni booze!_ An' I got _infinite!"_

Sendai snorted. "Wh- what makes it _swill_ to you?"

"...I drink it all the _damhn_ time!" Suika contested.

' _Yeah- that's fair. The taste is also… not meant for people, to put it one way.'_

"Nn. Well…" Sendai began to stand up. "Lemme grab some goodies from the kitchen for the road. Hell knows I'm going to get hungry. Getting a buzz and smashing fairies by the lakeside, and everything."

"Mmh…" Suika grinned at her. "Mhaybe _Reimu_ can treat ush- at a fancy shmanchy _restaurant_ tonight!"

"If anyone, that'd be mom." Reimu countered. "She's loaded. _Somehow."_

"I mug people." Sendai declared outright. "...Pe- people who've tried to mug me first, that is."

"Aw, bitchin'." Suika liked the sound of that. "Serves 'em right! Aww~h… man. Can't believe the stories're _true!_ Just ya wait! I'm gonna teach ya how ta smash a spine!"

' _Today's far from over…'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

NEW SKILLS:

 _x Tengu Style_

Punt Torpedo - Critical kick done on downed foes, where the wind carries them off along the floor. Can be used to turn downed foes into projectiles, or to punt them into hazards.

 _x Oni Style_

Essence of the Oni * Torture - When Sendai's had enough, she grabs her opponent and dislocates both their arms by the shoulders. Then, she slaps them, twisting them on their torso, before tossing them as a broken heap behind herself.

Essence of Piledriver - After grappling a foe, Sendai can lift them up overhead of herself. Leaping off her feet, she lands on her knees as she smashes her foe into the ground head-first. Potentially fatal to human foes.

Essence of the Oni * Entangle - If Sendai's surrounded by a crowd, she can grip a foe by their collar or mouth and spin around, smashing them against other foes.

Masochistic Drive - When Sendai takes more damage while guarding in Oni Style, her body is fed with more energy to keep fighting. No matter the abuse, it fuels her body to keep moving. Status ailments wear off quicker, and are less potent.

Charged Effort - Winding up her blows, Sendai grows even slower, but her attacks gain tremendous power, annihilate guarding postures, and become unstoppable. Almost every motion can be 'charged' with anger and mana.

Oni Furniture Technique - Special combo attacks done with small or large furniture. Gives Sendai martial skill with chairs, sofas, dining room sets and bicycles.

Essence of Ass Crushing - When grappling a foe from behind, Sendai smashes them ass-first into her knee, striking at the core of their spine. May stun and paralyze foes.

Secret of the Destroyer * Maiden's Wrath - Sendai regains some of her extreme maiden speed while in Oni Style, but only while berserked.

 _x Shrine Maiden of Paradise Style_

Heat of the Hakurei Maiden * _REBORN_ \- Light that staggers even Tsukiko blooms from her form. Tsukiko can perform critical attacks in Legend Style, not just in critical health.

Hakurei Clear Mind - Tsukiko gains heightened damage against foes stronger than her while in Legend Style. Clarity and eased peace strengthen the hopeful magic in her body.

Maiden's Ascension - Tsukiko learns new skills at an increased rate when fighting in Legend Style.

Core Palm * _REBORN_ \- Tsukiko regains the ferocity of her first combo finisher in Legend Style: a disabling palm strike to the upper body of a foe that quickly blows them over.

NEW ITEMS (SENDAI):

 _Hakurei Dreadnaught Outfit: Beast_ \- Heavy black-yellow, kimono-imitating cloth armor which improves bashing capabilities.

STATS:

50% Holy resistant.

Moderate increase to physical defense.

Extreme decrease to evasion and accuracy.

SKILLS:

As the Dreadnaught - Additional magic flares off of Sendai's form when she strikes overdone poses, making intimidating foes easier.

The Material Advantage - Boosts the strength of wrestling moves and throws.

Crank-valve Heart - When charging attacks, amber orbs crank in a valve motion around Sendai, and untwist rapidly when she unleashes her force-bound hell.

 _Hakurei Maiden Combat Outfit: Strategist -_ Mismatched green-white outfit which does a little of everything.

SKILLS:

Ranger - Reloading and using weapons becomes easier.

Sensible Maiden Tactics - Durability of breakable weapons decreases at a slower rate.

Tools of the Trade - Sub-weapons gain increased power. Style-specific weapon masteries- like how katanas can only be used in Legend Style and Tengu Style- can now be used between all styles.

Adaptive Fabric - Outfit boosts defense, strength, speed, or faith, depending on the style Sendai chooses.

 _Emerald Bow - (infinite uses) -_ A gold-green bow made by- or found by- Alice at some point. It fixes the magic of whatever style Sendai is in to the arrows the bow fires, and also allows weaker mana-based variants of arrows to be fired.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

really long sendai chapter again!

this one took awhile; you see i got _smash ultimate_ so _the situation has changed slightly_

at the moment it's hard for me to decide how the pace flows in this… but, i feel like it flows pretty decently

it's a pretty good sendai off-day so far - w - i figured after the insanity of last chapter (which i've yet to proofread at this moment) and how long it was (which may be subject to change we'll see) justified sendai coming home for awhile

admittedly following events becomes slightly harder with how long the chapter is and the fact i've read it over like 3-4 times in the midst of writing it! sometimes you just gotta let it slip your mind and come back to get that fresh new take

overall this chapter was more leisure than it was anything else; sendai spent quite some time waking up because she and reimu had that _freakin' long discussion_

her and reimu talk a lot this chapter, and they really should, 'cause even now they've seldom had a moment to just kinda catch up and get to know one another, so this was a long time in the making

and even now they've still got so much more ground to cover

but, we'll see the pace at which that plays out; meanwhile, sendai still has a bunch of other priorities to take care of, starting with reclaiming her former strength, but also ending with getting some answers

during the initial writing, it felt curious having sendai "reawaken" from zone-out states in this chapter repeatedly; they WOKE UP and then she passed out at alice's and then she got _a massage_ at alice's that required she sit down again

in proofing it feels more natural

although considering all the shit she's been doing i think some serious downtime between excursions is nice - w -

as always, see you all next time!


	25. Rule of Beasts

Sendai browsed past the Hakurei hot spring, to where she was told he'd be hanging out.

' _I'm not letting it slip my mind again.'_

Genjii, her pet flying turtle, would be somewhere back here, amidst the ponds and the peaceful woods.

She'd known him for years, even if they spoke together somewhat seldom at time. _'I've known him since I was twenty-something. I still remember how we met…'_

Before she'd go to the lake to kill time with Suika, she wanted to close a loose end of coming back to life. Meeting with Genjii again, and touching base.

She wanted to thank him. For keeping her daughter alive, and remaining faithful to the shrine despite her own departure, and Reimu's youth.

' _He could've just beaten her up or done something scummy… but, he became a lot more mature than when I first met him. Never thought I'd be thanking a flying turtle for anything.'_

That being said, it was hard to find him at the moment.

' _Where could he-... ah, of course.'_

Somewhat adjacent to the fencing that held the Hakurei hot spring, there was another shallow pond. This crystal-tinted pond was what Sendai remembered.

Ahead of it, there was a slightly sizable reservoir of water, but past the shallows on the edge closest to the shrine was a true pond.

' _Did the reservoir dry up some? I never knew how this shit worked. The pond's just right, at least.'_

"Oh?" That's when Sendai heard him. That was Genjii's voice. "You…"

' _I hadn't really considered it, but… what exactly will I say to him? Mmh.'_

She decided to just act natural. It worked to degrees with everyone else she'd met. "Hey. Genjii. Still kickin'?"

 _splash._ Genjii had poked his somewhat camouflaged head from the surface of the pond. With it, the rest of his earthy, green and brown shell emerged from the crystalline water, revealing the liquid to be more deceptive than it had seemed.

He was a big turtle, Sendai had to admit. _'Did he get even bigger, while I was gone? Probably.'_

His four stout legs carried him as he crawled from the clear water. In terms of size, his shell was now twice as wide as the shrine's kotatsu, if not nearly thrice.

"My-..." Genjii blinked up at her. He had a long, white beard, and a fluffy, bushy tail of similar color. "My eyes don't play tricks on me, do they?"

Smiling gladly, Sendai took Genjii's form in. "Not this time, they don't. Not that I'd know."

"Mmm…" His weathered eyes slowly blinked. "It's been quite some time, since I've dreamt of you again. I suppose your presence _is_ quite unforgettable."

Sendai shifted her weight onto one leg, putting an arm on her own hips. "You're not dreaming. Unless _I'm_ dreaming, which would really be something."

"Heh…" He forced a chuckle at that. "True. I'm awake, it would seem. This is all too real to be a dream. Then, I don't really know what to call you. A hallucination, maybe? An illusion…?"

Her posture returning to a neutral one, Sendai tilted her head back. "How would you like me to convince you, then?"

One of Genji's brows raised. "Mmm. The first time I've heard something like that, from one of you. Let's have you do something only she could do. It'll be multiple tests in one. If you're as I remember her, but immaterial, you won't be able to do it. If you're not her, well, you also won't be able to do it."

"Do what?" Sendai didn't quite follow.

"You'll know." He smiled.

 _Splash._ Then, amidst the shore of the pond, his legs and head retracted into the huge shell.

 _Splash!_ It floated into the air.

 _WOOWOOWOOWOOWOOSH!_ Suddenly, it spun blindingly fast. Water, dirt and mossy growths shed from his shell in a rain of clumps.

That's when Sendai remembered.

' _It's the first- and only- attack he used against me, when we first met.'_

 _-+- Vs. Genjii, Earth Turtle -+-_

 _WOOSH!_ The shell flew straight at Sendai at blinding speed.

' _Even like this, repeating history should be easy.'_

Crouching down, Sendai got under the oncoming shell strike. Dark energy fed into her arms, within the yellow-black sleeves, and she plunged them straight up.

 _CLA- CLACK!_ She grabbed hard onto the underside of his shell, onto the holes where his limbs would come out of.

 _WHISH!_ When she latched on, the entire shell was thrown off balance, and Sendai was pulled into a backflip as it flipped forward. _'Wh- woa~h…!'_

It still spun blindingly fast, the world around Sendai a blur of brown and green as Genji's shell continued to whirl with amazing power. She was upside-down, her senses momentarily lost and confused-

 _shoo~f._ Then, the back of Genjii's shell met the soft, pondside soil below, driven down by Sendai's weight and Genjii's new lack of balance.

Rapidly slowing, the shell dug into the dirt, planting Genjii in a crater, stuck on his back.

 _thu- thud._ Sendai fell off Genjii, onto her side, completely dizzy. _'Ho- holy shit… fo- forgot how stupid that whole exchange was…'_

 _Sendai obtained pocket lint._

"...I don't know if I can believe it." Genjii spoke from the crater, still stuck on his back. "That… that was almost exactly the same thing you did, twenty or thirty years ago."

"Yeah. I-... I remember." Getting off the floor, Sendai adjusted her hair, parting her bangs from her eyes. "Smart idea."

"I'm really not sure what to _think."_ Genjii expressed his disbelief vaguely. "To think, that such a minute detail may have been catered to by a doppelganger… or, to believe that you've just, _genuinely_ come back to life. Unless, I'm finally _truly_ going senile…"

"...Either way, I'm here now." Sendai wasn't going to go out of her way to prove herself. "Reimu's told me about how you've helped her. I've wanted to thank you. And-..."

Leaning down, she grabbed onto Genjii's shell as he wiggled helplessly in place, and pulled.

 _shoof._ She plucked Genjii from the earth, and rotated him back around. _'God, he's heavy now.'_

Placing him back on his feet, she dusted his shell off slightly. "There."

"I suppose yer right…" Genjii adjusted his mouth, or something similar. "Thank me, huh? Not chastise?"

Sendai snorted. "Fo- for what? If anything, I ought to apologize to _you._ You shouldn't have had to play babysitter at all."

"It was really the least I could have done." Genjii slowly shook his own head. "I tried to impart wisdom onto her. But… I knew it also wasn't my place, and eventually, she outgrew me. One day, maybe, she'll be interested in keeping an old turtle like me company."

' _Sounds like she started to ignore him, after a certain point. Or maybe, he just decided to sit out on his own, once she was of a certain age. Considering how relaxed she is… he did at least an okay job. I'm not looking at a rerun of myself, definitely.'_

"You did great." Sendai wasn't sure how soft to be with him, at this point. He was much more sedate now. It wasn't a complete surprise, because he'd acted somewhat old when she first met him, but now he was especially softer. More mild-mannered, less bitter.

"...Mmh. Thank you." Genjii nodded slowly. "I'm glad I did you some justice."

' _...How somber, somehow. I wonder if he feels as though he's imagined similar conversations before. Surely he's not really that old yet? I don't know how youkai turtles work.'_

"I hope you're doing fine." Sendai worried about him. "You're not _that_ old yet, are you?"

"Mmh? Well…" He shuffled in place, a little. "I've just been inactive. Were I up an' doing things again, I'd probably be less… lavish. More cognizant."

' _Maybe, at some point, I can have something done about that. But… until then…'_

"When I get my life sorted more, I'll see what I can do to get you out of this rut." Sendai told him. "You were more active. I mean… you're nicer now, but it's just kind of… sad, to see you so… I guess, devoid of life."

"Mmh? Well, if you insist." Genjii didn't really think it was so bad. "That would be nice, I think."

' _When I'm running around, I'll think of something. I'm sure when I see him again in like, a week, or more, I'll have some kind of idea. Just-...'_ She glared at herself. _'Don't forget, now.'_

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

25

Rule of Beasts

-+- _Tsuruko Aoyama's Perspective -+-_

' _As I ordained.'_

"Kh- hh-" A man squirmed on the floor before her. His nose was bloody, red splattered across his face.

' _Tatsuako will find me today, catalyzed by Tsukiko's path.'_

 _CRUNCH._ Tsuruko pounded her sandal down onto the man's face, blood jetting out across the dirt of the village alley.

This particular act of violence was one of her daily chores. Sometimes, she took jobs off the job board, to build rapport with the villagers. Today, she was teaching a lesson to someone that a client of hers didn't like.

The short of it: a wealthy villager girl was annoyed by this man. She paid Tsuruko to make sure something bad happened to him.

"You offend the Hakurei." Tsuruko recited her excuse for this violence. "With your lechery, and your greed. Grovel and pray, and I may just spare your life."

The villager girl who hired her had been annoyed by the way he treated her. The neutral tone he used with everyone, and the time he wasted amidst the dirty commons of the village when she went on and on about how he 'so obviously loved her'.

Or, at least, those were her excuses. Tsuruko never really paid close attention to the excuse people gave her for their service. Money was money, and she'd do any job, if they had a good moral reason or not.

' _It was cute how she thought she had to justify it. In this world, everyone already knows where the paradigm is. Those who don't...'_

"Wh-" The youthful, brown-haired man looked up at Tsuruko with crying eyes. "Wha' I _dho?"_

 _WHA- CRUNCH!_ Tsuruko kicked him in the jaw, and he slid along the floor. _"Khk!"_ Blood rocketed into the air from his mouth, as he'd accidentally had his tongue cut into deep by his own teeth.

' _Where was I? Ah. Those who don't know the blunt reality of our situation, they're either ignorant or deluded. Everyone with any inkling of sense already knows the status quo.'_

"Pray." Tsuruko demanded of him. "Pray to _god!"_

"I- I di' dho- aa-"

 _BAM- CRUNCH!_ She stomped down on his ribs.

" _Kaa- hua- gh…!"_ His body shook, ribs convulsing in pain. _"Nngh…!"_

" _Pray!"_ Tsuruko demanded. "If you do not pray, I will _kill you!"_ She'd done it before. "Pray to the _sky!_ To the Hakurei! To _me!"_

"I- aa-" He couldn't speak. Laying amidst the dirt and uneven snow, he cried openly. His face was caked in blood, and his head felt vague.

Tsuruko looked to her right.

 _Clap._ Picking up a beam of lumber, she held it over head with both arms like a club. "If you do not _pray…"_

 _THUNK!_ She rammed it against the floor next to him. The strike was so powerful, dirt billowed a meter into the air off her impact, and red energy flared off of her arm sleeves.

The young man shut his eyes.

Tsuruko felt it.

 _Vuum._ The canisters in her chest. The faith catalyzer reacted.

The villager man was praying. He was praying to her.

She couldn't hide the satisfied smile. Letting her mouth hang open, she felt her body absorb his belief.

Spiralling blue, red, pink and orange light traced up her body. The elements of a human, and their belief. Instinct, joy, anger, and hope.

These were the extremes human people lived by. If she could be a master of all, Tsuruko knew, she would become a human god. Master of all, undefiable.

 _Cla- clack._ As the magic caked her body, three neon lights shone from inside her chest, inside the red apron and her new black leotard. Tsuruko cast the long lumber aside.

Kneeling down, she dug through the man's pockets, and took out his wallet.

Slipping it away quickly, she stood tall again. Like this, the cold of the day was meaningless. The energy of human faith was just so _good._

"Nhn…" She stifled a chuckle. "Remember. Don't piss people off, in this town. Not unless you're looking for a fight."

"Nn-..." The young man's face was caked in tears, too. "Wh- _whyh…?_ Wh' do this…"

Tsuruko had already begun to walk away. She got what she came for.

' _Today's going to be good. I can feel it.'_

The breeze, the faith, the magic. The rites to her greatness. It was like Gensokyo called her name.

From the alley, she practically glided on her sandals on her way to the main road. She loved the feeling of fall's winds. Of her ascent to power, of the world that felt practically at her fingertips.

If she was jumped now, she could turn anyone who opposed her into bloody mush. Half of the village was at her beck and call. The Artificial Hakurei Project was coming to a kneel, and a close.

' _After all… their chosen has already climbed the ranks. Ascended from the destruction and chaos. I am the symbol of their torture, and they are the mere ingredients. None of them hold a candle to my light. For I now burn, with a light of my own.'_

Last evening, Tsuruko had spent the evening in a bed at the Golden Grin. After she'd seen Kugo Koin off, having treated him to her body- and herself to him- she found a different man to relax with. She had posed as a hostess there, under a different name.

' _I hope Tsukiko doesn't mind me using her name. That man thought he was lucky.'_

She couldn't go home. Not with Tatsuako there. Not with the guard looking for her. The village was chasing after her coattails.

Right now, she was a ghost that roamed the village alleys. Until her coronation, she would make her way through the lanes and rooftops, moving undetected.

' _Speaking of Tsukiko… she isn't in the village right now.'_

As such, Tsuruko had some free time to tie up loose ends. First, she'd turn in this job, and then she'd see about Tatsuako's current escapades.

There was a lot she had to be doing. Tsukiko was cleaning up the unneeded ranks of the Artificial Hakurei Project, to the point that not much left of worth remained of it. Eventually, there would be nowhere for Tsuruko to hide, to continue fostering her own growth.

' _It's a race to the top.'_

 _Whi~sh._ Piercing, pink light billowed from Tsuruko's chest, from the left of it. She felt her heart forced to pump faster, and she smiled.

 _Woosh!_ She leapt off the dirt alley floor.

Running up the ramp of a blue shingle roof, Tsuruko bounded from the apex of the two story house.

Wind whipped through her hair, as she left a trail of pink in the air. She'd caught a breeze in the direction she wished to go, and her body was so light in this instance, she practically flew along it.

Crossing over south main street, Tsuruko aimed her sandals as she prepared to land-

 _CLACK- clack- clack- clack!_ Her heels hit the ground running, and she continued to sprint along the breeze to her destination. By almost the mere act of thinking, Tsuruko had changed the quadrant of the village she was in entirely.

 _WOOSH!_ She turned ninety-degrees into an alley, off the stone road of the wealthy part of the village-

 _WOO- WHI- WOO- WOOSH, WOOSH!_ Air exploded off of each jagged turn, as she bounced off of the wind precisely down the village's vein-like alley network.

 _Scree~ch!_ She slowed before the small mansion of her client. "Ha~h." And, she exhaled.

' _What a great day to be alive.'_

The mansion was two stories tall, like most houses at this point, but it was fairly wide. It occupied one of the more cluttered sectors of the wealthy quadrant.

Grazing past the expensive-yet-common white metal lawn furniture, Tsuruko came up to the tiny manor's double doors.

 _Knock, knock._ She rapped her knuckles on the door.

... _Crea~k._ It opened slowly, before panning open quicker. Her client smiled at her. "Ooh, hey!" She was a woman with hair dyed platinum, and her blue eyes held unique irises. "Tsuruko-chan! Back already…?"

"It is done." Tsuruko announced. "I taught him a lesson."

The dress-clad aristocrat girl blinked. Then, she parted her bangs unnecessarily, her bobby hair swaying. "Mmh. I think _I'll_ be the judge of that… he's- you know, if I don't look out for the village myself, who would? Hahaha…!"

Tsuruko held out her left hand. "I'll have my payment now."

"...What part of 'I'll be the judge of that' don't you understand?" The girl smiled, and narrowed her eyes some. "Come back in a week. I don't need you here."

Tsuruko snorted. "You'd be so cruel?"

...The girl blinked, and licked her own lips. "Why... _yes,_ I would. Especially to you whatever-maidens. Word down the street's that like, a lot of you are actually _criminals._ Isn't that something?"

"Nonsense." Tsuruko ignored what she already knew. "Especially coming from you. I know you harbor youkai."

Blinking rapidly, the girl glared at her. "Wh-... what? I do _not-"_

"It doesn't matter what you do or don't do." Tsuruko's face remained stoic throughout the conversation. "I will inform the guard, and your family will lose the prestige it accumulated over generations. That is, unless you show your kindness, and give me the payment I deserve."

...Then, the girl beamed. "Inform the guard? _You?"_

Tsuruko didn't do anything more than blink plainly.

"You know… _Tsuruko."_ The bobby-haired girl began to smirk. "There's a warrant for your arrest out. Kamishirasawa decided it so."

Tsuruko snorted. "That so…?"

...Body tensing up, the well-endowed, bobby-haired girl darted back inside. _"Guards!"_

 _Cla- clack, clack._ Before her, two guardsmen with live blades stepped out of the obscured areas of the house to defend her.

Behind Tsuruko, more men came from the nearby allies, some with bows, and others with swords.

" _Fufufufu~!"_ Beaming, the girl cast an arm out, as if commanding them. "Thank yo~u, men! _Get her!"_

-+- _Vs. Tsuruko Aoyama * Momentum Style_ -+-

' _Something like this was going to happen eventually.'_

"Hands in the air!" The guards directly before Tsuruko yelled at her. They were all only lightly armored, with just pants pieces on, and not fully protected. After all, for a human-tier opponent, they normally shouldn't have a need for the bigger tools.

Standing there, Tsuruko slowly held up her arms, making fists with each.

 _Vhir._ The pink light in her chest beat along to her heart, shining through her left breast, and through all her clothing.

The rightmost guardsman when to grab onto her. "Look- _calm down,_ we're not going to-"

Tsuruko brushed past him, before he could even raise his blade.

 _WHAP._ Her right palm met the left guard's face, and he flinched back-

 _WHAM!_ Tsuruko was crouched in the air, her left arm's low punch meeting his nose-

 _THOOM!_ A shockwave of wind billowed out from Tsuruko, when her sandals met the wood floor. Her right arm made a palm, as all her weight went into touching it against the man's side.

 _THU- THUD!_ He was flipped one-eighty in an instant, his shoulders meeting the floor. _"Rhk- aa-"_

The other man's eyes were wide, as was the bobby-haired girl's. They beheld the dragon of amethyst energy that coiled around Tsuruko's right arm, bright and vibrant amidst the house entryway.

 _Woosh!_ That's when the second guard swung his katana wide, his blood starting to pump.

 _fwish._ Tsuruko slipped back a step, doing a jig in place that was similar to the one Aina practiced. She advanced, her left leg hooking in to sweep away his. This was the attack Aina tripped her with, when they'd fought.

"Nn-" The guard's right ankle was caught by her left, for a brief instant-

 _WHA- WHAM- WHAM- WHAM!_ He hadn't known what happened. Tsuruko met his gut with two fists, then his cheeks with the same hooks-

 _BAM!_ His back met the wood frame of an open doorway, inside the house.

" _Hraa~h!"_ Tsuruko roared, her voice echoing, the lights inside her chest pumping with energy.

 _WHAWHAMTHUNKBAMWHAMTHUNKBAMWHAMWHACK!_ Her string of hooks, jabs, facial smashes, slaps, and strikes to his waist and thighs was impossible to follow.

He wasn't standing anymore, the mere force of her string of attacks keeping him crunched against the wall independent of whatever he could do.

" _Horya~h!"_ Tsuruko slid back, and kicked-

 _KRACK._ Her left sandal met his gut, slowly and surely.

 _KRA- KRAKRAKRACK!_ The wooden doorframe gained a kink, the force translated through the man's gut.

He slid onto his ass, after rebounding from the wall.

" _Uuh-"_ Then, he vomited blood. _"Uuh- haa~!"_

 _Spla- spla- splack._ As the puddle of blood shot across the floor, Tsuruko lumbered up to the aristocrat girl.

Her eyes were wide, mouth ajar. "Wh-... aa-..."

"I have invoked-" Tsuruko's voice echoed, "the spirits of the wind."

 _Cla- clack, clack, clack._ The bowman, and the other men, all clattered into the room, their armored pants identifying them. There were four.

Tsuruko turned halfway towards them, and snorted. "...I see you don't know who you're dealing with, yet."

-+- _Vs. Tsuruko Aoyama * Destroyer Style_ -+-

The three lights on her chest all pulsed. Then, the orange one, hidden under her right breast, began to glow piercingly bright.

 _WOOSH._ The floorboards bent and creaked as Tsuruko spun three-sixty to the striped, green-white couch along the room's flank.

 _CRA- CRACK._ The upholstery crunched under the might of Tsuruko's hands as they gripped it. A holy shell materialized around her body, pulsing with her heart, mighty and bright.

 _WOO~SH._ Slowly, holding the entire couch up, Tsuruko spun around. _"Di~e!"_

She let go of it after one revolution, and it flew for the four men.

 _BOOM!_ Two swordsmen were crushed against either side of the open doorway, destroyed by the couch. _"Uuhu- aa-"_

The bowman undid his drawn arrow, lowering his bow as he distanced himself from the absolute might of the thrown couch. "Ho- _holy-"_

The last village samurai ran up to Tsuruko. "You- _fuckin' monster-"_

 _swish._ He cast his katana down.

Tsuruko grabbed it with her hand. The blade dug deep into her palm.

...He blinked. He tried to draw it back-

 _KRI~NG!_ Tsuruko crushed it, gripping the blade so hard it shattered.

As her hand bled, she lurched down. _"Hruu~h- yaa~h!"_

 _BAM._ She lurched down, and checked his gut with her shoulder.

 _BOOM!_ He bounced off the wall ahead, absolutely destroyed by the sheer, unstoppable power.

 _BAM!_ He landed against the couch, whole body limp. "Nn-... nhn-..."

 _cla- clack._ The bowman dropped his bow, and held his arms in the air. "I-... I- I surrender!"

"You-..." The bobby-haired aristocrat girl came to a realization.

...Standing up, Tsuruko idly looked back at her.

The girl ran at Tsuruko. "What'd you do to _my boyfriend!?"_

Tsuruko began to grin. "...Boyfriend? Who?"

 _pap._ The girl threw her all into a massive, overhead punch, throwing her entire body into it. "The guy- you must've _beat up! Idio~t!"_

...The mighty Tsundere punch hadn't done more than make Tsuruko tilt, by an immeasurably small measure.

"Let _me_ show you how it's done."

Tsuruko began to copy the motion, reeling her whole right arm back. Slow, delayed afterimages of violent orange began to trace her movements, even them having trouble keeping up with the absolute magnitude of her building force.

Then, the young aristocrat girl saw it. Tsuruko's afterimages were so mighty, so seismic, they lagged forward to strike her face _before_ Tsuruko herself even attacked; and they were to land dead-center, driven into her core.

The bobby-haired girl held her own mouth open. "Wh-... aa- _please- hold on-"_ She shielded herself with her arms, frozen by the deadly prospect-

 _WOOO~SH._ Tsuruko threw the slow, all-body encompassing overhead punch forward. Her fist glowed golden.

 _CRUNCH._ It effortlessly brushed past the well-endowed girl's arms, crushing her ribs.

 _BOOM!_ The girl hit the wall behind herself. A crater was made in it, the wood all yielding to the might of the copied Tsundere punch.

 _WOOSH._ Tsuruko lurched down, and spun around. As she did so, the floorboards beneath her shuddered, and she drew her left leg out behind herself. Mesmerizing afterimages trailed and _preceded_ her leg's path.

 _CRUNCH._ Before the girl could collapse, Tsuruko's sandal hooked backwards into her gut, and slammed her back into the yielding wood wall. _"Uhn- gu- aah..."_

With this huge, immeasurably wasteful spinning motion, Tsuruko was back into standing. _"O~ne, mo~re!"_ The whole clumsy spin was simply to reel up _another_ punch, with this time magnified ferocity.

Her knuckles met the aristocrat's gut.

 _CREAK- KRAK- BOOM- BAM- CRACK- BAM!_ Tsuruko cast the girl straight through a wall. The whole left wall of the room gave in, destroyed by the force. Rubble collapsed atop the crumpled form of the wealthy, platinum-haired girl.

Reeling back, staggering away from the collapsing wall, Tsuruko roared. _"Yeaa~h!"_

Her chest heaved. The pulsing light from her chest briefly betrayed her senses, her heart beating so hard it was physically painful.

" _Pray!"_ Tsuruko yelled, into the now partially broken house. "Pray to _me!"_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Tsuruko browsed down the main street of the village.

' _That went better than anticipated.'_ She stole everything that was money inside the house. Gems and yen, essentially. _'I am a ruler.'_

...She briefly thought of actual rulers used for measuring, and had to fight a smile. _'Perhaps I'll need a better line than that…'_

As much as she hated to step around in plain day, she had to make sure the guardsmen and maidens who did still obey her were setting up what she needed in the village square.

Tsuruko took a breath, as she came up to the edge of main street, from south main. On the left, was her favorite stall to steal sweets and baked goods from. Not that she ate sweets, but a lot of other people did, which made them useful.

Somewhere behind that stall, and behind others, was a metal pillar of a sort.

She had some of the smartest- or at least, most knowledgeable- women and men she knew contribute to the building of these metal devices.

They begun with a solid metal base. Four spokes extended into the air, ending in sharp spikes. Small, shinto torii were arranged around the bases, and tiny marble altars between them and the metal base itself.

Tsuruko looked around the square. Three other metal constructs of this sort were at each corner.

' _Good. Seems I've finally found trustworthy enough people to get this done.'_ She'd tried setting them up ever since she knew Tsukiko first revived. Some weeks ago, however, she didn't have the rapport or influence necessary. She was scammed left and right, deceived and conned with such frequency she was beginning to wonder if there was a problem with herself.

But, after much effort, it _seemed_ like things were almost in place.

' _All I need now are four Hakurei yin-yang orbs. They should be easy to get, but…'_

She was also procrastinating, in part. _Because_ she figured it'd be easy to get them. Now that they were soon to be the most crucial parts of the procedure, she had a suspicion they'd also become the hardest parts to obtain all of a sudden.

Tsuruko slowly walked to check on each pillar, to make sure not one had been skimped out on.

Then, something she anticipated occured.

Tatsuako, Aina and Rinnosuke stood in the square, near the fountain there. Aina was spinning around for some reason, while Tatsuako and Rinnosuke stared at her vaguely…

"Tada~!" Stopping, Aina held her arms out, her big brown ponytail floofing out. "I ain't-... di- dizzy-..."

Lunging forward, Rinnosuke caught her before she slipped and fell. "Wh- woah!" She blinked, eyes wide. Then, she beamed. "I- I coulda recovered…! I didn't _need ya_ ta-"

"Not if your head hit the edge of the fountain, you wouldn't have." He gestured to the fountain's jagged edge.

"...Oo- oh." Aina looked awkward. "Shit. Yer right."

...As Tatsuako stared at them, her expression still vague, her gaze crossed Tsuruko's.

They stood on either end of Aina and Rinnosuke; Tsuruko on the left, and Tatsuako on the right.

Tatsuako's eyes slowly lit up, recognizing her sibling-in-practice.

Now, unlike last time Tsuruko saw her, Tatsuako had her hair down. Instead of her maid outfit, she had a loose, white t-shirt that did little to contain her healthy chest, and a black hakama.

...She apparently still had a bandolier of lollipops along one leg, but the condom bandolier was replaced with various objects. Knuckle dusters, a switchblade, nail clippers, a wrench, a hammer, some pliers; all of these random utilities were there and handy.

' _Oh. She still has a ribbon of three condoms.'_ Tsuruko thought this was unbecoming of her. _'I'm glad she'll at least never let go of the pleasure I've shown her.'_

...Despite this, Tsuruko had a ribbon of condoms in her own pockets. She didn't just let it _hang out,_ at least.

' _She's even letting hers hang out, like an invitation. How lewd.'_

Plainly, Tsuruko moved to walk past them. _'I don't quite have a quarrel with them, regardless.'_

"Aa-" But, Tatsuako wasn't going to let the first time she'd met her familial sister in some time go. "Hey! _Hey!"_

She ran up to Tsuruko, who simply kept walking.

"Where do you think _you're_ going, bitch!?" Tatsuako yelled at her. "I've been lookin' fucking _everywhere_ for you! Cleaning up _your_ shit! You can't even _look at me_ right now!"

So, Tsuruko looked at her. "Do you _mind?"_

Smirking, Tatsuako sped up and walked around her, to get in her way. "Wh- _yes,_ I mind. Of _course_ I mind. You wasted two years of my _life!_ An' you're wasting _even more_ with all this-... artificial _whatever_ bullshit! I- I mean… I haven't run outta people to _fight,_ which is good, but still!"

"Can you truly call them a waste?" Tsuruko's question was plain, her voice as collected as it usually was. "Especially when you enjoyed them, so much?"

"You _lied_ to me." Tatsuako reiterated. "You told me it was the only way I could become an adult. The only way I could make money in this world."

"I wasn't lying." Tsuruko remarked. "In the world I will author, it's the best fate for you."

"The- _what?"_ It's the first time Tatsuako had heard something like that coming from her.

Tsuruko stepped closer. "Endless pleasure, day after day, from men, women, and even youkai who'd help you hit a high, over and over again? It's even physical and artful. Would you not appreciate such a life?"

"Nn- no!" Tatsuako glared back. "It's not _fighting._ It's not anything I- I originally wanted to do. You decided _for me._ You-... you don't know me _that well,_ if you just-"

"Don't I?" Tsuruko smiled. "Did you not enjoy it? Not even a little?"

Tatsuako paused. Then, she found her resolve, tightening her fists. "That doesn't matter."

"In the village I will create, it does." Tsuruko decided. "No more will life be dictated by the youkai, or by this complacent organization. The village will be a place where the powerful succeed. It has pretended otherwise, but the truth is simple. Once it fully embraces such a culture, it will then see my blooming power. _Gensokyo_ will see my blooming power."

"Bull _shit."_ Tatsuako grinned back. "You might've been working on your skills… but I have, too! You just didn't want anyone to _get in your way."_

...Tsuruko thought on that. "You're right, in that I didn't want you to surpass me. But… I also wanted to avoid having to do something worse to you. You may think a life of sexual pleasure is degrading. But, myself, I'd rather that than death, were I as simple a person as you."

"I'd probably be _less_ pissed if you _fuckin' killed me!"_ Tatsuako got louder.

"...If that's eventually what you wish." Tsuruko nodded. "Actually. No. When I control the world, I will refuse you permission to die. Once you submit, you will understand pleasure. You'll understand my power."

Tatsuako's glare was deepening. "If _two years_ a' suckin' dick wasn't enough to make me a bimbo- after this, I don't think _anything_ _will!"_

"If you have even some compatibility with that life, I insist you follow that path." Tsuruko tried to guide her sister even now. "You no longer want to get in my way."

Tatsuako beamed back. "...When I make _my_ version a' the village, _your_ place will be six feet underground!"

"Nn- hehehe…" Tsuruko giggled. "I know. It doesn't seem like I love you. But, I really do. I want what's best for you."

"Shut the _fuck_ up." Tatsuako wasn't having that anymore. "I don't think you've _ever_ said that and _meant it._ It's always when we have these fuckin'-... _stupid_ talks. Guess what? I'm not your little bitch anymore. I'm not gonna let you live my life for me."

"Mmm. That's a shame." Tsuruko shook her head. "Then, you'll feel only pain throughout your life. Would you like that? I can make it so. I don't want to-"

"Bring it, _bitch!"_ Tatsuako dared her, beaming again.

They stared one another down, both at an impasse.

Aina glared at Tsuruko from the sidelines, and Rinnosuke held his breath.

"Let me give you an example." Tsuruko's tired eyes bored into Tatsuako's fiery ones.

"Yo-" Aina began to get closer-

"No!" Tatusako held her arm out at her. "...This is _my_ fight."

 _Fwi- fwish, fwish._ Orange energy sparked within Tatsuako's body, and rose-colored gauntlets encased her fists. A plate of red crystal protected her abs.

' _Let's see how far I've come.'_ Tsuruko's tired eyes slowly blinked.

-+- _Vs. Tsuruko Aoyama * Momentum Style_ -+-

...Tatsuako had her guard up. She'd already been defeated by this style of Tsuruko's before. But, this was before she'd gotten warmed up again. Now, with more days of fighting under her belt, she wondered-

 _Pap!_ Tsuruko's left fist met the right of Tatsuako's gut, past her ruby-colored plate.

 _Whap!_ Jumping in surprise, Tatsuako blocked a dual-fisted thrust of Tsuruko's arms with her own elbows.

If she did any meaningful attack, Tsuruko would just dodge it. Any reeled-back, overhead haymaker or kick or gut punch would just meet air.

Then, she vaguely remembered her fight with Tsukiko. The way Tsukiko, even while weaving, had marginal trouble with some of her hooks, and her own evasive actions.

Swallowing her nerves, Tatsuako moved to slide aside Tsuruko-

 _fwish._ Then, Tsuruko slid back from her entirely instead. She shuffled in place, before sweeping her left leg for Tatsuako's right heel.

From the sidelines, Aina recognized this shuffle; it was something she herself did in skirmishes. She knew Tatsuako wouldn't be tripped up by it- or tripped in the literal sense, either.

But, the hooking leg sweep was the mere onset of the new attack Tsuruko had invented from it.

"Rrh-" Receiving the sweep, Tatsuako's right leg slipped only an inch or two to the right. She grinned too, recognizing the dirty and only mildly effective attack-

 _WHAPAPWHACKPAPWHAP!_ Instantly, Tsuruko jabbed and hooked Tatsuako's thighs with surprisingly velocity. The way Tatsuako staggered from the leg sweep kept her stuck in the momentum of the five strikes to her thighs.

"Aa-" Tatsuako began to slip back.

 _WHACK- WHAPAP- WHAPWHAPWHAP!_ With a hook to Tatsuako's chin, then jabs and slaps to her midsection that wasn't protected by her ab guard, Tsuruko kept Tatsuako standing.

She pummeled with such ferocity that Tatsuako had absolutely no momentum of her own; her ab guard bounced around in almost perfect sway to allow Tsuruko access to her gut with each precise blow.

 _WHAPAPAPAP!_ Five slaps met Tatsuako's face, whipping her head around-

 _Pap!_ Tsuruko's hand slapped up along the underside of Tatsuako's chin, tilting her whole body back. "Gh-"

" _Hor- yea~h!"_ Tsuruko leapt back, and kicked her left leg up.

 _CLACK._ Her sandal met the ruby-colored, crystal ab guard.

 _CR- CRACK._ Damage spider-webbed along it.

 _WOO~SH!_ Tatsuako was sent flying away, spiraling through the air. _"Wh- ghee~h…!"_

 _Thu- thud!_ She rolled along the floor, bouncing with cartoonish ferocity, her skin and clothing cut in multiple places as they rammed hard against the stone of the village square.

Slowly, the pink hue coming from Tsuruko's chest dimmed again.

"Are we done?" Tsuruko had already confirmed the metal pillars of the square were in good shape.

"Nn-" Lying on her back, Tatsuako began to fight back into standing. "Li- like hell…! That- was nothin'!"

...Yellow light began to emanate from Tsuruko's chest. She was annoyed by her sister's persistence.

Getting up, Tatsuako's now-ruby boots clicked against the stone of the square floor.

She sprinted up for Tsuruko again. "I'm not stoppin' 'till I've _fucked you up,_ bitch!"

Tsuruko simply stood there, as Tatsuako reeled an arm back; to open with an ultimate overhead punch she could transition into some hooks to get started.

" _Toka~!"_ Tatsuako leapt off the floor. _"Meteor-"_

 _PAP._ When Tatsuako descended on Tsuruko's form, Tsuruko lurched an arm up, and grabbed her by the collar.

"Wh-" The sudden amount of force and stopping power in the one-handed grapple made Tatsuako's body freeze. "Wh- what the-"

Tsuruko crouched down, and wrapped both arms around Tatsuako's thighs.

" _Hrr~h…"_ Lifting Tatsuako into the air, Tsuruko slung Tatsuako over her shoulders.

Hefted overhead, now upside-down, Tatsuako blinked at Tsuruko's underthigh, and struggled. "What- _wha- aa-_ fh- fuck-"

 _WOOSH._ Tsuruko plainly leapt into a sitting position.

 _BOOM- CR- CRUNCH- CRACK!_ She used her back and whole body to drive Tatsuako's skull straight down into the stone. The stone struck broke under her own weight, and the impact of Tatsuako's head.

Like this, Tatsuako's skull met the floor almost back-first, and her jaw was crushed by Tsuruko's ass.

Tsuruko let go, feeling the jolt of electricity through Tatsuako. It was done.

 _thu- thud._ After that, Tatsuako's limp body flopped onto its side. She was now crying, her eyes vacant from the pain, head twisted in an unhealthy way.

"Aa-" Rinnosuke ran up. _"Tatsuako!"_

"You _fucking-"_ Aina ran up, too. _"Whore!"_

Standing up, exhaling, Tsuruko collected her breath.

' _They won't let her die. If they were smart, they wouldn't treat this injury. If Tatsuako was left like this, she'd die.'_

Dispelling the heavy holy energy that billowed from within her whole body before it could really get going, Tsuruko began to sprint down the road, calling the wind instead.

 _Cla- cla- clack!_ Aina sprinted after her, but after some seconds, Tsuruko was clearly faster.

 _WOOSH!_ Tsuruko leapt, and along the wind, she was gone. She'd seemingly skidded along the air, down the whole northern road ahead in just a moment.

"Aa-" Aina's mouth hung open, for a moment. _"Fuck!_ Fuck _you!"_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Tsuruko lingered around the walls of Keine's school.

' _Now that I have a moment…'_

Kamishirasawa's influence was always a thorn in her side. And, for good reason; dealing with Keine herself wasn't ever a good idea. Fujiwara no Mokou was, at this stage, also incomprehensible to fight.

Even the meek human magician who frequented Kamishirasawa's residence had effortlessly shut her down and made a joke of her on more than one occasion. She thought she could teach him a lesson in obedience, but instead she was simply embarrassed repeatedly.

' _Perhaps I could beat up Kamishirasawa at this point. But, what would that get me? If she wasn't killed, she'd be furious, and even if she was, beings far more powerful than either of us would come to be rid of me.'_

' _...I'll have to consider it. This status quo of smarmy peace she spreads can only be undone if she herself is usurped. Until then, I'll have to take it one step at a time. As I follow my passage to rulership.'_

Having had enough thinking, her heart beat harder, and she stared up the perimeter wall of the village.

 _Woosh!_ Bounding from the floor outside, Tsuruko seemingly floated down upon the roof of the school.

' _For now, I'll send her a message. This should produce the mildly frenzied result I expect. When Tsukiko returns to town… I'll give her a reason to keep hunting me.'_

 _CLACK- clack, clack, clack!_ Tsuruko sprinted across the school rooftop.

"Hup!" Leaping, she slowed her forward speed, to come down into a courtyard in the midst of the school's architecture.

"Nnh." Landing here, she looked around. She knew the school _had_ after-school activities for the children. The question is, where they'd currently be.

Slower now, she came up to a metal door, and whipped it open- but with care not to let it slam against a wall.

Once she was inside, she panned her gaze around.

"Aa-" But, she was spotted instantly. "Tsu-... Tsukiko?"

Tsuruko panned her head, to look at a young man. He had plain, semi-messy brown hair, and on his back was a huge broadsword he definitely couldn't use.

' _...Is this a student?'_ Tsuruko was actually confused.

"Wha- what's up?" He stepped closer, smiling. "I didn't know you came here, today. Aa-... are you looking for Keine?"

...Tsuruko smiled at him. "No, actually. I'm looking for an afterschool club. Curiosity, you see."

Akihito paused. He felt something was off about her voice, and the way she spoke.

"Su- sure." But, he didn't want to assume anything weird, either. Tsukiko was a good friend of Keine's, and basically a hero, as well as a legend. He was self-conscious of blunders he'd made in the past, so he resolved not to make trouble now.

' _This is perfect, actually. I may be able to stir the nest… as well as come out unscathed. A good mystery would definitely destroy any emotional traction from anyone other than Tsukiko, or Kamishirasawa.'_

"What kinda club, um, would you like to see?" Akihito wondered, as he lead her. "We got, like, um… crafts. Aa- arts. Safety… wa- water."

' _Water club.'_ Tsuruko remembered that club. She _still_ didn't know why it exists.

"What's your favorite?" Tsuruko asked him. "Did you attend any?"

"...Ye- yeah." Akihito nodded. "Before I went- and became… a youkai hunter, I was part of the safety club. Most people from here go there 'cause their parents are guardsmen, and they wanna follow in their footsteps."

' _Not that the middle-skill guards do much of anything. Most grassroots-level, easily deployable men are delinquents, or idiots not good for much else. The middle-skill ones do chores or serve in emergencies, and the high-performing ones actually get important work done.'_

"You're a youkai hunter?" Tsuruko smiled. "Cute."

"...You- you forgot, huh." Akihito smiled, too. "I guess I don't blame you…"

' _Oh, Tsukiko knows him on some level, then.'_

"Anyway, um." Akihito gestured to a door. "It's in here. This um, kinda dojo-like room…"

 _Click._ Akihito pushed the door to the room open, and Tsuruko followed.

' _Ah. Yes…'_ Her smile widened. _'This room.'_ She'd attended the safety club herself. _'I always wanted to use it, when I was in the Artificial Hakurei Project, and just climbing the ranks. It's too bad Keine saw through the whole thing, even when it was getting started. She didn't allow us true use of her school grounds.'_

Eventually, they'd found a workaround. In here, some young maidens in red and white stood around the right of the room, doing their best to look like Reimu, and very few remotely succeeding.

"It's so _cold…"_

"Reimu _has_ ta be a youkai. No human could wear something like this in the winter!"

"Danmaku-... is- really hard…"

 _ti- tick, tick._ Some of the girls made messy, inaccurate spreads of multi-colored talismans in the air in response.

"Man. You guys." A teenage-looking maiden in red-white shook her head. "I'm not even _part_ of this artie-Hakurei doohickey thing, and I'm way better at this than you!"

The girls around her frowned back. "That's probably 'cause you're a _mage."_

"You~kai. Youkai!"

"You smell!"

...The western-looking girl grinned and glared back at them. "Maybe _this_ is why you guys suck at this."

Tsuruko ignored their semi-random pondering. _'...I wish I could go back to that time.'_ Still, its presence filled her with nostalgia.

She turned her attention to the stone-headed boys who were on the left side of the large dojo room. They had some tiny metal plates that emulated the older model of guard armor, which was probably because no one needed that model at all after the guard became better at metalworking.

It was just a metal plate, below their pecs but above their abs. They were similar to Tatsuako's ruby ab guard, except worse.

"Um…" They were being guided by a teenage boy. Most of them were pre-teens, but the teenage boy seemed to lead this club activity. "Oo- oh! Hey, Akihito!"

"Hey, guys." Akihito greeted them plainly. "I'm showing Tsukiko around the school. I- I think."

The girls looked over at her. The boys looked up at her, and the responses were instant.

"Wo~w! She's so pretty…!"

"It's-...!" The Artificial Hakurei Projects girls tensed up. Tsukiko was their enemy, but these girls were so young that they stood absolutely no chance. Not if Rio wasn't good enough. Not if whole leagues of them weren't good enough.

"Who?" The western girl in Reimu's outfit smiled obliviously.

Tsuruko snorted, meeting her gaze.

"Wow…" The boys continued to marvel at her.

"Her-... her- dude, her boobs are _so big…"_

"She- she's looking at me!"

"Um…"

Smiling peacefully, Tsuruko panned her gaze to Akihito. "Hey. Cutie. Give me your sword."

"Aa-" Akihito paused. "...Cu- cutie?"

"Please?" Tsuruko leaned towards him. "I hope you don't mind."

"If- if you re- really want- it-" Akihito swallowed, and began to draw his sword from his back. "Aa- am I really-... cute?"

"Very." Tsuruko confirmed. "Young men like you… you make my heart flutter, when I look at you."

He handed his sword over right away, hand on the hilt and on the midsection. "...I-... I didn't know- y- you found me-... aa- attractive…"

Tsuruko took it by the tip, and gripped further up the midsection than he did. "Thank you."

Then, she stepped up to the boys.

' _Now…'_ She played reaper. _'Who will be unlucky today? Or, lucky, depending on how one views life.'_

Bringing the broadsword around her back, over her shoulder, she decided to begin her game. "What are all of your names?" She'd pick the one she liked the least.

"Takashi?"

"Hi- Hiroya…"

"Kenjiro."

"Hayato!"

"Teika…"

"ShinriKiyaru!"

"Mo- Moto-... ki."

' _...Bland, okay, elegant and unfitting, somewhat cute, really cute, outlandish, and cute. Hmm.'_

"Jin." A boy with a bowl-cut and brown hair beamed up. He was slightly chubby.

' _...Yeah, he looks like he's going to be a fat asshole when he grows up.'_ Tsuruko's target was decided.

"Jin?" Tsuruko echoed. "What a lovely name."

"I know, right?" Jin beamed back, his cheeks chubbier than he was, which was only moderately.

"Hehehe…" Tsuruko stepped into the midst of the dojo room. "Jin. Come over here. Only you."

He stood up quickly, while the other boys watched him go in vague animosity…

Akihito blinked unsurely.

"...So!" Jin beamed up at her. "What's up?"

"Close your eyes." Tsuruko smiled wider.

...He did, smiling harder himself. "Okay!"

Tsuruko took a step back.

She held the broadsword by the blade, as if the hilt part was a hammer.

 _woosh._ Reeling her arms up, she spun around, and whipped the hilt of the broadsword into the side of his head.

 _THUNK._ The sound was sickening, and without making even a grunt, the boy fell over, practically thrown onto his side.

"Aa-" Akihito's jaw dropped.

The kids around them yelled in surprise. Tsuruko lifted the broadsword overhead by the blade again.

 _WHUNK._ She cleaved it down into his head, when he rolled onto his back. "Nnh-" His face was teary, as the blood splayed from his face.

Reeling it overhead again, she took a breath.

 _WHUNK._ She clubbed it down on his face so hard it rebounded.

" _Stop!"_

"No! _Jin! No!"_

" _Tsukiko!"_ Akihito held up a hand, stumbling closer. "St- stop-"

"Ho- holy... shit…?" The western shrine maiden behind Tsuruko blinked owlishly.

 _WHU- CRUNCH._ Tsuruko swung it down one last time, and the boy's skull gave in.

Red dotted Tsuruko's smiling face.

Akihito stopped before them, the blood meeting his own face. He was too slow to intervene.

 _Cla- clack._ Tsuruko had tossed the sword at him, and he let go of it in a heartbeat, but not after touching the bloody hilt with his hand.

When he looked up from the dead child, Tsuruko was gone on the wind. The shoji out of the room was open, and in the now overcast day outside, Tsuruko leapt straight over the perimeter wall.

Akihito was left there, with fifteen-to-twenty frightened children, and a bloody sword.

-+- _Tsukiko Hakurei's Perspective_ -+-

"So." Sendai's expression by the lakeside was vague. "...What the hell's this supposed, _'funny cone ball game thing'?"_

...Suika gave her a big, cute smile. Big ice chunks in the Misty Lake ahead clicked and clacked amongst one another, amidst the silence.

Sendai was in her black-gold outfit, which made her seem even bigger than she already was. _'I feel like I'm twice Suika's height.'_

"It's that thing!" Suika pointed across the lake shore.

There was a cone of cones. More accurately, it was a triangle arrangement of icy cones placed on their flats on the grass ahead.

Actually, it wasn't just grass. Beneath the pink cones was a teal sheet of ice on the grass, which stretched up the lakeside to Sendai.

' _Looks like they decided to level it out.'_ Sendai noted how even the ice looked; if only because the ground it was perched upon very much wasn't by nature. _'I'll bet-... actually, I have no idea who did that. I don't trust Suika to level out a platform, and the fairies wouldn't care either way.'_

But, she could tell it was levelled. Experimentally, she placed one leg on it, and it slid around atop the ice with terrifying ease. _'That's some slick ice, alright.'_

"So!" Suika spoke up. "Ya take li', the _biggest thing_ ya can find, and ya _clobber the cones wit' 'em!"_

"What!?" Suddenly, the ice fairy Sendai met previously floated up. "No! You gotta like-..." She took pause. "Actually- what if we _did_ play it like that?"

The green-haired fairy from the other day floated up, too. "Um. I-... that'd ruin the point of the _game._ If you guys just wanna _smash things,_ you can do that, but if you wanna _bowl,_ then listen to me…!"

' _Bowl…?'_ Sendai furrowed her brows. _'What a funny word. Bowl. Probably because it shouldn't be a verb.'_

"I'm gonna bowl you." Sendai threatened Daiyousei.

"Actually!" Cirno quickly realized something. "...You're the _fake Reimu_ from the other day!"

' _Awfully perceptive of her. I guess she doesn't see that many girls with long black hair.'_

"Wh-..." Daiyousei quickly realized as well. "Cirno-chan! We gotta-...!"

"Yeah!" Cirno floated down, into Sendai's face. "We're gonna _prank her super hard!_ She's a _super idiot-"_

Sendai flourished an arm into the air. "Not _again!"_

 _FWISH!_ A starburst of candy flew out from her sleeve, exploding straight up into the air.

Confectionary of various colors scattered across the lakeside. The water nearby rippled, small treats making their impact and vaguely polluting the water. It was like rain, for only a couple seconds.

It was a truly remarkable burst of candy. "Aa-" Cirno was immediately distracted, eyes wide at the spectacle. "S'that-... aa- Dai! Look! _Skittles!"_

"Wh- Cirno, no!" Daiyousei flew after her, as Cirno began to run along the floor, surveying the scattered sweets. "You're-... um…" Daiyousei saw a green lollipop on the floor, and scooped down to pick it up. "Do- don't let her distract you…"

' _...I didn't think that'd just unleash the candy all over the floor, but apparently fairies are fine with that. I don't think they can even get sick, so… it doesn't really matter.'_

Suika gave the fairies an uneven look, scratching the back of her head. "Eeh. They got an even shorter memory than _mhe._ Not tha' ish very short- but like-... I'm _drunk!"_

Sendai snorted. "Yeah. Like you wouldn't just drink sake off the floor if I spilled some here."

...Suika gave her a grin, and a stink-eye. "Pft-... I meant- I eased 'em over wit' _booze_ earlier- but _'parently_ they forgot! Guess candy worksh. An' also, ih dependsh on the kinda sake!"

' _Wa- wait, you'd do it at all?'_

"... _Yo!"_ Suika yelled. "Get yer tight li'l cunts back here!"

' _Do- you really want to be saying that...'_ Even for Sendai, that was a profane call-out.

Daiyousei came back quickly, looking putoff. "Oo- our _whats?"_

"Nn…" Suika grinned. "The hell were the rules a' thish- _bowling thing_ again?"

"Oh…" Daiyousei paused, and beheld Sendai for a moment. "We- well, um… let me just-" She drew a notebook from her dress pockets. "Keine told me…"

' _Oh? This fairy knows Keine?'_

"You gotta roll a _ball."_ Daiyousei focused, and recounted her notes… "You roll it twice, and you get a certain number of points depending on the pins you knock down. The pins get reset after a person does their two rolls, unless they get a strike. A strike is when you knock down all the pins. In the event of a strike, the person who got it gets a super amount of points, and the next person's turn begins right away."

She pensively looked up at Sendai. "...We-... I think we forgot the balls."

Sendai held up a hand, and maximized a yin-yang orb some.

"Oh." Daiyousei blinked. "Um. They've gotta be a certain size."

Cirno came up, her mouth full of assorted sweets. "Mm- nngh- nmh- nmhmh!" She held up a ball of ice, three of her fingers inserted into three odd holes on it…

Even without words, Sendai vaguely understood. That was the size of a ball.

She made her yin-yang orb about as big.

"I wonda…" Suika grinned. "Tsuki, try rollin' the orb inta the-... the _pins."_ Suika felt weird calling them pins, when they were obviously cones…

...Sendai came up to the edge of the icy lane. "Any rules on how we throw it? Or…?"

"Aa- yeah." Daiyousei nodded. "You gotta stand on the far end from the pins. And, you gotta roll it underhand, along the lane. Don't just, um, toss it."

' _...I think I'm seeing the idea.'_

Reeling her arm back, Sendai took a breath, stepped up to the lane, and lobbed the yin-yang underhand, from her right arm.

 _Clack!_ The ice clicked, the yin-yang accelerating faster. Spiritual, white-blue light lit up along it as it actively gained speed on the ice-

 _KRA- CLA~CK!_ The jagged cones all rocketed off the end of the lane. Their jagged bases made them all move as a unit, sliding well onto the plain before parting. The only reason some of them tipped over was because of the mystic force of the yin-yang orb.

 _Woosh!_ The yin-yang orb continued to barrel across the plains ahead, rolling off into the great beyond. It left a trail of airy blue light as it went.

' _...Um. Hmm.'_

"That's- probably cheating." Even Daiyousei was able to tell something was off.

"It totally is!" Cirno glared at Sendai. "You gotta use the _ice balls,_ too!"

"...Ain't, uhh…" Suika saw something wrong here. "Ain't the bowlin' pins supposed ta be like-... _bowlin' pin_ shaped? Not thah I ever knew shit 'bout _bowlin',_ but like… y'know, issa shape people _throw around_. Phrases like 'pin head'. Like- when ya deshcribe shomeone as- _bowlin' pin_ shaped."

Not wanting to admit even the probability of being wrong here, Cirno furrowed her brows and tried to look thoughtful. "But-... I _like_ these cones."

' _I figured something was wrong. Actually, yeah, those sure as hell aren't bowling pins. I've seen a few in Kourin's junk pile, back when it was a junk pile, and not a-... a housed junk pile.'_

...Cirno frowned hard, at everyone's stares. "Well- if _you're_ all so smart, tell me what a bowling pin _looks_ like!"

' _Oh, gods.'_

Suika grinned, and held up a finger. Then, she faltered. "Aah-... _bowlin' pin_ shaped?"

' _Nice job.'_

Cirno smiled at that. "I- but, I-... ee- even I'm not that dumb, I don't know what that _is._ Don't try to trick me."

Daiyousei shook her head. "I- I should've sketched it out. I don't think anyone can just tell you… it's um, an awfully specific shape."

"Wh- I mean, it can't be _that_ bad!" Cirno contested. "It's just- what, squares and triangles?"

' _It's hopeless.'_ Sendai was losing faith in the fairies fast…

"You know what?" Sendai had a better idea. "How about I _find you_ a bowling pin? So you can make ice copies of it?"

...Cirno's eyes lit up at that. "Oh, yeah!? I'll race you to it!"

"No, don't." Sendai was sure she'd get lost and not come back. "I don't even know where _you'd_ find one."

"Ooh?" Cirno leaned towards Sendai, smiling with sudden and copious levels of smug. "Are you _scared?"_

"Scared you'd get lost, yes." Sendai clarified. "But, you know what? Yeah. You terrify me. Please, don't race me. Just accept that you'd win anyway."

" _Ha!"_ Cirno planted her arms on her own hips. "...That felt _super_ con-... condensation. So I'm just gonna stop!"

"Co- condescending." Daiyousei supplied.

Beaming, Cirno folded her own arms. "Yeah- what she said!"

' _Holy shit, she can think.'_

"...Good." Sendai looked in the vague direction of Kourindou. "I'll be back soon. I know where one would be, somewhat nearby. Gimme thirty minutes."

Cirno nodded twice. "Okay!"

"Thi- thirty minutes…" Daiyousei narrowed her eyes slightly. "That's-... that could be awhile…"

"Aah, quit yer belly-achin'." Suika swung her gourd into the air. "Ya be patient, and I'll give ya some _beer,_ yeah?"

Focusing on the gourd, Cirno's eyes lit up for a moment. "...Think of it, Dai. Beer and _sweets."_

"...That helps, yeah." Daiyousei admitted.

With that, Sendai stalked off. _'I can't believe I have to go find a fuckin' bowling pin.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Standing outside Kourindou, Sendai sized up the locked-up exterior.

' _There's gotta be somewhere in here without breaking Kourin's shit. But…'_

The overcast day shone plainly down upon where she stood. The magic forest's gloom didn't quite spread to Rinnosuke's residence, as it was just on the edge of the woods.

' _If he's buckled up to oppose other, more assholeish youkai, then… there shouldn't be a way in that one could just access.'_

' _If only I had my magical know-how back. With my spiritual affinity, I could detect magical traps. Both my own, and those set by youkai and magi.'_

She knew she used to project _some kind_ of magic of her own out, to do the detection. It wasn't anything magnetic like Marcus's magic, nor was it as simple as just splaying out her own mana; acts like that could result in her being punished by the traps, depending on how well they're set.

' _I haven't really intentionally tried to recover that skill yet. I-... wonder.'_

 _Crack, crack._ Cracking her neck, then her knuckles, Sendai got ready to scope out the perimeter of the Kourindou.

' _Kourin can consider this a security check. If I can break in without using ungodly strength, so can someone else.'_

Considering the past, she remembered she had to have used some form of holy magic. _'After all, holy is the antithesis to most youkai spellweaving…'_

Coming around the side of the Kourindou, Sendai took in the awkward way the ground and grass met the stone foundation. Some of the ground around the foundation itself wasn't the most even, nor the nicest looking.

Not that it particularly mattered. _'I feel like I recognize some of this groundwork… wait.'_

She paused. Along the house's left flank, she stared off into the woods.

There was a particular clearing between some trees she recognized. Blinking idly, she came up to it.

' _This is where me, Marcus, Keine and Kourin all got buzzed. Minus the fire, and the logs. I sat on this stump here.'_

The stump in question was now quite rotted, and very dead. The grass their fire pit used to be was now immensely plain, but some stones still remained, outlining where it used to be. But, only a few.

' _Wow…'_

There was something really cool, about this. Yet, it made her yearn for the past, and even though it was just a few months ago, she felt intense nostalgia, in a way she wouldn't normally feel.

' _...Is this all bad after all?'_ She kind of liked the feeling. It was melancholic, but definitive, and final. It made her feel at peace. _'I wouldn't feel this way, if my life wasn't… changed, so fiercely.'_

In a way, it did more to dull the pain of losing her loved one than two years of idility did. If only because the previous life she lived, one vacant and fleeting of his love, was now essentially gone.

This new life had a new status quo. Her daughter was grown up, and survived her youth. She was powerful in her own right.

Sendai's own somewhat loose, ragtag friends were now mature adults. Even the one that was an adult before- Marcus- was now quite wiser.

' _I don't-... I don't think I've quite realized, the freedom I have now.'_

Sendai felt her body calm. The holy overcast that shone from above filled her with an odd, still comfort.

' _These grounds. The shrine, the land before it…'_

' _Somehow, it all feels like home.'_

 _Fwish._ Once more, white heat began to burn from within herself, the ominously peaceful aura bending the light in the air over herself.

On the note of home, her mind followed a train of thought.

' _The night I died. Before I went to sleep with Reimu… I climbed a rafter of the shrine, and-'_

 _Sendai remembered Third Maiden's Secret * Eye of Truth._

 _Sendai learned Youkai Mastery (Insight)._

She stalked back up to the left flank of the Kourindou, and crouched down near the wall.

Closing her eyes, she felt the peaceful stillness inside herself. _'This feeling…'_

 _Bwoo~p._ Her white aura flourished, shining bright enough to light up the grass and wood near herself. She let out a sonar-like beep, and had to fight a grin. _'Ah…'_

All across the Kourindou, lights lit up. White energy traced up windows, and along various sections of walling. From those windows, Sendai could see inside; and see exactly where magic had been laced.

But, like this, she couldn't see _all_ of it. She could only see what was in eyesight. Even though her holy magic coated all of the Kourindou, she couldn't see through the walls.

A moment of clarity. _'My dark magic…'_ She'd never sought to touch it excessively again after escaping her youth, in her previous life. But, now…

 _fwish._ Her white aura flickered, polluted by more fruity blue light.

Deep black crept across her temples, tickling her skin. Then, she fed the dark magic into her own eyes.

She was blinded, her eyes cast in shade. Nothing was visible.

But, after a second, she saw it. All the surfaces in the Kourindou that were even slightly magical were then traced in holy light, becoming visible.

It was all she _could_ see. Even like this, a pale, translucent model of the whole store was made clear to her; the trace amounts of her holy energy revealing every surface, and the brightest lights outlining clumps of magic.

' _...It's as I thought. The magic pierces my own blindfold.'_

Now, she'd just have to decide a point of entry.

 _whish._ Wind wrapped up her form. "Nnn." She crouched down, and leapt.

She found herself floating in the black over the Kourindou; the translucent, crystal-like form of its exterior seemingly hovering below her.

With her eyes shut, beholding only her magic, the world seemed like a fragmented wasteland of broad, prismatic panes, and a void of black.

She could see the Hakurei barrier above, making a huge rim in the sky around all of Gensokyo. It was a void of color and rainbow light, mixed with shade only the vast nothing of grand space and void could imitate.

' _I can see the Hakurei shrine in the distance; a beacon of dizzying colors and detail in a luminescent, fragile world. That damn mansion's alive with color too; as are a few other places…'_

Landing on the shingled roof, she looked over the bright, crystal structure that was the Kourindou. _'Oh, right. I need to get inside…'_ Sendai remembered what she was doing.

She examined the upper level. _'Ah. The attic windows aren't quite reinforced, but they're so damn tiny.'_

' _The shingles up here, however, are reinforced. Willing to bet that this place is wired to lock down tighter if force is used.'_

The doors themselves weren't an option. The windows weren't an option either. _'Hmm. If I was Kourin, how would I lock a door, so that only myself could access it?'_

She walked off the edge of the roof, and landed slowly on her sandals behind the Kourindou.

' _Nnh. First, he'd use the back door. Front seems obvious, even if criminals are liable to try both.'_

The backdoor was particularly bright itself, awash with magical signatures. This didn't mean Sendai knew what they _were,_ precisely.

' _Hold on. Idea.'_

Staring down the back door of the Kourindou again, Sendai put her hand on the knob.

' _Since my magic's holy, and holy energy doesn't quite cooperate with the affinities of some elements, particularly those youkai would use… then perhaps I can simply...'_

Her white aura fed into it. Eventually, there was so much light in the door, that it was spreading out to herself, taking up more space than the door's material.

 _Click._ The door unlocked, when Sendai jiggled the handle with just a little force.

 _Crea~k._ She cautiously pushed it open. Once inside, she turned around, and shut the door quickly.

...After she ceased feeding her magic to it so fiercely, the light began to dim-

 _Click!_ The door locked itself, once the magic had faded.

' _Did I just- overload it with holy, or was that the way it was meant to be opened? No youkai would typically use holy on anything, so…'_

' _Whatever. Question for Kourin later. Right now, I need a bowling pin.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

 _Sendai obtained Blue Bowling Ball._

 _Sendai obtained Bowling Pin._

Inside, she found a bowling pin, and an actual, blue bowling ball. _'...I'll pay you back for this crap later, Kourin. I need it now.'_

She'd claimed it from the midst of a junk pile in the front of the store. Slipping both into her sleeves, she looked around the shop. She had dispelled her dark-holy vision some time ago.

' _Kourin has so much crap in here. I don't even know what half of it is. Same went for the pile he used to own such-and-such years ago. Build a storage house, already-'_

' _Ah.'_

She froze. Someone was there, staring at her from behind. She'd turned to face the stranger, and spotted them there.

"Oh-" A blue-haired woman. She drifted straight into the floor, something held in her hands.

Even though she'd only seen them for a second, Sendai was confident someone was there. "Who are you?" She raised her voice, and called out. "I saw you. Come out."

Nothing.

" _Come on."_ Sendai got louder.

Still nothing.

' _...Guess Kourin's defenses don't protect him from fucking ghosts, or whatever that was. I ought to look into how to bless structures.'_

She didn't really have the time to just sentry the place, however. _'It'd be awfully coincidental if I just happened to spook a burglar. I doubt this was that lucky.'_

Since she probably wouldn't see anything else happen, she began to leave. Moving into Kourindou's back room, she proceeded to the exit.

 _Click._ After flooding the door out with light again, Sendai pushed it open, slipped outside, and gently shut it behind herself.

Moving around the front of Kourindou, she took another breath. She'd just have to trek back to the lake, which was only a minute or two from here. Or five.

Regardless, she wouldn't have too much difficulty. _'...For some reason, the easy overcast seems ominous when I feel like there's a burglar around.'_

Before she could mull over the thought too long, she spotted the would-be burglar to the left of the Kourindou.

They eyed one another along the path laid before the store.

The blue-haired, well-endowed woman floated in the air, waving a smoking stick around, which had a gold-accented pipe on the end of it. "Mmh… oh. There it is." Her blue eyes conveyed a smarmy mirth that Sendai instinctually resented. It was one of _these_ kinds of youkai.

' _Gods, damn it. I just wanted to find a fucking bowling pin. Kourin, you need holy defenses, this shit's stupid.'_

She pointed at Sendai. The young adult of a man next to her turned to survey Sendai himself…

He was either barely legal, or a teenager. His navy blue hair shimmered as he righted his head, to glare ahead at Sendai.

From his back, he drew a rusty, clumsy-looking sword. "Stop right there!"

Brows furrowed, Sendai scanned the floating, blue-haired woman, and the navy-haired man.

He had some kind of cloth jacket on, which Sendai vaguely recognized. _'That's an outsider-style outfit.'_ He also wore jeans, and had strange shoes of some sort on.

"I saw you! Through the windows!" He held his clunky, blunt sword rigid with two hands. "You were _stealing!"_

' _...Really.'_

A multitude of explanations crossed Sendai's mind, but she quickly knew none of them would mean anything.

The woman behind him nodded, waving her smoking stick around as she smiled. "Mmm. It's not unoften, that youkai steal from the Kourindou when presented the opportunity. In fact, a _doppelganger_ of this particular person makes perfect sense for the job."

The teenage-looking man met her gaze, partially turning away from Sendai. "...Seiga- _this's_ what a doppelganger looks like?"

Seiga's face faltered slightly. "Well... no, because they're always disguised. You know. Because they're a _doppelganger."_

"Ooh-..." The navy-haired man beamed. "Right! How do I fight it?"

"I'm no enemy of yours." Sendai tried to talk it over, anyway.

Seiga snorted, and a ring of smoke came from her lips. The air from her nose caused the smoke ring to curl into a heart shape. "Mmm? Do you hear her lies? Doppelgangers are despicable, and quite skilled liars."

The teenage man pointed his sword at Sendai from afar. "I'm not letting a _thief_ get away! Especially not one who stole from Rinnosuke!"

He was distinctly American, Sendai noted. _'Not from around these parts. Outsider, through and through.'_

She hadn't seen outsiders appear often, years ago. Despite that, there was still the occasional businessman from any number of nations or geographies, warriors, or just school kids. It was really a grab bag of any potential appearance and personality.

This teenager seemed to be the latter, albeit Sendai didn't quite recognize his clothing. _'Fashion probably evolved in some years. I see jeans still haven't gone out of style.'_

"If-" The teen spoke up. "If you put back what you stole-"

"Don't bother." Seiga shook her head. "You don't know _what it is_ she stole. She could say she put it back, and you would be none the wiser."

"...Damn." He began to glare at Sendai anew. "That's-..."

' _Gimme a break.'_

"What's your name?" Sendai raised her voice.

"Aa-..." The navy-haired teen beamed back at her. "The name's _Wave._ You better look out, 'cause I'm here to keep the peace. For the human village, and for everyone in Gensokyo."

' _Are we joking. His voice is barely strong enough to be heard outdoors.'_

"Since she's a doppelganger, you can probably just run at her." Seiga smiled, waving her smoking stick about. "Bu~t, be careful. Even the weakest kinds of youkai can have ferocious power, if underestimated."

"Got it!" Wave gave Seiga a confident smile, and a salute. "You start headin' back to the village, Seiga! I'll bring this youkai to justice, and then we can hit the bakery!"

Seiga snorted. "You do that." Then, she floated off.

Sendai got a glimpse of what was in Seiga's offhand. _'...Something which shimmers. Is it a sword? Most of it's concealed by this rag she has over it. I ought to tell Kourin she's stealing a whatever-that-is. Her name's Seiga. Seiga...'_

After committing the name to memory, Sendai nodded. _'Wonder what she wants with-'_

"So!" Wave raised his voice. "If you aren't gonna let me search you... I'm just gonna have to bring you back to the village with me! What's your name?"

"I am the miko who came before." Sendai cracked her neck, then her knuckles.

"...Just- so you know, I _really_ don't wanna do this." Wave tightened his grip on his rusted, battering sword. It was really more like a sword-shaped club. "You're really pretty. But, you youkai, sometimes you leave me no choice."

-+- _Vs. Outsiders -+-_

 _Kri- krack, krack._ Sendai's face contorted into a fierce glare, her eyes flaring with amber light as she beheld Wave's young, eager and battle-hungry face.

' _Push…'_ She reminded herself why she fought. _'To keep this idiot from destroying what is good. Imagine if I was so weak, as to fall to his whims, and be accused as a criminal. When I have a daughter to love, and people to protect…'_

' _I'll push back. This little shit's going to feel what it's like to get fucked by an oni. I'll take his stupidity- and punch it- smash it right back into him!'_

 _THOOM!_ She stomped the floor so hard, the dirt on the path all around her plumed outward briefly, as a circle of dust. _"Hmph!"_

"You can't scare me!" Wave beamed, and drew his huge, rusty broadsword back. _"Unleash! Red Raid!"_

 _WOOSH!_ He tossed the blade ahead, and it came at Sendai like a disc of red light.

 _THUNK!_ Sendai tensed her whole body, and took it head-on. The broadsword's flat- not that it _had_ sharpness- rebounded off her shoulder, flying off as her body leaned to the side slightly.

"Aa-" Wave blinked. "You're _tough,_ for a doppelganger…"

She couldn't exchange words with someone this dense. Violence for violence was the way of beasts, and they were both about to be mutually guilty.

' _Someone smarter might try and talk it out. Console him, tease him, try damn hard to talk him out of it. But, like that, he'll never learn. He'll never learn the absolute value, of what it means to threaten someone's life.'_

' _Life isn't some fucking game. Fighting isn't a game. This…'_

Sendai looked to the right.

There was a bicycle chained to the front of the Kourindou.

Her mind told her not to do it. Her mind told her it probably wouldn't be a good idea.

However, her heart desperately, _desperately,_ wanted to fulfill a new desire.

' _This is reality!'_

Hunched over, fuming, Sendai powered for the bike attached to a rail before Kourindou.

 _Fwish!_ Summoning his broadsword back, the boy ran for Sendai. "You aren't gonna break Rinnosuke's shop anymore!"

 _CLONG._ Slowly, he met Sendai's gut with it as she walked along.

" _Ghk-"_ Saliva spilled from her mouth, ejected from the absolute impact. Wimpy as he was, a blunt weapon to the gut was a blunt weapon to the gut.

' _This fucker can't tell by the look on my face? This-... this is going to be good…'_

She kept stomping along, reaching the bike rail.

' _You…'_ She gave him a glare back, her emotions welling up. She wanted to find fuel for her anger.

Her eyes moist, she seethed out a question. "I- I have a daughter. You'd hit me- bludgeon me, impair me and cripple me- all on some fucking hearsay? From _that whore?"_

Wave frowned back. "Shut up. You don't _lie_ about things like that. And Seiga isn't a wh- whore! And- you're a youkai. You'll get better!"

"And how do you know _that?"_ Sendai demanded. "How do you _know_ I'm a youkai?"

"Those clothes you wear- that look in your eyes, that anger…" He held his broadsword tight. "Your lies can't hide it!"

"So…" Sendai's face fell. "Since you're such an _expert…_ my daughter doesn't deserve a mother anymore? My husband doesn't deserve a wife? Our years together, our love- you'd throw that all away? Just because _you think_ I'm a youkai?"

Wave glared back, now angry himself. "Yes! I'd take it all away! You threw everything away when you decided to steal!"

' _...That's crazy.'_

He kept going, as Sendai glared. "Like anyone could ever love _you._ And if your daughter was like you- I'd take her to jail too! So- just shut up already..."

Now _that_ … Sendai couldn't walk away from that.

' _And so, violence for violence. So be it, then.'_

Sendai hyped herself up. This was her love for her daughter, her family, and her painful climb to where she was now, versus this kid's sense of justice. Which was greater?

Sendai sure as hell wouldn't let it be the latter.

" _HRAH!"_ She flailed both arms out, and roared to the sky. A geyser of orange light washed off her, holy energy blooming in a messy, chaotic twist around herself.

 _CLACK!_ She latched both arms onto the bike chained to the rail outside Kourindou.

 _WHAM!_ Wave slid up aside her, and rammed her in the small of her back with his broadsword. _"Gotcha!"_

Despite the spike of electric pain, Tsukiko clenched her teeth so hard her mouth flared with light, and pulled.

" _Hrr~...!"_ Her muscles screamed, and her body shook, as she pulled, pulled, and pulled.

Wave had recoiled, his blunt blade having bounced of her spine. It was like her kimono was made of a shell, and her body itself made of rock.

He hefted the blade overhead, meant for her head. _"Rock Cleave~r!"_

Sendai imagined it landing- and imagined the worst possible outcome.

' _I'm not about to let this fucking idiot get away with this! I'm not about to let him ruin anything!'_

 _Krik._ Her teeth clicked against each other, so rigidly locked together. Probably not good for them.

' _PULL DAMN IT!'_

 _CRACK- CRACK- CLINK- CRACK!_ The chains that bound the bike in place were losing.

 _KRAACK!_ Then, putting her whole body into it, Sendai snapped them. An explosion of orange and amber flared from her heart and body, washing across the ground all around herself.

 _CLACK!_ She parried his downward cleave- with an entire bicycle.

The broadsword flew from his hands. "Wh- _aa-"_ His jaw dropped.

Sendai spun around, eyes at maximum dilation, arcing the bike around just as much as the bike arced _her_ around.

Then, with one complete rotation, she smashed it into his gut.

 _KRACK!_ _Thud!_ _"Hhk- uu-"_ Wave crumpled to the floor, bested by the entire bicycle.

 _Fwish!_ Summoning his sword to his hands, he held it up to guard himself. "Pl- _please!_ I-... Se- Seiga'll be sad- if I'm gone! Mo- mom… she'd-..."

Sendai briefly paused, holding to her right, slowly letting it droop.

He was someone's son. Another human, just like her.

' _And it doesn't even matter.'_ She hefted the bike back into the air. _'You'd take my family away from me. I…'_

Holding the bike entirely overhead, Sendai felt her muscles pulse into overdrive, her heart beating with unhealthy power.

' _I deserve to show you despair.'_

" _HYAAAH!"_ Sendai's arms became solid white and gold, as she whipped the bike straight down like it was an oven tray.

 _BOOM- KLANKANK- CRUNCH!_ The bike bounced off of Wave, soaring meters into the air after crushing him into the floor.

" _GHK-"_ Wave was almost entirely destroyed. He bounced off the floor, his sword doing jackshit to protect him, dirt blooming under his broken body as he ascended with the bike.

Landing, his mouth snapped into an incredulous beam-

" _bwuu~h…!"_ Then, he spat out a fountain of blood from between his lips, eyes all screwy.

Sendai reeled herself back, and roared into the air. _"Come o~n!"_

 _Sendai obtained Shounen's Sword._

 _Sendai obtained 520 Yen._

 _Sendai obtained Secret Wallet._

 _Sendai learned Essence of Bicycle._

"That all…?" She was crouched down next to him, eyes narrowed at the couple yen bills he handed over.

"Khk- kaugh-" Wave had downed a potion he had on him, to save himself from demise. Still, he'd suffered such damage in an instant, he was still shocked into submission. "It-... it is…" He was crying, too.

"Fucking pathetic." Sendai leered down at him. "If I was really a youkai, I'd have killed you over this. When you talk to Seiga again, tell her the reason you're alive is because of me."

"Aa- oo-"

"Another thing." Sendai got onto her knees, and glared at him.

' _This brings me back…'_ She was reminded of her teenage years, spooking villagers and fighting for her life.

"If you and I ever cross paths again…" She latched a hand onto his neck. "I will make you take responsibility for endangering my family. Next time you see me, you _run away._ Am I understood?"

' _I'm not normally this cruel. Not after this sort of thing has become routine. But…'_

' _It's really bringing me back. And… it feels good. Sometimes, you have to set an example.'_

Wave was shaking, nodding unsteadily up at her. "Oo- o- oka- okay…"

' _After all… violence, sometimes, is the one and only justice. Logic, wisdom, care… these things are all important to justify it. With those things, you can find the strength to uphold them as well.'_

' _But, without true, raw, stupid, absolute, realistic force… even this fucking punk-ass kid can take it all away from you. He can become right, and you can become wrong.'_

"Youkai in this land are unkind, wry, and smart." Sendai loomed over him as she stood. "As well as unspeakably powerful. Find yourself a girlfriend, put away your sword, and never step foot outside the village again. If I don't find you, something worse will. You don't walk around outside unless you're picking a fight."

With that, she turned away from him. _'If that Seiga hoe cares about him, she'll come by with a dust pan.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

 _Cla- clack, clack!_ Sendai scored a strike on the pins, on her sixth attempt with an icy bowling ball.

"Aah…" She paused, refraining from sipping from the ice-forged bottle of sake she held. She specifically requested a bottle, and had Suika fill it up. She'd hardly gotten into it, as the sake itself was so fierce.

What little she did sip, helped dull the headache that sat in from earlier. _'Getting angry at assholes can be fun and all- but it really wears you down. These moments of unwinding between everything really are necessary.'_

"Ah-" Suika shook her head. "Awh, dahmn…" Despite her force, she could hardly send the ball down the lane straight herself, and was more liable to take away chunks of pins at once than get a strike…

"Yh- ya'know… _hic!"_ Cirno went along with Sendai's idea, and got a bottle of the same. Except, she was already halfway done with it, despite everything; mostly at Suika's behest. "Howh-... woa- how'd it take ya so long- t'come back?"

' _Fairies love their booze. Can't imagine the joy of reviving from self-induced alcohol poisoning.'_

"Eeh." Sendai thought of a believable story… "No real reason. Just took my time."

"Aawh." Cirno pouted, face flushed. "That'sh _la~me…"_

"Sh- Ci- hnn-" Daiyousei couldn't say Cirno's name right, as she spun around woozily in the air. "Be _niche…"_

' _I'm the only one not dead drunk. This is a sad state of affairs indeed.'_

"...Omh." Sendai reached into her sleeves, and drew some pretzels to snack on. She took them from the shrine at Reimu's insistence.

' _They're even nice and fresh.'_

Stepping back from the lane, Sendai allowed Suika to lumber up to it.

 _thump._ Immediately, Suika stepped onto the ice, and faceplanted from slipping. "Mmn… sh'nice- an' _cool…"_

Sendai had never really thought of using the yin-yang orb other than as a giant object she could toss, or use as a platform.

' _If I made the yin-yang orb bowling ball-sized however… I wonder.'_

Sendai watched Suika stand back up. "Mmh…"

Letting her arm hang down, Sendai drew one of the icy bowling balls from a pile Cirno made nearby.

Now up, having slid off the ice and onto the grass again, Suika beamed. "Ey- s'not yer turn…"

Sendai nodded. "I know." Reeling her arm back, she prepared to roll the ball…

Black flared up her right arm, and she practically chucked the ball. _"Hyah!"_

 _Whunk!_ She rolled it _right_ into Suika's ankle, the high-mass icy orb crushing into the leg's weakest part.

"Woo- ooh." Suika's leg shifted only slightly. "Hey! I ain't no pinhead! ...Pinhea~d…!"

' _Huh. If... that made an oni budge, ever so slightly…'_

Sendai looked thoughtful. _'I have to try that out on an enemy, sometime. Perhaps with a yin-yang orb instead.'_

 _Sendai learned Essence of Bowling._

"Hey, Cirno." Sendai had a bad idea. "Stand in front of me."

"Huh?" Cirno's face looked uneven, as the alcohol melted her insides. "Aah… shure…"

Standing proud and tall before Sendai, Cirno beamed rowdily. "Hehehe! How… dho I look?"

Holding up an icy bowling ball, Sendai smiled. "Looking cool, Cirno." Then, she reeled the ball back as if she were going to roll it at Cirno.

"Aww~!" Cirno thought the motion was hilarious. "Hehahaha! Yeah- roll it!"

 _WOOSH!_ Sendai's arm flared with black again, when she hurled the icy ball along the floor, and into Cirno.

 _KRACK._ It hit Cirno's ankle, where the weakest part of its bone would be along the front.

Cirno was instantly in a world of hurt. _"Ogh- hu- aa-"_ The bowling ball had pushed her right leg back, in the same way someone would yank a leg from a table to make it collapse.

 _Thud-_ _thud!_ Dropping onto her right knee, clutching it, Cirno started to roll around on her back. _"Fhu~ck!_ Ow… _oww~!"_

"Ho- holy shit…" Sendai beamed, before hiding her smile with a hand.

"Hoo- hahaha!" Suika pointed at Cirno. "Tha'- tha' was fhuckin' _abrupht!"_

' _...Maybe I shouldn't be bowling while buzzed.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

It was far into the afternoon, when Sendai and Reimu began their trek to the Human Village together.

"I want big meats." Reimu had nothing particular in mind, but… "A lot."

"Don't have to tell me twice." Sendai liked the sound of that. "You got any restaurants you frequent?"

"Well… a couple." Reimu admitted. "Usually it's _Marisa_ who keeps track of that sort of thing. We often go chow down together, when we get the money… together." Reimu looked weirded out by her own wording.

Sendai snorted. "You two got the money _together,_ or get enough money _to_ _put_ together?"

"Well-..." Reimu realized something. "They're both correct, really. Just, the first can be inconsistent. We compete to complete youkai hunts too. Then, when we're done, we feast."

"Feast." Sendai echoed.

' _Reimu's too damn adorable.'_

"Feast." Reimu confirmed. "While I _can_ go without eating for awhile, sometimes I really just… go _all in."_

"We all need a good meal sometimes." Sendai agreed. "Be it in quality, or quantity."

' _I know I'd treat myself to new types of foods after a while; more expensive, exotic ones. While I obviously would never default to them, they were enjoyable on occasions.'_

As they walked along, Reimu had an idea. "I think I know a place we can visit… actually." She looked at her mother. "Do you have any ideas?"

"I was wondering if there's any places for _outsider food_ , now." Sendai voiced a curiosity. "They were kind of uncommon, when I was alive."

Reimu nodded. "Ah, yeah. It's kind of a bigger fad now, I guess. Some of it can taste really good, but it's all… really different. The outside world's _really, really_ huge, after all. I'm not sure if you'd like all of it."

"Do you eat a lot of it?" Sendai noticed she had a lot to say about it…

"...Marisa has a thing for it, so I tend to know it by proxy."

Sendai could understand. "Aah. Do _you_ like it?"

"...Ki~nda?" Reimu smiled. "Some of it's _really_ messy. Some require unique utensils, and some of it just sucks. And… there's a certain _offness_ to some recipes. I can't name it myself. But, it's not there when I eat the kind Sakuya makes."

Sendai had to take a moment to think, before she remembered who Sakuya was. "Oh, right. You- let that mansion _feed_ you? Did-... did they charge you?"

Reimu gave her a flat look. "Didn't we discuss this before? I mooched."

...Sendai wasn't sure what to say. "I'm proud you're frugal, but mooching _from youkai_ seems…"

"You beat people up and take their lunch money." Reimu contested. "That's not exactly _admirable_ either, is it?"

Sendai clicked her tongue. "Not when you frame it like that, it isn't. I'd like to think those people deserve it. When you mooch off youkai in a way that they _offer_ to you, rather than you taking from them-... wouldn't you suppose it leaves _you_ open? To traps, or-"

"No, _mom."_ Reimu countered. "The mansion isn't gonna freakin'... lace my meal to _explode._ If they were gonna do that, they'd've done it already."

' _I'm so confused.'_ Sendai didn't understand the dynamic between Reimu and the mansion at all.

"Well- nnh…" Sendai _really_ wanted to contest that. "How are you _alive,_ with such a lack of caution? I mean- you always attest to now being different than my time, but…"

Reimu flicked her gaze up. "If Sakuya didn't go nuts on you back then, we wouldn't be talking about this like this…"

"Yet, she _did."_ Sendai insisted. "That succubus too. In fact…"

' _The moment we became separated, the mansion felt laced with danger. ...Mmh. I want to say there's something more to that than 'they planned it', but I have nothing other than my intuition to go off of.'_

"Regardless. I question how you've survived, again." Sendai's question was still unanswered.

...Reimu's face softened, and she pursed her lips. "Intuition?"

"Gods damn it." Sendai ran a hand through her own hair…

"Nn- hehehe…"

Slowly, they came up to the village's gates.

Sendai came up to him in an automatic motion. She'd had this exchange _thousands_ of times by now. "Hey. Yeah?" The words, albeit incoherent when looked at objectively, were what she remembered just casually trading with the guards. They were more sound than words, at this point.

"Aa-" Like magic, the guard took pause, and said little more. He looked like he _wanted_ to say something, but moved for the gate's reels. "Sure thing."

...Reimu had a mildly disturbed look, as the gate plainly reeled open amidst the overcast day.

Once they progressed inside, Reimu flicked her gaze to look at her mother. "How the heck'd you do _that."_

Sendai blinked. "Do what?"

 _Sendai remembered Village Guard's Secret * Clock-in, Clock-out._

Reimu and Sendai didn't want to spend all day window-shopping restaurants, so they picked a road and resolved to enter the first outsider-looking one they saw.

' _We went south, where… there's more traditional shops than there are other types. Despite that… we still found one place.'_

It was a very strange looking store. The outside had a white-painted brick wall, with red-painted bricks as trim along the floor and along the roof's edges.

' _It's hilariously out of place. Not many buildings in the village use brick, either…'_ It certainly wasn't there when _she_ was alive.

"...Huh." Reimu sized it up. "Comet Pizza, apparently."

"Hmh?" Sendai wasn't the most familiar with the latter term.

' _I've heard of 'pizza', but… I'm far from familiar with what it is.'_

"It's an attempt at establishing this outsider trend, of sorts…" Reimu explained. "On the outside, there's these pizza places- or, uh, _places that serve pizza._ They almost exclusively serve pizza. They got sides and drinks and other things, but the selling point is the pizza. They said that you could offer a message to them from afar, and they'd deliver the pizza to your home."

"...That sounds almost too convenient." Sendai shook her head. "I feel as though there would be a catch."

Reimu gave the faintest of shrugs. "Nh. Beats me. I've never done that, 'cause the pizza would _definitely_ be cold when it gets to the shrine… and they charge to have it delivered."

' _Oh. That's the catch. Crafty, though I feel as though… unless you are quite stocked up on employees, or have a-... wait...'_

"How would the places _receive_ those messages?" Sendai wasn't sure she caught that…

"Oh, right." Reimu realized something else. "That's the other reason I don't do that. They actually _can't_ do that here. But, on the outside, they have this thing called a _phone…"_

"Oh." Sendai heard of those, vaguely. "I see what you're getting at. We don't have the technology, however…"

"Yeah."

' _Not like we're missing out on much, in either case.'_

"If you ask me, we're not missing out on much." Reimu accidentally spoke her mother's thoughts aloud. "It wouldn't be worth it to begin with… and, like, the idea of a _phone_ is kinda useless in Gensokyo too. If I wanted to talk to someone, I could just fly to them. I feel like we'd have more to talk about in-person, too… and, if we didn't, wouldn't just… holding up a _phone_ feel awkward?"

Sendai snorted, still sizing up the pizza shop ahead idly. "I couldn't say. But… it's definitely something I don't think I'd get too used to myself."

' _Gensokyo really isn't that huge. On the outside, I could see phones being far more useful. If you lived over the span of… let's say, an expanse ten thousand times the size of Gensokyo, or the pacific ocean… calling each other would be infinitely more efficient than sailing or walking for days, or weeks.'_

' _...Are people really going to stay connected over such vast distances, however? With just their voice? ...I feel like they wouldn't.'_

She shook her head. She probably wouldn't see the ramifications of crazy modern technology in her lifetime regardless. "We should probably stop waiting for the snow to come."

Reimu grinned. "Yeah. Just what I was thinking…"

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

' _...I beat up people today.'_

The thought came idly to Sendai as she stood at the front counter of the weirdly technicolor pizza parlor.

' _It's so… strange, to consider. The act of hurting people is something I've thought about… a lot. Too damn much. About the good and the bad, the outcome, whether or not the effort and statement of it is worth it…'_

' _Provided, fighting comes to me like breathing, almost. By comparison to other humans, who struggle a lot with it, and are afraid- rightfully so- of getting hurt bad, or dying.'_

Then, a tall, immensely pale girl clad in a red employee's shirt and black pants seemingly sprang up from behind the counter at her. _"He~y!_ How're we _doin'!?"_

Her hair was messy, and her teeth- they were like a shark's, jagged fangs all interlocked together.

' _Despite all that, this is somehow worse.'_ Sendai gave her a jaded stare the moment she arrived on the scene.

Adjusting her glasses, the fluffy-haired, tall and buxom girl leered Sendai over. "The name's _Tips._ Hey- if ya didn't know, we're hiring!"

"No." Sendai wanted no part in this.

"But we pay well!" Tips gave her a shark-toothed leer. "An' we know a lotta _hot me~n…"_

"That's a part of youth I've long abandoned." Sendai countered. "And I _don't_ plan on revisiting it for any reason."

' _Rather… while I was somewhat active when I was a wild girl, the first time I got fucked was Keisuke. I'm happy for it too, because… he was damn hot, and a good person too. I mean- he later went on to be my husband and partner for life, so… you know. But, we used to casually fuck even in the beginning months.'_

' _Honestly? He satisfied all of my curiosities.'_

' _...I'm really lucky to not get pregnant in those first months. It, um, took us some time to learn about condoms, and safe days. The one time we did it unprotected had… a pretty fortunate outcome. Gods, I can't imagine having been pregnant at like, twenty-something.'_

' _Look, everyone was retarded back then. I wasn't an exception. Don't have unprotected sex.'_

"Not fer anythi~ng?" Smirking, Tips continued to press her. "Yer blushin', y'know…"

Sendai shook her head. "I- I was thinking of my husband. Shut up or we won't buy anything."

"Aw, phooey. Fine." Tips waved her off. "What'll it _be~?_ Actually!" She pointed at Reimu. "You into gettin' laid!?"

"What the hell kind of pizza place is this…?" Reimu was innocently baffled. "And- _no,_ I'm not!"

That's when a girl far, far shorter than Tips came from the sidelines, and began to push her out of the way. "Hey, hey, _hey._ Get back to waiting. You don't even _do_ the registers…!"

"Aw, _Boss…"_ Tips let herself get goaded out of the way. "I do registers for hotties...!"

'Boss' huffed, and stood before the register herself. "No, you _don't._ Shoo."

"Aawwh…"

...When she was a few registers down, 'boss' looked over Reimu and Sendai. "...Sorry. Your orders?"

"Uuh. Large pizza." Reimu wasn't _exactly_ sure what to get. "...Any toppings in mind, mom?"

"A what?" Sendai had no idea.

"Nevermind." Reimu shook her head. "Uum. Half pepperoni, half cheese, I guess."

"Mmm." 'Boss' nodded, and punched some keys on the register. "Any drinks?"

"...Orange juice?" Reimu wondered.

"Nope." 'Boss' shook her head.

"Darn." Reimu supposed that figured. "I guess we'll take some juice, then. ...Wait. _Root beer._ Also, um, a candy bar, if you sell those."

'Boss' gave one last nod. "Totals out to thirteen hundred."

Sendai spoke up. "I'll pay."

 _Cli- clink._ She placed some bills and coins on the counter. 'Boss' quickly counted them with a glance, before depositing them into the register. "Cool. It'll be ready soon."

' _This girl's pleasantly straightforward.'_

Reimu randomly picked a central booth to sit at, and Sendai followed her to it…

"Nnh." Sitting down, Sendai met her daughter's gaze across the booth. "...Strange place."

"Yeah." Reimu agreed. "I'm pretty sure that shark-toothed lady was a youkai."

"I got that feeling too." Sendai was pretty certain she was. "Should we do something about that?"

...Reimu tilted her head. "Why?"

Sendai blinked at her. "Wh- what do you mean, _why._ There's a youkai in the village. Surely she's at least _wanted,_ or something."

Reimu shook her head. "I mean, when they're discovered, they _can_ be kicked out, but the days of rewards for that sort of thing are over."

"What…?" Sendai could hardly believe that. "Re- really?"

"'Cause, y'know…" Reimu met Sendai's gaze dead-on. "You got exceptions like _Keine,_ and religious figures. As long as they don't hurt anyone or cause alarm inside the village. And- personally, I think she's a _half_ youkai, so… she might not be an important problem anyway."

Sendai could see the logic there. "That's fair…" She seemed to relax, too. "I'm not sure about the youkai presence as a whole… but, I'm sure a single half-youkai is the least of our concerns."

Reimu recalled her mother's words about the Golden Grin, and the assault it attempted. It really wasn't an issue she wanted to pry too deep into, being here in the village as it was. She just wanted to eat, go home, and sleep.

Sendai, conversely, was thinking again. _'Just how muddied has the populace become with youkai? Back in my time- all these youkai-affiliated complexes would be a huge deal. Some of them still are, but it's like the village itself selectively chooses whether or not to be alarmed.'_

' _In this particular scenario… villagers that go to a western food place probably wouldn't be inherently freaked out by one. That, and really, the only monstrous thing about her are those teeth. And, her height, kind of. And her demeanor, kind of. Also, those boobs.'_

' _...Alright, she kinda sticks out, but, whatever.'_

"How can you handle screwing with this place?" Reimu wondered.

Sendai examined her plain expression. "...What do you mean?"

"Dealing with the people, and with the stuff here that worries you." Reimu considered… "How do you even _start?"_

"I've been dealing with people all my life." Sendai explained simply. "As for leads… intuition? Luck? With enough fucking around, you stumble into the glaring issues eventually."

Reimu snorted. "What do you consider _done,_ then? When the youkai are gone?"

"If there are youkai peacefully getting along here, I won't care." Sendai supposed. "There are very clearly malicious ones, however. And, that _Artificial Hakurei Project_ bullshit's turning out to be a bigger headache than I first thought."

' _It's indicating a problem with the village. A problem where any single individual with half a brain cell, but a whole lot of heart, can climb to a state where they can just fuck over a bunch of people. The people here used to be more rigid. It's like time has withered away the social cohesion and solidarity the people here once had.'_

' _I'm not sure what to make of this. To my knowledge, most of my problems right now- if not all of them- are centered on this one, random ass chick who keeps doing confusing things.'_

Most importantly, Sendai supposed the village had lost some of its former identity, from ten years ago.

' _For better or for worse. Crazy how fast things can change.'_

' _Though, I suppose it's unfair for me to think that. 'Cause, you know…'_

Their pizza was ready. The box was gently sat down before them, complete with a king-sized candy bar atop it, and one of those cardboard four-cup trays, with the two applicable root beers held.

Sendai panned to face their waiter. They were a big, burly man in only shorts.

"Is this some sort of western tradition I'm not aware of?" The more baffling part to her was that this man _wasn't_ youkai, at all.

...He gave her a smirk, and a fragment of a shrug. "As far as I know, it is indeed!"

' _I like some muscle on a guy, but… this is kind of ridiculous.'_ She had an array of preferences when it came to men, but from her time with Keisuke, she came to appreciate the semi-toned, petite types.

She could even see appreciating a larger, more rigid man in certain circumstances, but she found Keisuke's body type to be a happy medium.

Then, there was this clown. _'What the fuck is that hair. No, this isn't right at all.'_

Reimu looked weirded out. "Maybe we shouldn't adopt every western tradition. Some of them… aren't uh, good ideas."

The man's brows curled up. "The ladies disagree."

"This lady thinks you ought to put a shirt on." Sendai refused to let him walk away feeling proud of his appearance. "Whoever's _actually_ impressed… I don't know what to say."

Reimu had a dull look. "I think I can think of a few people…"

"Those aren't your friends anymore." Sendai jested. "I retroactively disown them."

 _Di- ding!_ That's when the shop's front door swung open.

"Aa-" Aina hurried inside, hustling. "...Ah! It's you!" She stopped suddenly before Sendai and Reimu, her hair fwoofing out in the process. "And-" She spotted the fairly unclothed waiter. "Ooh. Hey, handsome."

Sendai fluffed up. "Aina, I'm going to split your skull in half."

Aina beamed, fluffing up in turn. "Wh- what'd I _do…!?"_

As the male waiter sauntered off, Aina watched him leave, before focusing on Sendai again. "Just 'cause I'm datin' Kourin doesn't mean I can't call 'em like I see 'em!"

"Not the point." Sendai shook her head. "...What're-"

"Ooh!" Aina smiled down at the pizza. "What kind's this!?"

 _shoof._ She folded open the box. "...Why's half just _cheese?_ Which one of you's the boring one?"

Looking at Reimu, she grinned. "Was it _you,_ shortstuff?"

...Reimu blinked vaguely. "Who're you callin' _shortstuff."_

"You, fluffy." Aina smiled aggressively. "What rank're you? You don't look like anyone special…"

Sendai began to grin. _'Know my pain.'_

"It's me, Reimu." Reimu insisted. "The actual one, jackass."

"Oh, really…?" Aina slowly panned to Sendai, as if questioning.

...Sendai wasn't sure what to say. "I'd _say_ you could ask her to show you, but if you fought in here, I don't think the shop would survive."

"If we fought on the _street,_ the buildings wouldn't survive." Reimu contested. "...Well, they _would,_ but danmaku and property damage have always been weird. It's not good for the maintenance, at any rate…"

"Wait…" Aina was just now getting it. "Are you sayin'... she's _actually_ , uh…"

"Yes, this is my daughter." Sendai gestured to Reimu. "We weren't joking."

...Aina looked excited. "You guys _actually_ like, talk together and stuff!?" She beamed at Sendai. "I thought she kicked you out, and that was why you were homeless! Like- like you were one a' them mountain sages, or something!"

"What the hell kinda person do you take me for…?" Reimu grinned in vague worry…

"What'm _I?"_ Sendai had a similar grin. "An _oni?"_

"Also." Reimu pointed at her. "Your whole ranking system thing is stupid. What, were you gonna make fun of me?"

"...Yes?" Aina grinned. "I _dunno._ The _real_ Reimu, at a pizza place…? I know momma there's sayin' you _are_ her, but like-"

Reimu was gone from her seat.

"Wh- _ow…!"_ Aina's head was pulled back, Reimu had her by her bushy ponytail.

"This prove it?" Reimu was behind her, having teleported there.

Aina spun to slap or push her-

Reimu was back in her own seat.

 _ti- ti- ti- tick!_ A stream of danmaku talismans flew from Reimu's eyes, flickering over Aina's whole body. On impact, they dissipated gently, leaving vague red hues in the air.

"Aa-" The danmaku's pain overwhelmed Aina. _"Fff- fuck…_ wow- ow- ow…" She stumbled back, holding onto her own face. "Da- damn… that- _hurts…"_

Reimu smiled, looking playfully aggressive herself. "That's nothing. You're going around in a spin-off of _my_ outfit, whining like that?"

' _She didn't use those when we fought. That's… danmaku.'_

Her daughter's fixation on the play bullet formula made Sendai curious. _'Supposedly everyone's supposed to be fighting using them. I still don't get it…'_

Sendai focused on the pizza. Since the side with the pepperoni was closer, she reached down and claimed a wedge of that.

"What's with the like…" Reimu focused on Aina more concisely now. "What's with the purple-white outfit?"

"Oh, this?" Aina beamed, looking down at her own chest. "They started makin' 'em in colors! And like, purple's _my_ color. Y'know?"

"No, I don't know." Reimu shook her head. "Who's making these, now…?"

"The clothiers who work for the village guard!" Aina beamed. "It's practically slave labor, which means it's all real cheap!"

...She met Sendai's plain stare, as Sendai snacked on a pizza slice.

' _This is… really tasty, actually. Doesn't taste good for me, or too terribly filling, but… it's alright. There's a difference between tasty and healthy- and this is a good example of that.'_

"I- I mean, not that that's a _good_ thing…" Aina retraced her thoughts. "But- I mean, _I_ don't gotta pay for it, s'what I'm gettin' at here..."

' _Good for you.'_

"This village sucks." Reimu reiterated the premise.

"Mmh." Sendai hummed in vague agreement, as she chewed on her slice…

"...I-" Aina seemed to blush. "Y'know Reimu-... I- I kinda wanna know how we'd compare in a fight."

"Don't get mad." Reimu looked down at the pizza herself. "Lemme frame it this way. Have you ever fought an _oni_ before?"

"...Sorry." Aina apologized. "It's just-... ugh. I'm too used to push-overs in your outfit runnin' around town, startin' shit with me. So, with you speakin' down to me, it's like-"

"Imagine how I feel." Reimu countered in monotone.

"...Damn." All the wind left Aina's sails. "Um. Well…"

Then, Aina shook her head around fluffily. "Wa- wait! I didn't come here ta start shit!"

Sitting down next to Sendai, Aina stole a pepperoni slice, and began to speak. "Dude- Tsukiko. It was Tsukiko, right? Aah- there's this bullshit goin' around, sayin' you offed some elementary schooler. The guards're on the lookout fer ya."

Sendai almost didn't think over the sentence, focusing on the food, before processing the thought. _'Wait.'_

She furrowed her brows. "What?"

Reimu became attentive, eyes focusing on Aina.

"Yeah." Aina nodded hard, becoming invested. "Ya took a broadsword's hilt to the front of his head. Well- you're _one_ suspect, anyway. Some people think this other kid did it, 'cause he was holding the sword. But you would've beat him up if he did it, right?"

"When did _this_ happen?" Sendai chewed her pizza numbly, as she pressed for information.

' _It's always something.'_

"Um. Like, _today."_ Aina searched Sendai's face… "And, uh… between you and me… did you do it?"

"She couldn't have." Reimu spoke up. "She was along the lake, and at my shrine. Nowhere near the village today."

"...Huh." Aina stared at the pizza. "...Oh, _damn._ I think I know _who."_

"Tsuruko?" Sendai guessed.

Aina gave her a flat look. "She that suspect?"

"I'm often mistaken for her." Sendai noted. "To think she'd murder a child, though..."

Sendai's gaze met Reimu's.

Reimu spoke up, swallowing a bite of the pizza she claimed herself. "Who's this, then? I've gotta talk to her."

"That's what we'd _all_ like to know." Sendai noted. "She's some idiot associated with the Hakurei whoever project. I'm sick of it. She's remained elusive, and getting her to speak any sense is hard."

"Yeah, well, when I find her, she's gonna start speaking some sense." Reimu decided. "What's she doing, now? Just going around murdering people?"

"Well… not until _now."_ Aina noted. "...I think."

"Especially one of Keine's kids…" Sendai was starting to brood. "Damn it. I really should've stuck around."

Reimu wasn't just going to let her sink into a somber state. "You couldn't have expected this. These sort of things just happen."

...Sendai shook her head. "You're right. Still…"

' _If I hadn't left- maybe went with Keine to her school-... damn.'_

"I mean…" Aina was mostly done with her pizza slice now. "It was just some kid."

Sendai glared at her. "Your child someday will be _just some_ kid. If a murderer took them from you, how would _you_ feel?"

Aina realized she was speaking to a mother. "Aa- alright, I get it. Still, you didn't even _know_ them. Don't get too worked up..."

' _Even the mere notion of this sort of thing…'_

"I'm still not standing for it." Sendai glared down at her slice of pizza. "This shitty precedent needs to end, and this woman needs to be made an example of. It's funny, that she wishes to be a Hakurei maiden. Yet, she lacks empathy so severely."

' _I'm tired. I'm tired of this shit.'_

"Omh." Sendai scarfed down the crust of her slice. It was accented with garlic, the flavor of the pepperoni and cheese mixing explosively with it.

...Swallowing the bites, Sendai met Reimu's gaze.

Reimu had finished her own slice, rubbing the grease from her lips…

"Well?" Sendai beckoned her. "You see what I mean about the village now?"

Reimu half-smiled, eyes harder. "You might be surprised to find out that deaths are kinda rare, despite the… chaos. So, yeah. This shi-... this stuff- it's my problem now."

" _Our_ problem, you mean." Sendai affirmed. "You plan to solve this with danmaku?"

Reimu snorted. "Ah? Nah. They broke the rules. Nothing can save them now. You see, it's the rules that give people a fighting chance."

Sendai furrowed her brows. "Really. You'd say that after losing to _me?"_

"I wanted to fight you." Reimu countered. "Not murder you."

' _...What the hell does she mean?'_

"I never got my Fantasy Heaven to activate, last time." Reimu reminded her. "I tried it too late. If I did it first thing- and especially on someone who _broke the rules of Gensokyo,_ then…"

Sendai grinned. "The _rules_ of Gensokyo, you say? Set by who?"

Reimu lifted a slice of pizza.

"Set by _me."_

Reimu was already a legend. She was the Shrine Maiden of Paradise, of the most recent, most peaceful era of Gensokyo.

...Sendai glanced at the overcast, displayed through the window ahead.

' _That energy she's exuding…'_

' _She really is my daughter.'_

Aina looked between the two wildly, her ponytail kicking around. "No- really, who got the _just cheese_ half?"

Reimu pouted. "Let me explain my floaty powers."

"But I wanna know what bozo bought just _cheese!"_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

 _Creak._ The door to Keine's house rocked open on its hinges.

Sendai sauntered inside. Reimu was behind her. ...Aina casually trailed behind them, trying not to look too close to them.

"...Ah." Rinnosuke was at the rightmost couch. "Have you heard?"

"Yep."

Coming up to the table there, she saw Keine had simply plopped school supplies down onto it. _'Disorganized by adult Keine's standards.'_

Rinnosuke saw Reimu. Reimu saw him in turn.

"Oh. It's you." She regarded him simply.

Rinnosuke grinned. "What do you mean, 'it's you'? We've seen each other recently."

Reimu took pause, searching for some logic. "...Considering the strangeness of the past few days, I feel like I'd rather we hadn't."

"Be nice." Sendai jested. "...What's Keine like?"

"...Um?" Rinnosuke wasn't sure how to answer that. "She's not happy, if that's what you were wondering."

Promptly, Keine hurried into the room, from the rear door that lead to the all-in-one common room along the house's back.. "Aah. Tsukiko…" Her gaze was sharp.

Sendai focused on her. "Keine. What happened?" She'd start with the basics.

Keine recognized Sendai's investigative intent. "There was a murder afterschool. People are focusing their suspicion between you and Akihito, who was there at the time, since it was his sword that was used for the killing."

' _...Considering everyone seems to know Tsuruko's name, why is mine suddenly on the radar? Have I really become so popular?'_

"Who's pointing fingers?" Sendai wondered.

"The parents." Keine's reply was prompt. _"I'm_ not in a good position either. The council's going to take awhile to say anything about this, but… it's not going to be good."

"Not unless we can clearly, concisely point out who did it." Rinnosuke decided. "We- as in, me, Kasen, Marcus- we've pretty much figured that the village will forgive this lapse in the school's security... _if_ we can easily identify who caused the killing. Otherwise… this could lead to a pretty harsh narrative about the school's already strained safety."

"...Amazing." Sendai nodded idly. "All we have to do is find Tsuruko, right?"

"She'd be the best lead and suspect, yes." Keine figured. "I… don't want to point fingers, but…"

' _Where the heck's the kid? In custody of the guard?'_ She was thinking of Akihito…

Reimu spoke up. "It was probably her, right?"

"It's, um, likely…" Keine deduced. "Unless she found a look-alike. I _feel as though_ this was to frame Tsukiko, or at least attempt to. I think… these rumors of it being Tsukiko that are spreading around, they aren't coming from nowhere."

' _Something feels off. It can't be so simple. Provided, we don't know where Tsuruko is right now, but… something else about the situation is weird.'_

Sendai had an idea. But, before she'd confirm it, she needed to speak with Akihito. "Is the kid with the guards?"

Keine frowned. "Well… yes."

Reimu marauded for the door. "Let's go talk him down."

' _How'd she- well, whatever.'_

Sendai took after her daughter. "Do you know _why_ we're going to do that, though?"

"He's the only other suspect." Reimu supposed. "We have nothing else to go on. It obviously couldn't have been you."

"...That's true." Sendai nodded.

"Wa- wait…" Keine held out an arm. "Before you two do anything rash-"

"No." Reimu simply began to leave. "We're gonna do something rash."

' _...Yeah. I'm not gonna fuck around anymore either.'_

Sendai followed out behind her daughter. Keine stood paused as they left, before exhaling.

"You two…" She wasn't quick enough to retort, before they were gone. "Ugh. They're so _hard-headed_ together. What a dangerous team."

Rinnosuke snorted. "It's to be expected, isn't it?"

...Aina stood idly next to where they used to be, before grinning big at him. "Was like I wasn't even there…! Those two- they've got some _energy_ to 'em..."

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Along the western road of the village, Reimu and Sendai browsed up to the main door of the village guard's headquarters.

"Getting chilly, isn't it?" Reimu mentioned casually, seeing her own breath in the air. "It's-... it's got me all shaky and energized…"

"That's called being cold." Sendai clarified. "...You should go bundle up. I've got this."

"What?" Reimu furrowed her brows. "I've been through worse."

Sendai figured she'd be like that. "They're not gonna want to see me, I'm sure. I don't know if you're outfitted to fight humans."

Reimu scoffed. "I really don't think they'll be a problem. I want to just get this _over with_ , as quickly as possible. I was willing to ignore all this stupidity until today."

Sendai could sympathize. "Someone died today because of this. Remember that."

"I might not commit it to memory, but it pisses me off too." Reimu was again on the same page. "She better have a _really_ good reason. I mean, it's not like random criminal happenings in the village are all my problem, but they're trying to frame _you_ over it. There's obviously some kinda conflict going on, and they're resolving it by harassing you instead of confronting you."

In the dim winter lights, on the increasingly chilly overcast day, Reimu focused on her mother. "Do _you_ know why this chick's really crazy about you?"

Sendai shook her head. "Beats me. Considering she dresses like me, I'm not entirely certain it's for a healthy reason."

"...Huh." Reimu looked back at the door of the guard headquarters. Through the small glass windows in the door, warm light filled the inside.

 _Creak._ The door whined open, when Reimu kneed it.

Clerks looked up from the front desks, seeing the maidens enter.

' _...Oh. You know, they might not recognize me in this black-yellow outfit. It's quite different from the red-white I usually wear. That, and my other outfits are typically white and some other color. This breaks format.'_

"Oh…" The woman at the right of the front counter in the room's back smiled. "Hello, dears."

"I'm here to see the temporary prisoners." Reimu asserted herself immediately. "... _If_ that's what they're called."

Sendai snorted. _'I believe they were just called 'prisoners', except held here instead of elsewhere.'_

"Oh?" The aged clerk woman blinked drowsily… "Well, you'll be watched as you visit them, but go ahead. Do you know him?"

' _Him. So, there's only one prisoner. Fitting, I guess.'_

"...Um. Yes, I think?" Reimu lied. "He's… my friend." She lied again.

"Ooh." The woman nodded. "You two go on ahead, then."

Sendai's brows curled up. _'I don't get why this old lady's so receiving. I remember her from our previous visit. She's quite unlike the other, more serious clerks.'_

...Nodding, Reimu faced Sendai plainly, before proceeding past the front desk and into the back of the main office area.

As they progressed, some guards across the room at the central counter island gave the two smiles, and spoke under their breath.

' _When this place is more active, the guards typically get more active too. I've been hit on more than once here.'_

The rear windows and doors were dull with overcast light. After gazing at the room's back in passing, Reimu casually came up to a little, contained segment of room separate from the main floor, on the room's right.

' _There's four cubby holes of sorts in the sidewalls. Two are for equipment storage, one is another office desk for archives, and the last is the quick jail.'_

This was the fourth segment, which Sendai called the 'quick jail'. There was a guard seated here before the bars, looking idle. "...Who're you?" He saw Reimu and Sendai approach.

Sendai looked past him, at a series of bars. Akihito stood inside alone, hands gripping the iron bars. "Aah… aah- hey!"

"Hakurei girls." Reimu was vague, because she could be. "We're here to talk to the guy."

The guard seemed to sink back into his wood chair, trying to stay comfy amidst the cold and the clunkiness of his armor.

' _Guess we got the go-ahead.'_

"Tsukiko…?" Akihito focused on Sendai. "Is- that _actually_ you?"

"Yes, no." Reimu spoke in a way that would be intentionally confusing. "Shh." She pointed at the guard.

Sendai focused on him. He was shivering. _'I think he's got more on his mind than us.'_

"...Reimu?" Akihito recognized her. "Are you guys here to help me?"

"That's to be decided." Reimu decided to mean business. "The girl who did it… she looked like my mom, didn't she?"

Akihito blinked, before exhaling, shivering himself. "Uu- um… she did. She said she was Tsukiko."

' _I'm sure this was to one-up that time I pretended I was Tsuruko to that baker in the town square.'_ Sendai jeered to herself.

Tripping over his own words, Akihito explained the root of what happened. "After she killed him- she threw my sword at me, and- and she ran outside, and leapt off. She took it from me earlier- and hit him with it! I couldn't do anything. I-"

"Yeah- okay." Reimu stopped him from talking too much, if only because he was probably going to start rambling. "So, you think this girl did it, and not you?"

"What…" He frowned. "Ye- yeah! I didn't do anything! The guards're all looking for the _wrong person,_ too." He focused on Sendai…

' _...I don't think we'll actually learn anything new from him. He's likely as unable to find her as we are.'_

Reimu seemed to be at an impasse, too. "Do um… do you know where she _went?"_

Akihito looked down. "We- well… no… but… I- I shouldn't have to. I'm innocent."

' _Yeah. Well, it didn't hurt to check. ...Now that I think about it, would they have even suspected my in my normal outfit? Maybe. It's kind of a unique design. The only person who wears their clothes similarly- to my knowledge- is Tsuruko. Mmgh.'_

"Reimu. Tsukiko…" Akihito spoke quietly. "I-... I wanna go home."

"Oh, don't go begging _me_ now." Reimu folded her arms. "Sit tight. When we find the real criminal, they'll let you go. Keep yourself busy 'till then."

"...Oo- okay."

' _That's that, then.'_ Sendai hadn't needed to say a single word. _'...We're out of ideas, again.'_

...Idly, Reimu panned to look at her mother again. "Mmh. See? This sort of thing's already more annoying than the usual Gensokyo-scale incidents I solve."

"Yeah. Criminal investigations tend to be shitty. That's why the guard does them, and not us." Sendai returned simply. "Youkai crimes are easy, because the youkai tend to like making it obvious that they did them. They're more acts of war than they are, you know, _crimes."_

 _Click. Click. Click._ Suddenly, the loud shifting of a rotary phone caught Sendai's attention in the otherwise quiet and slow room.

There was someone new to their right, along a somewhat messy wall.

Along said wall was the rotary phone in question, but also a bench with cushions, and a thick- oddly plastic- tub of water lying on the floor. Some crates were just strewn about here in the walking area's midst, cluttering the floor.

Some of the crates were stacked onto the bench. A cyan-white maiden leaned onto them, gingerly holding the phone to the side of her head.

' _That's...'_ Sendai recognized her appearance and face, but… _'Damn. Who is this?'_

She was the cyan-white maiden with a penchant for trivia and knowing too much. She tiredly stared at the wall next to Sendai and Reimu, looking vacant as she waited for the receiver to pick up.

' _I haven't seen this face in some time. She was that one maiden who gave us information on Dieter's circus. She… must have come in behind us, because she sure as hell wasn't there before. That, or she was hiding behind those boxes.'_

"Hey…" The cyan-white maiden's voice was unsteady, as she held onto the phone with both hands. "Yeah. I think the stars're gonna be out tonight…"

' _It's… overcast.'_

Reimu gave the oddly smoothly-haired girl a weird look, before looking at Sendai again. "Well. What now? We just gonna run around?"

Sendai leaned towards her, and hushed her. "Shh."

"...Whaddaya mean, _'shh'._ " Reimu felt like sassing her.

"Yeah." The cyan-white girl ignored them, despite their presence. "Somebody wants me dead."

Reimu's shrine maiden senses began to tingle. "Who's that? Who wants you dead?"

"Yeah. The stars won't lie." The girl looked down at herself. "I think I need… a _private-eye."_

' _I do remember that she was really weird.'_

Sendai progressed up to her. _'...If someone's replying to her, they're being really quiet.'_ Not even a ghost of noise came from the receiver.

Then, the cyan-white girl had it held up long enough for Sendai to hear it. It was a dead tone, meaning no one had picked up to begin with.

' _Yep. Weird.'_

"Hey." Sendai tried to get her attention. "...What's your name, again?"

The cyan-white girl met Sendai's gaze. Her black hair was as Sendai remembered; round and bobby, with a crescent-esque cut across her bangs.

She held her mouth open, but didn't want to make noise.

Reimu stomped closer. "You're suspicious."

...The girl smiled, and pointed at Reimu. _"You're_ suspicious."

Reimu looked at Sendai. "Do you know this weirdo?"

The girl looked at Sendai. "Do you know this weirdo?" She had a glad smile, instead of Reimu's somewhat vexed gaze.

Reimu immediately met her stare again. "Alright. Is this how we're gonna do this…?"

"Alright." The cyan-white girl tilted her head back. "Is this how we're gonna-"

 _Fwap._ Reimu tossed a seal into her mouth. "Mm- auh- nn?" The girl accidentally chewed on it some, before pulling it out. "Aah…"

Then, she shied back. "Nn- no…"

"I hate riddles." Reimu declared. "Stop being annoying or I'm gonna rough you up."

' _...You know, that makes you sound antagonistic, Reimu.'_

"I- I hate riddles." The girl found her voice again. Blushing, she confronted Reimu. "Stop being annoying, or I'm gonna-"

 _BAM!_ Sendai stomped the floor before her hard enough to jostle the nearby plastic water tub. She also lashed her limbs out superficially. _"Boo!"_

" _Ee-"_ The girl almost jumped, before she froze in seeming horror. "Oo- oh… oh, _gods."_

Then, she looked around with wide eyes. "I'm going to die…"

She crouched before Reimu and Sendai, holding onto the top of her own head.

...Reimu now just looked worried. "We're not _that_ bad. I think."

"Nn- not you." The cyan-white girl clarified. "I'm-"

 _BAM!_ Suddenly, there was a gunshot. Sendai jumped from the volume. _'What- the fuck!?'_

The bullet hole struck a segment of plastered wall aside the cyan-white maiden's head, cracking it. "Aa-" She froze, and shut her eyes.

Reimu blinked. "Ca- _Cautionary Barrier!"_

 _Whish!_ A long, rectangular barrier erupted before herself, Sendai, and the cyan-white maiden. Talismans lined the air along its edges, billowing and fluttering.

 _BAM- BAM- BAM!_ Whoever fired their shots managed to riddle the gold-white magic barrier with bullet holes. Damage spiderwebbed across it, breaking it into fragments that still hung rigidly in the air.

Every shot was meant for the cyan-white girl, and they came from an open window across the room.

"Hey- what the fuck!?" Guardsmen were understandably alarmed.

"What's that chick doing casting _magic!?"_

"Someone's shooting!"

"What was _that!?"_

Slowly, the dotting of yelling men incited all fifteen other present men to ramble and murmur to one another, the headquarters coming alive with activity and alarm.

Behind the counter, the elderly clerks ducked down, hiding as the men moved to find their armor and weapons.

The man watching the jail before Sendai and Reimu got up. "Alright- what the _fuck's_ the big idea?"

Reimu's gaze back at him was jaded. "A- a girl almost got-"

"What's this?" He gestured to the barrier she created. "No _fighting_ in here!"

"Some- someone _shot a gun_ at us!" Reimu yelled back at him. "Didn't you hear it!?"

"All I heard- were loud banging sounds!" As it turned out, this particular man wasn't very educated about guns. It wasn't like the village had the funds to make them at all common, especially among the lower-tier conscripts. "Even if it was- how do we know _you_ didn't incite it? Especially in front of the prisoner!"

Leaning down, Sendai scooped the stunned cyan-white girl into her arms. "Reimu. Let's go. It isn't safe here."

Reimu took pause, and blinked at her. "...Aa- alright-"

The man grabbed onto Reimu's arm. "I'm not letting you leave without-"

Reimu leaned down, anticipating something from behind herself.

 _WHAM!_ A yin yang swung down from overhead, as if it phased through the roof at harrowing speeds just to plow the guard in the upper torso.

 _Thud._ "Uuh- hnn-" The orb stopped after it struck him, and its weight helped carry him down to the floor on his back. _"Nngh…"_

Looking up, she saw her mother had already vacated the room. With that knowledge, Reimu chose to close her eyes and drift, her body phasing out from where she stood.

When the guard looked up, pushing the orb off himself, she was gone.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Across the road, Sendai ran into the alley towards Keine's house, carrying the cyan-white clad maiden in her arms.

"You okay?" Sendai spoke, looking over her.

"Aa-" She blinked unsurely, before shivering from the cold. "Nn… don't- make me talk-"

 _BAM!_ Another gunshot rang out, and Sendai felt herself flinch. _'What the fuck…'_

 _TING!_ Reimu was behind her, a barrier flashing in the air behind Sendai, defending her.

Pausing, Sendai looked over the damage the pane of light took. _'That shot was meant for my chest- but it was level with this girl's body. Did they try to shoot her through me? How is the shot so straight?'_

Down the alley, there was no one to take the shot.

...Amidst the cold overcast's quiet, Reimu hollered. _"Show yourself!"_

' _I don't think that's going to work.'_

Swallowing, the girl in Sendai's arms yelled too. _"Show yourself!"_

Sendai looked around idly, expected to see Reimu's annoyed stare in response to the mimicry.

While she _did_ see that, she also saw what was perhaps their pursuer.

On the roof past Reimu, the hint of a cyan ribbon and black hair was visible, a girl looking very much like the one she held in her arms darting past the roof's edge.

' _You know, sometimes I'm surprised by just how quickly everything goes wrong. This is some next level shit.'_

' _Like, you have common retarded criminals on one hand… but then you have moments like these, where it feels like the universe itself is conspiring to blow you away.'_

"Reimu." Sendai spoke up, before Reimu could pester the cyan-white maiden more. "The gunman- they're on the roof over us."

Reimu's eyes widened, and she began to float up. _'Um. Reimu-...'_

Despite this foolishly brave decision, Reimu managed to get meters above the rooftops without getting shot. She rotated around, looking for the culprit, but…

She drifted back down. "I didn't see anyone."

"I didn't see anyone." The girl in Sendai's arms mimicked her.

"Okay, what _gives."_ Reimu was getting fed up. "This is getting… I don't even know."

"I do even know." The girl in Sendai's arms mimicked a corruption of what Reimu said. "This is getting-... what gives."

...Reimu looked done. She gave Sendai a wanting look…

"Let's get to Keine's first." Sendai decided. "This should be less daunting with more of us."

"...Yeah."

Keine's house was just up the alley, barely even a hundred meters away. Sendai began to hustle, jogging with the girl in her arms…

That's when Keine seemingly stepped out from one of the deviating paths between two buildings. She stopped before her idly, meeting Sendai's gaze.

"Aah…" Sendai immediately felt strange. "Keine? Did you hear the gunshots?"

The girl in Sendai's arms tensed up, hugging Sendai tightly. _'What's with her…'_

"I- I did." Keine only now took on the alarm Sendai expected to see from the onset. "How is she? Is she alright?"

"...Yeah." Sendai replied plainly. "Do you know anything about her?"

"She keeps repeating everything I say!" Reimu propped her arms on her own hips. "...I'd be more annoyed, but we keep _almost getting shot,_ which is _really_ distracting."

' _I'm not sure whether or not to be impressed or worried by how completely relaxed Reimu is with this whole situation.'_

"Give her to me." Keine held out her arms. "I'll bring her somewhere safe."

...That weird feeling in Sendai's gut intensified. "I can carry her just fine."

"What's her name?" Reimu built on the question Sendai asked earlier…

"I insist." Keine smiled. "I know where she'll be safe."

' _...Bullshit.'_

Reimu had the same strange feeling. She flicked an arm forward-

 _Fwap!_ A talisman met between Keine's eyes.

 _ZAP- ZAP!_ It shot straight off her, but when it was rejected, the form of Keine was dispelled. A cyan-white clothed maiden, identical to the one in Sendai's arms, skidded back on her sandals. "Nngh- rgh…"

She had one hand on her face, where the talisman struck. In her other hand, she had a shiny revolver. Quickly, she flicked it up, aiming it at Sendai-

 _BAM!_ The reflex shot she took didn't come close to hitting, instead meeting the wall aside Sendai. The recoil from the revolver shot nearly disarmed the girl who shot it. "Nngh-"

Then, Reimu appeared before her.

 _WHUNK!_ Reimu thrust the fist that held her gohei into the girl's gut knuckles-first, with such force that the girl she struck flew off her feet. _"Whgh-"_

 _Woosh!_ A gale kicked up beneath her as she flew back, tossing her around in the air.

Reimu held her head high, frowning as the girl was tossed to the floor, sprawled out before her. "Stay _down."_

" _Kgh- nngh-"_ Suddenly, the girl in Sendai's arms began to writhe and cough. "Oh- ow…"

' _What the fuck is happening.'_

...Slowly, as Reimu leered down at her, the cyan-white clothed maiden began to stand. "Nnn…"

Then, the girl threw her free arm to the side-

 _VRRR!_ She shot a laser into the wall to her right. Yin-yang-esque sigils emanated from the beam as it faded through the building's wood, leaving a big yin-yang mark on the wall.

 _VRRR!_ Then, the beam shot from the girl in Sendai's arms. _'Wh- woah!'_

Reimu leaned back, her chin grazing the edge of the cyan-white yin-yang laser that came for her. "Uu- woah-"

 _WHAM!_ The girl chucked her now empty revolver at Reimu, clunking her in the face. _"Fh- fuck- ow!"_

Then, the girl was gone, as if she just fell through the floor.

"Get the _fuck_ -... get back here!" Reimu mentally chastised herself for cursing. "Gods…" She rubbed the bridge of her nose, where the revolver met her face. "What a-... when I get my hands on _her…"_

Sendai plainly stared at Reimu as she stomped the floor, before looking back down at the girl in her arms.

' _This is going to be a handful.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

' _I learned her name was Kessho. I knew this before, but I'd forgotten it. We only met her for one evening, after all.'_

Kessho, the cyan-white clad, black-haired maiden, sat in the chair Marcus usually claimed, sinking deep into it…

They were in Keine's house, fortifying themselves- in a vague sense.

"So…" The actual Keine was here, and she looked exhausted. "You met… an _identical version_ of her, who… when they got hurt, Kessho herself _also_ got hurt. And she was trying to _shoot herself,_ in essence, whenever Kessho here spoke something that _wasn't_ what someone else said."

"...Um. Yeah." Sendai wasn't able to make the situation any easier to comprehend. "It's some fable bullshit, alright."

"That's one way of describing it…" Keine closed her eyes for a good five seconds. "I'm… not sure if we can help her, at the moment. I have so many things to worry about…"

' _Wasn't Kessho here nothing if not an informant? Actually…'_

Sendai looked over at Kessho.

"Hey, hey, Kessho-chan…" Aina was next to her now, disturbing the peace. "Does that place on east main still stock gum? You know the kind."

...Kessho shook her head.

"Damn it." Aina was slightly crestfallen. "It was the _best kind._ Now I don't know _who_ sells it…"

"Aina…" Keine spoke up. "Don't-... you know. Leave her alone, for now."

...Aina was tempted to talk back, but since Keine looked so tired, she refrained and pursed her lips instead. "Oka~y."

Sendai spoke up next. "Kessho. Do you know where Tsuruko is right now?"

Keine took pause at this line of questioning.

Kessho nodded.

' _We're in business.'_

"...Can you _write_ answers?" Sendai wondered if they could get around the 'talking incites pain' business.

Kessho shook her head.

' _The hell. It'd be too easy then, wouldn't it? Guess it's when she conveys unique information. How… inconvenient.'_

"Then, we'll just have to risk it." Sendai decided. "We have nothing to fear if we keep her safe as we get answers."

"Wait-..." Reimu wasn't quite on the same page. "How's _she_ know where this Tsuruko is? ...Who's Tsuruko?"

"The girl posing as me." Sendai explained promptly. "...However. I don't know _how_ this girl knows what she knows. Supposedly, she used to ask a lot of people a lot of questions."

' _She knew I would be alive, and who I was, pretty close to day one. I don't even know who she'd have asked to discover that information.'_

Rinnosuke looked idle, on the couch to Sendai's right.

Since he'd been quiet for awhile, Sendai was curious. "Kourin. Do you have any ideas?"

"...You said her assailant favored guns, right?" He thought over the information they currently had. "Perhaps a bullet-proof vest would be valuable."

Reimu had a drained look. "Where would we find _that._ Unless _you_ have one."

...He stroked his own chin. "Well. I've _heard_ about it. It's probably the effect of some manner of magic…"

Keine snorted. "It's… not magic. They're vests with material properties that severely lessen the impact of bullets and mitigate the damage they do."

...After considering this idea, Rinnosuke plainly nodded. "That would make sense too. I bet magic could replicate it."

"I'll just- make barriers." Reimu didn't want the headache. "...When do we start?"

"I don't think- we should just-..." Keine wanted to object. "I don't think we should put her in danger just to find out what she knows."

Sendai didn't agree. "We should probably start right now."

"You- you can't just put her in danger like this." Keine continued to object. "We'll find out another way. The guard-"

"-is useless, so we'll be doing it this way." Reimu talked over her. "Look, Keine. I feel like, with all of us here… keeping her safe from _herself_ should be easy enough. It's the only lead we _have."_

...With that, Kessho shifted in her seat.

"The clues-..." Kessho spoke quietly. "The clues, have lead us to a dead end. How dead, we'll soon see…"

 _Click._ The front door locked. Sendai flicked her head around to look it over, but no one was there.

"The sound of the door, as it locked behind us. We were trapped."

Then, Kessho smiled. "And the _Gemini…_ was anything but surprised."

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

NEW SKILLS:

Youkai Mastery (Insight) - Combining her holy and dark affinities, Sendai coats the world around herself in holy, and blinds herself. Like this, she can see through walls, and see only magical signatures.

Essence of Bicycles - Sendai slams a bicycle down onto a foe. Legendary physical damage.

Essence of Bowling - Sendai rolls a yin-yang orb or bowling ball into a foe's legs, demolishing an ankle and sending them straight onto their side.

NEW ITEMS:

Sword of Shounen - 30 uses - Rusty broadsword. Dispels magic it strikes, including one's buffs. Unwieldy and hard to use.

Secret Wallet - It's secret. Prevents 30% of Sendai's yen from being stolen when she loses to Joon Yorigami.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

burly sendai chapter

though sendai herself only does some things, the additional context involving tsuruko is fun

it's fun to show the perspective of the antagonists sometimes

it was a bit strange finding a place to cut the chapter 'cause of sequencing, but also because my sleep schedule's been fucky so my energy has been all over the place

that said i think it cuts off at a good point, might change some details in editing

it felt a little strange setting up a "oh man who framed sendai" plot but it's not really a mystery is it

s'more like an incitation or declaration of war - w -

anyway, i don't got a lot to say at the moment…

edit: after proofing and post, i remembered how neat the angry sendai part was; oni style's really given me some new perspective on how to evoke emotion out of sendai for each style, and i think i can find a way to make it feel more natural per each, too; plus integrating the emotions with skill progression will be really fun

man i gotta write more sendai, i've been kinda caught up with that freewrite on mima i started but i'm gonna make this a few chapters 'fore i go and try and finish that

as always, see you all next time!


	26. Unrest

Reimu stood with her posture all on her right leg, one arm on her right hip. "...What gives?"

Before her, Kessho stood, smiling strangely. Sendai and Reimu had found her at the guard headquarters earlier, and after a series of confusing events where Kessho herself was almost killed by a look-alike of herself, she revealed she knew something about Tsuruko's whereabouts.

' _When she talks, her doppelganger shows up to try and murder her. Only when she talks. Yet, it doesn't happen if she parrots something Reimu says. She seems to have been on the run, until we found her. All we've got to do is defend her… from herself, probably.'_

It was later in the day, well past noon, but not quite evening yet. _'Almost time for sunset.'_

"Isn't this similar to a riddle, of sorts?" Rinnosuke suddenly spoke up, now seated on the rightmost couch.

...At the central couch, colored warmly by the gentle lamps of Keine's home, Sendai blinked. She was stirred from her thinking. "Hmm?"

"If she can only parrot what Reimu specifically says, then all we must do is make Reimu start making assumptions, or speaking sentences with words she may use."

Thinking only briefly on that, Sendai gave a few nods. "That's… an _interesting idea,_ but…"

Reimu seemed against it. "That's gonna take _forever._ And- I'm sure we can handle just one loser with a gun." ...She gave Kessho a half-smile. "Um, no offense."

"No offense." Kessho echoed her words, still smiling in contrast to her prior fear. "...Also, it's fine. You don't need to do that."

Kessho met Sendai's gaze. "I'll just shoot it. Before it _shoots me."_

...Brows furrowing, Sendai snorted. "Wouldn't that kill you?"

Kessho didn't say anything.

"Before then- I'll try and tell you st- stuff." Kessho's smile widened. "But-"

 _BANG!_ _BANG!_ Sendai only barely expected it; the crack of gunfire when she knew everyone else would least expect it. _'Aah-'_

Kessho had drawn a gun- a revolver of her own. She'd shot at the clone of herself who'd appeared across the room- and the clone had shot back at her.

They'd both missed one another with their adrenal, reflexive shots- but Sendai was left searingly tense. _'Oh, fuck. How'd that clone get in here-'_

"This is the end, for me." Kessho closed her eyes, both of her speaking at once. "But if there's not a happy ending for either of us-"

"I'll take the _rat out myself."_

"Wh-..." Keine's eyes were wide, as she looked around. _"Don't!"_

 _cli- click._ They both pulled the hammer back on their revolvers-

" _Cautionary Barrier!"_ Reimu threw up another barrier, jumping in the way of the original Kessho-

' _Her back's to the other one!'_ Sendai moved to defend her daughter-

 _BANG- BANG!_ Both Kesshos shot their revolvers.

 _TING!_ Reimu's barrier stopped one bullet outright. She blinked, eyes wide, surprised Kessho went ahead and shot at her anyway-

 _THUNK! "Uhf- khk-..."_ Sendai staggered back, then fell to her knees. She was shot dead-on in the gut.

"Aa- mom!" Reimu looked down at her, and saw the blood along the floor. "You _morons!_ Look what _you did!"_ Looking down- somewhat behind herself- Reimu saw her barrier maintain a new bullet hole, and her mother's blood along her own leg. "Uu- ah..."

"Tsukiko!" Keine moved to Sendai's side, kneeling down next to her. "Aa- are you okay!?"

"What the _fuck!?"_ Aina crouched, holding her head. "Stop _shooting guns!"_

Rinnosuke stood from the couch, and yelled at the Kessho nearest him. _"Hey!"_

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

26

Unrest

' _Fuck getting shot. Fuck guns. Fuck…'_

Feeling the tinge of anger in the back of her throat, Tsukiko glared up at Kessho, and began to stand.

"Get out of my way." Kessho frowned down at her, despite Rinnosuke looming right next to her. "Let me kill myself."

"What-" Sendai's glare strengthened, "-the _hell_ do you think you're doing…?"

 _Click- click!_ Both Kesshos drew the hammers back on their revolvers again.

' _If these idiots kill each other here- Keine's done for, for sure.'_

" _Answer me!"_ Sendai began to lurch forward, past Keine and towards the clone Kessho.

Reimu moved her barrier, trying to block the oncoming shot from the original Kessho. She was somewhat rattled by her mother's volume- and the volume of the guns.

"Nn- no one likes- the way that idiot blabs!" The doppelganger Kessho answered quickly, her frustration shook from her by Sendai's volume. "I'm-..."

"And if no one likes how I live," the original Kessho began, "I'll end it _myself!_ Re- redemption-..."

 _BANG!_ Weaving past Reimu's barrier, Kessho fired at her other self-

 _BAM!_ Sliding to the left, the other Kessho stood and fired at her original self.

They'd both missed- Rinnosuke ducking to not get caught in the crossfire. Keine's mouth was ajar, as bullet holes filled her walls. "You-..."

" _Redemption!"_ Both versions of Kessho yelled. _"In death!"_

' _If this stupid kid kills herself here- it's getting pinned on Keine.'_

' _Her idolized school will be over- and I'm sure some of that's what this Tsuruko bitch wants at this point. Without education, this village creeps ever closer to the void, and so do all the families with it...'_

' _All because this little brat wanted to sink into nothing- and she'll stupidly drag everyone else down with her.'_

' _I couldn't care what she wanted to do to herself. But, to pull this shit, right here, born from her own problems?'_

Sendai thought of the families Keine spoke of- the children, and her career.

" _Hmph!"_ She tensed her whole body, bleeding wound flaring with amber light.

 _CRACK!_ She stomped Keine's floor so hard, the wood boards beneath herself gave some beneath her weight.

-+- _Vs. Kessho Itonokogiri, Artificial Hakurei Project, Reconnaissance Division Leader_ -+-

With a golden shell of light bent around her form, Sendai glowered down at the doppelganger Kessho.

"Uu-..." Kessho stumbled back, aiming her gun at Sendai. "Just- _let me do it!_ I-... I'll shoot you too! Aa- again!"

"What the _fuck're_ you trying to _do!?"_ Sendai powered closer-

 _Bam!_ Her knee bumped the couch behind Rinnosuke, and it slid a meter, drawing her attention.

 _Click!_ Kessho drew the hammer on her revolver-

 _VRRR! "Haa- ah!"_ The original Kessho shot a cyan-white, yin-yang laser into Reimu's cautionary barrier.

Reimu watched it meet her barrier, then seemingly vanish. "Hm…?" On instinct, she looked back.

 _VRRR!_ The beam suddenly shot out of the other Kessho-

 _SHIFF- SPLACK!_ It pierced Sendai's stomach. This beam wasn't danmaku, leaving a hole straight through her. _"Hhk- aa-"_

 _BAM!_ The other Kessho shot Sendai in the stomach in that moment, and blood shot from her mouth.

"Gods…!" Keine grabbed Sendai's side, as she staggered back. _"Kessho!_ What-... what have you _done!?"_

 _CRACK!_ Breaking through her own barrier, Reimu came up to the original Kessho.

 _WHAM!_ Her sandal met Kessho in the face, sending her straight onto her back.

 _whump!_ Promptly, the doppelganger stumbled back, staggered, as if a similar kick met her own face. "Nh- ah-...!"

' _And-... for sure-... I- I'm not getting fucked over here…!'_

Standing again, despite the holes in her, the explosive yellow shell around her body glowed even brighter. She was numb to the pain of the bullets and the beam, but still felt the damage done, her body shifting and shuddering to keep moving.

 _PAP- PAP._ She grabbed one of Keine's couches, by the short end.

 _Click!_ The other Kessho drew the hammer back on her revolver.

' _I won't let you ruin Keine's life- or Reimu's either!'_

" _HORAA~H!"_ Her mind flushing with adrenaline- Sendai snapped the entire couch forward.

 _WHABAM!_ Kessho was launched, clotheslined by the whole couch.

Spinning around on her heels- Sendai's teeth grinded with seismic ferocity.

 _WHABOOM!_ Sendai accidentally struck the other couch with this one-

 _THUNK- BAM- BAM!_ Keine was struck by the two couches together, sent flying. _"Wha- huaa~!"_

 _THUNK- THUMP!_ Aina was sent bowling into a roll after she was clipped by the couch Sendai was hurling around. _"Uu-_ shit!"

 _BAM- BAM!_ Rinnosuke dove to the floor like a rock, rammed by the couch, choosing to fall over so he wouldn't stop Sendai's momentum. _"Uhf- nn-"_

 _WOOSH!_ With that, Sendai let go, unleashing the couch in the air after spinning three-sixty.

"Whu- _oh, no-"_ Having just recovered from the first hit, Kessho pointed her gun at the couch, as it soared at her, small side first.

 _BOOM- THOOM!_ The couch had come at her like a javelin, and crushed her straight into the wall behind herself.

 _Bam!_ After Kessho had been squished into the wall, the couch bounced against the floor on landing, all of its cushions already gone from Sendai's aggressive toss earlier.

 _BAM!_ Then, Sendai smacked the couch away. Mechanically, rigidly, she marched towards Kessho, who stood stunned against the wall.

When Sendai approached-

 _BANG!_ Beaming, Kessho shot her in the stomach again. "Maybe-..." She smiled wider. "Maybe-..."

"Ghk-" Blood shot from Sendai's mouth, but she didn't stagger. She didn't flinch- not because she didn't jump, but because her body was so rigid, she couldn't.

Kesshi leered. "if I somehow kill _you-_ Tsu-chan will forgive me- and I won't have to kill myself. I won't be so stupid- after all..."

Sendai's glare tightened, as she leered down at Kessho in turn.

Kessho blinked, having expected _any_ reaction other than complete stillness. She began to raise her gun, hands shaky-

Sendai grabbed Kessho by both sides of her head.

The original Kessho stood, gun aimed at Sendai. "Don't stop her- I mean me-"

 _WHACK!_ Reimu clubbed her with her gohei.

 _BANG!_ Kessho took a shot, and as she couldn't aim like this, it missed anything of value.

The Kessho that Sendai held onto twitched, feeling the strike of Reimu's gohei.

' _Enough-... of this stupid bullshit!'_

Sendai reeled her head back.

 _WHACRUNCH!_ She headbutt Kessho in the nose. The blow was fierce enough to create a red shockwave of blood in the air, all splaying out from Kessho's nose, some coating Sendai's face.

 _thud._ Kessho dropped to her knees when Sendai let her go. _"Kh- aa- kaugh- kauff…"_

' _I'll make you wish you'd killed yourself earlier…!'_

As Kessho lamented her bloody nose, and her screwed-up vision, she looked up to see Sendai looming down.

A sandal slowly pressed against Kessho's face. Her eyes widened, as she saw Sendai hold up both arms, fully extending them for leverage, appearing as a golden dreadnaught before her.

" _Fuck-"_ Sendai roared, _"YOU!"_

 _CRACK- CRUNCH!_ Sendai thrust her left leg forward, bending Kessho back. Since Kessho was against the wall, Sendai's leg pushed Kessho's upper body back _into_ the wall.

 _KABOOM!_ When Kessho was fully crushed against the floor, under Sendai's heel, she was left as a mangled mess. Half-embedded in the broken wall, face bloody, a sea of orange aura flushing out around Sendai's body and heel, as well as her own core.

 _cr- crunch- crack._ The Kessho before Reimu seemingly crumpled into a pretzel. _"Ee- aa- uh- aa-"_

Reimu twitched, suppressing a few incredulous chuckles deep in her throat. "Uu- um…"

...With that, Sendai stumbled back, head airy. "...Da- damn-... damn it-"

Before she fell, Rinnosuke caught her, drawing a potion from her pockets.

' _...You know. Not really much has changed, has it.'_

 _Sendai learned Wounded Mastery!_

 _Sendai learned Essence of Extreme Oni._

...Both versions of Kessho sat tied up together in the room's midst, atop the coffee table.

Sendai's shell-like, black-yellow kimono had been temporarily removed, as Keine wanted to examine her wounds as they healed.

"Most of them went all the way through, it would seem…" Keine confirmed. "Those were pretty powerful guns."

"Most, huh." Sendai cast her gaze up.

...Keine nodded. "You're definitely going to need to see a doctor, when this is all done."

' _Not like I ever really visited doctors before… but I probably should've more often.'_

"You-..." Kessho gave Sendai a drained look. "You hit like-... I- I don't even know. I've never been in more pain."

' _...There's something incredibly off by how plainly she put that.'_

"And you're gonna be in more if you don't tell me what the _fuck_ that was all about." Sendai stood, stepping closer to them. "Why are there _two_ of you, where's _Tsuruko,_ and _where'd_ you get those guns?"

"...Um." Kessho stared up at Sendai. "Maybe I-... should start, from the beginning."

' _When I think about it, I could have taken on that encounter more strategically. Jury's out on how efficient that have been, however.'_

Some seconds of staring her down, resisting the urge to recede just into her own thoughts, Sendai sighed. "Maybe you should."

' _When'd I become the town nanny…'_

Reimu was seated next to Sendai, arms folded, glaring fiercely. She'd become fiercely protective of her mother, it would seem, and this whole event left her more than a little shaken.

' _I wonder if she's trying to compensate for almost murdering me earlier. ...She really doesn't have to, but I won't say anything. Not anytime soon, at this rate. I could never hold anything against her.'_

' _She's the person I'm the actual mother of! These random fuckoff maidens might need actual parents that care about them- but that mother isn't me...!'_

After some silence, and expectant stares, Kessho spoke up. "...Tsu- Tsuruko-... _Tsu-chan,_ she got mad at me earlier."

"She was angry that I talked to you, Tsukiko. I thought she was gonna beat me up, like she does a lot. Instead, she put her hand on my head, and before I knew it… there was another me."

Both Kesshos seemed to stare down, crestfallen, but only the real one spoke. "She said she'd show me my power. What my faith would be capable of, or something. My laser became stronger, and-... I felt more _capable._ I kinda felt like _someone._ But…"

The other Kessho spoke. "You can't take back the damage you've caused."

Kessho shut her eyes. "...I- I asked Tsuruko how… how I'd put everything I've done behind me."

"So, she told us." The other Kessho smiled. "This is who we are. Maidens who bring sadness through our words."

Keine looked depressed, as she sat in the big chair in the back of the room.

Rinnosuke didn't say anything, giving her a solid stare.

"You needed to be shown that?" Reimu wasn't merciful. "...Actually, she was wrong. You bring sadness with guns."

Sendai shook her head. _'These maidens are draining, sometimes.'_

Still, she pushed on. "So you decided to kill yourself."

"No~." The other Kessho spoke. _"I_ decided to kill _her._ The fucking rat deserves it."

"But-..." Kessho sighed. "I- I don't want to die. Not _yet…_ I- I don't know why, but- _"_

"Look what you've brought to these people." The other Kessho argued. "If you'd just let me shoot you earlier- no one would be mad."

"Nn- not if I shoot you _first."_ Kessho threatened herself. "I'll kill you."

"Not like you can do it, now. You've really fucked it all up."

"St- stop. Stop being mean."

"Not until you stop being a _rat._ Rat bastard."

"I- I didn't mean to-"

"No one means to screw everything up. They still do. That's how it always works. You can't clean your hands. All you can do is _die."_

"Why do you hate me so much…?"

"Because you _deserve it._ You deserve to be hated. Tsukiko should have killed you. Tsuruko should have killed you. You should have _killed yourself."_

Sendai stood up, feeling at her chest bindings, making sure they were on right. _'I wear bindings with the big black kimono, rather than my leotard. After all, it's not like the leotard's rubber helps with stupidly swinging my arms around like a gorilla.'_

"Kill her." Other-Kessho beamed up at Sendai. "Or, at least- you gotta agree. She fucked everything up."

"...Just hit me." Kessho resigned herself. "Do-... whatever you want. I give up…"

Sendai fed darkness and shade over her eyes, to blind herself.

That's when she saw it, as she anticipated. The twin figures of Kessho and her doppelganger were visible, but the one made of magic shone brighter.

' _The other Kessho is made of holy stuff. She's a magic clone. And, at that, perhaps an extension of Kessho's personality herself. I don't know how that crap works, but I've got a good hunch that's what I'm looking at here.'_

With that idea in her mind, Sendai reached out.

She planted her palm onto both heads, gripping both Kessho's skulls tightly.

Gold holy feeding into her arms, off of her frustration and annoyance, Sendai grit her teeth and seethed. "You oughta get-..."

She leaned both their heads forward, opposite of eachother.

"-your fucking _shit_ together!"

 _Clunk!_ Then, she rammed both heads together.

 _FZZT- CRACK- FZT- FZT!_ As she firmly pushed both skulls into one another, the other Kessho's form became featureless, neon-cyan. _"Nngh- haegh- ngh! Wha- what're- stop! Stop!"_

From what Kessho had said, Tsuruko had somehow invoked Kessho's potential to divide into two earlier, by placing a palm onto Kessho's forehead.

Tsukiko was about to undo that by smashing them back together with force; a palm to both their heads. _'Fuck this split personality shit. Everyone else handles all their problems in one body. As nice as it would be to argue it out with yourself- it doesn't help if the other self's just going to be a dick instead…!'_

" _Don't- put me back!"_ The other Kessho flailed her limbs, no longer tightly bound since the two were now phasing into one another. _"Fuck you! Coward! Weakling! Let go of me! Let- go- of-"_

 _FWAZAZAP- FWAASH!_ Kessho became neon cyan-white for an instant.

The rope fell down onto her lap, the binding meant for two people instead of one.

...Blinking, she felt at her features. "Um…" Then, she slouched. "I-... I feel… weird, again. I fe- feel... nu- numb... again."

"That's too bad." Sendai smiled. "For a detective or whatever, you suck at getting a clue. Maybe before you wander around the village being weird again, you ought to go do something _you_ want to do, or something. Buy ice cream. Eat at a fancy restaurant. Play board games with random kids your age. Something that isn't being a one-way telegram."

"But-" Kessho spoke out. "I- I'm too weird- for that."

"Then who needs 'em, you can still go eat or, whatever." Sendai wouldn't let her remain complacently displeased. "Honest to gods, do _something._ What do you like to do?"

"...Um." Kessho wasn't sure what to say. "...Lis- listening to what people say, is kind of nice?"

"Read books." Sendai recommended. "Seriously. Doesn't have to be magic or academic, either. Read novels. There's a shop for them."

"There's also really welcoming people… _outside_ the village." Reimu brought something else up… "So, if you ever get lonely… I mean, you can stop by my shrine. Hell-... er, _heck knows_ some people need an ear. Pretty sure most people would consider their stories kinda exciting, or something."

...Sendai smiled at her daughter. "You probably could have gone with 'hell knows'. I don't consider 'hell' an exactly bad swear…"

"I- I'm supposed to be a shrine maiden." Reimu grinned back awkwardly. "I can't have a sailor mouth."

"Who the fuck cares?" Sendai made sure to swear unnecessarily for effect. "I can fucking swear and shit as I damn well please."

Keine interjected. "Please don't shit here, Tsukiko. Your daughter would be mortified."

"Pfh- whah…" Reimu was thrown off by Keine's sudden attempt at humor. "Wh- what…?"

Sendai chuckled. _'Damn it, Keine.'_

Kessho looked plain still, as she observed everyone make light of the moment.

Returning her focus to the smaller girl, Sendai continued. "Anyway. If you're done feeling sorry for yourself… it'd be nice if _we_ could get some information. Might make Tsuruko sad, but-... this might sound unconvincing, but we're _the good guys."_

Slowly, Keine palmed her own face. "I think you're overworked, Tsukiko."

Sendai snorted. _'Well, of course I am. I'm practically doing everything here.'_

"Tsu- Tsuruko said _she_ was the good guys-... um, _good guy."_ Kessho had a small expression. "Hoh- how do I know you aren't lying?"

Sendai wanted to threaten her with force, before leaning back. _'Nah. Not gonna work… and, I shouldn't be so violent.'_

Keine knew exactly what to say, however. "I'll get you some books." She was deliberate and gentle with her wording, for some reason.

...Apparently, that was all the incentive Kessho needed. "Um. Okay. I guess I'll tell you…"

' _Wha- really. That easy? Might just be because Keine taught her…'_

"Tsuruko's hanging out on the top floor of the Golden Grin." Kessho revealed. "I-... I don't know what she's planning- but she's got a lot of really weird and interesting stuff. She wouldn't even tell me about them, which was… kind of scary, but impressive. Not even after I asked a whole bunch. No one else knew, either."

"...Guns?" Sendai wondered.

Kessho shook her head. "Nothing of any outside design. I don't… _think_ they were guns."

' _That's one question answered, thankfully. Tsuruko's whereabouts, that is.'_

"Golden Grin, top floor, got it." Reimu nodded. "Let's go, mom."

"Hua- aa- hold on." Kessho stood, and moved to get near the two Hakurei maidens. "But-... like, you'll die!"

"If I had a yen-" Cutting herself off, Sendai shook her head. "We probably _won't,_ let's be honest."

"Even so…" Kessho shook her head. "You really can't go unprepared. Tsuruko's… probably expecting you. Even if she's not, she _will be_ once you start making your way up to her."

' _...I guess. I feel as though I've already prepared some. I got those ten healing items I never used for the last time we had to step foot in the Golden Grin.'_

"She's right." Keine naturally erred on the side of caution. "At least go with Mokou, or Kasen, or someone. Even when they went with you last time, it was a struggle."

Rinnosuke stood up. "If they don't turn up, I'll go with you."

Aina bounced up. "Me too! I gotta get revenge for Tatsua-chan!"

...Reimu gave her mother a dull look. "If you think they _really_ won't hold us back…"

Sendai shrugged, and made for the door. "Whatever. Actually…" Pausing, she turned back for Kessho. "Do you know anyone else Tsuruko's screwed with?"

...Kessho shook her head. "Um. Not… exactly."

' _Looks like our job is almost done, then. That, or she's spacing out details. I bet her memory isn't completely perfect.'_

"Alright." With that, Sendai began to move. "Let's go."

"Wait-... right _now?"_ Rinnosuke was taken aback. "I- shouldn't be surprised, yet-"

"Yes." Huffing off, Sendai left out the front door.

Watching Reimu drift outside after her, Keine sighed. "Geez. Those two..."

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

"...Why's this all gotta come back to Yukari's _shi-..._ stupid casino, anyway?" Reimu grumbled. "Ugh."

' _...Is that who owns that casino? What.'_

As the sun sat in the distance, rendering half the sky a fiery orange, and the other half a deep winter's navy blue, stars began to populate the night sky.

Sendai hustled down the alleys between the shingled homes, on a mission. _'Now I'm feeling it. That feeling of urgency. I-... I missed this, somehow. Unrest. Things are happening. This town is alive, in the wrong way- and I'm gonna get to the bottom of it.'_

Sendai came out of the alleys before north mainstreet; the road with Golden Grin on it.

Reimu floated down next to her mother, having flown over the rooftops. "Hey. ...Um. I don't ask many people this, but-... you're okay after that last fight, right?"

' _What? ...Awh.'_

Sendai smiled at her. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Nothing a little medicine and artificial healing won't bandage for the time being. After this, I'm probably just gonna sleep for a few days. Once all the _actually urgent shit_ is over."

' _After this, I still have to get back to work on my personal matters. Finding out-... more about how I died, how I came back to life, and all of that shit.'_

' _That can wait. I'm not gonna let this idiot ruin Keine's life, or anyone else's. Maybe shut down that damn youkai casino too. I might've hated the smug circlejerk that was this village ten years ago, but it was cozy. Now… now, it feels…'_

' _You know, it's actually sort of hard to say. I haven't been back that long, and I've mostly been pulling the weeds, so to speak. But, people sure keep to themselves more.'_

Reimu shivered. "Where the hell's Kourin…?"

' _I might be rubbing off on her with the swearing. Should-... should I watch myself? Um.'_

"Good question." Sendai could think about that later, too. "Well, he can't _fly,_ and we just kind of ran off…"

"Maybe we should wait for them." Reimu slouched, and landed before Sendai. "It's gonna be dumb if they try and follow us inside after we already trailblazed- and then they get stuck, or worse."

...As Sendai and Reimu stood there, across the street and down some ways from the Golden Grin proper, a man in an outsider cap and thick, orange-tinted glasses stumbled from a different bar behind Sendai.

 _thump._ He walked into her by accident. "Wh- aa-... shit, shorry…"

Sendai turned around, and gave a nod. "Excuse me." She was standing pretty close to the front door, she realized.

Then, he sized her up, and paused. "...Oo- ohmigod."

He came up to Sendai, and began to dance in place. "Lhemme turn you on, girl!"

Sendai blinked.

"She said she don't need dick from me; she lost her man an' she grieving!" He spun three-sixty, holding one arm out, before returning to bouncing in place with his hand on his crotch. "Then I tell her I'm a Kandy boy, welcome to my Kandy world! Come an' play with this Kandy toy, you are now a Kandy girl!"

...Reimu's jaw dropped, and Sendai gave him the plainest of stares.

-+- _Vs. Drunkards -+-_

 _Thump._ Sendai inserted him butt-first into a trash can that was near the bar. "Wh- ua- hold on!? Yo-... ah… damn."

 _Sendai found pocket lint._

"Wa- ha- wait, don't leave! Whu- what'd I do wrong?" The outsider guy asked, still stuck with his upper body and legs poking out of the trash can. "Chicks dug that poem, bro…"

Pausing under the dimming sky, Sendai plainly twisted to stare vacantly at the man.

"My husband died. I loved him." Sendai monotoned. "I'm not some cheap hoe, either. If you didn't want me to throw you out, you shouldn't have acted like trash."

"Oo-... ooh." It clicked for the man. "Ooh, damn honey- I'm sorry, honey, I'm sorry. Ca- can I make it up ta you? Dinner? Dinner maybe?"

"No thanks." Sendai's monotone was level. "Let's go, Reimu."

" _Yo!_ What the _fu~ck!"_ Another late-teens boy was heard, stumbling out of the bar nearby.

This one was less scrawny, and somewhat taller. "What'd you do to _my boy!?"_

"Yo- chill, Max!" The disposable man called out to his friend. "Don't scare her off- she's a beaut'…!"

The blonde, distinctly outsider, american teen rumbled up to Sendai with a fierce glare. "Yo- _bitch!_ The fuck you playin', _huh!?_ Youkai _cow!"_

"Geez…" Reimu was somewhat displaced by his sheer aggression. "Outsiders can be bad, but this is ridiculous…"

"And who the fuck're you!?" He didn't seem to know who Reimu even was. "...Well- you're hot- but this chick-" He pointed at Sendai. "How're you gonna make it up to me? Youkai _hag?"_

"...Is this how you solve your problems?" Sendai slouched slightly. "How often does this kind of thing end without a fight?"

He beamed. "Never. But I always _win._ I mean-..." He calmed down, slightly. "Since I came to this Japan place- I've been kinda avoiding fights- but _you's_ the whore who put Carlos in a trash can!"

Walking up to Sendai, he tried to push her.

She tilted back slightly, but didn't so much as step back. Max was staggered some, expecting less resistance.

Sendai's stare didn't change. "Maybe you should tell your friend to get better manners. He insulted my dead husband."

"Oh- he's _dead?"_ 'Max' jerked his head back. "...Maybe he shouldn't'a died then! Hahahah! I said _bow to me,_ bitch. Ain't that Japanese manners?"

"And if I don't?" Sendai held her head high.

...Max cracked his knuckles. "Then I'm takin' you in that alley back there- an' showin' you why I'm the boxin' champion back at my high school. I'll be ya new boyfriend, how about that?"

...Sendai smiled.

 _Fwish!_ "Hrah!" Red energy bloomed from her form, then flaring into prismatic, white energy.

 _-+- Vs. Outsiders -+-_

Having been jostled by her pulse of vitality, Max was a few more meters away from her. "...Hah. Fuckin' youkai. Don't care what you shoot at me. I'm 'boutta put your ass in the air."

Reimu looked somehow awed, taking in the man's attitude.

"Come hit me." Sendai beckoned him. "If you think you can."

He beamed. "Oh- _fuck yeah!"_

In a near instant, he was on Sendai.

 _Whap!_ She blocked an oncoming right hook with her forearm-

 _Whap- whap!_ He hooked twice for her gut, once with each arm, but she used the ends of her elbows to stop each strike.

 _Pap!_ He tried to slap her breasts- but his slap just ended up on her right forearm instead.

" _Hah!"_ Then, he threw a great jab for her gut-

 _Pap._ She caught the fist with a palm.

' _Now!'_ Sensing his string of attacks was done, she acted.

 _Whap!_ Shifting her whole posture, her left side faced him as she drove a mighty thrusting palm for his stomach.

But, as she was now, the hit was weak. "...Hah?" He grinned. "Wh- what was _that?_ Damn…! That's-... really cute, actually!"

' _Come on!'_ She grit her teeth, and drove the same arm back.

 _WHAWHAM!_ This time, she thrust the palm in at a downward angle, remembering her instincts on her first combo finisher.

When it struck the center of his upper chest, Max seemingly did a half-backflip where he stood. Sliding off the floor, he was thrown right onto his neck and shoulders. _"Whu-_ ughn…"

 _Thud._ Promptly, the rest of his body fell back down, leaving him on his back, staring at the sky.

This _Core Palm_ technique would apply the perfect force to turn a lesser opponent on their head, literally. While it was only good as a juke in advanced conflicts, against human opponents it was fast enough to quickly dispatch foes. It rotated them around the core of their mass, effortlessly combining Sendai's strength with dangerous precision.

' _Yes… yes, that's it. That was it. That blow-... while it couldn't hold all the power it could have, it held the amount of power I would've used to take down a human safely.'_

"Was that it?" Sendai leered down at him. "Some champion."

' _...The question now is, can I beat him with only this one technique? It's- really the only useful one I know right now. The only useful original technique I know… next to one other one, but it's a little tricky to just use so simply.'_

' _Perhaps… I should develop a new strategy.'_

 _Fwish._ Bouncing in place, Sendai threw her fists into the air boxing-style. Her white, prismatic light dimmed, becoming pink instead.

' _Each style seems to be fuelled by a particular urge or emotion. If I can control my own emotions… I can control myself.'_

As Max got back up, focusing, Sendai stood before him, her fists up defensively now.

"The- the fuck…" Wiping his face, he focused. "Lucky shot."

Sendai danced in place before him, her legs constantly shifting. Casually intrigued, he tilted his head forward, staring intently…

 _Whish!_ He barreled towards her. _"Yo!"_

 _Fwish!_ Sendai weaved her whole upper body around his right hook.

His arm billowed through her black hair as it flicked up overhead, and it seemed as though he'd managed to land his blow anywhere _except_ Sendai herself.

Noticing her blindingly fast movement, he threw an underarm jab for her gut. It had the greatest chance of hitting.

 _whish._ Ducking again, Sendai weaved aside the coming fist, letting it pass by her cheek.

 _Fwi- fwish!_ Before he could attempt to randomly slap her, Sendai slid back twice.

Noticing her distance, he smiled, letting his arms drop. "Huh-"

 _Fwish!_ Sendai slid up into his face in another moment-

 _Pap!_ Her palm met his gut. "Hru- uu-" He feigned cringing, and then-

 _Whish! "Gotcha!"_ He tried to slam his own palm into her head.

Grinning wildly, she leaned back, pink lines left in the air by her gleaming eyes as she got _just_ out of range of his arm's width.

"Fuck this!" He went to grab her flowing hair-

 _Whish!_ She practically crouched and slid to the back-left, cringing out of the way entirely, anticipating a more direct blow.

He couldn't seem to actually grip her purple-tinted, flowing locks. It was as if they intentionally curled around his hands, avoiding him. That which he did grab flowed through his fingers like water, caught in their own momentum.

 _Woosh!_ Fed up with that, he threw a kick-

 _whish!_ Pressing her hands to the floor, Sendai slid right across the front of him, under his somewhat low kick.

She was back into standing in literally the next moment. "What the fuck…" Max was weirded out.

"You can't hit shit." Sendai leered at him, taking some steps back. "How're you gonna make me submit to you- if you can't even _land one blow?"_

' _Maneuvering- is quite a bit harder in this heavier outfit… perhaps using this kimono somewhere between cloth and armor wasn't a good fit for actual execution of skills.'_

Now uncertain, without any plan, Max ran at her. Holding his arms out, he threw himself at her to grapple her. "Come- _on!"_

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Sendai skidded behind him, using three jerking motions to draw a half-circle in the stone road, skirting around him.

"The- fuck…" He sighed, turning to face her. "Stop _fuckin'_ moving and _fight me!"_

' _It was your idea to attack a woman. ...Actually, I wonder.'_ Sendai had an idea.

"Fine." Sendai stood still, arms raised. "...Come on."

Face serious, expecting something tricky from her, Max came up to her as she bounced in place…

He feigned a left punch, and jabbed his right arm for her face-

Ducking down, Sendai pressed her own right arm against his stomach, and hooked her left arm against his side.

"Predictable!" Like this, Sendai was able to weave around behind him and push him past herself at the same time.

To Max, it was like she'd just vanished. Her touch was too light to even feel.

He wasn't aware enough of his surroundings to really see what happened- having expected a brutal counterpunch, or to meet guarding arms, or _something,_ anything. "What," he looked down, where she'd touched him, but she was seemingly gone. _"The fuck."_

Stifling her grin, Sendai tensed her body, and shut her eyes.

' _This fucker wants to prove he's better than me- in front of my daughter? To think he'd dream of having his way with me…'_

 _BAM! "Hmph!"_ Sendai called frustration to her mind, and stomped the stones beneath herself.

Max turned-

Sendai grabbed him by the collar. _"Hraa~h!"_

 _WOOSH!_ With just one arm, she lifted him right off the ground. Twirling one-eighty, she lobbed him straight overhead, sending him sailing across the road.

" _Wh- gouh- geez- aaa~!"_ As he flew, he flailed-

 _BAM!_ He landed hard on his back, legs landing against the wall. _"Khu- uh…"_ The impact was so hard, he rolled away from the wall, over his neck and head, and onto his stomach. _"Nghk."_

 _Sendai obtained 8,800 Yen._

...Now standing next to 'Carlos', who still rested half-embedded in that one trash can, Max bowed. "I'm-... um, I'm sorry…?"

"Cheapo." Sendai didn't appreciate the small sum. "Well, whatever. Let's go, Reimu."

As she browsed off, and Reimu followed, the men idly bantered. "Chick's a fuckin' monster…"

"Max- man, I told you, bro. Chill next time…"

' _When I play with the wind and dodge around- fights end up going on longer than they probably should. Provided, I wasn't really being aggressive. When I go all-in on force, it's really easy to chew through people who rely on similar strategies. ...It's almost not fair, because I'm sort of just, stronger than most people.'_

"What a whacky fight." Reimu shook her head… "I- I'm not sure if I preferred how you used to fight stuff, or whatever this new self-taught thing you've got going on is."

"...It was somewhat strange, I suppose." Sendai agreed. "If there was any time to experiment, it'd be against random idiots who feel like picking fights."

' _As for how I used to fight…'_

' _I didn't fully teach myself everything I knew through observation. Yes- just observing what was around me really wasn't good enough. I had strength, but I didn't have technique.'_

' _It was discipline that had to be learned. It was so long ago, however. Even before I died, my memories of when I'd just learned how to fight skillfully were somewhat vague. Decades tend to blur the lines...'_

' _They were skills from texts I'd read. Old scrolls, probably passed down at some point by the Hakurei who used to be. By the time I'd found them, they were abandoned treasures, mixed in with worthless antiques, heirlooms, and gold offerings, stored in the underground ruins. I think they were Hakurei techniques, but I accepted other skills which flowed well too.'_

She supposed this realization came with that bout she had with herself earlier, as it'd awoken her ability to do at least one of her former techniques cognitively. _'With that technique… I remembered where I'd found it.'_

It was a cold evening, alone in the Hakurei Shrine. During the time she worked with Marcus on jobs, but hadn't met Keisuke yet. That was when she read the first scroll- of _Core Palm-_ centric martial arts, which specifically referenced a Hakurei's superior body and aptitude for physicality.

' _What about those other scrolls? Damn… I have only a rough idea of where they would even be now.'_

"Hey, Reimu." Sendai was curious… "When you were exploring the abandoned shrine beneath the hill, did you ever find any scrolls?"

Reimu paused, as they idled only a couple hundred meters up the road from the previous fight. "Oh? Uuh. Why…?"

"Just curious." Sendai wouldn't say too much yet… "They used to belong to me."

"...Oh." Reimu smiled. "I, um, might have… sold them."

...Sendai blinked. Then, she nodded. "I see. Any idea who?"

Reimu had expected a more anime reaction, but her mother's casualness about the situation was refreshing. In regards to her question, "uh. Lots of people?" Reimu couldn't really say for sure. "Kourin. The mansion. _Marisa,_ probably. I had a yard sale of junk on some day, and I actually made an okay amount of money."

' _It'd be too easy, were it just some loser in the village who had them. Oh well. I'm sure things will come back to me eventually.'_

' _On that note, perhaps I should consider studying some kind of actual martial art again. But… I remember nothing truly holding a candle to my youkai-busting techniques. Most martial arts are made by humans, for humans, to fight humans. Though they exercise skill over strength… youkai are beyond strength.'_

' _Thereby, I had to be beyond strength. Beyond what is beyond strength.'_

"Aah-... haa~h..."

That's when Rinnosuke hobbled onto the scene, panting. "There-... there you- are…"

Sendai took pause, and eyed him plainly. "What held you up?"

"I-..." Racing to a stop, he slouched, placing his hands on his thighs as he caught his breath. "I- thought you'd- gone some other direction-... and- I wasted a lot of time…"

 _whish!_ Aina jogged up to them, her ponytail bouncing behind her. _"Woo!_ Man…!" Seeing Sendai, she beamed. "Oh, shit, we found her!"

"...It feels strange, seeing a skimpy human girl in better shape than a half-youkai." Sendai criticized Rinnosuke's lack of endurance. "You should do morning runs, Kourin."

"I- I'll see about that…" He didn't plan on it. "I'm- only _half-_ youkai, you know…"

Aina propped an arm onto Rinnosuke, leaning on him as he recouped. "Kourin's sturdy, but he's really slow."

One of his brows twitched. "I'd prefer-... if you didn't phrase it like that."

...Turning, Sendai cast her gaze up along the Golden Grin.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

It was an ironically slow day at the Golden Grin. As Sendai had Aina lead them inside, the place seemed both short of hosts, hostesses, and clients.

' _Let it also be said, that it seems as though the same clients return here again and again. As if it's the only thing in the world they have to do. Don't they have jobs? Or, are these the aristocrats with money to spare?'_

' _...Knowing the village's rich assholes, probably the latter.'_

Today was strictly the regulars, it would seem. Old men who Sendai recognized previously on her last few visits. Seldom did these people deviate. They always sat in the same places, wore the same suits, and seemed to ask for the same hostesses. Or hosts, were they aged women.

"Is- is Nan-chan okay? She didn't get hurt the other day, did she…?"

"Where's my Bun-chan?"

"Kugo-kun… I heard he was in a fight… again."

' _Again? What a little shit.'_

"Ooh!" As they passed the bar, making their way to the back of the dim, oddly quiet club, an older man in a beige yukata called out to them. "Lady Aina! Are you okay!?"

"Um?" Aina wasn't sure what he was talking about. "Sure am, dude! Never better!"

' _Their concern would be touching if this place didn't have the implication of being a brothel of sorts over it. A prison for those too weak to resist it, at that.'_

She thought of Tatsuako, who was forced into this situation. Keiko, who was forced into Heaven Springs after being collected off the streets by the Artificial Hakurei Project. Tadiyuki, who could have been forced into this pit too, but instead chose a life of murder and violence.

As they walked towards the staff door along the stage's side, Aina stuck her tongue out, in a dangerously snug attempt to express disgust. "Old dudes… y'either love 'em or hate 'em. I can't get into old dudes myself, though. Nice, rich, but always really creepy. Kinda ugly lotta times, too."

"...I feel dirty just being here." Rinnosuke seemed crestfallen, being here again. "Did I say that before? If I did, I really meant it. I _really feel_ dirty just being here."

"That's how we all feel." Sendai declared. "We just don't say it out loud."

Reimu snorted. "Jeez. You guys sure know how to look overwhelmingly serious."

"...I don't think you understand the gravity of what _could have_ happened here, the other day." Sendai shook her head. "Though… it probably _is_ best not to think too hard on it."

"I'm too used to going exploring with Marisa." Reimu justified her own attitude. "It's hard to find anything _she'd_ take seriously."

' _Fair enough.'_

 _Clack._ Aina pushed the staff door open, looking like she wanted to add something, but didn't.

The bleak, white lighting in these back rooms was a stark contrast to the dim colors of the club.

"The place feels… kinda weirdly empty today." Aina admitted. "Fer some reason, it's real hard to shake."

"We _did_ just send half the staff to the hospital." Sendai added. "I'd be surprised if business didn't take a hit after that stunt."

' _Are the village's hospitals even big enough for-... oh, right. Eientei. Whatever that's supposed to be.'_

 _thump, thump, thump!_ That's when a girl ran down the halls, towards them. Sendai took pause, noticing the bunny girl outfit she wore, and her bright orange hair. _'Wait- that's an actual bunny girl. The youkai, that is.'_

Aina blinked. "Oh! Hey, Tamaki!"

"You _can't be here!"_ The well-endowed bunny girl pointed at Sendai.

Sendai blinked. "...And- why not?"

"I'm gonna stick a carrot up your ass!"

' _Wh- woah, okay…'_

-+- _Vs. Bunny Dancer -+-_

 _Fwi- fwish!_ In two near instant motions, the orange-haired girl named Tamaki was in Sendai's face.

 _WHA- WHAP!_ Tamaki jabbed Sendai's gut twice before she could even think of engaging, the knuckles pressing into her stomach. _"Uhu-"_

 _WHAM!_ Then, she hooked Sendai across the chin.

" _Woah!"_ Eyes wide, Aina came up to her. "Easy-"

 _WHABAM!_ Spinning around, Tamaki hooked Aina across the cheek so hard she was sent sprawling away. _"Gfhu- aa-...!"_

"Um-" Rinnosuke drew his gun. _"Easy!_ Settle down!"

' _Fuck- she's fast…!'_ Feeling at her chin, staggering back, Sendai glared intently at Tamaki's impossibly agile movements. It was like someone took a recording of a normal human and sped it up by two.

Menacingly, Reimu floated into the air. "Hey- _idiot!_ You can't just-"

Tamaki ran up to Reimu, and grabbed onto one of her legs.

 _Woosh!_ With a pull, Tamaki began to spin on her heels, whipping Reimu through the air. _"Whuah- hey! Hey-"_

 _Woosh!_ She let go of Reimu at just the right moment, so that Reimu would fly right into a water cooler. Reimu flipped around, righting herself in the air-

 _BAM- SPLAASH!_ Unable to stop herself in time, Reimu flew ass-first into the water cooler. It exploded around her, ejected from its stand. _"Gh- whuah…!"_

 _woo- woosh._ Wind caressing Sendai's form, she came up to Tamaki. "Hey- hey! Wanna play? Play with me!"

 _WHAM!_ Snapping up to Sendai in one moment, Tamaki punched her in the chest so hard she cringed back entirely-

 _whish!_ Weaving down from the blow's momentum, Sendai skidded to the right-

 _whi- whish! whish- whish- whish- whish!_ They began to trade quick slaps, jabs and hooks, neither actually able to hit the other.

 _Woosh!_ Sendai leaned out of a hook-

 _Whish!_ Practically crouching to the point her chin would meet the floor, Tamaki avoided an overhead jab from Sendai-

 _WHOOSH!_ Sendai sidestepped a mighty, amber-tinted uppercut launched from foot level straight up into the air. _'What the hell is she- a cartoon character…?'_

 _Whap- pap- papap!_ Two successful jabs to Tamaki's gut and two hooks to her face later, she was left blinking, more surprised than injured.

 _WHOOM!_ She tried to thrust both fists into Sendai's ribs at the same time- but Sendai slid along her side, the fists just grazing her shell-like kimono.

"Hnn~...!" Standing back, Tamaki's form began to flare with an orange aura. "Get _lo~st!"_

Sendai recognized the posture. _'Reisen used a similar attack before…'_ It was slower, but the motions were familiar.

 _KAWOOSH!_ Tamaki unleashed a mighty crescent-shaped kick into the air, orange trailing her heel.

Its momentum was so great, she spun three-sixty back into a neutral posture after whipping it out. The whole attack lasted only a second, and if one had looked away, they'd have missed it entirely.

' _...I see.'_ Sendai could appreciate the ferocity of the technique. _'She kind of left herself open there-... not that it mattered, because I chose to stand awed instead of take advantage. But, such a heavy blow…'_

 _Whi- whish!_ An angry, soggy Reimu tossed two talismans from the sidelines.

 _fwish- fwish- fwish!_ Tamaki dodged a C-shape around Sendai in three motions-

 _fwish- fwish- fwish!_ Sendai did the same thing. _'I'm as agile as you if I want to be!'_

"And-" Tamaki prepared to do another mighty kick. Staggering back, she planted her left leg firmly behind herself, tensed her whole body, and channeled all her strength into this one motion. _"Stay ou~t!"_

 _KAWOOSH!_ The almighty, orange crescent kick flared like an air-ripping rocket towards Sendai's face.

 _woosh!_ Weaving down, Sendai's hair billowed, brilliant pink trailing it, flailing around after the airy-orange-tinted kick grazed the top of her head.

When Tamaki spun three-sixty off the kick's force, she tensed up. She couldn't see Sendai anymore.

That's because Sendai had gotten behind her.

 _Whap- pap- pap- whap!_ Left hook, right gut jab, right hook, left gut jab. With each blow on Tamaki's back, Sendai forced her to stumble forward.

The fierce, complex quick jabs and hooks threatened to throw Tamaki off her feet and onto her face if she didn't walk with their momentum. "Nnh-"

Tamaki began to turn to Sendai when the blows seemingly stopped, but-

 _Whapap!_ Sendai flicked her left leg into Tamaki's waist. _"Ugh-"_ It almost dropped her onto her knees, as she cringed-

 _WHAM!_ Jumping some, Sendai roared her right leg into Tamaki's ass.

Her knee had met Tamaki's back so hard that the strike threw her forward, almost off her high heels and onto her face. _"Nkh- ah-"_ She kept her balance, crouching for a moment, pushing one hand off the floor.

' _And-'_ Bouncing back, Sendai planted that right leg firmly back into the blue carpet floor.

' _Get ready…!'_ She was letting wind curl around her form, her adrenaline spiking in this moment.

 _Fwish!_ Pink-purple energy bloomed up her body, as it all tensed, and the air conditioner-created breeze coalesced all around her form.

Tamaki stood, and as she faced the preparing Sendai, she beamed.

' _Shit-'_ Sendai didn't think it'd take this long to charge the kick. _'Damn it...'_

 _Fwish!_ Tamaki tried to slide back, out of the way-

 _whump!_ Rinnosuke was in the way. "Ngh…" He winced an eye shut from her impact, behaving as a wall.

' _Holy shit!'_ Sendai had seen him move- but she didn't know it'd be for that reason. _'Hell yeah!'_

Tamaki almost fell, crouching again as she was sent back into Sendai's range. "Wh- what- nnh-"

She stood, hopping up as quick as she could, trying to avoid the attack vertically rather than horizontally. She was a bunny, after all, and if a bunny could do anything, it was jump.

" _HERA~H!"_ A small tornado was unleashed around Sendai, as she unleashed a neon-tinted crescent kick into the air.

 _WHA- THOOMNK._ It met Tamaki dead in the pelvis as she leapt. Sendai had ascended with her own kick, keeping up with Tamaki's vertical movement.

 _Wha- wha- whap!_ Three wild talismans Reimu had tossed in the meantime converged on Tamaki in this instant.

Limp as a doll, Tamaki was sent bouncing down the hallway, crackling with holy energy.

 _...Thud!_ Eyes wide, heart pumping, Sendai watched Tamaki slide off and into the empty, office-like hall ahead. Completely limp, like a ragdoll.

' _Fuck yeah.'_ She beamed, beholding the annihilation dealt by her single, ultra-precise blow. _'Just another fight after all.'_ Something about the routine nature filled her with satisfaction. _'Another ass handed. Another stone closer to my power.'_

' _...Did the ceiling get shorter? Wait.'_

The crescent kick had taken her off the floor, and into the air. She remained floating there for a moment, suspended amidst the rising wind off of her attack.

' _Ho- holy shit! Talk about getting air…!'_

Smiling big, she moved to run forward-

 _BOOM!_ The air around her exploded out as a shockwave, sending Reimu spinning around in the air, and tossing Aina off her feet. _"Wh- ah…!"_

' _Holy fu~ck! I'm accelerating…!'_

Sendai was sent roaring down the hall so fast-

 _BOOM!_ -that she immediately collided with the far end of it, face planted firmly into the plaster.

' _Fu- fuck… ow… why…?'_

 _Sendai learned Crescent Kick._

 _Sendai learned Raptor Mastery (Ascension)._

 _Sendai learned Spin Dash._

The long-haired, endowed Tamaki sat with a big band-aid placed on her forehead.

She was on a bench amidst the halls of the Golden Grin's more corporate backrooms, and Sendai stood over her, arms on her own hips.

"There's a reward 'round here if we bring you to justice, big momma…" Tamaki looked relaxed, despite everything that happened. "Didn't think you'd be such a tough cookie."

Unenthused, Reimu had her brows furrowed. "Did you really think you'd get away with it with me here? ...And-... what kinda reward?"

Sendai snorted. "Don't go turning me in, now."

"Five million ye~n." Tamaki smiled peacefully, letting her eyes drift shut. "D'you _know_ what you can do with that kinda money? Mmm…"

"Can I turn myself in and reap the rewards?" Sendai proposed.

"That's _probably_ not a good idea." Rinnosuke stood firm against the idea. "I don't think that's how bounties work, either."

"I mean…" Tamaki tilted her head. "I dunno~."

Aina shook her head with increasing velocity, her ponytail fwoofing around. "C'mon, Tamaki-chan. You're smarter than to pick fights with strong people. Are things really that shaky around here?"

"Well… I dunno." Tamaki wasn't one for accurate descriptions. "It felt worth it, with how angry everyone here'll be at her. When, you know… some of them get out of _jail._ Or the doctor's. Or, what-have-you."

' _This bunny is pretty bunny-headed.'_

"I'm not the only person in here that'll be attacking you on sight." Tamaki leaned back against the plain, white plaster wall of the office-like interior of the Golden Grin. "Some want to have sex with you. Your name really gets around here now, you know?"

"Tell them to join the club." Sendai shifted awkwardly. She wasn't really a fan of this situation, herself.

Reimu suddenly had a more pained look. "Now that joke about turning you in is especially bad."

' _Oh, gods. Pft.'_

Sendai grinned. Tamaki spoke before she could. "If you're ever _in the mood,_ or need that itch scratched, it wouldn't be a bad idea. I mean… most of the youkai here may not be the nicest about sex ettiquette, but you're an older woman, right? Can you still get pregnant?"

Sendai smiled. "Alright, this conversation's over." She panned her gaze down the bleak office hallway. "Aina, where the hell do we _go_ from here?"

Aina was, for some reason, working up a running-in-place motion next to Sendai, smiling brightly. "I think I know a way to get to the top- without fighting the whole staff apartment!"

"...Do tell." Sendai idly sized up how excited Aina was. "If it involves dressing myself down, I'll have to decline."

' _I don't got time for all this shit. This feels like some trashy smut, except I'm not a fresh eighteen year old who'd be happy to get railed by every youkai species in Japan. I'm a forty year old woman.'_

Aina spun in place. "When you spun around- you like, sped up! Kinda like me when I get a run going!"

 _woosh!_ When Aina stopped, her limbs burned with a zealous, purple energy, leaving pink smoke in the air.

 _FWAM! "Woohoo~!"_ Then, she broke into a sprint, down the hall.

The Sendai-shaped indent in the wall of the three-way ahead marked the length Aina went- but instead of crashing there and making an Aina-shaped indent to match, she pivoted ninety degrees and bolted down a different hall on the dime.

A crystalline, amethyst yin-yang top was left spinning where she did her pivot. Slowly, it spun out to a stop, and the handle pointed in the way Aina went.

... _Woosh- woosh!_ Returning, Aina ran back to them-

 _SKREE~K!_ She skid to a stop on the carpet before Sendai and the others, dust and blue shreds of carpet cut into the air behind her. "You just go a little slower and follow me! I'll get you to the top in no time!"

' _...That-... I've got to admit, that seems like a lot of fun.'_

"How're we gonna keep up?" Reimu furrowed her brows. "I can't _fly_ that fast. Even if mom keeps up with you... me and Rinnosuke-..."

"You're strong, right? And you can _fly,_ even!" Aina smiled brightly at her. "Go back outside and carry Kourin up to the uppermost catwalks. You don't even have to go through these hallways!"

...Reimu had a look of revelation. "Oo- oh, right… we _could_ just do that, I guess."

' _You're really not attesting to your situational awareness today, Reimu._ _...Then again, real combat may not be your specialty.'_

' _I ought to ask her to duel me in danmaku at some point. It's just play-fighting. It ought to be good for a laugh or two. ...Knowing my luck, it's actually some kind of super-advanced form of play-fighting now and she'll just summarily kick my ass.'_

Reimu moved, goading Rinnosuke into motion by poking him with her gohei. "Alright, let's go."

He had a dull expression. "I- I'm not a _horse-_ you don't have to prod me..."

As they moved to leave, Aina took a deep breath.

"Alright." A world of wonder, adventure and a reservoir of seemingly out-of-nowhere joy poured from Aina's eyes. "You ready to go to the _jungle,_ Tsuki? We've got fun and games!"

Sendai snorted. "Don't- call me that. What do you mean, 'the jungle'?"

Aina beamed wickedly. "You're about to see _some shit."_

-+- _Vs. Urban Jungle_ -+-

 _Fwi- fwi- FWISH!_ Aina ran in place, her limbs beginning to move increasingly fast, her fluffy ponytail billowing in the air. _"Alri~ght…!"_

 _fwi- fwi- fwish, woosh!_ Sendai unleashed a flurry of jabs and hooks at the air, pumping herself up.

' _And-...'_

 _KAWOOSH!_ Unleashing a mighty crescent kick with her worked-up, wind-coated right leg, she took to the air, ascending a half-meter off the floor.

Drifting here, the draft beneath her whirling wildly, Sendai looked down at Aina.

 _FWAM! "Let's go!"_ Aina broke into an inhuman sprint, roaring down the hall.

 _BOOM!_ Air exploded out from under Sendai in a shockwave, as her seemingly weightless limbs allowed her to pour ahead. The motion of running, treading her sandals against the floor, even with her shell-like kimono on, was nearly automatic.

' _This-... this weight, and these motions.'_

' _Yes. This is… kind of how I used to run. A lot more weird, not quite the same, but these are the motions.'_

' _This may be faster than it was then. I'm not sure anymore. It's hard to say.'_

 _FWAM!_ Coming to the three-way, Aina snapped ninety degrees to the right, wind exploding off her movement.

' _How'm I- aah-'_

 _BOOM!_ Heart jumping, Sendai kicked the wall with her left leg to divert her momentum, unable to just unnaturally spin herself like Aina could.

Air powerful enough to tilt over benches, potted plants and water coolers exploded off of the impact. Pink heat flared amidst the intersection, exploding from Sendai's body.

 _Woosh!_ Pressing her left foot into the wall, Sendai bounded off it and took off. _'Holy shit…'_

The hall ahead was massive, longer than the building could possibly be. _'Of course.'_

There were people in suits back here, minding their business seemingly. Fox women with three to four tails, complex calculation machines sat upon their laps as they idly did their work out here in the hall.

 _whi- whish!_ Aina and Sendai blew by them in a near blur.

... _fwi- fwi- fwish, fwish!_ Moments later, stacks of paper that sat by the kitsunes, and their associated pens went flying down the hall in the wake of the maidens.

 _FWAM!_ Aina took a left at the intersection ahead.

' _It's a four-way, there's no easy wall to kick here…'_

 _BOOM!_ Sendai made for the opposite corner, kicked that, and-

 _KABOOM!_ It was an _over_ ninety-degree diversion of her momentum- _"Oho- woah!"_

 _BOOM!_ Sendai bounded off a wall, kneeing it to try and keep balance, her speed slightly slowing as she kept after Aina…

 _BAM- SPLA~SH!_ In the awkward motions she made to make her running normal again, she accidentally kicked a water cooler, which exploded behind her. _'Holy shit!'_

Then, they were outside of the office-like halls.

The white walls were still plaster, and the grey office doors still unintimidating. But now, luminescent paper lanterns hung in streams across the walls and ceiling. The fluorescent ceiling lights were off, some derelict. Instead, the technicolor lamps lit this realm.

' _Wait- what the fuck…'_

Catching up with Aina, feeling her wind build anew, Sendai took in the world of technicolor paper lanterns.

" _Whatever you do-"_ Aina hung back, and beamed at Sendai with an expression of raw momentum and adrenaline. _"Do- not- stop!"_

They came through the end of the hallway- and the entrance to a truly strange world.

 _Cla- cla- clack!_ Sendai now tread upon rich wood boards, upon an immensely long catwalk. Fancy, ornate railings with colorful lanterns upon them framed either side of the wooden road.

The airspace, however, was multiple times the size of what the Golden Grin actually occupied in real space.

Inward-built shingle roofs and distant wood walls defined this airy, deep azure dimension. It was like the outsides of a palace were faced inward, and somehow, the negative space between all the wood walls was a night sky all its own. Dark, but richly so.

Some of the wood walls didn't form a perfect 'box' around where Sendai was, however. In the sky, passages could be seen to grander and more expansive interior realms of wood walls, misshapen shingle roofs, and strange luminescents.

' _What, the, fuck…'_

 _FWAM!_ Ahead, Aina took a sharp right all of a sudden, the catwalk suddenly taking a sharp right itself.

 _BOOM!_ Sendai spun around, roundhouse-kicked the guard rail, and took off after Aina, her pink aura flaring out and lighting up the dim, ethereal district.

"Aah…" In here, six-seven tailed kitsunes in scant garb watched them blow by, taking brief pause.

Sendai and Aina blew through a small 'town' of sorts- of strange building fronts with well-dressed youkai in cages that had western doors, open gambling parlors, the occasional actual store, and big double-doors to unknown places.

"Hmh…" Tall, horned men watched the maidens blow by, furrowing their brows slightly as the pink blurs whizzed into the distance.

Then, Sendai saw it- out of the left corner of her vision.

A being in pure black, with white dots for eyes, and a monkey's tail. When she met its vision, it was gone.

"Aa-" Aina gasped, shuddering as she ran. Coming back to Sendai, she beamed, sweating. _"Hey- so… we're not supposed to be~ here!"_

" _I- I- thought not…!"_ Sendai yelled back awkwardly.

"Ohp-" Aina tensed up- this time out of mechanical awareness rather than strange terror.

There was a dead-end ahead. But, Aina was about to prove it wasn't what it seemed.

 _SKREE~K!_ Skidding to a halt, she spun around one-eighty-

" _Wahoo~!"_ She did a backwards flip off the floor, spinning with her legs together through the air, before landing both-heels-together upon the top of a shingled roof.

' _What the-... alright.'_ Sendai would have to improvise.

 _BOOM!_ She stopped herself safely by kicking the wood wall ahead- and it suffered a sandal-shaped indentation, a shockwave billowing from the impact.

" _Hup!"_ Turning, Sendai saw a shingled awning, and leapt onto that.

That's when she saw it. A pitch black being with a monkey's tail, following her motions.

 _Clack!_ When Sendai thrust a leg down onto the awning, flipping off of it with a kick, she saw the monkey leap up to do the same.

" _Ngh-"_ With the wind in her sails, she latched onto the edge of the higher shingled roof, and hoist herself up with some effort.

The monkey barely grazed her back as she got away from the ledge- and it latched onto said ledge behind her to repeat her struggle of climbing.

 _Fwish!_ She tossed a talisman down at its face-

 _FWAZAP- FWASH- FAZAP!_ The being's white lights-for-eyes expanded, as it became blurry for a moment- but after a second or two, the talisman's energy was expended, and the being kept climbing as if it weren't paused at all.

 _Fwish!_ Sendai spun around in place-

 _BOOM!_ Then, after she felt slightly dizzy, the ominous wind combining around her, she dashed off, now with newfound speed-

A _buzz_ came from behind her. Black dimmed all the lights behind her for a moment, and she was glad she began to run when she did.

 _CLACK!_ Aina landed on the rooftop shingles beside her, still running. _"Ah- there ya are!"_

Sendai was jostled slightly. _"Wh-... where'd you-"_

" _Thought you were a goner!"_ Aina kept yelling. _"Okay- so- if that catches you, yer- really- not gonna like what happens next!"_

Sendai wondered. Her mind raced over various possibilities, but a straight answer was best. _"The hell is it!?"_

" _It's a youkai!"_ Aina was very descriptive.

' _Well, no fucking shit.'_

They neared the edge of the rooftop-

 _CLACK!_ Aina bounded off of it. _"Yahoo~!"_

 _BOOM!_ Sendai leapt and thrust both heels into the shingles, exploding off it with a shockwave of wind. _'Holy, shit…'_

They sailed over a void of rooftops, a youkai-populated town resting beneath them.

The town proper was along the bottom of this huge, absolutely massive wooden palace-styled box they were inside. It was twenty stories below them, contained by the blue hue that colored the distance of this world.

 _Woo- woo- woosh!_ Male, tengu-like crow youkai blew past them in the air as they sailed ahead. There was another huge rooftop across the way- and it seemed Aina intended to land on it.

As they flew, Sendai looked back.

The monkey was simply hovering through the air, limbs spread as it flew after them. _'Since when could a monkey fly?'_

She looked ahead-

"Hey-" A grey-haired, yukata-clad tengu-like man reached for her in the air-

 _WHAM!_ She snapped her legs into an awkward mid-air kick, sending them bouncing off each other.

' _Ah- come the fuck on…'_ Eyes wide, she noticed herself deviate heavily from Aina's path.

 _...WHAM!_ As she inadvertently made for a different tengu-like who wasn't paying her any mind, she bounded off him like a stepping stone. _"Uh- woah!"_

' _There…'_

 _CLACK!_ She touched down on the rooftop behind Aina- somewhat awkwardly at first, but then kept pace.

Catching up, she yelled at Aina. _"Hey! What the fuck does it do!?"_

" _What's what!?"_

" _The youkai!"_

" _Oh!"_ Aina had to take a moment to contemplate it. _"Um! Let's just say- most human guys an' girls who come in here- they don't come out!"_

Then, Aina clarified. _"Not unless they live fast- like me!"_

' _...I'm not sure if that's a metaphor, or a shitty joke.'_

Allowing herself to roar off the rooftop, Aina touched down on a catwalk beneath this edge, sprinting ahead again.

Exhaling in slight exhaustion, Sendai took a deep breath, dropped to land on the catwalk behind her, and kept going.

" _Oh!"_ Aina realized. _"Take uh- notice! It's followin' you- and not me!"_

' _What does that even-'_

Sendai looked back for a moment-

 _FWISH!_ She lobbed three talismans at the monkey-like being sprinting behind them.

 _FAZAP- FWAP- KAZAP!_ They pierced its figure, holy light exploding out from the impacts, but to little avail.

" _Where's the way ou~t!?"_ Sendai was morbidly curious, considering the scale of this dimension.

" _Um!"_ Aina wasn't sure how to describe it. _"Just keep followin' me~!"_

They were coming to one of the thick, palace-like walls of the dimension. There was an entry to a decorated hallway there.

But, as they came up to it, along this sole catwalk in the sky of this strange, youkai realm-

 _CLACK!_ The paper and wood door slid, slamming shut.

 _...WHAM!_ Aina thought she could run through it, but a barrier lit up before it, stopping her. "Whu- _ugh!"_ She landed on her back, the rebounding force so fierce. "Nn- nnn…"

Sendai spun around-

 _BOOM!_ She kicked the door, but it didn't work. The barrier rippled, barely noticing the shockwave-inducing impact.

' _What? Uh…'_ She looked around herself.

They couldn't go up- the innumerable, escher-like series of rooftops were too steep. They couldn't go down; the abyss of youkai and prospect of being totally lost in it was a perhaps worse fate than staying here with the monkey demon.

She looked back, and the monkey was there.

...She cracked her knuckles. "Fine. I was getting tired of running, anyway."

"Whu- aah!" Aina rolled around onto her stomach in fear. "Tsukiko- no! Kourin and Reimu- they'd _kill me!_ _Tsukiko-"_

 _woash._ The monkey came at Sendai faster than she could blink, and phased its form into hers.

 _-+- Vs. Jade Curse_ -+-

Sendai opened her eyes in an oriental structure, leagues away from anywhere the sun could shine. Unnatural, minty green light shone through shoji around her.

She was already smiling, for some reason. Caught in a peculiar, blissful haze that left her head airy. _'Well-... this isn't promising.'_

"No, no, no. This won't do at _all."_

She turned around, and saw herself.

This Tsukiko was only in her leotard and red cloth apron, arms on her hips. Her eyes were jade green, and she had a monkey's tail.

"You're so damn _guarded."_ She shook her head, trailing up to Sendai.

Looking down at herself, Sendai realized she was just naked, for some reason. _'Oh, excellent.'_

"Loosen up." The monkey recommended. "This isn't the kind of place to be so stiff. You can just let go of your inhibitions- and _party!"_ Suddenly, the jade-eyed Tsukiko had a big mug of beer.

"You couldn't have worded that any more garishly." Sendai frowned back. "No. I have those inhibitions for _a reason."_

"But-" The monkey licked her own lips. "What if-... they just _weren't?_ Ahehah!" She clapped her hands together, the beer mug mysteriously gone. "We on the same page now? Good."

"We're not." Sendai strolled closer to her, glaring.

The monkey stood her ground. "...Oh? Aren't we?"

"We're really not."

"...Oh." The monkey rolled her eyes, and put a hand on Sendai's shoulder. "C'mon. Tell me. Don't you miss it?"

"Miss what?"

She beamed. "Keisuke's touch. Your husband's."

 _Shoof!_ The minty-green paper walls around Sendai began to slide open.

A different Tsukiko stood behind one, her leotard all ripped up, arms behind her head to jut her partially revealed breasts out. "Roleplaying with your husband-"

 _Shoof!_ "Trying out new and weird shit with him…" This fourth Tsukiko had Tatsuako's maid outfit on, a lollipop in one hand and a bandolier of condoms in the other.

 _Shoof!_ "Findin' out which role suited you better…" Another leotard-clad Tsukiko leaned forward, showing off her ass to herself, before giving it a slap.

"Why should that all be gone- just 'cause he's _dead?"_ Sendai found herself staring into her other self's jade eyes again. "He'd want you to let go- and have fun. And have fun you should!"

"Just let it all _go._ You can be happy again."

"Jus' lemme show you how. I know my way around the town."

"They say love is complex- but it's actually really simple. I can teach you how t'master it. Many others have- but I know a girl who needs some help when I see it."

Sendai felt heavy and hot. At some point, she'd become caked in sweat, as if she'd been exercising for hours.

"Come on." The jade monkey hugged onto Sendai. "Normally- no one even puts up a fight. One vision of such a rich, love-filled world, and they listen. You've seen them around town- in the seconds you've been here."

It was temptation. Sendai felt her senses stimulated, as her vision ran over those replicas of herself, in their costumes and poses.

The monkey whispered into her ear. "It doesn't _hafta_ be Keisuke. All you want is some lovin'. To love again- and be loved again. I know all there is to know about love."

"If you doubt me, I can show you. All it takes is a few simple whimsies. Shared interests, time, and kindness."

Sendai's knees felt weak. The monkey's hands were around her neck.

"Just let me do everything. I'm right, after all."

...Sendai closed her eyes, her body hot, face flushed. "Ye- yeah… you're right."

The monkey beamed.

"But-" Sendai grabbed onto its wrists, "that still doesn't mean-..."

She could feel it. This thing _was_ probably savvy with love. Perhaps it could impart some knowledge- after it had its fun using her, and leaving her broken. Maybe it knew best.

That didn't mean she didn't have a problem with it. She had more important things to be doing. She couldn't go chasing such loose fantasies like that. And, above all of that, she loved her husband.

' _I'm taking this dedication to the grave.'_

' _Even like this- with pleasure at my fingertips-...'_

' _I will never falter!'_

 _PAP- PAP._ Sendai grabbed onto the sides of the monkey's head.

 _CRUNCH!_ She headbutt it, its hold releasing from her.

 _KABOOM- BAM- BOOM- BOOM!_ The realm of shoji around her detonated, exploding out with amber, orange and yellow energy.

"Wh- _gkhk-"_ The monkey dropped onto its knees, legs betrayed by the sheer ferocity of her anger. "Wh- _what-..."_

Sendai leered down at it. Bringing both arms up for leverage, she placed her foot atop her other self's face.

"Let me teach you-" Sendai's form glowed golden, _"the concept of 'respect'."_

' _Sacrecy, loyalty, trust… this discipline is greater than your knowledge, intellect and lust!'_

 _whoo~m._ She pushed her foot forward, bending the monkey back as it sat on its knees-

 _BOOM- CR- CRUNCH!_ She folded it back, crushing it underfoot, a sea of amber flowing across the wood floor, and the now open, airy and explosive realm.

 _Sendai learned Raptor Mastery (Shadow)._

 _Sendai learned Youkai Cunning: Demonic Shadow._

 _Sendai learned Jade Spirit * Monkey's Paw._

"Hey- come _on!_ Damn it!" Aina uselessly tugged on Sendai's sleeve, as Sendai herself attempted to saunter off. "You can't just- _run off and get laid!_ Hold on! What about Reimu!? And- whatever the hell we were doing- I- I kinda forgot, not gonna lie..."

The jade-eyed Sendai gave Aina a pet of her forehead. "You're fucking adorable, you know that?"

"Ye- yeah, I know!" Aina blushed, waving her arms back. "...I- I mean, if you _do_ wanna get laid really bad, I know a few guys who'd be cool with a threesome… bu- but- I mean-..." She seemed pensive. "Kourin, though…"

"Since when were _you_ a stiff, too?" The jade-eyed Sendai scoffed at her. "Actually…" Then, she grinned. "Do you know how to find-"

" _Kaugh- kauff- kauff!"_ Then, Sendai dropped to her knees. _"Fhuck-"_

...Aina had a flat expression. "If that's a blowjob joke, yer gonna hafta narrow that down a bit, 'cause that's like, every youkai dude."

"Ehaha- _puh-_ fhuck-" The jade Sendai laughed, but also slowly died where she sat. "Ghh-..."

Then-

" _Huuh- HUUAA-"_ The demonic shadow of the monkey projected out of Sendai's form, making Aina leap back.

 _WOASH._ Then, it was driven back inside.

...Slowly, Sendai stood.

' _...I feel dirty. Kourin was right, this place makes you feel fucking dirty.'_

She swallowed experimentally, and as she stood, she felt at herself.

"Um…" Aina pursed her lips. "Tsukiko?"

Sendai's eyes were normal again. "Aa-... oh. It's you."

"What the fuck happened?" Aina slowly grinned.

...Sendai shook her head. "Mmm. Nothing really important. Just, you know… fleeting emotions, and all that."

...Aina chuckled. "Ye- yeah, y'can say that again! ...Actually, you know what? We can fuck Kourin together! There we go!"

"Alright, you're cancelled." Sendai reached for her.

"Woah- hey!"

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

"I'm sorry, miss." A fox girl with her eyes closed bowed before Reimu. "But I'm going to have to ask you and your man there," she pointed at Rinnosuke, "to lea-"

 _CLACK!_ The staff door the fox girl plainly stood next to blew open. The force with which it unleashed outward sent her flying. _"Whuah!"_

Reimu idly pursed her own lips, expression ginger.

Her hair slightly frazzled, Sendai marched from it, having kicked it open. After meeting her daughter's gaze, she blinked, adjusting her black-yellow kimono. Aina followed behind, her ponytail lopsided.

Reimu snorted. "...What happened to you two."

"Everything, and also nothing." Sendai was vague. "...Mostly nothing."

Rinnosuke had a vague expression. "I can only imagine. ...Why're you both so winded?"

Aina laughed. "Ahaha- shut up, Kourin."

He jerked his head back, surprised by her raw amount of sass. "...Aa- alright, I guess." She wasn't normally rude to _him,_ so it felt jarring.

' _Now all we have to do is find Tsuruko and fucking yell at her. This place is a goddamn circus. Monkeys, foxes, the whole show.'_

"Where do we go from here?" Sendai panned to stare down at Aina.

They were on the uppermost floor of the Golden Grin's catwalks which hung over the casino floor below. By comparison to the realm Sendai and Aina had just explored, this was literally nothing in scale. It made Sendai feel like she was in an oddly cramped space somehow, despite the wide building being five entire stories tall.

' _My sense of perspective is all kinds of messed up. Gonna take some minutes to adjust, I'm sure.'_

"Aah. This way." Aina slowly lead them, this time. "Pretty much already _there._ "

On this upper level, there were a few older male clients, and some kitsune who were attending to them.

"Mhmmh…" A balding man scratched his head, peering down at a shogi board.

The seven-tailed, porcelain-faced kitsune across from him was so still, Sendai wasn't sure if she was sleeping or dead.

...Curious to find out which, Sendai stepped up to them, and snapped her fingers.

 _Snap!_ "Mmm." The kitsune hummed, her posture not changing a millimeter. "Yes?"

' _Ahah, she had to move her lips to speak.'_

"Are you still alive?" Sendai asked rhetorically…

"Mmm." The kitsune still didn't move. "No."

"Cool." Sendai browsed away from them, while the man still took his turn in deep thought.

' _Must be bored out of her mind. She's-... I just noticed, she's got seven fucking tails. You only heard of these high-rank kitsunes every few years, back in my time, but now they're just- fuckin' everywhere. And here's this one, torturing herself by playing this guy who probably can hardly read a book anymore. She could probably have those week-long shogi games with the tengu, and here she is playing a guy who's probably used to them ending in twenty minutes.'_

' _Actually, who'm I kidding. She's probably entered youkai-stasis, or whatever the fuck youkai do when they get super bored but just have to wait.'_ Sendai really wasn't sure, and to be honest, she didn't care enough to find out more.

"Don't, um…" Aina wasn't sure what exactly Sendai needed to stop doing, but she did know Sendai better ought to leave that weird situation alone. "Y'know."

"I know." Sendai knew, however. "Just having a little fun, is all."

"That- _is_ um… a weird couple." Reimu had to admit.

Aina snorted. "Couple? ...Well, uh, considering how often mister what's-his-face there orders that one kitsune, they might as well be. Dude spends all day here- whatever that's not important!" Aina shook her head and got back on track. "Over here!"

She lead them to the center of the topmost balcony on the Golden Grin's fourth floor. Here, the guard rail had a lapse in coverage. "On the shiny parts." Aina referred to the floor before where the guard rail was absent, which was uniquely designed.

It was pearl white, and shone like the foil on a trading card; with the esoteric patterns associated too.

"Looks safe." Rinnosuke had to comment.

' _You have no idea.'_

Sendai stood in the center, Aina behind her, with Reimu on her left and Rinnosuke on her right.

... _sh- shoof._ The foil platform unclicked from the fourth floor, and began to move on its own.

' _Amazing.'_ Sendai was not impressed by the mundane magic elevator. _'I'm sure all the humans who come here are amazed.'_

"Now this is _especially_ safe." Rinnosuke nodded gladly.

"I can _fly."_ Reimu retorted.

"Three of the four of us can't." Rinnosuke returned.

' _I feel as though there's some precaution in place. After all, if old man Nanashi over there walked off the edge and died, I'm pretty sure that wouldn't reflect very well on the club.'_

' _That, or it's an accident waiting to happen, and only then there will be a safety net of some kind. Yet, I… think there's probably bigger problems to worry about.'_

Slowly, the elevator took the four of them through a slot in the final overhang above. It was shaped to be a perfect fit for the elevator platform's edges.

This higher level was decorated with pink and purple lights, and overlooked all of the Golden Grin's foyer below.

 _click- thoom._ The elevator locked into place, as Sendai began to make sense of the weirdly technicolor light up here. It was a fair far cry from the warm, restaurant-like lights on the fourth floor walkways.

Then, Sendai saw her own look-alike. Tsuruko was ahead, on a comfy-looking chair. A white tea table sat before herself, and a wine glass sat upon it.

Swallowing a little, she shifted, getting comfy. "Aah. It's you."

Sendai stepped forward before anyone else, gaze level.

Reaching forward, Tsuruko lifted the nearly empty wine glass. Sendai looked along Tsuruko's folded legs, taking in the color of her red hakama.

"Are you Tsuruko?" Reimu pointed her gohei ahead.

Tsuruko smiled wider. "...Hello, Reimu."

Rinnosuke lumbered up, along Sendai's right. "To think you went and murdered someone right after we saw you."

"I don't usually handle village problems," Reimu announced, "but when you go around saying you're my mom, I really can't let that go."

Sendai snorted. "Take it from me."

Tsuruko beamed. "...Oo- oh? If you lost to _Tsukiko_ in a fist fight, I'd easily kill you. So simply, too..."

Smiling back, Reimu held her gohei tight with both hands, readying up. "Wanna bet on it?"

"...I'm sorry." Tsuruko shook her head once. "I didn't mean to start so rudely. I simply couldn't help myself."

Aina ran up to Rinnosuke's side, opposite of Sendai. "What's the _big idea!?_ You fuckin' _psycho!"_

Tsuruko didn't so much as look in her direction. At the idea, Sendai was curious too. "Tsuruko."

Tsuruko became smug, her eyes becoming lazy as she leaned her head back. "Hmm?"

"What _exactly_ is your intent?" Sendai frowned. "Why are you doing this?"

Tsuruko snorted. "Is a good murder mystery not enough?"

Rinnosuke fought a smile. "It's really not much of a mystery."

Tsuruko nodded once. "Exactly. Akihito murdered that child."

Reimu jerked her head back. "Yeah? And, your proof?"

"He's easier to apprehend than me," Tsuruko returned. "Might makes right. ...Though, if you ask me," she began to awkwardly grin, trying to hide her amusement but failing, "th- that child looks better dead than he did alive."

' _...I'm not even sure what to think.'_

"Look, I'll laugh off a lotta stuff, but murder's not one." Reimu glared at her. "Especially not in my mother's name."

"Mmm. That's sad." Tsuruko exhaled, relaxing further. "I'm sorry you feel that way."

"Oh, _shut up."_ Reimu's glare twisted some with disgust. "Are you even human?"

"Hah." Tsuruko smiled brighter again. She began to lean back to the point she was almost draped across her chair, with her nearly-empty wine glass in grasp. "I'm _Hakurei._ Something above human."

 _cr- crack._ Sendai cracked her own neck, by tilting her head to each side.

"I've really had enough of this." Sendai finally gave her own opinion. "I have my own shit to do. I wasn't revived to play your stupid games. I want to be a mother to my daughter, and I want to make up for-... everyone I let down, when I let myself die, and let the youkai reign over this town."

"Even if you don't want to fight me," Sendai began to tighten her fists, "this isn't a matter of honor anymore. I'll make you stop, and I won't stop at a beating."

"So…" Tsuruko pursed her lips. "Would you say your family makes you weaker, or stronger?"

Sendai blinked. "...Wh- what?" It felt like a non-sequitur to what she said.

Tsuruko's gaze became focused, her body energizing, as she began to sit upright again.

"You were never the same after your husband died. Your own mother wasn't either."

Smiling, Tsuruko held her wine glass up high, as if toasting her. "Even now, you let Kamishirasawa boss you around- involuntarily, even. You waste your time on little things like this. You owe a debt to your daughter, to your husband, to your friends, and to the people. A debt you may never live to repay, even- and one that will only deepen in your weakness and submission."

With a huge smile, Tsuruko leaned back again. "I've studied well. I've learnt the trade. My power will never fade. All I need now is the recipe; one which grants life and ultimate power to me."

"It was always my ambition…" Tsuruko's eyes welled with emotion, despite her composed exterior. "To gain a small solace. Control over life. Control over my surroundings. And- in a way, is nothing more human? Can I _really_ be faulted? Then, and only then, may I partake in wonderful things. Love, art, and company..."

Sendai's eyes had become hard. _'She seems to be genuine with us this time. Not that it counts for much.'_

Tsuruko glared back. "Don't look at me like that. Fucking-... moron." She shook her head. "You and I are the same! If you hadn't your power- you'd be a slut. A slave, a whore- or _dead._ Only once you had control over your surroundings- could you find love, pleasure, friends and adventure."

"Why can't I have the same?" Tsuruko pointed at her. "Why are you the only one _allowed to dream?"_

Sendai's stare was hard and still. She didn't know what to say.

Reimu snorted. "Hah? Because you're an idiot, that's why."

' _Mmh.'_ Sendai wasn't sure if that was the _appropriate_ response, but…

"Quiet, runt." Tsuruko waved her off. "Us adults are _busy."_

Sendai shook her head. "You don't need to go about it like this. You don't have to be so destructive. I fight for the weak, I fight for the young. I-"

"You _died."_ Tsuruko retorted. "Have you been listening to me? Or has your hearing gone with age and rebirth, too? You weren't strong _enough._ The dark consumed you in the end. You, a corpse. Your husband erased. Daughter salvaged only by worldly order, when she'd have been a corpse or a breeding tool otherwise. You are _weak,_ and the _weak should fear the strong."_

Sendai felt her energy begin to pump. "With all the anger you have- it seems you're more fearful than most."

A stroke of giddy joy. "Likewise." Tsuruko beamed.

"I don't fear for _myself."_ Sendai shot back. "I fear for my love. My daughter-"

Tsuruko rolled her eyes, only briefly, almost on impulse. "Not for the strong. Thereby, you _died._ Tsukiko- you can't argue with _facts._ It's the law of nature- of _Gensokyo._ Of the Gensokyo as of current."

Sendai frowned harder, anger building. But…

' _No. Anger-... I may let it motivate me, but I do have to realize… it's a symptom of fear.'_

' _Not that there's anything wrong with being afraid. But, here-'_

"If you haven't realized, I'm not as afraid anymore." Tsuruko's smile had become tame again. "Reimu Hakurei, a joke to me. Kamishirasawa, not a blip on the radar. The entire Human Village, my beck and call. And, _you."_

Tsuruko unfolded her legs. "You, the old blood. Me, the new." Her eyes were wild, her cheeks raised highly, her beaming smile outright vicious. "Fresh off death's rebound, _into the ground._ You were put on this planet to give me _the recipe."_

Tsuruko held her wine glass as high as she could, staring into it the light that worked through it. The glass itself was prismatic, casting a brilliant rainbow onto her face.

"Snuff out the Hakurei of old- and claim the _light._ Claim my _right-_ to being the new _Hakurei shrine maiden!"_

Reimu wasn't sure what to say.

Aina looked around amidst the purple-pink, curtain-adorned room here. "What the hell…"

Rinnosuke stared at Sendai, expectant of her retort.

' _She's truly great.'_

' _She has a vision. Ambition, drive, and though callous, she's surely a brilliant mind. Somewhat of a weirdo- but we all are at heart.'_

' _Maybe, in a different reality, she would deserve this. Rulership over a harsh world, building her own dynasty, taking on the youkai in this damned pocket realm…'_

' _But, she's not planning to back down.'_

' _I won't back down either.'_

' _There can only be one.'_

"There can only be one." Sendai announced.

"Hah!" Tsuruko nodded big. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Hey- I'm here too." Reimu sounded indignant. "And-"

Tsuruko scoffed. "Shut up, kid. If I was close enough, I'd snap your neck."

Sensing such a forthright threat as some sort of bait, Sendai smiled instead. "You sure you'd want to do that?"

"Hmm."

 _WOOSH!_ A yin-yang sailed in past the glaring Reimu, coming for Tsuruko head-on.

 _TING!_ A barrier, tinted red-white, flared before Tsuruko. It was a cylinder, encapsulating the entire area which she sat. She'd anticipated retaliation.

"What!?" Reimu gaped.

 _Fw- fw- fwap!_ She chucked talismans at the barrier, but they were stopped.

 _TING- TING!_ She tossed needles, which were reflected.

 _ti- ti- ti- tick!_ She shot danmaku at it, but nothing seemed to happen.

"You-" Reimu was slightly alarmed, as she approached the barrier. "What the hell'd you-"

Aina ran in. _"Reimu! Look out!"_

Sendai tensed up. "Wh-"

 _BANG! BANG!_ Two ground-shaking _booms_ of noise echoed across the entire club.

...Aina blinked, having launched herself at Reimu. They were now on the ground, in a pile together.

Slipping from the clump, Reimu got up off the floor and hovered into the air. "Wh- what-"

Aina leapt off the floor too, eyes wide, body shaky. "Gu- guys- we- we h- have to-"

 _BOOM! BOOM!_ From the curtains on either side of this central part of the upper platform, two beings emerged, sliding up to the sides of Tsuruko's barrier. They'd punched their arms into the floor, their white energy shields flaring up so bright that they were blinding.

"The world will never change." Tsuruko stood, as her barrier grew thicker, her form only a silhouette amidst the phantasmal light. "Now, we will say goodbye to the hero of our time."

Tsukiko yelled back. "Is this your idea of a fight!?"

"This isn't _our_ fight." Tsuruko grinned within the barrier. "It's your daughter's execution. Unless you wish to throw yourself away with her. By all means."

 _FWAM- FWAM._ From the blaring, white lights beside Tsuruko's barrier, two forms emerged.

Mighty bunny soldiers. Clad not in power businesssuits, but entire suits of next-generation armor technology.

Massive, hulking suits. One was a dull red, the other a faded blue. The unknown metals covered their entire bodies, and helmets covered their ears. Small, glowing, oni horn-like extensions hid the bunny ears, providing a pocket space for the ears themselves to reside.

"Hehehe-" Tsuruko found everyone's awe funny. "Hahahah!" Holding up her wine glass again, she beheld the brilliant barrier's light through it. _"Kill them all!"_

-+- _Vs. Lunarian Spartan Armor, ONI Model A0C65 A & B _-+-

Each suit had a gun, and a knife. They carried huge, chunky pistols of no technology Sendai had seen before.

' _What-... kind of youkai-...'_

Reimu stepped back near her mother, gaze fierce. "This- looks like Eientei tech…"

"Can't we just- _run away?"_ Rinnosuke wasn't a fighter.

Aina hissed through her teeth. "Li- like they'd _let us run-_ like-"

As if she'd been tossed really hard, Reimu began to fly away preemptively. Sendai saw why immediately. _'Oh- fuck-'_

 _Fwish!_ Her eyes wide, heart pumping, Sendai weaved down, as close to the ground as she could.

 _BANGBANGBANGBANGBANG!_ The bunnies of unknown sex unloaded their chunky pistols after Reimu as she flew off. Reimu had flown up, easily avoiding the shots, but the wall across the airspace was a different story.

Entire bricks were ejected from the awkward patches of walling over the stage, red-black dust made in the air from the plaster, drywall and materials.

Sendai would have been effortlessly killed if she hadn't ducked down. _'Oh, gods…'_ The bullets had bore immense holes in the wall across the way.

Rinnosuke huffed, and held his own pistol at them. _"Tsukiko! Run!"_

Aina stood near the ledge of the fifth floor balcony-

One of the bunnies aimed at her.

" _Nope!"_ Aina leapt off the balcony's edge entirely, eyes wide. _"Woaa- aa~h!"_

Rinnosuke got near the blue one-

 _SHINK- SHINK- SHINK!_ In one second, three separate stabs of its combat knife went through his chest, blood exploding out of his back.

Stepping even closer to Rinnosuke, the blue model reeled both its arms back-

 _KASHUNK- SHUNK!_ Two big saw blades burst from its chest, hanging out of big slots in the armor to carve into Rinnosuke's ribs, before folding back inside.

 _SHUNK!_ A separate knife came from a slot in the very center of the armor. It was shoved down Rinnosuke's throat cavity and into his chest, before being yanked back out.

" _hh- aa-"_ Rinnosuke staggered back, his whole body bloody after just five seconds.

' _Holy shit.'_ Sendai was understandably afraid. _'Holy shit. Kourin…'_

Then, the blue model grappled onto him, leaning him forward.

 _CR- CRACK!_ With Rinnosuke's upper body lurched beneath its chest, it pressed its right forearm against Rinnosuke's ribcage, and hugged tightly. It broke Rinnosuke's ribs instantly and violently, blood exploding from his mouth.

 _Thud!_ Then, Rinnosuke was deposited onto the floor. _"Kaugh- kaff- hua- aa-"_ He inhaled desperately, as the blue model stepped back, turning its gaze to Sendai.

Sendai couldn't just let him be murdered by them. Even if he was a youkai- sufficient abuse like this might eventually leave a fatal blow, and mortal damage couldn't be undone as easily to a half-youkai like him.

' _If- if I was even half of what I used to be-... this wouldn't even be a problem.'_

' _Now look at me. I could die here. A single passing blow could undo everything.'_

Sendai ran between them, her hair billowing wildly amidst an ice-cold breeze.

 _BANGBANGBANGBANG!_ The red armor had flicked its pistol to try and nail her as it unloaded wildly.

She was too fast for the metal arm to track her. Her heart pumped with unhealthy velocity as she ran by the red armor, the mere force of the gunshots being fired vibrating through her body.

" _hh- Hey!"_ Static-like noise came from the blue armor. _"Watch it."_ Its power shield flickered with violent speed, before fading faster than any energy shield Sendai'd seen yet.

" _hh- Positive."_ The red model replied, faltering for a moment.

Sendai ran around the back of the red armor thing-

 _FWISH!_ It spun around, sliding its right heel back further and wider than any being reasonably could or should-

' _Fuck! Fuck!'_ Sendai was tripped.

 _Thud- bam!_ She bounced off her knees, before getting back up off the sheer rebound-

 _BAM!_ One shot came at her, missing-

 _BAM!_ _SPLACK!_ Sendai went flying, a bullet booming through her side.

" _Ack-"_ Blood flew from her mouth, as she sailed off the balcony; straight over the elevator, as it lacked guard rails.

She spun through the air, numb.

' _I'm-...'_

 _BANGBANGBANGBANG!_ She heard gunshots in the air as she plummeted. She wasn't nailed by any other bullets; those were at the air, trying to peg a different target.

Everything seemed slow, as she saw the clubs dancing lights, and heard the gasping patrons below.

She saw Reimu above- and ahead. She was distant, but growing closer.

' _I'm…'_

' _I'm sorry, Reimu. I-'_

Reimu hugged onto her, stopping her mother from submitting to the five-story fall to her death.

"What're you _doing!?"_ Reimu was upset. "Don't just let yourself _die!_ You _ff- fucking, idiot!"_

"Re- Reimu…" Sendai was in a world of pain. "My-... my outfit. Sleeves-... medicine…"

...Reimu reached for her mother's sleeves, pausing when she saw all the blood all over her own hands. "Oo- okay…"

She found a Toughness that Sendai had bought, as they slowly slid down to the floor…

 _thump._ Plopping her mother down, Reimu twisted the bottle open, and smashed it into Sendai's mouth.

The liquid meeting the back of her throat, Sendai's eyes widened. _'That-...'_

' _It tastes awful!'_ And that felt _great._

She downed the bitter tonic like it was life- because it _was._ The bottle ended up halfway in her mouth, and she began to sit up.

"Nhn-" She drew it from her mouth, and grinned. "Euh. I- I _needed_ that…"

' _Kourin-... I- I wonder if he's okay…'_ She was still shaky, her adrenaline pumping despite that near-death experience.

Reimu looked up, and bolted away from her mother.

On instinct, Sendai began to roll around on the floor. _'Fuck-'_

 _BANGBANGBANGBANGBANG!_ With seemingly no ammo capacity in sight, the bunnies unloaded their pistols at the ground.

 _BOOM!_ A slot machine was tossed over by the sheer ferocity of a bullet that bit it.

Darting up, Sendai made like the wind, flying across the room. Hostesses and men began to get up from their booths, more than alarmed.

The bunnies leapt from the top floor, coming down.

 _KABOOM- KABOOM!_ They landed hard enough to jostle everything, making small craters in the floor where they touched down in their armor. Their shields burnt a blinding white again, overwhelming all the lights of the club.

" _hh- Remember. Only the targets."_

" _hh- Gotcha."_ The two bunnies spoke to one another, voice partially garbled to the point of vagueness.

' _These-... these things…'_

Sendai seethed, as she beheld them. They stood at the front of the lobby, slowly scanning their way out.

 _BAM- BOOM!_ Two yin-yangs came from the aether, slamming into one. They bounced off its rippling shield.

 _BANG- BANG- BANG!_ It fired at the air, trying to spook Reimu into doing something stupid. She wasn't in eyesight of the armor, so it was displeased.

Once Sendai was nearby, she grit her teeth.

' _I'm not letting you kill my daughter, damn it!'_

 _Thoom!_ _"Hmph!"_ Sendai stomped in place, summoning her strength and anger.

The red model turned to her, and raised its knife. She was close enough for CQC. Or, that's what it'd believed.

 _CR- CR- CRACK._ As the slot machines were clearly not bolted to the floor- if earlier was any indication, Sendai clutched one for dear life. Heart pumping, gold washing over her features, she committed hard to lifting one.

"Hrrh-" Ripping it right off the floor, she thrust it into the great red armor, to keep it from thrusting into her immediately.

 _WHABAM- FWAASH!_ The shield and the slot machine kissed. Bright, amazing prismatic light exploded off of it, the slot machine's impact breaking the energy shielding.

With it held overhead, she roared. _"Fhuck… yo~u!"_

 _KABOOM!_ She slammed it straight down into the red armor as it thrust its body for her.

" _hh- Nngh!"_ Amazingly, the red armor wasn't even knocked over. The slot machine bounced off its head as it cringed back, and went flying past Sendai, over her own head.

' _Holy fuck!'_ Sendai was taken aback. The unknowably heavy slot machine _bounced off its head._

' _Youkai like this-... they had to have been as strong back then, too. No, stronger. No attack like that would have done anything to the beasts of old. They were… beyond strength.'_

' _This thing, too… is beyond strength.'_

 _Fwish!_ Purple-pink light flared up Sendai's features, as she was absolutely amazed and befuddled by the slot machine's interaction with the both of them.

 _BANGBANGBANGBANGBANG!_ Now wrapped in wind, she weaved away and behind cover, as the red armor amateurishly unloaded in her direction. It was similarly rattled by the fact that a human just bludgeoned it with a slot machine.

 _BANGBANGBANG!_ The blue armor unloaded on the air, trying to flush Reimu out of potential hiding spots-

 _BOOM BOOM BOOM!_ Reimu's needles exploded along its feet, its energy shield rippling.

' _We… really have to run. We have to defeat these things at some point. What if she makes them start killing villagers? Everything will be for nothing…'_

 _BAM!_ Then, the front door to the Golden Grin burst open.

The two armored bunnies looked in its direction. Sendai did, too.

"Nnn…"

Reisen waltzed inside, posture lazy, a huge sniper rifle held over one shoulder.

The fleeing patrons froze before her, and the bunnies began to aim their huge pistols at her.

"Man. Mokou wasn't kidding. This place really is a party right at the door." Reisen pouted slightly, beholding the two rogue suits of Eientei tech.

" _hh- Freeze!"_

" _hh- We have orders to kill. If you don't want to join that list, you'd best leave us be."_

Reisen blinked. "...Sorry, but your trial period of that armor's expired. If you wanna _buy it…"_

Reisen slung her sniper rifle forward, and grabbed it with both hands.

 _SHI- SHIK- CLACK!_ It snapped into a minigun in a near instant. "You're gonna have to _pay upfront!"_

 _BANGBANGBANGBANGBANG!_ Both bunnies unloaded on her.

 _FWA- FWA- FWAP!_ Reisen strafed to the side with speed Sendai hadn't seen many humans even run at, her cyan energy shield eating bullets that managed to land on her.

 _FWABOOM!_ A pillar of fire enveloped the blue armor. _"hh- Magical damage! Magical damage!"_

 _KABOOM!_ From an explosion, Mokou stepped forward, atop the stage in the center of the Golden Grin. "God, _damn it._ These rogue bunnyfucks just _can't-"_

The red armor turned to her-

 _BANG!_ _SPLACK!_ Mokou was capped in one shot.

" _Ha-"_ With a fanfare of blood and skull fragments, Mokou fell back, eyes wide, mouth hung open.

 _PATATATATATATAT!_ Reisen leapt, unloading her minigun as she flew.

" _Hrgh-"_ Blood began to pour from the red armor, as it staggered around, thrown by the bullets striking it.

 _BANGBANGBANGBANG!_ Sendai shut her eyes, as her head pounded from all the noises of gunfire…

' _This is fucking ridiculous.'_

 _Fwish!_ Blue flaring from Sendai's body, she sprang from behind cover, lumbering towards the blue armor as it still searched for Reimu.

From her sleeves, she drew that shotgun that Kourin had given her.

The blue armor sensed her approach, and flicked its knife up, ready for close combat-

 _KABOOM!_ Sendai shot it at mid-range, only ten meters away.

" _hh- Fuck!"_ The blue armor began to move away, after flinching from the bullets. _"Help me out!"_

The red armor turned-

 _KAPOW!_ Reisen transformed her minigun back into a sniper rifle, and aimed down the scope midair in the midst of a huge bunnyhop.

 _SPLACK!_ The shot went right through the red armor. _"Hugh- hhrh!"_ It dropped onto a knee, kneeling down.

 _FWAM!_ The blue model locked its own armor with blinding white shield energy, kneeling down defensively.

Even knowing nothing of the technology, Sendai knew not to engage. _'Seems like a defensive magic posture of some kind…'_

" _Spirit Sign!"_ Reimu dipped down from overhead. _"Fantasy Seal!"_

From nothing, rainbow-colored orbs flared around her, rotating around ominously fast in the air. They beared down on the armors, descending as meteors of phantasmal color.

 _FWAM- BOOM- BAM- KABOOM- BAM- BOOM!_ Holy annihilation swept across the floor.

" _hh- Aauugh!"_ The red armor went flying, danmaku roaring through it as it spun through the air. It was cast up with the slot machines and random booth furniture around it, all twirling around mid-air.

The blue armor's shield rippled, absorbing all of the danmaku and rippling light. It stayed stuck, knelt down, fist planted firmly in the floor as its shield took all the prismatic danmaku.

Then, as it stood-

 _KRAKA- BOO~M!_ It unleashed a holy-flavored sphere of annihilation all around itself. Even the ground beneath it was erased as it hovered in place.

Sendai was thankful she wasn't closer. _'As I thought. Defensive magic.'_

" _hh- I got visual!"_ The blue model finally spotted Reimu, and aimed up-

 _KAPOW!_ Reisen's sniper shell landed in the back of its helmet.

 _...THOOM. THUD._ It dropped onto its knees amidst the crater beneath itself. It then slumped onto its stomach.

 _BOOM!_ As it landed, the red armor began to stand again. _"hh- I won't lo~se!"_

Sendai saw it spring from the floor-

 _FWISH!_ A violent, red aura sprang from the red armored bunny's chest as it sprinted towards Sendai.

 _BAM!_ Jumping onto the back of the fallen blue model, the red one suddenly flipped one-eighty through the air, springing off of it.

It drew a huge red crescent in the club's airspace with its boot. As it descended towards Sendai, it committed fully to its almighty flipping kick, ready to meet her head heel-first.

Seeing it near, Sendai exhaled.

' _I'm not letting this shit stop me! I haven't come this far for nothing!'_

 _WHAM!_ With both arms, blue light flared from Sendai's body as she blocked the oncoming, metal heel.

The blow sent her running backwards to maintain her balance, her shaky arms in a world of vibrating pain.

She grit her teeth, skidding on her knees as she drove the pain off. Unable to do anything but slide back, she seethed, the pain burning through her mind.

 _WOOSH!_ From the floor, the red armor swept three-sixty back into standing, defying basic rules of bodily physics to do so-

 _WHISH!_ Snapping into standing, Sendai leaned back, the tip of a combat knife grazing the bridge of her nose. _'Fucking gods- fuck me-'_

Arching down, one hand on the floor, the red model readied to leap at Sendai-

 _WHABOOM!_ Drawing a thick white line in the air, Reimu came down like a meteor, planting both sandals firmly into its back. _"hh- Hhgh!"_ The red armor gasped, crushed to the floor by her impact.

Sendai looked up, and met Reimu's gaze. _'...She's alright.'_ She sighed, relieved.

Reimu's hard stare met her mother, and softened. Sendai was alright too.

...A few moments later, Mokou strolled back up, the top of her shirt all bloody. "I fucking _hate_ guns. They're so fucking annoying."

' _You're telling me.'_

Gaze plain, Reisen strolled up to everyone as well, sniper rifle now slung over her back, held with both arms. "Looks like we were just in time."

Reimu stepped off of the red model, taking a look down at it, before coming up to her mother. "Mo- mom… are you okay?"

"...As okay as usual." Sendai's body shook. "Half-dead, but-"

" _Weak-hearted!"_ Tsuruko was heard overhead. "Is this really all you have left!?"

Standing atop the elevator overhead, she held her wineglass down, gazing at the ground floor through it. "The rewards that await you! Eientei's henchmen will surely kill you! Do not forget the life you have planned- if you see victory here! It's _all or nothing!_ Loose your fire- and annihilate our foes!"

 _FWISH. FWISH._ The red aura of the red model flared up again. The blue model, bleeding from the back of its helmet, began to stand, a fire inside it burning anew. Its chest too lit up neon red, smoke and fire-like magic burning within the sophisticated suit.

Given a seeming second chance at life, abandoning their guns, both suits of armor began to rise again.

Sendai tensed up. "Reimu- _behind you-"_

Reimu spun around, gohei up-

 _SHUNK!_ She was stabbed in the gut.

 _WHABOOM!_ Spinning around and crouching, the red bunny armor curled up and shot its heel into the air. It met Reimu in the jaw, sending her flying away.

 _CLI- CLICK!_ Turning her rifle back into a minigun, Reisen aimed at the blue armor again. "What the _hell-"_

 _PATATATATATAT!_ Reisen unloaded on it, but it ran against the bullets. As it was lined with alloy bullets, it sprinted up to her-

 _FWAM- FWISH!_ With a stroke of its knife, it smashed Reisen's shield open, sending her skidding back past entire aisles of slot machines.

A single, neon-red eye blazed from within the blue helmet's orange visor. An uneven, red line was drawn in the air as it shot its gaze to the side.

Mokou ran up to it-

 _WHAM- BOOM!_ She thrust a kick into its chest, forcing its legs to buckle for just a moment.

 _Woosh- WHABOOM!_ Spinning around, Mokou evaded a swipe of its combat knife, snapping to thrust another kick straight into its chest, sending the blue armor reeling.

 _KAPOW!_ From the distance, Reisen sent a sniper round through its chest-

 _KAPOW!_ She managed a second shot, into the side of its helmet.

" _hh- hh- hh-"_ The armor shakily remained standing, twisting around on its pelvis, trying not to go limp. The helmet and armor stopped the bullets, but not the sheer force behind them.

Mokou leapt into the air. _"And fucking- stay do~wn!"_

 _WHABOOM!_ Doing a forward flip, Mokou smashed her heel and foreleg into the blue armor.

" _hh-"_ Static came from the helmet, as the whole armored being slowly fell back-

 _THOOM._ Landing on its back, blood pouring out from the blue plates, the bunny inside slowly submitted to its fate.

Meanwhile, Sendai attempted to meet the red armor head-on to protect her daughter.

 _SHINK- SHUNK!_ However, it had unreal strength. With two blade strokes dealt to her own chest, Sendai found herself stumbling back-

 _WHAM!_ The armor smacked her aside with an arm. Immediately, it shot past her, moving for Reimu.

 _Thud!_ Bouncing off of a nearby, L-shaped couch's back, Sendai huffed. _'Damn it-... no!'_

Outside the Golden Grin's doors- having been launched outside earlier- Reimu glared back inside the dim club.

She swallowed, seeing the red armor approach, standing to meet it as it came at her-

 _TITITITITITICK!_ She unleashed a stream of needles, yin-yangs and danmaku all at once-

 _WHISH- WOOSH!_ Weaving past Reimu's projectiles, it ran in a C-shape within one second, closing ten meters of distance between itself and Reimu.

 _SHUNK- KASHUNK!_ Its knife carved into Reimu's ribs, past her shrine maiden outfit. _"Ugh- nhk-"_ Reimu swung her gohei-

 _CLONG!_ It hit the red armor's head hard.

 _KASHUNK!_ With a mighty flail of its own, it plunged its knife into Reimu's side so hard she went flying, the blade removed by the sheer ferocity with which Reimu flew.

 _Thud!_ Rolling to a stop on the village's stone road, Reimu's body began to slow. A trail of red was left on the stone road, detailing exactly how she rolled.

The armor marched up to her, its red aura burning unbelievably bright. Slowly, it began to raise its left leg, to stomp on her head-

 _WHAM!_ Sendai came in out of nowhere, hooking her left arm right across its featureless, orange visor.

" _hh- Nnh!"_ The armor weaved to the side- and Reimu jerked her head to avoid its now panicked, less-forceful stomp.

 _WHAP!_ Sendai caught it with a big, messy right hook.

" _I'm not-"_ Sendai barked- and the armored bunny saw opportunity, thrusting its knife for her throat.

Sendai saw it coming, eyes wide and hunched down. She'd ducked just enough for the combat blade to pass overhead. The forearm of the armor still smashed her in the skull, however.

It was almost pure instinct, and part luck- that the blade wasn't planted straight into her skull. Her mind was jostled by adrenaline and the pain of the insurmountable arm against her head.

' _This rush…'_

 _THOOM._ At the same time as its attempted knife jab, Sendai planted a mighty, azure-tinted fist plain into the armor's gut. Sendai could feel the vibration of her own punch through the thing's forearm.

They broke from one another.

"Nghk-" Blood flaring from Sendai's forehead, where the forearm clipped her, she staggered back.

" _hh-... nnh…"_ The red armor stumbled back, faltering from Sendai's counter-hook.

" _I'm not- letting you-"_ High on adrenaline, Sendai fought the force throwing her back, and ran at the red armor.

Its helmet snapped to look at her, no longer focusing on the damage to its torso-piece-

 _WHAP! WHAM!_ With a left hook to its face, and a right hook, Sendai sent the armor stepping back-

 _WHAM!_ She hooked it in the gut again, and it flicked its blade up to defend itself-

 _Whap!_ Leaning away from the blade, it Sendai kneed it in the gut. _"hh- Haghk-"_ The red armor was forced to let a knee buckle, for only half a second.

That was enough time for Sendai to wind up a massive, overhead swing of her left arm. _"You're not gonna kill-"_

 _WHABOOM!_ The overarm haymaker met the visor of the red armor.

 _CRA~CK!_ The orange alloy shattered- revealing the vague details of the bunny inside.

" _My daughter!"_ Searching her mind for anything she could to continue the offense, Sendai recalled what she just saw.

' _Now!'_

She snapped into a forward flip, a line of blue drawn by her heel in the air.

Eyes wide, the bunny looked up, awed by the sudden ferocity and speed Sendai exuded-

 _WHACRACK!_ The heel of her sandal came down on the bunny's head, damaging the helmet itself.

 _Thud!_ Sendai practically bounced off the red armored bunny, but she'd still inflicted serious damage.

 _That better have-...'_ On her side, Sendai beheld it.

Stumbling back, the bunny looked around airily…

 _THOOM._ It dropped onto its knees. The internal trauma was too much.

 _THUD._ Then, it had fallen. Cheek-down on the soil, the red aura emanating from its plates began to dim and dwindle.

Sendai, beaten and bloody, burned with adrenaline. Blue heat ran along her limbs, blinding, her dark magic flaring wildly across her whole form.

She looked back to her bloody daughter, who shook where she laid. _'Reimu-... I- I have to-'_ She reached into her sleeves for medicine, and began to kneel.

 _Sendai learned Counter Hook._

 _Sendai learned Double Finisher._

Now all patched up, amidst the cold stone road, Sendai and Reimu stood.

"That-..." Reimu exhaled, "could have gone better…"

"No shit." Sendai frowned down at the red armor, as it bled from its bullet holes. "Fucking youkai. Do talismans even work on these? These-... _things?"_

"...No." Reimu decided. "They're all covered in armor. If we broke a visor earlier, we could've done that, but-..."

' _I fucking hate technology sometimes. Especially because it's youkai inventing all the cool shit, and using it against us.'_

Reisen and Mokou stepped outside the club. Reisen had her sniper rifle slung behind her back again.

"What the _fuck_ was that." Reisen was somewhat incredulous. "I wish _my_ soldiers put in that kind of effort."

"Yeah?" Sendai nodded. "I don't."

...Reisen had a flat look, before smiling some. "Well, you know-"

"Hey. You." Sendai stepped up to the fallen red model. "You still awake?"

 _Bong._ She kicked the side of it, but it hardly budged.

...She looked down at the knuckles of her fists. Though they were healing now- thanks to Eientei medicine- she'd still worn the skin down something fierce when she was punching the armor up.

' _How hard was I punching it? When I prod it now, it feels like a pile of bricks. My hands are covered in blood…'_

' _I used to hurt my fists to an unreal degree. These old scars… rough patches of worn skin… albeit partially undone with healing cocktails, and my revival. Even so, some scars don't fade with time. Some scars don't fade with fuckin' rebirth apparently. Only a few.'_

' _...Almost wish I had more, if only for the layer of dead skin. Helps a lot with terrain maneuvering. Gloves never last... '_

"It's probably _not._ Awake, that is." Reisen stepped up while Sendai seceded into her own thoughts. "I'll be surprised if they're _alive_ after that. The damage required to disable these armor suits is... somewhat fatal. It's important that we do it though. Rogue armor like this is _bad news._ I'm glad I was here to help."

' _...Me too.'_ Sendai hated to admit it. _'Fuck.'_

Standing idle in the darkening day, Mokou exhaled. "Just what we needed. More fuckin' bunny _fucks_ running around the village with big guns. Hey, buckteeth. I thought you said your master took care of _all_ of them."

Reisen snorted at the insult. "Apparently _these_ two weren't underground. They must've been _here_ the whole time. That's my best guess."

Mokou sighed. "What a fuckin' drag." Reaching into her pockets, she drew a pack of cigarettes. "An' speakin' of drags…"

Suddenly, Sendai saw something of note. _'Oh, hey.'_

Keine floated down from above, holding a bandaged-up Rinnosuke, and Aina. "And-..."

 _click._ She deposited them both onto the ground. "There…"

She looked at Mokou, who was starting to light her cigarette.

 _vhi~r._ Gently, she shot lasers from her eyes, eradicating the cigarette.

"Hey- what the _fuck-"_ Mokou turned, and saw Keine. "Oo- oh-... hey, Keine. Make- uh, y'make out okay?"

Rinnosuke looked particularly drained in the background. Sendai took particular notice, smiling despite everything. _'He really doesn't want to be here. Don't blame him. I'm sure we'd all like some food and a bath after this is all over...'_

"More or less." Parting from the two she sat down, Keine came up to Sendai immediately. "Are you hurt?"

"...Not _too_ bad." Sendai idly shook the Toughness bottle she held in one hand. "I'm probably going to crap my guts out later, or whatever drawback this medicine has- but I'm feeling… _stable."_

"Tsuruko went that way."Keine pointed towards the village square. "I'd bet she's waiting for you."

Reimu fluffed up. "Nngh- _really?_ Fine... let's go, mom."

Sendai put a hand on her shoulder. "You won't be helping."

...Reimu blinked. "Wh-... what? Why?"

"This is my fight." Sendai decided. She steeled herself, staring her daughter down. "Of course, if she has anymore dirty tricks, help will be welcome. But, if she wants to be anything near what she's made herself out to be, she won't be so tactless. _This_ was dirty, undeniably. But…"

Shaking her head, she began to move.

Reimu spoke up. "But-... _this_ was already really bad! What if you-"

"I won't lose." Sendai raised her voice. "Trust me."

...Reimu didn't have anything else to say.

"Tsukiko-" Keine held a hand out. "Don't be reckless. We can-"

" _Be quiet,_ Keine." Sendai refused her. "Please."

"I've done all this… for _you._ For all of you. For the village, for the families, for all this shi-..." She drew a blank, somewhat tired. "You've always told me I could stop. That I didn't have to."

"But, I wanted to. I've done all this, because _this is my fight."_

' _I'm not gonna let the stupid ruin things for others. I'm not gonna let Tsuruko destroy the love and lives of those she doesn't understand.'_

' _The sacrifice will have to be her own ideal life, but so be it. Might makes right- but being mighty…'_

' _It's more than commanding people. It's more than the stupid way she looks at things. It's about working with people, and using what you can do… so not only you can be happy, but so you don't cause problems for other people.'_

' _Nothing's worse than someone who causes problems and can't see the harm they do.'_

Tsuruko was reminded of thieves and bandits, youkai of prey and the more deceiving, underhanded of villagers. Even if not that, years ago, even the common, well-meaning villager would easily condemn her and her family.

Those were all people who didn't think- or care- about the effect they had on others. Without that layer of social decency, contesting interests with such people really was just a matter of which pulled strongest.

' _I'll make you understand the pain of those who lost their dreams to the greedy. So much wasted life… I can't describe it in a way that'd do justice.'_

Watching Sendai's scowl grow, Keine sighed.

' _If I lose here, I'll be as good as dead anyway. Me and Tsuruko… we really aren't that different.'_

' _Here I am, trying to stomp out her dream, as she tries to stomp out mine, and many others… but, she also fights for other people. She fights for those who'd ride her coattails. The infilltrator youkai who abduct, fuck and ruin our people. She fights for a brutal fantasy.'_

' _...Yeah. That's where we're different.'_

' _I'm done with that shit. I've lived a life of blood and violence. Debased the laws of honorable combat- and made the case for all the pacifists.'_

Sendai wanted to embrace this era of peace. Use it to grow, to develop her social and emotional intelligence, and to continue doing what she loved to do. She loved fighting, but she didn't love these sorts of stakes.

' _I'm not going to let her take us back into fear. Even if this 'peace' is just the calm before another painful era, I want to live in it as long as I can.'_

' _We've made those mistakes. She isn't going to force them on this village again. We already had me. I fucked things up enough. The youkai fucked things up enough.'_

Sendai began to move.

' _Let's settle this, Tsuruko.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

NEW SKILLS:

 _x Soul:_

Jade Spirit * Monkey's Paw - Sendai is now further resistant to lust-based attacks. Seductive pheromones now have a reduced effect on her.

 _x Youkai Style:_

Youkai Cunning: Demonic Shadow - Dodging behind a foe in Youkai Style allows Sendai to make it appear like she's vanished. Masks her presence from youkai, too.

Counter Hook - Anticipating an enemy attack, Sendai delivers a powerful hook straight to their gut, shattering armor and busting guts.

Double Finisher - Inspired by Mokou's victory over a lunarian armor suit, Sendai adapted one of her attacks. A flipping kick that takes place at the very end of Sendai's Youkai Buster combo, dealing incredible damage and following up on a devastating combo string, at the price of leaving Sendai very open afterward.

 _x Tengu Style:_

Crescent Kick - A charged finisher that can be unleashed at the end of Sendai's Youkai Buster combo. Has incredible power, but requires a setup time. Therefore, Sendai utilizes it best when she manipulates an opponent into taking it.

Raptor Mastery (Ascension) - By spinning in place or unleashing a Crescent Kick, Sendai can take to the air for a moment. If she sprints from this posture, she'll be placed at max run speed instantly.

Spin Dash - By spinning in place, Sendai can take off, achieving maximum run speed instantly.

Raptor Mastery (Shadow) - When Sendai quicksteps behind a foe, they have a harder time seeing her do so, making them think she vanished entirely. Doesn't mask her presence from youkai.

 _x Oni Style:_

Wounded Mastery - When pushed to the edge, Sendai shrugs off both blade and bullet, but only in Oni Style.

Essence of Extreme Oni - Her anger boiling over, Sendai grips a foe's head with both arms, and headbutts them in the nose, creating a spectacular explosion of blood. Then, she presses her sole to their face, and bends them back, crushing them under heel. Does tremendous damage, and disables the healing regeneration of youkai.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

a long-ish chapter of decent size

there was a lot of fighting when i think about it, but i also think there were a lot of unique settings and ways in which the fighting took place

it was kind of mean of me to throw the armors at sendai so early but there were people around to make it not end poorly; keine looking out for tsukiko and everything

plus it's not like the armors were quiet about what they were doing, unloading their pistols so candidly and everything

that tsuruko conversation was really fun to write though, it feels really good to be able to _finally_ reveal her intentions and stuff outright; and also illustrate on them and think harder about them

for awhile i had her intentions be kinda vague both 'cause i didn't fully think them out, but also because i didn't quite know what to do with her, but now i'm glad i held back

this was pretty good

the armor fight was more scary than it was intense i think, at least for most of it; which was pretty much the point

definitely not a fight that'd fly in a video game! but this isn't a video game so honh honh honh

i'll see how the pace feels in proofing later, but i think tsuruko did manage to provide some adequate hype

golden grin's a trip yo

that whole pocket realm was a super on-the-spot decision but both makes a lot of sense (logistically) and is a really fun location overall

the whole kessho exchange was a fun loose end to tie up

somewhat minor overall, but a good stepping stone to lead into the rest of the variable circus of enemies this chapter had

as always, see you all next time!


	27. Hakurei Maiden: Reprise

It was night in the Human Village.

Bright, clean white lights were set up on the surrounding rooftops. They shone from large towers around the square's four corners too, and big, luminescent yin-yang orbs sat swirling atop the metal towers.

Before the fountain in the village's center, Tsuruko stood.

Having changed her outfit from her black-yellow one, Sendai stepped onto the well-lit square. There were no villagers out tonight, and the town guard seemed to be actively keeping people from the central square this evening.

She was now in her red hakama and cloth apron, with her red-white sleeves on.

Her wineglass now empty, Tsuruko held it up again, beholding the wonderful lights.

Stars shimmered in the sky above, and small snow flurries chilled the girls in the midst of this visually distant evening.

"You survived." Tsuruko's smile was warm. "I was hoping you would. Your familial weakness was almost your end. I suppose it's a sort of hubris. You may be strong, but I was sure you weren't _that_ strong."

After that last traumatic fight, and after thinking on their talk on the way here, Sendai had found some answers.

' _She may be valiant and honest in her desire for control, but she's blinded herself.'_

' _I don't think she'll find the love and life she wants, just by strongarming what she wants out of everyone and anyone in her presence.'_

"I didn't finish them off myself." Sendai returned. "I got help from people who care."

' _Not exactly family, but… friends, I guess. Keine certainly is, but I couldn't say about Mokou or Reisen. They seem friendly enough to me, but we don't know each other well. I can at least say they're people Keine considers friends, for certain.'_

Tsuruko furrowed her brows. "I _know_. I was there, idiot. I was making fun of how fucking weak you were. Relying on some _youkai_ to save your daughter. What kind of shrine maiden were you?"

...Sendai wasn't really bothered. "If all you're going to do is insult me, I'm happy to start this fight right now."

Sighing, Tsuruko shook her head. "Regardless… how are you feeling, Tsukiko? Tonight is my _coronation._ Do you feel happy for me?"

...Sendai simply stared back.

They casually stared one another down. Sendai took in Tsuruko's gentle, easy smile, and Tsuruko took in Sendai's flat, hard expression.

Sendai began. "I didn't want to be a shrine maiden. I didn't want to be _the_ Hakurei maiden. I didn't want to be a protector. I didn't ask to be a defender. I never applied to have my family put on the line for trivial crap like this.

"And, for awhile, I wasn't. I was some hooligan terrorizing the village at its darkest hours. I hated everything. I was an idiot. I still kinda _am._

"But I couldn't run from my past. I couldn't escape who I was.

"I found love. When I calmed down, I found the capacity to protect people. To protect those who couldn't protect themselves."

She thought of Rinnosuke and Keine, and her daughter. "To help the young stay on the right path. To stop the ignorant, violent monsters outside these walls from indiscriminately turning happy families into meat and stew.

"That was when people called me the Hakurei shrine maiden. A title I did not want, but one I earned. Not that I'd have it any other way now."

Sendai glared. "Any title someone explicitly draws for themselves isn't worth wearing. Glory follows on its own."

Tsuruko nodded subtly. "...Alright. Cute monologue. But…"

"Control is my version of such care." Tsuruko declared. "I'll force people down the paths I set for them- or they will pay a price. There will be a price on Gensokyo's hierarchy, one I will decide with blood and bone. No more will this world torture humanity. Everyone worth a damn can draw their _own_ future- with any means necessary."

"Killing someone's child is how you care?" Sendai's scowl deepened. "Killing my daughter Reimu-... killing one of Keine's students… killing the women of the village? Nearly killing Kou-... Rinnosuke?

"If you're so desperate to give yourself a title… write it in _your own blood,_ and not others."

Snow began to blow past them, a cool breeze casting their sets of long black hair into the air.

"Hah?" Tsuruko's smile reaffirmed itself. "Don't talk like some _saint,_ Tsukiko. You killed youkai. You killed youkai who didn't deserve it. When you were young, you killed human people. Part of why you're so revered is your capacity for violence. You were a menace to those who opposed you, and your wrath never let go of those who wronged you.

"You're vengeful. Resourceful. Terrible. Legendary.

"Whose blood tipped the brush for your script?"

...Sendai frowned harder.

Tsuruko held her wineglass forward again, sliding her other hand into one of her pockets. "We write in other people's blood. That is the way of leaders. In this land, that is the way of the Hakurei shrine maiden."

Turning around, Tsuruko faced the fountain, and the beautiful, white shimmers that ran along it. The sky's stars, the snow, and the pale white lights, all reflected in the water. Boundless and mysterious reflections of the world around, and at their fingertips.

 _woosh._ Tsuruko tossed her red apron off.

She wore a leotard akin to Sendai's, but there was a distinct difference between them.

Three huge metal canisters pierced Tsuruko's chest all the way through, exposed along her front, and along her back. They took turns glowing, one yellow, one blue, and one pink.

As each one pulsated to her heartbeat, the yin-yang sigils inside shone with unreal clarity, unmistakable from even the furthest distances.

Tsuruko slowly twisted to smile at Sendai. "You're not the only one with the Hakurei god's blessing."

"I'll kill you. Surpass Reimu, kill her…"

"...and become the Shrine Maiden of Paradise."

Sendai steeled herself. "You can keep the cute nickname. But…"

 _woosh._ Sendai cast her own red cloth apron off.

Standing there in her black leotard, she took a deep breath, the air chilling her skin.

"There can only be one."

Tsuruko beamed.

They both broke into a sprint.

 _BAM! BAM!_ They both crashed together in the village square's midst, under the flickering snow and sterile lights.

They'd bashed their left shoulders against one another's, and butted foreheads, locking their posture together.

Tsuruko's faith canisters began to pulse brighter, and Tsukiko's body began to burn with prismatic light.

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

27

Hakurei Maiden

-+- o -+-

 _VS._

 _TSURUKO AOYAMA_

 _ARTIFICIAL HAKUREI_

-+- o -+-

Sendai- Tsukiko Hakurei- felt her heart begin to pump the hardest it had since she could remember. Harder than when she was on the edge of life and death these past few days- and harder still than when she was simply angry.

' _I… am Tsukiko Hakurei. Mother of Reimu, and the shrine maiden of paradise.'_

" _Nnh-"_ Tsukiko and Tsuruko staggered back, their mutual headbutt unkind to either.

 _Fwish- FWISH!_ Tsuruko's body lit up bright, neon pink, and her three chest canisters all bloomed with pink, purple and amethyst splendor.

" _I've invoked- the spirits of the wind!"_ Tsuruko declared with a big smile, her pupils flaring a dizzying violet.

 _Fwish!_ Tsukiko knew what had to be done. Her own form flared pink, the same tint of playful amethyst light blooming from her chest naturally.

' _I always loved duels.'_

Tsuruko spun in place-

 _KABOOM!_ With a pink _explosion,_ Tsuruko came at Tsukiko like a blur, achieving tengu velocity.

 _WOOSH!_ Beaming wickedly, Tsuruko attempted to sweep a leg under Tsukiko's, in an attempt to pull her into her devastating, momentum-stealing combo-

 _Fwi- fwi- fwish!_ Tsukiko had slid behind her, as if phasing through her sweeping leg like the wind itself.

 _Whap- pap- papap!_ Two jabs to Tsuruko's gut, a grazing hook to the back of her neck, and a jab to her gut-

 _woosh._ Crouching down, Tsuruko weaved out of Tsukiko's hurricane of attacks, and twisted around to face her.

 _Whap- pap!_ With just her left arm, she jabbed Tsukiko hard in the breast, then in the face.

 _woosh_. Before Tsuruko's left arm could stagger her any further, Tsukiko ducked into a weave, twisting around Tsuruko's side.

 _woo- woosh._ For a moment, neither did anything but weave around, failing to actually strike one another.

 _Papap- whapap- whap- wapap- papap!_ Both were displeased by one another's complacency, and they threw a flurry of punches at one another. Nothing but fast, weak jabs that met one another like a wall of needles.

"Nnh-" They both faltered, staggering back. Glaring, they threw themselves forward again-

 _WHAP- BAM!_ Tsukiko threw a high kick, and Tsuruko thrust both fists forward at the same time, knuckles-first.

" _Unh- nnh!"_ They both ate shit incredibly hard, Tsukiko bouncing off her ass and rolling around, and Tsuruko thrown one-eighty onto her head by the kick's precise force.

Throwing her legs up, Tsukiko began to spin on her upper back, before twisting and tossing herself, twirling off the floor.

" _Hah!"_ Spinning into standing, Tsukiko threw a hook at the air, more for the process of gaining her balance than to hit anything-

Tsuruko was already before her, and swept her left leg under Tsukiko's right.

"Nnh-" Faltering slightly, Tsukiko leaned forward-

 _WHAPAPTHUNKBAMWHACKWHAMBAMBAM!_ It started with two left jabs to Tsukiko's stomach. A slap and two hooks to her face, and then Tsuruko hooked her thighs with either arm, causing Tsukiko to stumble in place. Tsuruko uppercut her to upset her balance, then hooking her in the face twice in the same few frames, and-

 _WHABOOM!_ Leaping back, Tsuruko kicked her left leg into Tsukiko's torso.

 _WOOSH!_ Tsukiko went flying, rolling back in the air.

 _Wham- thud- bam!_ Like a stone tossed over a lake's surface, she bounced off the cobblestone square's flooring repeatedly, before coming to a skidding stop on her knees, tearing her red hakama in the process. _"Nn- nnhn-"_

Springing into standing, Tsukiko looked up-

 _BOOM!_ Tsuruko exploded towards her again, a shockwave of air spreading out from where she stood. _"Just-"_

Tsukiko saw it. A rising uppercut coming straight from the floor, with all the force of a tornado.

" _Go back- to sleep!"_ Tsuruko's voice boomed, as she sent the almighty, single punch up.

 _CRUNCH._ Tsukiko slammed an elbow straight down into the oncoming fist.

The impact hurt Tsukiko some- but Tsuruko didn't expect the raw, natural stopping power. Her uppercut hadn't progressed enough, and she didn't know _how_ it worked, but when it was stopped at _just_ that moment, it felt like all the might and momentum her blow had gathered went straight to zero in an instant.

"Wh- _ghn…"_ Cringing back, clutching her arm, Tsuruko grit her teeth-

Tsukiko threw her other arm back, and carved it up between the two of them.

 _WHACRACK!_ She uppercut Tsuruko in turn.

 _Thud!_ Body splaying out, blood shot from Tsuruko's mouth as she flopped back limply onto the village square's partially snow-crested floor. _"Hu- nnh…!"_

Beaming, Tsukiko marched up before her, and took punches at the air. "Fuckin' lame."

"How- how juvenile…" Tsuruko slowly got up-

 _whap! whap!_ Tsukiko looked smug as she punted Tsuruko in the gut a few times, though it didn't impede her rise back into standing.

Once she was up, they backed away from one another. _'Tsuruko's tough, I'll give her that.'_ Blood ran down Tsuruko's lips, but the battle had just begun- and Tsukiko knew it was a scant advantage.

Looking around, Tsukiko saw Reisen's medicine booth, unmanned but the lights still on. _'I wonder…'_

 _Woosh!_ Tsukiko spun around-

 _BOOM!_ Air exploded out from her, as she went over to Reisen's medicine stall in an instant.

 _BOOM!_ Tsuruko blasted off from where she stood, following Tsukiko, intent on not letting her run.

 _WHAM!_ Coming to a stop, Tsukiko kicked her sandal against the side of Reisen's medicine stall. With the impact, she felt the huge, rigid structure of a 'stall' shake. _'Damn.'_

 _Fwish._ Spinning around, almost leaving the floor, Tsukiko saw Tsuruko boom up to her-

" _Hyah!"_ Tsuruko threw a mighty, overhead punch that'd smash Tsukiko's head into the center beam of the medicine stall. If it landed, it'd do unspeakable damage. She was making sure to use the arm that wasn't mildly injured earlier.

 _woosh._ Tsukiko ducked down, and Tsuruko's fist continued to billow overhead.

 _CRUNCH._ Tsuruko had punched the wall at full-power, wind spreading across it with the impact of her knuckles.

...She stumbled back, eyes shut, clutching her other now somewhat-crushed arm. _"Fuck-"_

Tsukiko put a hand on Tsuruko's back, clutched the injured arm, and leaned Tsuruko forward-

 _WHAM!_ She smashed Tsuruko into the stall's main, blue plastic-decorated beam, face-first.

 _WHAP!_ Tsukiko kicked at the back of Tsuruko's right leg with ferocity.

 _THUD!_ Tsuruko fell hard, splaying out on the ground. _"Dh- dahmn-... it-...!"_

"You're green." Tsukiko insulted her. "Too eager. If the wind's patient, you should be too."

"Sh- shut _up…"_ Slowly, Tsuruko curled into standing again, seething. "You should be _scared._ Taunts like that…"

Once Tsuruko was up, her smile snapped into a beam. She did a shuffle in place, before-

 _WOOSH!_ She swung a sweeping kick for Tsukiko again- but Tsukiko slid back, out of range.

 _Fwi- fwish!_ Tsukiko slid to the right, to flank her only some. _'It's all about being-'_

 _FWISH!_ Tsuruko slid straight at her and leapt way into the air.

 _WHA- WHACK!_ Her sandals cut the front of Tsukiko's face.

 _WHAP- BOOM!_ As Tsuruko landed, her right fist met Tsukiko's face, and she thrust her left hand into her gut, held flat like a karate chop. A pink, spiralling dragon created of Tsuruko's pink aura curled around the attack, dazzling and amazing.

 _THOOM! "Wh- ngh…"_ Tsukiko withered onto her side instantly, sent onto one hip, before meekly rolling onto her back. Chilling wind caressed her form, the mighty burst unleashed by Tsuruko sending a shockwave across the clearing.

Marching backwards, Tsuruko smiled down with more composure now. "You can't match a _dragon's contemplation,_ maiden. I don't know where you learnt your _shitty_ technique-"

 _Woosh!_ _"Huu-"_ Tossing her legs, Tsukiko twisted off the floor, spinning into standing-

 _WOOSH!_ As she fully stood, she threw the left hook she always used to propel herself into posture. Tsuruko ducked under it.

 _Pap!_ Her left fist jabbed under Tsukiko's ribs, and she prepared to thrust both arms in as a destructive follow-up-

" _Hah!"_ Beaming, Tsukiko ducked down and pressed her right palm to Tsuruko's stomach, and hooked her left around Tsuruko's back.

 _Woosh!_ Tsuruko was shoved past her, stumbling forward to keep her balance. "Nnh-"

 _Whap- pap- whap!_ Tsukiko's icy-cold left fist met Tsuruko's back-gut. Her right met Tsuruko's spine, and her left came to the back of her head-

 _woo- woosh._ Tsuruko ducked down, twisted around, and threw a jab, but Tsukiko ducked down too and crossed beside her.

Stars, galaxies and the universe billowed in the amethyst tint along their black locks in the dark night, as they weaved, ducked, slid and dodged one another's blows.

 _Whap- pap!_ Tsukiko hooked her face twice-

 _Wham!_ Tsuruko finally landed that dual-knuckled attack, sending Tsukiko skidding back-

 _Woosh- Whap- pap!_ Sliding back up, Tsukiko palmed her in the gut, and jabbed her in the face-

 _Whap- pap!_ Tsuruko began to use only her left hand, plowing Tsukiko in the gut twice-

 _Woosh!_ Tsukiko ducked down, and seemingly vanished by slipping behind her again and shoving her forward.

' _And-'_ Arching down, posture aimed away from her foe, Tsukiko began to combine wind around her left leg and knee…

 _Woosh!_ _"Hyah!"_ Tsuruko threw a huge hook at the air to twist herself around- but Tsukiko wasn't right behind her as she expected.

But, she had an idea.

 _woosh- woosh- WOOSH!_ As she kept spinning around, a small tornado bloomed under her, carrying her to the air.

" _Hakurei God's wind!"_ She called out to the sky. _"Let me smite this heretic!"_

 _vhuu- VHUU~M!_ The three pink-tinted pistons in her chest billowed unbelievably bright-

 _KABOOM!_ She took towards Tsukiko, intent on spin-dashing straight into her.

" _HYAH!"_ Tsukiko unleashed her left leg, enacting the mighty crescent kick of moon rabbit CQC fame.

 _THOOM!_ The kick struck Tsuruko straight in the gut. Blood exploded across the clearing, the kick so fast and effective it was like a sword's blade.

 _Cla- clack, clack._ Mouth agape, gaze shocked, Tsuruko staggered back on her sandals, standing normally again, dazed and overwhelmed. The pain hadn't even blown through her yet, it all happened so fast. "What-... _nngh- ow-"_

Tsukiko was now the one carried by the wind-

 _KABOOM- BOOM!_ Fast as a tengu, she was in Tsuruko's face in the next instant, her adrenaline high. _'Fuck-'_

 _CR- CRUNCH!_ Her knuckles plowed into Tsuruko's wound, sending blood splaying everywhere.

' _YEAH!'_

 _WOOSH!_ _"Huu- aaugh!"_ Tsuruko went spiralling through the air, bouncing across the floor, blood from her open wound staining the village's cobblestone.

...Lumbering around, shaking the pain, blood and tenseness from her fists, Tsukiko frowned down at the bleeding Tsuruko.

Slowly, Tsuruko stood. Her form burned violently, the pink light around her almost bursting from her chest.

" _Hakurei God-..._ kaugh- kuff-... _gr- grant me-... health…"_

"Hell _no_ you don't!"Tsukiko was in her face in the next instant.

 _CRUNCH!_ Tsukiko uppercut her into the air. _"Hoo-"_ She inhaled, wind and her body becoming one.

 _WHAPAPAPAPAPAPAPAP!_ Tsukiko pummeled Tsuruko as she hung in the air, her arms moving no longer according to human physics, but to the will of her mind. _"Hura- ura- ura- ura- ura- ura~!"_ Every time one blinked, three punches had gone by.

Tsukiko stopped. Tsuruko slowly fell to the floor-

" _SHAH!"_ Tsukiko thrust her palm forward.

 _THOOM- SPLACK!_ A shockwave of blood shot from Tsuruko's gut on impact.

 _Thud!_ Tsuruko was sent sprawling, crashing down onto her own face, having been spun some by the final jab.

' _And…'_ Tsukiko exhaled, already somewhat tired. _'Is that-... is that it?'_

She looked around.

Shrine maidens were idly running into the sides of the village square, some getting spooked and running away when they saw Tsukiko's glare.

 _fwi- fwish! Fwish!_ They began to summon yin-yang objects, but not seemingly offensive kinds. The Reimu knockoffs of the artificial Hakurei project projected yin-yang adorned, ethereal tables and chairs into the square, seemingly plopping them down randomly.

"Nn-" Tsuruko was getting up.

Tsukiko turned to her, and took a deep breath. _'After all that? You're shitting me…'_

"Not-..." Tsuruko had no glee, no smarmy retort or snide emotion to her expression. "Not bad at _ALL…"_

The pink canister in her chest had died, the light faded, now black. The blue canister in the very midst of her chest was still lit, and the orange canister under her other breast still burned brightly.

 _Fwish!_ A young, twelve-year old looking Reimu look-alike ran up, projected a chair next to them, and ran away. _"Eee~!"_

 _THUMP._ The yin-yang chair gravitated into Tsuruko's arms.

" _DIE, TSUKIKO!"_

 _KRA- KRA- KRACK!_ Amber _exploded_ in a monumental eruption from Tsuruko, shade washing over her form, two huge orange lights piercing out of the dark that coated her chest.

Orange, yellow sparks and jolts exploded from her red-white arm sleeves into the night sky, enveloping the entire side of the village square Tsuruko stood.

In the center of it all, Tsuruko's eyes burned a deep amber, pupils hidden by the pure color. She soared through the aether, ready to end Tsukiko with one fell swoop of an entire chair.

 _Woosh- thud!_ Tsukiko dove out of the way so hard she had to roll around on the floor.

 _KRAK- KABOOM!_ Tsuruko struck the ground where she was with the chair so hard it was like a landmine went off. A geyser of yellow, cobblestone and dust burst into the air, and shattered Hakurei barrier panes flew off, the yin-yang chair blown up all at once by the impact.

Tsuruko no longer relied on unreal, inhuman momentum or skill- it was clear Tsukiko couldn't be bested with that well-tried strategy. She was now the _destroyer,_ and her underlings had created an entire miniature village's worth of furniture for her to destroy at her leisure.

Tsukiko smiled, but glared. "Hah? What the hell's all this?" As she walked forward, she held her arms out.

Tsuruko snarled, glaring, full of hatred and power. "It's clear- _you are very skilled-..."_

" _But I-"_ Tsuruko held her own arms out. _"-AM"_

 _THUMP- THUMP!_ She gained a chair to be held by each hand, both having slid across the square and into her grasp. _"STRONGER!"_

Tsukiko swallowed. Then, she smirked. "Hmm. You might be right. But, there's only one way to find out."

' _You can't be stronger than me. Not when I have to be strong- for myself, for everyone in this village who doesn't want any part of this bullshit- for all of her underlings she's fucked over- and for my daughter!'_

 _THOOM!_ Tsukiko stomped the floor. _"Hmph!"_

' _Not when I've bested youkai thousands- no, millions of times stronger than her! Some random bitch is fucking nothing to me!'_

The clumsy, holy shell and numbness combing over her body, Tsukiko let her anger flow over her joy.

' _She thinks she's better!? Hah! Let's see about tha~t!'_

 _PAP- PAP._ Tsukiko grabbed onto a shimmering, barrier-constructed table.

...Slowly, painfully slowly, Tsuruko and Tsukiko lumbered towards one another. The distance they'd made between one another with their speed was far more comprehensible now, especially as they had to consider every step of the way.

Tsuruko began. _"HROAA~H!"_ She _swung_ both chairs wide, to blow Tsukiko away-

 _CLANK- BOOM!_ Tsukiko blocked with her table, which she was almost disarmed of, but she just used the force to angle it overhead. _"Hoo~h!"_

 _THUNK!_ She clubbed it over Tsuruko's head, a blotch of blood splaying into the air. She was holding it by the flat, so it was the table's central leg that carved into Tsuruko's face-

 _THUMP- WHUMP!_ Tsuruko cleaved both chairs clumsily into Tsukiko's side. It was so mighty, Tsukiko's right arm let go of the table.

"Nnn-" With a terrible hold on the entire table now, Tsukiko flicked it overhead with that one arm, and rammed it down-

 _THUMP!_ It bounced off Tsuruko's head when she let it go, soaring off into the distance-

" _YAA~H!"_ Roaring, Tsuruko brought both whole chairs back, to clamp them around Tsukiko's head from both sides-

Tsukiko grabbed onto the chairs, and yanked on them, pulling them straight from Tsuruko's grasp.

 _Thump- thump._ Beaming in victorious glee, Tsukiko smashed them both into Tsuruko's sides and let go, letting both chairs tumble away.

" _HROAA~H!"_ Letting out a roar beyond human, Tsuruko lurched down. Afterimages of amber preceded her mighty shoulder check; it was beyond anything a human should conceivably ever be able to muster.

It was slow, the afterimages detailing how it'd absolutely meteor right into Tsukiko.

 _THOO~MP._ Tsukiko steeled her gut, and took it. The shock reverberated in the cobblestone she stood on, which began to crack.

Reaching forward, Tsukiko grabbed Tsuruko by the waist, and lifted her up entirely off of the ground.

"Wh-" Tsuruko's eyes were wide. She didn't think of _this,_ to be certain. _"Whah…"_

Twirling her around overhead, Tsukiko inhaled.

" _This one's-"_ she bellowed, _"for KEINE!"_

 _WOOSH!_ Tsukiko leapt clean off the floor.

 _CRACK- THOOM!_ She planted Tsuruko into the ground skull-first, a whole layer of blood spilling from Tsuruko's stomach wound, her head, and her shoulders.

Her spine reacted, her legs contorting together strangely as her whole mind went blank with overwhelming _damage._ Not pain, as she couldn't feel it- but for this moment, her body couldn't take the raw force.

 _...thump._ When Tsukiko let go of her, Tsuruko limply fell onto her back.

"Eat shit and _die."_ Tsukiko leered down at her, and at the bloody mess made by the skull-plant she'd executed.

...Slowly, Tsuruko rolled around, and began to stand again. _"Hrr-... heh- heheh…"_

' _What. What…'_

After a second or two, Tsuruko was firmly back on both surely strained wood sandals.

Tsukiko stepped back, options limited as she kept her hands spread like claws along her waist, muscles tense.

All bloody, Tsuruko lumbered towards her, eyes wide.

Pre-emptive of anything, Tsukiko crouched down, and began a terribly slow roll to her right, around Tsuruko's flank.

Tsuruko was just as afraid, and did the same, except to her own right.

 _thud- thump- thud._ They took a clumsy moment to roll around in the snow for outwardly no reason.

 _thud- thump- thud._ Realizing they'd both done it at once, in an attempt to juke the other out, they both did it again, except this time to their lefts, ultimately achieving actually nothing but some bruises and scrapes from the unskillful rolls.

' _What the fuck.'_ Tsukiko had to resist the urge to laugh, realizing they were right where they started.

" _You-"_ Tsuruko had enough pussy-rolling around. _"IDIOT!"_

 _WHOOM._ She prepared the mighty, well-known _Tsundere Punch_ from overhead, amber preceding the stolen technique's force as she readied to cleave it into Tsukiko's breasts.

 _THUMP!_ Tsukiko steeled herself and took it, her body jerking back only slightly from the blow.

 _cr- crack._ Her sandals cried with displeasure- which she didn't think was actually possible, considering everything.

The blow had so much force Tsuruko herself spun around, and she raised her right leg to help her twisting motion-

 _BONG!_ -as well as strike Tsukiko across the face with it, leaving a huge gash in her cheek. _'Damn. My head- the way it twisted just some there-'_

" _DI~E!"_ Tsuruko roared, letting out just one more almighty blow-

 _THUMP- crack!_ It met Tsukiko in the ribs, and an unhealthy sound came from her as she stood there rigidly.

She didn't feel it, though her shaking body did. _'Gonna feel that in the morning. Or- right after I stop using this style…'_

Suddenly, Tsukiko knew how to trade this pain back. She hugged Tsuruko, who was just pushing herself into normal standing posture from her attack again.

"Wh-" Tsuruko gasped, and-

 _THUMP!_ -attempted to headbutt Tsukiko in the nose, to little avail.

Grinning, despite her bleeding nose, Tsukiko hugged tighter. Both arms on the small of Tsuruko's back, she hugged tighter, tighter, and-

 _CR- CRACK- CR- CRACK!_ _"Uu- uu-"_ Tsuruko involuntarily let out unhappy noises, mouth ajar as her body withered from the damage.

' _I don't know what I broke- but I broke somethin'- and that's good!'_

Puffing her cheeks, Tsukiko heaved, and tossed her upper body to the right-

 _woosh._ She lugged Tsuruko out of her arms-

 _thud._ -and into the snow, as a limp body. "Fh-... _fhuck-..."_

"Heh-..." Tsukiko beamed down at her. "Wha- what was that? 'Bout strength…?"

...Everything shaky, Tsuruko began to push off the floor again.

' _This whore's made of titanium…'_ Tsukiko had to admit, she had perseverance.

Stumbling into standing, all bloody, Tsuruko slowly found her posture and rigidity again.

" _FH-"_ Tsuruko's eyes were flushed with amber. _"FHUCK-"_

Tsukiko snapped into a roll, tumbling around in the snow to twist around Tsuruko-

 _WOOSH!_ Tsuruko threw an ungodly punch at the winter air. _"YHOU!"_

...Only a second or two later did she realize, she hit nothing.

Tsukiko held onto her by the waist, from behind. _"Oh- fhuck-"_

' _Oh fuck is right!'_

Tsukiko pulled up, tossing Tsuruko a little into the air-

 _WHU- CRUNCH!_ She gripped again and pulled Tsuruko back down, crotch-first onto a golden knee.

' _Speaking of things we're gonna feel in the morning…!'_

" _Rrh-"_ Tsuruko hardly reacted herself, but her whole body shuddered, jolts of absolute pain running around through the muscles but going nowhere.

' _Oh- it works the same for her too? No wonder. She's really gonna regret everything once we're all done here.'_

Letting Tsuruko back onto her feet, Tsukiko stepped back. _'Let's respond to the next thing she does.'_

Slowly, Tsuruko turned around…

Then, with all too much speed _and_ force, she hooked Tsukiko across the face.

 _BOOM!_ The blow was unexpected and fiercely powerful, sending Tsukiko staggering back to the village's fountain. _'The fuck-'_

 _Splash!_ Tsukiko fell in ass-first, into the shallow pool of winter water. _'Glad I can't feel-'_

" _WHU-"_ Tsuruko leapt onto the edge of it, and howled. _"DIE, TSUKIKO!"_ She leapt in, intent on landing on Tsukiko's head-

 _Spla- spla- splash!_ Rolling around, Tsukiko flailed to get away-

 _SPLAASH!_ Tsuruko landed _just_ next to her head.

As she stood, Tsukiko latched a palm onto the back of Tsuruko's head, fighting to make it as fast as possible-

 _CRUNCH!_ She smashed Tsuruko's face against the fountain's central, 'second story' dish. _"Fuckin'-_ scumbag!"

Tsuruko latched onto Tsukiko's head in turn-

 _WHA- CRUNCH!_ -and tilted her head-first into the fountain's outer rim, crushing the side of her head against the stone, leaving a bloody mark. _"Fucking weakling!"_

" _Murderer!"_ Snapping back into standing, Tsukiko wrapped her arms around her, and lurched her forward- before pulling as hard as she could.

 _Woosh!_ She wanted to copy the armored bunny's ribcage crunching attack from earlier, but in her adrenaline and numbness-fueled haste, she pulled Tsuruko overhead into a powerbomb-like wrestling move instead. Lifting Tsuruko overhead and slipping in the fountain-

 _splash- CRUNCH!_ She accidentally smashed Tsuruko back-first against the fountain's outer rim. _"Kh- ha~h…!"_

' _He-... hehehe-...'_

Slowly, Tsukiko fought into standing-

Tsuruko was fighting too, grabbing onto the second dish of the fountain as she stood to help herself-

 _CRACK._ She broke the stone midst of the fountain entirely, and it came falling towards her. With her left arm, Tsuruko pushed the whole thing off of herself. _"Huyah!"_

" _Pft- hehahahah!"_ Tsukiko burst out laughing, having fully not expected the entire thing to just break and tumble like that.

 _SPRII~SH!_ Water now erupted from the broken center of the fountain, raining all around them, colder than ice in the winter wind.

 _THUMP!_ Hustling up to Tsukiko, Tsuruko grabbed onto her. _'Oh- shit-'_ Tsukiko quickly found out that it was literally impossible to break grapples like this, when they were both so strong.

Tsuruko lifted Tsukiko into the air, curling her arms back as she held Tsukiko by the waist. Tsukiko was very slowly brought so far back she was staring between Tsuruko's legs. _'Holy shit…'_

" _HORYAAH!"_ Tsuruko sat down-

 _CRACK- CRUNCH!_ Tsukiko's neck made unhealthy noises, but the fountain's water cushioned the impact of Tsuruko's mighty ass and the stone floor.

' _Oh-... oh, damn…'_

 _Spla- splash!_ Tsukiko's limp body lied face-down in the water, as Tsuruko stood up, and twisted around to behold her damage.

" _Hu- huhu- hahahahah!"_ Tsuruko was giddy. _"I did it! Dead bitch! I'll fucking- kill your daughter too! And-... nnh-..."_

Slowly, Tsukiko began to roll around…

' _Good to know- the first thing you'd do if you won- is fucking ruin more lives that aren't any of your business in the first damn place…'_

 _Spla- slosh- splash._ Standing amidst the jetting water, Tsukiko's bruised, purple neck didn't inhibit her glare.

Tsuruko now experienced the same awe Tsukiko felt earlier. _"Wha-... what!? Go into a fucking coma already!"_

' _If I won- the last thing I'd do is fuck with anyone you loved! Why don't I get the same fucking courtesy!?'_

" _HRRAA~H!"_ At this point, the logic was best conveyed in yelling and screaming, so Tsukiko roared at Tsuruko.

She clutched Tsuruko again- but not by the waist. She clutched Tsuruko by her biceps, and then she pulled _down._

 _CR- CRUNCH- CRACACK!_ Tsuruko's jaw went slack. _"Uuh- aa-"_ Tsukiko had dislocated both her arms in one move.

Whipping her body around, her own back cracking some, Tsukiko whipped a lightning quick hook across Tsuruko's face.

 _CRUNCH!_ The blow was so immeasurably powerful, Tsuruko twisted around on her pelvis, legs twisting some, her now useless arms dangling about as she was turned to face away. _"Uhe- hu-"_

Lurching down, Tsukiko grabbed onto Tsuruko's collar and waist, and _heaved._ _"Hraa~h!"_

 _WOOSH!_ She sent Tsuruko flying, right over and out of the fountain, across the longest and least efficient distance possible.

 _THUD- THUD._ As a broken, shivering, wet heap, Tsuruko laid there in the snow.

 _fli- flick._ Her amber aura flickered out.

' _Yes…'_

Tsukiko let her own aura of violence and numbness dim.

' _Yes, yes-... wait- no, no- fuck- FUCK-'_

She sat back on the edge of the fountain- but did so with such clumsy force, she slid off and onto her back in the snow behind herself.

Ice cold. Shivering, she experienced a psychological trip of pure pain, crying uncontrollably.

" _Eee- AAAAH!"_ She screamed, feeling like she was dying many times over. Her face twisted- in fear, in satisfaction, in clumsy humor at how retarded she probably looked lying and screaming there after that huge show, and-... it was mostly pain, she realized. Too much pain. It began to drown everything else out.

' _I hate-... I hate this…'_

She lied there, half-dead for a few moments. Perhaps even a minute- she wasn't sure.

Tsuruko was in no better condition.

For awhile, neither moved, both simply lumpified on opposite sides of the broken fountain.

The glowing, prism-like furniture all around the clearing had expired, the mana used to fuel them from their corresponding maidens all gone.

It felt like the entire Human Village was watching.

' _Marisa on the rooftops somewhere, Reimu close among the fakes on the sidelines… Kourin and Keine, their breath bated, as when I fought the shit trying to eat them- and me- in the past-... Marcus, probably with no clue of what the hell we're doing…'_

' _Reisen and Mokou, just kind of watching.'_

' _The entire guard. All the fakes…'_

Slowly, Tsukiko began to push off the floor.

' _I'm the Hakurei shrine maiden. I-... I can't die. I can't let myself die. I can't.'_

She began to twist herself around.

' _Keisuke, watching me from the afterlife.'_

She saw Tsuruko standing opposite her, having twisted around at the same time.

They were both shaky. Tsukiko was covered in black bruises- and Tsuruko caked in blood that just never seemed to run out.

The amber light on her chest was now dead, making a pair of black pits in her chest amidst metal framing. In the center of her chest, a piercing blue light pulsed wickedly fast.

"Tsu-" Tsuruko heaved just to speak. "Tsu-.. ki- ko…"

"Tsuruko…" Tsukiko's voice was ragged.

"You-" Tsuruko began to smile. "You- don't seem to under _stand…"_

Tsukiko frowned hard. No words would do her feelings justice anymore.

' _Keisuke…'_

Then- Tsukiko blinked.

 _ **FWAM.**_ _FWISH!_ The blue light amidst Tsuruko's chest bloomed a violent red- and a red aura began to wash across her form.

Tsukiko felt the force of the light changing color- sliding back just a meter where she stood. _'You've gotta be shitting me.'_

Tsuruko's blood all began to glow along her own body. A Hakurei flower sigil bloomed into the air behind her, red and white.

Like fire, the white and red magic and blood ran up her, forming lattices along her skin. Her bruises began to reverse. Her faith began to fuel her and more.

" _I AM the next Hakurei Shrine Maiden!"_

 _WOOSH!_ She leapt clear across the fountain from one standstill bound.

She landed next to Tsukiko, who turned to face her-

 _CRUNCH._ She landed a hook to Tsukiko's gut immediately.

 _WOOSH!_ Tsukiko went flying.

 _Thud- BAM- Thud!_ Tsukiko rolled across the clearing, bouncing across the floor.

' _Ke- Keisuke-...'_ She missed her husband.

Sliding on the snow to a stop, Tsukiko laid on her back, body tingling all over.

Tsuruko marched towards her. "You _cannot hope to compare._ With the _Hakurei God_ on my side- I hold power over _everything!_ Strength and skill- _they all mean nothing!_ Because _I am this village's god!"_

Tsukiko laid on her back, chest heaving as she inhaled air. Her body began to burn blue, black creeping along her limbs.

"Show your penance." Tsuruko marched closer. "Submit and _learn._ Or else we'll see this _village burn-"_

 _Woosh!_ As she lumbered closer, that's when Tsukiko burst off the floor, her muscles cramping and mind aflush with pain.

" _TSURUKO!"_ Tsukiko leapt straight at her, catching her by surprise-

As Tsuruko fell back, eyes wide, she tried to shove Tsukiko off-

 _WHAM- BAM- KACRUNCH!_ Just before they met the floor, Tsukiko headbutted her. The back of Tsuruko's head met the floor at the same time, two points of pressure clapping her skull at once.

When Tsukiko began to push herself off, she had one eye squinted shut. Tsuruko's blood had covered it entirely. Tsuruko's nose was now blasted open, face entirely red with glowing, flowing blood.

"Hh- _kaugh- kauff…"_ All too quickly afterward, Tsuruko began to stand, and Tsukiko beamed, now lumbering back.

Tsukiko's form now burnt neon blue, her inner dark magic feeding into her limbs, keeping her on life support after she'd managed to get so far not using it all this time. _'I'm not going to let myself die!'_

Tsuruko stood up fully-

-and Tsukiko had her by the collar.

 _WHAM!_ Pulling Tsuruko forward, Tsukiko beat her fist into her upper chest, pounding on the neon-red light in the center.

 _WHAM!_ When Tsuruko bounced back off her fist, Tsukiko pulled her in and hooked her in the same place.

Before Tsuruko could adapt, Tsukiko clutched her collar with both arms, and pulled her in closer-

 _WHA- CRUNCH!_ Tsukiko headbutt her in the nose, again.

" _Kha-"_ A stream of blood was ejected from Tsuruko's nose. But, against Tsukiko's expectations, Tsuruko simply stumbled back, refusing to fall over.

Unlike Tsukiko, Tsuruko didn't burn with the desire to survive.

Tsuruko was alive with something more- a strange red energy that kept her blood boiling despite the winter air and despite having lost most of it already. Something remarkable, freakish and legendary.

Tsuruko snarled, her voice a growl. "I- I see what you are… I _know what you are now…"_

 _WHAM!_ Violet, amber, purple and searing red burned along a hook she threw, slamming Tsukiko in the breast-

 _CRUNCH!_ Off the force of the attack, Tsukiko grit her teeth and thrust her head into Tsuruko's nose again-

 _WHAM- CRUNCH._ An overarm jab met Tsukiko's nose and broke it instantly, a whole shockwave of blood blooming out.

Tsuruko threw another hook-

 _THOOM!_ Standing just aside it, Tsukiko hooked her in the gut instead, blue and black bursting from the blow.

" _Hhk-"_ Gasping out blood, Tsuruko didn't falter. She grabbed Tsukiko by the face.

' _Nngh-'_ Tsukiko realized what'd happened.

 _THOOM!_ Tsuruko pushed down on Tsukiko's face, bringing her straight to the floor from standing, smashing the back of her head against the cobblestone.

Straddling Tsukiko, Tsuruko reeled her arm back-

 _WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!_ She began to pound Tsukiko's head into the stone, a growing puddle of red forming-

 _BAM!_ Jolting off the floor, Tsukiko thrust her head into Tsuruko's nose again and pushed, pulling Tsuruko to the left.

Tsuruko was forced to roll off of her- and Tsukiko rolled onto her.

 _WHAM!_ However, Tsuruko had one leg curled to her chest, and used it to forcibly eject Tsukiko off of her and into standing. _'Holy- shit-...'_

"Enough _fucking_ around!" Tsuruko sprang from the floor, and ran at Tsukiko. _"SORARE'S-"_

 _WOOSH!_ Throwing an arm overhead, Tsuruko sailed through the winter aether, leaving a red, purplish trail in the air. _"METEOR!"_

Tsukiko slid away, as Tsuruko touched down.

 _BOOM- BAM- BOOM!_ The ground cracked where Tsuruko's fist met it-

Tsukiko looked up, and braced herself.

 _BAM- BOOM- BAM- CRACK- BOOM!_ With her arms, she guarded against a descending array of yin-yang meteors that came down for her. Her arms pitch black, she snapped them into form every time a yin yang came down to smite her, each impact bouncing off her crying, bleeding arms.

 _FWAM- FWAM- FWAM!_ From where Tsuruko knelt, yin-yang tops bloomed from her, four spinning out-

 _FWI- FWI- FWI- FWI- FWISH!_ Each top ejected four yin-yang shurikens that fluttered around in the air, filling the airspace with red relics.

Running past the blades, unable to weave but coherent enough to sprint by them and the tops, Tsukiko got closer to Tsuruko.

Tsuruko was now equipped with crystalline, neon red armor, her blood feeding into it.

 _CHUM- CHUM- CHUM- CHUM!_ Yin-yang lasers shot from the tops, all towards Tsukiko-

 _Fwish!_ She guessed a direction to slide into, the snow helping her, and she guessed right. _'Fuck me-'_

 _SHING!_ Drawing an ethereal, yin-yang adorned katana from nothing, Tsuruko's eyes were sharp, her composure returning. "Don't you get it _yet? I am the Hakurei Shrine Maiden!"_

Tsukiko saw the katana, and took pause.

' _All this shit…'_

Lasers, blades, tops and orbs filled the air around her. Before her, she saw the fully-armored Tsuruko, her blazing, somehow refreshingly red katana glittering between white, red and a salmon-ish color in the snowy night's light.

' _All this bullshit doesn't mean anything.'_ Tsukiko only had her fists. _'All these abilities, sub-skills, sub-items, all this crap and garbage and clutter-... it sure makes you strong alright…'_

' _But- to fight youkai-...'_

' _To defend Keisuke-... to move on from this violent era where simply acting was power...'_

She felt like she was back in that evening, two years ago- or almost two decades now- when her husband died.

Then, as Tsuruko ran at her, Tsukiko found it.

' _...Keisuke. If you're watching me from the afterlife…_

 _I'll never stop loving you. I'll never stop loving Reimu._

 _I'd never become who I was if it wasn't for you. I'd have never survived, I'm sure. You'd call it kind of stupid, but I have a hunch. If I remember right, we've even talked about this sort of thing, too._

 _You gave me the strength to defend others. You made me realize what it was like to truly love someone- to have that level of trust… to complete a part of me that was missing for so long. You made me this dark world's light._

 _Keisuke. This one's for you, wherever you are.'_

Tsuruko thrust her katana for Tsukiko's throat.

Tsukiko leaned out of the way.

 _CRUNCH._ A palm had met Tsuruko in the gut, directly where her plate of armor was.

 _CR- CRACK._ The blood armor began to crack.

 _KABOOM!_ Then, it exploded.

Tsuruko staggered back. "Uu-" Eyes wide, she brought up her katana, and swung to cleave Tsukiko clean in half-

Tsukiko grabbed onto Tsuruko's two hands at the katana's hilt.

Coming in closer, twisting both of Tsuruko's wrists, Tsukiko used her own hip as leverage, pushing it against Tsuruko, to yank the red katana right from her grip.

"Wh-" Tsuruko fell onto a roll, the tug having betrayed her balance. _"Nnh-"_

 _SHUNK!_ Tsukiko planted her blade in the floor, attempting to nail Tsuruko with it, but missing.

Standing again after her roll, Tsuruko gazed up at Tsukiko.

Quiet, piercing white was blooming from Tsukiko's body.

 _CRUNCH!_ Gripping the katana's hilt tighter, Tsukiko broke the ruby crystal hilt with her bare hand.

-+- o -+-

 _VS._

 _TSUKIKO HAKUREI_

 _SHRINE MAIDEN OF PARADISE_

-+- o -+-

"I see what you are." Tsuruko snarled again. "You've shown your true nature. This village knows what you are now. A shitty youkai who never learnt her _place."_

' _...Yes. That was me, even a few days ago. That was me twenty years ago- or, thirty now.'_

' _But now…'_

Tsukiko felt her anger and fear calm. Adjusting herself, she felt her muscles and posture gain definition; mastery of her body and confidence in her skills returning, albeit practically buried in her subconscious still.

As her white burned brighter, her blackened skin mixed with the gold of her holy shell, giving it a healthy color when the two combined. Wind kicked around her, playing with her red hakama and sleeves.

Tsuruko swallowed. "You've not seen my own relic yet. There's still time for you yet. Stand down."

Tsukiko frowned.

"Surrender. You have nothing to gain- but will _lose it all._ Your daughter will not be safe. You will never be safe."

Tsukiko said nothing.

"...Heretic." Tsuruko spat.

"By your stupid, selfish pride…" Tsukiko spoke. "So many would be condemned to die. All the death you have planned-... as someone who's seen it all before, know that you've forced my hand."

A beaming smile of pure red spread across Tsuruko's features.

 _FWOOSH- WOOSH!_ Huge, red wings- like Rio's, but greater, more colorful- bloomed from her back.

 _VRR- VRR- VRR- VRR!_ A vortex of saw blades bloomed from within herself, shooting out along the whole clearing.

Tsukiko walked forward casually.

 _WOOSH!_ She plainly leaned out of the way of the single saw blade that would have beheaded her.

" _HEHE-"_ Tsuruko's legend was on the verge, her bloody wings spreading. "By your _HERETICAL STRIDE-_ _this is not where I shall die…"_

 _woosh._ Tsuruko flew before the broken, sputtering fountain.

 _KRI- KRAKRACK- KRAKRACKRACK!_ The yin-yang towers all around the clearing lit up, glowing red and gold. Villagers who were watching faltered, some running, some watching the tesla-like holy towers flare to life.

 _FWASH!_ A nova of red bloomed from Tsuruko's heart, the three red canisters on her chest neon and defying the snowy evening's dark.

" _I'll break your dreams, and break the stars._

" _I'll break the young's fragile arms._

" _I'll break all who dare defy me,_

" _And all will approve. Of me they will dream."_

 _FWRAA~R._ The broken fountain in the village's midst cracked and crumbled further.

From the midst, a huge, spiralling armament was floated into the air. Beams of energy from the four towers were centralized on the lance.

It was a huge naginata. It was neon red, a yin-yang pad affixed to the person-sized blade at the tip, spinning amidst the metal.

' _I have the answers to the ideas you posed earlier, Tsuruko.'_

' _The innocents are not to blame. If someone was to blame for the way you are- they are not the village. The innocent are not to blame for your lack of fulfillment or imagination. Dreaming takes imagination. Creativity.'_

' _I was you, once. I wanted to subjugate the village. I was sexy, I was big, and I was stronger. The villagers and their resent for me- it seemed so silly. Why would they fear me- when I could just-... break them, whether they fought or not? Maybe if they just gave me what I wanted, I wouldn't hurt them. Maybe if they were nice, I wouldn't hurt them.'_

' _They feared me because I was like a youkai. I was just another monster.'_

' _Then, I learned better. I grew up. It took longer than it should have, but… there's nothing anyone can do now, but look back and say 'that's life'. Not a good excuse in the moment, but it's all that can be said so long after the fact.'_

' _When I grew up, I realized that me and the village just didn't mix. Whether I was mean or not didn't matter. Still, in the end, it didn't pay to be mean.'_

' _I became like a shrine maiden. While the youkai hunted, I hid the young and weak from their sight. I didn't flee, and I didn't back down. I was the human shield of all that I loved.'_

' _I wouldn't have found Keisuke, or anyone else, with any less effort, after all.'_

Tsuruko flourished her limbs, and claimed the raising naginata.

" _Tsukiko…"_ Tsuruko leered down, the red heat exploding off her body immeasurable.

It reminded Tsukiko of Mokou. Of those suits of armor she just fought before this battle.

' _Legends.'_

' _Blue is the drive to survive. Pink is the drive of joy. Orange is the drive of anger.'_

' _Red... is obsession. Absolute drive. That kind of effort makes you a legend.'_

Tsuruko twirled the huge, building-height naginata around in one hand. _"Youkai-enablers, who call yourselves 'saviors'... you've shown your true nature. We know what you are now."_

" _Answer me, Tsukiko."_ Tsuruko was high on power. _"Did you believe, for even a second- that one day, you could make amends?"_

" _Though it wasn't your fault…"_ Tsuruko lowered the naginata, aiming it at Tsukiko. _"Please await your sentence until the end of time. As you should have, ten years ago."_

Tsukiko's white aura burned amidst her body.

' _Light…'_ She smiled. _'Realization. Self-actualization. Really living. Not just surviving. It's accepting everything- not just becoming fixated on just one thing.'_

Tsuruko's eyes flared red. _"FANTASY HEAVEN!"_

 _VUUM._ The naginata lit up, the snow and light of the evening all coalescing around it.

This naginata was Tsuruko's unique, crafted yin-yang tool. A Hakurei _gatling laser,_ driven by her faith and the Hakurei Barrier's own energy.

 _ **VRRRR!**_ A single, red-white beam came down at Tsukiko.

Tsukiko's body snapped into form, wind and gold combining with her dark instincts to give her the speed and strength she needed.

A Hakurei barrier formed amidst her palm. This was the attack she used to shatter Tsuruko's armor- but now she remembered.

Tsukiko's own _Palm of Pure Violence._ The barrier at the tip- being of Hakurei origin- was crushing and infallible.

 _WOOSH._ She palmed the air at the moment Tsuruko's _Fantasy Heaven_ laser would meet her.

...Snowfall. Silent, quiet snowfall.

The laser pulsed, seemingly paused by the palm of Tsukiko's hand.

Then, it was gone in a blink.

 _cr- cra- crack._ Tsuruko's naginata crumbled, now nothing but red ruby rocks.

Tsuruko blinked. Her mind had skipped a beat, her victorious, domineering, smug leer frozen on her face.

After a few seconds of snowfall more, she spoke. "Nn- no matter-"

Tsukiko shot down along the floor.

When Tsuruko panned her gaze down, Tsukiko was right there beneath her chin.

 _THOOM!_ Thrusting the heel of her palm up, Tsukiko connected it with the underside of Tsuruko's chin.

 _Fwish!_ A helmet materialized to defend Tsuruko's head-

 _SLAP!_ Catching orange light with her right palm, Tsukiko slapped her across the cheek.

 _CRACK!_ The helmet was blown off-

 _SLAP!_ In an instant, catching a pink light with her left palm, Tsukiko used her whole arm to slap Tsuruko.

 _SLAP!_ Catching a blue light, Tsukiko slapped Tsuruko with her whole right arm again-

Then, bringing her hand into Tsuruko's red aura, Tsukiko slapped her again- and kept the attack going too.

Tsuruko's wings broke off, the crystals vaporizing and becoming nothing but red heat in the air as they both descended with Tsukiko's impact.

... _BOOM!_ They both arched down to the floor, Tsukiko driving her slap so hard, they both came down a whole story, crashing against the stones below.

 _THUD- THUD!_ Tsuruko's upper body bounced off the cobblestone floor, after she was sent face-first into it by Tsukiko's last slap.

Tsukiko was trapped in a kneel, black wrapping up her legs, defending them from the crunch of their great fall. Then, she braced her teeth.

Leaning forward a little, Tsukiko grabbed Tsuruko by the shoulders. _"Get up."_

As Tsukiko stood off the resounding force of her landing with just her two legs, she helped Tsuruko up too. "Nnh-" Tsuruko's eyes were uneven, as she still hadn't caught up with the impact mentally. "Fhucker-"

 _Whish!_ When Tsukiko tried to palm her in the stomach, Tsuruko slid around her side.

" _HRRH-"_ Winding up a massive, purple-red hook, Tsuruko threw it for Tsukiko's gut. _"BECOME A STAIN-"_

Slipping around the hook, Tsukiko grabbed onto the arm Tsuruko used and pulled against the direction of the hook.

 _Fwish!_ She swept her left leg under Tsuruko's, compromising her balance while simultaneously pulling on her left arm.

 _BAM- THUD!_ Tsuruko hit the stone floor hard on her own hip. _"Nghk- anh…!"_ It was a graceless fall, clumsy but brutal, her hip now stressed. Tsukiko had done it to spite her illusion of grandeur.

Tsukiko stepped back airily, riding on the high of her own adrenaline. "Come on." She tilted her head back just a twitch. "If you're a god- that means I don't have to _hold back."_

Tsuruko began to stand again, gritting her teeth.

 _Fwish!_ Simply summoning a new yin-yang katana, Tsuruko immediately thrust it forward-

 _SHUNK!_ She pierced it through Tsukiko's chest, along her gut.

Tsuruko beamed. Then, her smile faltered.

 _SHU~NK._ Gritting her own teeth, Tsukiko pulled the katana from her own gut.

" _HNNH-..."_ Eyes wild, Tsukiko held it backhand-

 _SHUNK!_ -and thrust it straight into Tsuruko's gut.

" _Kh- kaufh-"_ Tsuruko practically flew back- thrown by how hard she flinched- before falling onto her ass. _"Ouh- ow- nhnh- a- anh-"_ The katana wobbled around in her gut, blood spritzing out from the incision's raw edges.

"Nnh-" Kneeling, Tsukiko clutched her own gut, before fighting into standing. "Hh-... heh…" Though she bled profusely, black filled her veins, her magic combatting the bleeding and stopping the blood flow there.

 _Fwish._ Since it was Tsuruko's own blade, she simply de-summoned it from her own gut.

Tsuruko snapped from the floor into running. Blood shot from the stab wound in her chest, and she bled violently as she ran. _"SORARE'S-"_

 _WOOSH!_ Tsuruko leapt into the air, the overarm blow meant for Tsukiko's face. Her own blood wrapped around her left arm- the one she was going to use for this legendary attack.

" _METEOR!"_

Tsukiko looked up, and stood, ready to meet the impact at ground zero.

"You stole that skill." Tsukiko remarked simply, as Tsuruko closed in. "I believe the original name- was _'Toka Meteor'!"_ That was Tatsuako's signature skill, that Tsuruko had stolen.

Tsuruko threw her arm down, ready to summon as many yin-yang meteors as she could-

 _ **THOOM.**_ Tsukiko ducked, and thrust a palm. Wind coalesced around it, gold built a shell over it, black filled her veins, and piercing white light erupted along the barrier thrust forward at the tip of her hand.

 _SPLACK._ A line of saliva lined the stone behind Tsukiko, shot out like a bullet.

 _SPLACK._ A line of blood lined the stone before Tsukiko.

 _WOO- WOO- WOO- WOOSH!_ A shockwave of wind was unleashed around them, the ground cracking some.

Having landed on her own sandals off the blow plainly, Tsuruko stumbled back. She was holding her stomach, now crying.

' _I-... I see it!'_

 _WHAPAP- WHAM!_ In one second, three palm strokes of white met Tsuruko's chest and stomach, throwing her around in place.

" _Huu-"_ Tsukiko bounced onto one leg-

 _WHACRACK!_ She kicked Tsuruko in the gut. Yin-yang tops spun around them, shurikens fluttering around, but the almighty wind Tsukiko emitted kept all the harassment tools of Tsuruko's at bay.

Then, carried by the wind, Tsukiko spun on one heel, and threw the same leg she used for the first kick out into a new thrusting kick.

 _WHABOOM!_ It sent Tsuruko flying on impact, blood exploding into the air.

This was Tsukiko's _Dragon's Kick,_ reborn. The force was unreal. Tsuruko felt as though she'd been marked by a dragon.

" _Hraa~h!"_ Then, remembering her attacks from her youkai-like style, Tsukiko adapted a move she learned- or perhaps forgot. She wasn't sure anymore.

 _WOOSH!_ Doing a forward flip in the air, she closed the distance with the target she sent flying-

 _WHACRACK!_ Her heel planted itself right into the neon light blooming from Tsuruko's chest.

 _THUD!_ The impact was so fierce, Tsuruko bounced off the ground and soared away, gaining ten meters in distance from Tsukiko.

Tsukiko ran-

 _THOOMTHOOMTHOOMTHOOM!_ -and closed the distance in half a second, her sandals shaking the stones beneath herself as she automatically applied the running technique she remembered.

As Tsuruko hazily fought to stand again, moving as fast as possible, her eyes remained vacant-

 _CRK- CRUNCH..._ Tsukiko grinded both knuckles against either side of Tsuruko's skull, and pulled forward.

Leaping back, Tsukiko snapped into a kneel-

' _Don't kill her.'_ Tsukiko's instinct flared.

 _Bam._ Tsukiko let Tsuruko's head weakly rebound off her knee as she fell forward, taken by Tsukiko's pull on her skull. _"Nghk- nn-"_

' _I could have-... blown her head up, or something…'_

' _But-... I won't. I won't exercise the same gratuitous violence.'_

Tsukiko had planned to apply force that'd smash her own barriers to Tsuruko's head. It would be a blow with death more certain than a headshot- removal of the entire head from the shoulders-up, by purely liquifying it.

...Tsuruko heaved, barely able to stand again, locking eyes with Tsukiko.

Then-

 _ **FVRAR!**_ Tsuruko's form lit up pure white and red, and she came at Tsukiko. _"TSUKIKO!"_ She was _this close_ to total domination of the human populace.

Having expected the 'cornered animal' reaction, Tsukiko snapped to respond.

" _TSURUKO!"_ Tsukiko's form shone brighter, her hooking arm white, searing red too-

 _ **BAM.**_ Both of their knuckles landed amidst one another's ribs.

One of them was struck in the chest, with a crippling hook that had the other's all. One of them was still weak of heart, weary, and unable to carry the legend.

' _Keisuke would never love someone as awful as you, Tsuruko.'_ Tsukiko's resolve was firm, and so was her body and spirit.

...Tsuruko's intense expression gave away to a vacant one.

 _crack._ Tsuruko's red canister cracked, the light in the midst on both sides barely broken. Immediately the red light inside went out, leaving them all black.

"I-" Tsuruko beamed. "I- am-..."

 _thud._ Tsukiko stepped back. Tsuruko fell off her fist, and onto her own back, energy now totally depleted.

" _ha- hakurei shrine maiden-..."_ Tsuruko gasped out, smiling, although her eyes were vacant in despair.

The human Tsuruko's dreams of being the next heir to the Hakurei god- went out not with a bang, but with the last few twinkles of red light fading from the glass-like material amidst the canisters in her chest.

She was just a normal, meagerly gifted girl like all the other shrine maidens who surrounded her.

Her conquest came to an end, and so did the legend of Tsuruko Aoyama.

 _Tsukiko learned Essence of Crushing: Elbow._

 _Tsukiko learned Essence of Crushing: Wall._

 _Tsukiko learned Essence of Extreme Tengu._

 _Tsukiko learned Essence of Knee Slam._

 _Tsukiko learned Youkai Buster Combo * REBORN._

 _Tsukiko remembered Big Hook._

 _Tsukiko remembered Giga Uppercut._

 _Tsukiko remembered Dragon's Kick._

 _Tsukiko learned Phoenix's Tail * Prototype._

 _Tsukiko learned Maiden's Wrath._

 _Tsukiko learned Paradise * REBORN._

 _Tsukiko learned Maiden's Combined Essence._

 _Tsukiko learned Endured V._

 _Tsukiko learned Powerful V._

 _Tsukiko learned Konpaku Katana Counter * Critical._

 _Tsukiko learned Twist Counter._

 _Tsukiko learned Palm of Pure Violence * Prototype._

 _Tsukiko learned God-Erasing Tri-Point Execution * Prototype._

...Exhaling, Tsukiko held her stomach, and shook around where she stood. It was cold.

"Ki-..." Tsuruko had a pool of tears around her eyes. "Kill-... me…"

Tsukiko frowned.

"Kill- me-..." Tsuruko demanded. "Tsukiko…"

Tsukiko moved to stand over her.

"I-..." Tsuruko grinned despite her tears. "I- I'll come back-... I'll kill your slutty daughter-... I- I'll make her a slut- _then_ I'll kill her-... if- if your husband was alive- I'd steal him from you. Oo- or I'd kill him..."

Tsukiko shook her head. "You know, I was seriously considering finishing you off-... and now I'm not."

" _Fuck you!"_ Tsuruko barked back. "I-... I hate you!"

Tsukiko snorted. _'Um. I think that much was understood.'_

"You-..." Tsuruko's angry face became one of sad rage. "You took-... you just took everything from me-... my- my dream-... my life. The- the love I could've had…"

"No complaining that you lost." Tsukiko's frown deepened. "But, I'm not going to be like you. I'm not eager to kill you. All I wanted was to make you stop. And, make you stop… was what I did."

...Tsukiko looked around, noticing the lit yin-yang towers. _'What were those for? They're dim now. When'd they go dim? Wait-'_

They flickered- and for a moment, Tsukiko saw the barrier amidst the evening overcast and sky.

 _FWAM._ Slowly, a pillar of pure white began to bloom from Tsukiko. _'Um?'_

She was able to see through it, but not really _past_ it that well, as the night was so much darker.

...Slowly, it faded. As it did, in the distance, she saw a similar beacon of light bloom from somewhere unknown.

' _What was that?'_

"I- I might as well just-" Tsuruko stared up at the drifting snow, "when- I walk again-... I might as well just kill myself."

"If that's what you want to do." Tsukiko propped her arms on her own hips. "You don't _have_ to become a Hakurei Shrine Maiden."

"If- I can't beat you-... then there's no way I'm- taking on the rest of Gensokyo…" Tsukiko closed her eyes. "I can't even conquer this... shanty of a village. Everything I've done-... taken from me, by you."

"You can get by without being _insurmountably powerful."_ Tsukiko argued. "...Provided, don't take it from _me,_ but do take it from-... well, everyone else. Everyone who's _normal."_

"Oh…" Tsuruko had a small frown now. "So, now I'm just… a normal girl, to you… to everyone else…"

"I mean, you _put up a good fight."_ Tsukiko argued. "Come on."

"Second place... goes to those useless, forgotten, and to be erased." Tsuruko monotoned. "Da- damn it…"

' _How dismal.'_ Tsukiko pursed her lips.

"What are you so _scared_ of?" Tsukiko had either forgotten, or never heard it.

"If-... if I don't control everything- nothing will be as I want it." Tsuruko looked like she was on the verge of crying again. "I- I know it- it sounds dumb! But-... it's true for _you,_ isn't it? To uphold your heritage and lifestyle- you had to _be strong._ You'd have died far sooner without it- or lost your heritage to the common filth in or outside these walls."

"I wanted to live boldly. I wanted to define a world-... a world I could call my own. Where I- I could live at my pace- and the world would have to bend to _me._ If it's so strong itself- why can't it _do tha~t!?"_

Tsukiko crouched before her. "Honestly… you and me, we're both weak."

Tsuruko took pause, baffled by the idea.

"We have a lot of baggage." Tsukiko returned. "You weren't entirely wrong. We let the way we wanna live command us. For me, it's protecting my family. Protecting my friends, and… what I _believe_ to be common decency. Not killing each other, having sacrecy in certain _social roles and situations,_ so on."

"But, me? I only acted within the bounds of defending myself. I'm… kind of an asshole for doing some pre-emptive things, like stealing from those who attack me, but I don't go much farther than that."

"When I was younger, I did. ...Then, I grew up."

Tsukiko let that sink in. The implication was that going _this far,_ being _this_ callous and petty was simply childish.

"We're all about adapting, right?" Tsukiko proposed. "Though… we humans _do_ adapt the environment some… the truly strongest person would be someone who could be happy in spite of their situation. To subvert the _need_ to change, act, work or _do_ in such a way… by simply changing _themselves."_

"You fear not controlling people. You're probably afraid of being judged for your crimes. You're probably afraid of being exiled, or forced to return to people you hate, and who might hate you." Tsukiko restated what she'd observed… "You want a picturesque ruler life, with your loving, dedicated and cute husband. You want close friends- or advisors- and you want to promote a way of living to correct all the shit you think is wrong with everything."

"But, you know what you did with your flailing?" Tsukiko held up a finger. "You threw away _life in the village itself,_ for one thing. You killed someone's kid. Even if you didn't go to jail- which if you _stay here_ you are-... who can _rightfully_ love someone who did that? You might find someone who can get over it… but only if _you_ recognize why it's bad."

"I-... I could make them love me." Tsuruko began-

"Shut the _fuck up."_ Tsukiko announced back. "That isn't _love._ Alright- crash course. The _fuck_ do you know about love? Don't tell me _sex,_ like that Rio Hio whoever shitlord. You're smarter than that."

"...I-" Tsuruko struggled. "You do things together, obviously. Eat, sleep-... some sex, probably… um…"

"It's a connection." Tsukiko spoke up. "A special bond, between you two, because you _understand_ each other. It might start with attraction, but then you start hanging out together… doing things together, and you start to really realize, with your best judgment, and with mutual, complete goodwill, that you love each other.

"You look out for each other-... in more than just _some political way,_ or superficially in _combat_ or whatever. Little things that show they care. Making sure you eat right. Making sure you're happy. Making you laugh, and smile. Changing themselves for you- because _you change yourself for them._ That's what love is."

Standing fully again, Tsukiko kept going. "I-... I had my husband for _fifteen years._ That's almost as long as you've been _fucking_ alive. I think I know a thing or two more about love than _you do,_ miss I-slept-with-a-cat-youkai-aren't-I-so-cool. Yes- I heard about that. Not that there's anything wrong with _flings_ , you young girls and your shit- but you can't do that shit when you're looking for true love. 'Cause you won't find it there."

"Strength, then, doesn't go to the one who tried their damn hardest to change their environment. It goes to those who change themselves, change where they are _in_ their environment if that doesn't work, and overall adapts in a-... a meaningful way, I guess. It's… something that seems so _basic_ to me."

Tsuruko didn't have much to say in turn. "...Bu- but… the world-..."

"Let me stop you there." Tsukiko held a hand up. "Look inside yourself first. Blaming others first is the easiest way to deceive yourself; to cheat yourself from your potential."

...Tsuruko didn't have a comeback for that.

"How do you think those parents feel?" Tsukiko suddenly proposed. "God- if _I_ was their parent, and that was _my kid-_ you would've been dead a week ago. It wouldn't been a fight either, I would've just shot you with a gun or something. Seriously, _fuck you."_

Tsuruko got argumentative again. "I- if I controlled everything, it wouldn't _be wrong._ What I did-"

"Guess _fucking_ what." Tsukiko held her arms out. "Even _I_ don't control everything. Someone _killed me,_ ten-twelve years ago. I was stronger than any human could _reasonably hope to be_ and still got _assassinated._ You are never going to be happy if you don't realize-... you live in a world with other people.

"My point with that example- was that I'd act in retribution _because_ you took something, from me. Not that you _could_ take away a life that I _could_ have had, or _potentially-_ no, fuck that. You would have taken away my kid, and a life that I _currently had,_ and years of our love. If you'd killed Reimu- we wouldn't be talking right now.

"Everyone wants to control _fuckin'_ everything _just_ as bad as you do- but they know it's not a good idea to just _do_ that. It's something so simple, even the lame fucking sex-addicts in the alleys already know this.

"Especially when you don't even _understand love yet,_ or _actual friendships…"_

Caught up in her thoughts, Tsukiko sighed. "Regardless- if you wanna fuckin' live a life, skip town. Not because of me, but if you wanna get your shit together, you're probably not gonna do it in a jail cell."

Reaching into her sleeve, Tsukiko drew a Toughness medicine drink- two, actually. She pretended to drop one, further pretending to not notice it as it landed next to Tsuruko. "Here. That'll get you up. Use that wind-style you got, leap over the wall, just fucking go. Don't come back."

Tsuruko's brows were furrowed. "You-..."

"I'm taking Reimu's word that there's good people outside the village now- and I'm gonna bank on her being at least _partially_ right." Tsukiko decided.

"Whatever case, you don't have a life _here_ anymore- and that's your own damn fault. And yes, if _you took over the village,_ it _technically_ wouldn't be, but guess what? You just have to _suck it up,_ and be happy you're not _dead._ This wouldn't have happened if you _didn't_ kill that kid like an ass, and you _didn't_ basically commit-... _something,_ with that fucking hot spring, and whatever."

"Hell," Tsukiko held her arms out again. "If you wanted to _fight me_ at the end of everything- you could've just _fuckin' asked!_ I fight people for a living! If you wanted to spar, that'd have been fine! ...You probably would've _won,_ too."

...On that, Tsukiko nodded. "Yeah. That's it. If you lived within your own means, just doing little things that interested you and using that strength only to protect what's yours and not take from others-... you would've beaten me, and we would've both been fine. You wouldn't have to leave, and you wouldn't be-... in this situation."

"The people of this village who get by and stay happy, they're strong. You, looking so hard for control and change? You're a coward compared to them."

' _All my greatest strength has come in defense of what's mine. Not in taking from others. Not unless I thought taking from them would teach them what it means to commit to the attack.'_ Such was why she robbed her assailants, and left them bleeding.

This was Gensokyo. There was a price to be paid for starting a fight, at least in her time- and one had to be prepared to pay up either way it turned out.

...Tsuruko began to get up, and reached for the medicine with a bloody hand.

"Fi-... fine…" Tsuruko sobbed some. "Nn-... tha-... thank- you… I- I guess…"

"Drink it and run." Tsukiko spoke quieter. "I'll pretend to chase you- you just go, I won't keep up long."

' _What's she gonna do about those big fuckin' cans in her chest? Ah, whatever. More of her own damn fault comin' back to bite her.'_

...After drinking the medicine, Tsuruko pocketed the bottle-

Then, she took off the floor into a wild sprint, pink trailing her movements.

" _Shit!"_ Tsukiko ran after her. _"Get back here! I'll stop you!"_

But, Tsukiko never called her own wind, not trying to keep up.

 _Woosh!_ Tsuruko leapt off, into the aether. Tsukiko expected to see village guards intercept her or something, but they seemed confused as to who was actually who and just let her go. _'Wow.'_

...With that, Tsukiko took in the snowy wonderland that was building around herself.

' _God I need a fucking winter coat. Fuck me…'_

It was another Gensokyian winter evening- and Tsukiko was happy to get lost in the colors- or lack thereof at times- amidst the warm winter lights, and the clarity provided by the chilling snow.

' _If she starts shit again, I'm just ending her with my fuckin' shotgun. She's stuck her hand in the fire once; she better be smart enough to not do it again. There's no coming back then.'_

With that, Tsukiko's business was done.

' _Where's my fuckin', um… apron, bib, thing? Oh, hey.'_ Apparently Reimu'd salvaged it…

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Sauntering up to her company, Tsukiko held an arm up, victorious.

"Um." Reimu drifted up slowly… "Not quite how _I'd_ settle things, but… at least you didn't kill her."

Keine had a half-smile. "...Sure is unfortunate she happened to get away, hmm."

Tsukiko leaned her head back. "Yeah. What a cowardly _bitch._ If she knows what's good for her, she won't come back."

Then, Tsukiko spoke in mouth and not speech, so only they could talk together. _"I think she's worth a second chance. I know she's a criminal, but so am I. I turned out alright in the end. Hell, so did you and Kourin."_

"Fa- fair." Keine wasn't about to argue with Tsukiko of all people.

Kasen came up from out of nowhere, seemingly just wading through the crowd. "Tsukiko- how could you just _let her go!?_ And don't try and play it off- _mmh-"_

Tsukiko reached into her sleeves and drew a round object- in this case a kappa-made _ragnite grenade_ she had in there that she actually just forgot existed- into Kasen's mouth.

"Alright- shut the fuck up." Tsukiko went off on her. "You listen to me-"

Then, she spoke in mouth again, confident Kasen could read her lips. _"She's getting a second chance- and so help me gods if you try and fuck this up for no good reason. Yes, I know she killed someone- but I wasn't a good person when I was eighteen either. Or twenty or however old she is."_

...Taking the grenade out of her own mouth, Kasen wasn't as easy-going as Keine. She at least spoke in lips too, however. _"What do we tell the parents!? You disgrace them- by not bringing her to justice."_

" _I brought her to justice enough you prick- she's already banished from here and it'll probably stay that way with the spook I gave her- can we just let it fucking go? Weird half-oni son of a bitch."_

Kasen's expression flared some. _"The fuck'd you just say to me?"_

Tsukiko snorted. _"...L- look, it's been a long night, I'm sorry. But I don't want any of your shit."_

" _No-"_ Kasen got closer to her. _"Repeat that. What the fuck am I?"_

Tsukiko glared at her. _"What, you gonna fight me? After all that? Do it."_

Kasen tensed. Then, she swallowed.

" _I-"_ She slowed herself down.

Reimu had a bland look. "What the heck're you two talking about that _I_ can't hear. You seem to be getting pretty heated…"

Kasen sighed. "I'm sorry."

"You better be." Tsukiko frowned. "Fuck right off. I just-... I just want to go _home._ Can we argue about pointless shit- la- later?"

Reimu fluffed up some. "I don't know what's going on- but you better leave my mom alone right now. I might let you boss me around some- but I'm drawing the line here."

If there was anything Kasen feared, it was being made out as the bad guy. "No- I- I'm not… I- I just-... I'm sorry- I have to go."

' _Yeah. Do that.'_ Tsukiko didn't want to see her right now.

Turning away-

Tsukiko stumbled, and almost fell.

Keine and Rinnosuke moved to catch her, but Keine caught her. "Wo- woah. Eheh-... um…"

"Awh-... damn…" Tsukiko knew her strength was running out. Uncorking that Toughness medicine she took out, she took some sips of it.

' _Should be enough to tape me together until we… get somewhere…'_

"Let's go to my place." Keine decided. "We can relax there."

' _God, I better not get a ton of shit about sparing her.'_

' _Tsuruko'd probably say I'm being just like her- telling off anyone who's going against my will here-... but I've got a reason. Tsuruko may be a dumbass and a bitch, but I think what she got is just enough punishment, especially considering how her brain works. She's torn. And if there's anything she ain't at the moment, it's adaptable. Moron's got a severe case of tunnel vision.'_

' _Actually, yeah. All I gotta do is relay to Kasen how she wanted to kill herself. Oughta jostle her out of being a prick about this. Hopefully no one else is. I'm happy to fight if-... mmh. No, no one would rightfully fight me over this. Kasen just wanted to fight me because I called her weird. Touchy, I guess.'_

' _...Hell, I'd be willing to go because of that too- because she is fuckin' weird, and if it's gonna be a problem, even if she's an oni, I'll show her what-for. She might kick my ass, but fuck it. She wants to preach peace, then try and threaten me- she can fuckin' shove it.'_

' _I really need to sleep.'_ She realized how grouchy she was. _'I'm so done…'_

Despite drinking the Toughness some, Tsukiko began to let her eyes drift shut.

"Um…" Keine held her up more. "Tsukiko? ... _Tsukiko."_

"I- I'm-..." Tsukiko furrowed her brows some, "tired…"

' _I'm more done than I thought. Sorry, Keine. Looks like you'll be carrying me back.'_

"Hey- hold on… Tsukiko!"

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Ironically, Tsukiko woke up a little when they got there.

Largely because, she apparently needed heating, because her body temperature fell beneath safe levels at some point- or so Reisen had remarked.

So, Tsukiko laid in a bed in only her fundoshi, while Mokou gently molested her from beside the bed, her hands keeping Tsukiko warm and stabilizing her body temperature.

They were in the upper-story guest room in Keine's house. Tsukiko didn't expect to see anymore assassins or rude nightly interruptions anytime soon.

' _That door… was fixed quickly. Although… there's one less bed in here. Oops.'_

"...This is... surprisingly comfy." Tsukiko noted.

Mokou snorted. "You were about twenty minutes away from freezing to death."

"...Joy." Tsukiko felt strange. Then again, she supposed she typically wouldn't be fighting youkai out on nights or storms like these anyway. "Would've been awkward if I fought Kasen."

Mokou snorted again. "Fight her? What, she piss you off?"

"Nah, I pissed her off." Tsukiko clarified. "Called her weird. She- _thought-_ I spared that girl on purpose-"

"Which you did." Mokou amended.

"Is it _that_ obvious?" Tsukiko wanted to know.

Mokou smirked. "To most people with working eyes, yes. So basically just me and a handful of other people."

' _...Weirdly accurate, probably.'_

"Right, well, she didn't like that." Tsukiko panned her gaze up. "I wasn't having any of her shit, so I called her _weird._ Specifically-... a weird half-oni."

"Ah, right." Mokou tilted her head back. "Probably the combination did it. Her being an oni and everything. Surprised you managed that, since she makes it almost a point _not_ to be pissed off."

' _...Could've fooled me.'_

The room was warmly lit with lamp lights, and the black evening outside seemed ironically welcoming. The snowfall was intensifying, and the winter lights growing more and more colorful.

"I don't really care why you spared her." Mokou provided for clarity's sake. "You had your reasons, I'm sure. You talked a whole bunch beforehand too, that probably did it. I just know I'm kicking her ass if I see her again."

Tsukiko snorted. "That's fine. She probably deserves it."

...Mokou felt at one of Tsukiko's breasts, and huffed as she warmed it. "Keine said it- er, well, _this-_ while you were out. Umh-... ah, fuck it." She didn't like how those sentences went at all. "She said you were _too_ motherly. Like you've almost been mommin' up every conversation you've had with these random girls."

Tsukiko snorted. "She's… really _not wrong._ I mean, I can't help it. I-... I was really ready to be a mom, damn it." She began to grin. "I got gypped."

Mokou grinned too. "I guess you _did._ But uh, her point kinda was… you don't gotta like, _break your back_ over 'em or anything. That's kinda _her job."_

"Too late." Tsukiko grinned wider. "...I'll keep it in mind. But, tell her-... tell her I can give her advice. I think I've really got this whole 'mom thing' down."

"How long've you been a mom again?" Mokou wondered…

"Of a teenager or anything older? Two weeks, technically." Tsukiko figured. "Of a child who just learned how to remember things? Like, a year."

"You really did get gypped." Mokou shook her head. "Also, you could've fooled me, pro'lly. Well, not that I _know_ whatever you do's so motherly, but…"

The warmth Mokou provided with just touches made areas of the blanket Tsukiko was under feel supremely comfy. _'Damn…'_

Mokou pursed her lips as she had to essentially grope a good portion of Tsukiko's body. What would Reimu have been like if she hadn't died? She didn't want to pose that question to Tsukiko, but it was on her mind.

"Think it's time for me to stop gropin' you?" Mokou supposed idly.

Tsukiko snorted. "Beats me. Wouldn't that be a question for the _doctor?"_ She meant Reisen. " _..._ Myself, the heat feels good."

"Mmh." Mokou didn't care too much.

Closing her eyes, Tsukiko relaxed.

' _I wonder-... what time it is. Doesn't Keine have a clock around here? ...Oh.'_

Tsukiko spotted where it'd be hung up on the wall. Looking down at the floor, she saw it'd fallen some time ago, and no one picked it back up. _'Sorry, Keine.'_

 _Click._ Reisen pushed into the room through the front door. Then, she paused. "Oo- oh. You're still doing that."

Mokou grinned. "Y'never told me when to _stop."_

"You- can probably stop _now."_ Reisen began to grin too, as she trotted closer. "Let's, uh, see…"

Reaching under the covers, she felt at Tsukiko's skin. "Ah. Yeah, her temperature's okay now. Um. I don't know if Hakurei _get_ colds, but, I'd say be on the lookout for that. I- I _think_ Reimu's had a cold, once or twice. Not hard to see why- but, anyway…"

' _Yeah. Her and those exposed armpits in the middle of winter. Not-... that I'm much better, but-... I- I mean, I generally didn't get sick? Wait. Right… colds were because of stress on the body, and changing temperatures rapidly contributes, even if it takes stress off the body.'_

' _Probably wasn't so bad for me because it was always fucking cold.'_

Mokou took her hands off Tsukiko, and leaned back. "Good. That was gettin' awkward."

Tsukiko snorted. "Was it?"

Reisen smiled. "Wa- was it?"

Mokou tilted her eyes up. "Fuck the both of you."

' _Pft- oh.'_

Reisen chuckled quietly. "I- I'm just screwing with you. Anyway- let's leave her alone. She's gonna need plenty of sleep after all that."

"Mmh."

With that, Mokou and Reisen began to move. Pausing, Reisen stared at a corner of the room for an awkward amount of time, getting in Mokou's way inadvertently, before beginning to move.

 _Clack._ Mokou shut the door loudly behind herself.

...The magi-lamps in the room flicked off immediately. _'Did they always work like-'_

They flicked back on.

 _Creak._ Marisa stood on the bed, leering over Tsukiko, almost nose-to-nose with her.

Tsukiko tensed up. "Oh- _gods-_ fuck-"

" _Hehehe~!"_ Springing into standing, Marisa laughed her ass off. _"Gotcha~, ze!"_

"You motherfucker." Tsukiko frowned back, feeling awkward. "Get- get out. Let me fucking _sleep._ I thought I was done with fuckheads jumping me in _bed."_

"Ooh, don't worry. I ain't here to _fight'cha."_ Marisa waved it off. "But if I was a youkai- you'd already be _super dead!"_

"How- the _fuck_ did you get in here?" Tsukiko looked around…

Smiling wider, Marisa drew a round, grey-blue plate from behind her back. "Cloakin' device!"

"I feel like that's cheating." Tsukiko could sense the presence of _actual youkai,_ as a Hakurei maiden, but Marisa here was not that.

"If I was another a' those Hacky-sacky Reimu wannabes- you might be dead!" Marisa clarified. "Face it, ze! I caught ya off-guard!"

Tsukiko snorted, looking worried. "That's- _really_ not something to be proud of."

"Ooh? Is it not, now?" Marisa made an 'o' shape with her mouth, leaning back further. "You were the great-"

 _BAM._ Reimu kicked the door open- after having quietly opened it first.

Marisa jumped, and twisted around. "Oo-... _oh shit._ Well- _heya,_ Rei- mu..."

Reimu slowly trotted up to her, and grabbed her by the collar of her witch outfit.

"Nnhk-" Tugging at her own collar as she let Reimu pull her, Marisa hopped off the bed-

 _Clack!_ Her boots met the wood. "Mo- Mommy-chan! T'morrow- or whenever- meet me a' the- _hhk-"_

Reimu had almost pulled her out of the room entirely, as she stumbled around. _"Va- village-"_

 _Thud!_ Outside the room, Marisa fell over, once Reimu pulled her hard enough. _"Oohf!"_

 _Clack._ Reimu stepped over her and tugged the door shut.

...Tsukiko blinked drowsily.

' _Yeah, whatever.'_ She was too tired to care. Rolling over, she snugged up under the blanket. _'Bed…'_

Slowly, the room's magi-lights flicked out after a normal idle time again.

' _Hopefully the next few days are quiet…'_

' _I've got to-... see what this Eientei place is all about. It might have some answers I'm looking for.'_

' _With the end of the drama, it all comes back to… well, why am I here? What brought me back?'_

' _My death… I still don't know who killed me. I was poisoned by something unseen before, apparently. I don't know much other than that.'_

' _I might just spend tomorrow… doing my own things again. Or, well…'_

She couldn't just train for her next job hunt. She didn't have to work. She didn't have to patrol. She didn't have to hunt for food.

' _I'll see what tomorrow holds when I get there.'_

With that thought, Tsukiko let herself begin to drift…

-+- _Seinarubeki Hakurei's Perspective_ -+-

Nothing mattered anymore. With this, her daughter Tsukiko would be alone in the world.

She laid where she was struck down for what felt like hours. The sounds of the plants, beasts and demons had long faded, as she bled out on the grass of one of Gensokyo's plains.

Life had become too hard. She didn't _mean_ to let her daughter inhabit this doomed world alone; and she hoped the Hakurei God and her mother would forgive her for her- as one might candidly put it- shitty performance. Or at least, that's something she might have figured would come out of her mother's mouth.

In all the stress, and all of the depression that clutched her heart tight, she'd lost the most basic gifts of the Hakurei. She thought she'd get away with it, or at least hoped. Surely they didn't need to kill _every last single Hakurei_ down to the line, right?

In this one afternoon, she'd seen more youkai in one place than ever before. She wasn't her mother. She couldn't fight for days, seemingly weeks at a time and sustain herself off of animalistic consumption of what nature had available; combined with an almost unreal, arcane knowledge of what was and wasn't fake or harmful in such a hellish time.

She put up a good fight by human standards. Two, three hours, against powerful beings she'd never seen before even, in all her life as heir to the ever-dwindling Hakurei clan and mini-empire.

The world was over. She laid so long, she wondered if Tsukiko was already dead.

' _...I am dead.'_ She twitched a brow. _'Yes? ...Strange. Is this what death feels like?'_

The tales of the Sanzu from those who were on the brink were strange and varied, but she was certain it was not this.

Snow fell gently on a dark world, seemingly devoid of life.

Seinarubeki Hakurei, daughter of Kiyoko Hakurei, pushed herself out of a crater in the snow, and onto her knees.

A winter wonderland, familiar but all too different. Strange, distant lights hung in the air in almost every direction, contrasted by the world of starlight above.

This was Gensokyo, at night, in a slowly accelerating snowfall. Yet…

' _Is it Gensokyo?'_ The distant lights had her wondering. To the right of the Misty Lake, a huge structure as defined by warm lights from windows pierced the black with an orange field of dots. From where Seinarubeki- often shortened to Seinaru- stood, it looked like a field of faux stars.

' _It has to be. The stars this time of year… are as they should be. The contours of the land… shaped by time, maybe, but still so familiar. That's the magic forest, as created by… her. The mountain. And, where I stand…'_

Seinaru stared at the snow, as she stood up on her legs again, her limbs cold and body shaking with newfound life.

' _Where I stand is where I was killed. Where I stand is where this land's last hope for salvation came to an end. Where Tsukiko's future came to an end. The last person to remember… Tasuko-kun. My mother. My friends.'_

It all came back to her- the reason she gave up and let herself die.

' _Life in this damned hell isn't worth living.'_

She leaned over the hole in the snow she came from, and felt at the dusting of frost on her Hakurei kimono…

' _Yet… if I've been cast to this strange place… then maybe… I should do something. Maybe this is the afterlife. The snow might be a good indicator of such… if this was the real world, perhaps I'd have died of hypothermia.'_

' _Yes. Let's see if I can find my husband… or Tsukiko.'_

Resisting the urge to lie back down in the snow, she felt around herself…

On her back, her weapon was still there. A massive gohei taller than she was, thick as a polearm.

' _I thought I'd lost this in the battle. Hmh.'_

With a flat face, she began to stumble forward in the snowy evening, already cursing the cold.

' _Keep away from the strange lights. Follow the paths you know.'_

' _The shrine. Yes. Let's go there. If this is the afterlife, everyone I love will be there.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

NEW SKILLS:

 _x Soul_

Heated Spirit V - A building fragment of the resolve she used to wield. Allows Sendai to use five item crashes maximum. At the end of every fight, she regains one use. Recharged by sleeping, or gaining new resolve.

Shrine Maiden's Combined Essence - Tsukiko can manipulate darkness, wind, and raw holy freely in Shrine Maiden of Paradise Style. Allows Tsukiko to nearly-instantly change combat styles by changing her mental state off of an attack.

 _x Body_

Endured V - Tsukiko has regained some of her former endurance from twelve years ago. Yet, she's still plenty vulnerable compared to her old self.

Powerful V - Her strength is almost beginning to become a remarkable threat to youkai again. She's lacking a certain definite punch, however.

 _x Youkai Style:_

Konpaku Katana Counter * Critical - Not actually a Konpaku technique. Realized from her training with the old phantom swordsman, when her health is critical, Tsukiko skillfully weaves a katana from her opponent's grasp, tosses them to the floor, and hilts it deep in their gut. Also inherited by Legend Style and Tengu Style. If Tsukiko's stabbed in the gut in Legend Style, this may also be used as a counter-attack on a less skilled opponent, where she rips the blade from her own gut and plants it into her opponent.

 _x Tengu Style:_

Essence of Crushing: Elbow - Quick technique which stops an oncoming uppercut instantly, by shoving one's elbow down into it just as it swings up. Stuns and completely shuts down the target's momentum, opening them up to a massive counter-uppercut that leaves them sprawled out on the floor.

Essence of Crushing: Wall - By evading an oncoming, full-force blow near a wall, Tsukiko lets them deliver their arm entirely into the wall, hurting themselves and completely shutting down their momentum. Works best on human foes and lesser youkai; greater youkai will simply break the wall on impact and be left uninhibited.

Essence of Extreme Tengu - Uppercutting a foe into the air, Tsukiko unleashes an unending series of palm jabs across their gut and torso, propelling them through the air, before hooking them across the jaw. Disables a youkai's health regeneration temporarily.

 _x Oni Style:_

Essence of Knee Slam - Grabbing a foe by the waist from behind, Tsukiko smashes them crotch-first onto her knee. Unleashes crippling, legendary pain, but is difficult to set up under most circumstances.

 _x Shrine Maiden of Paradise Style:_

Youkai Buster Combo * REBORN - Tsukiko remembers the entirety of her Youkai Buster combo string. A style which incorporates speed, strength and force, containing tools for nearly any situation. Born from martial arts scrolls left laying in the ruins of the Hakurei clan and Tsukiko's passion for combat, this is the style that created a legend.

Big Hook - A huge, slow hook done in the midst of Tsukiko's Youkai Buster Combo. It's really slow, but maybe if she has enough strength...

Giga Uppercut - A big uppercut, done off the third blow of Tsukiko's Youkai Buster combo. She's not sure what makes it special, but she was sure it had a lot more force...

Dragon's Kick - The remaining, vague fragments of an ancient martial art technique she studied just some years before her death. A spinning kick with such awkward motions that she isn't sure how she ever found it useful before...

Phoenix's Tail * Prototype - Unique double-finisher lead into by Dragon's Kick. Inspired by Mokou's flip-kick technique, Tsukiko calls on the wind again to snap into a similar flipping kick, planting her heel straight down into an enemy she's just launched. Cruel and crippling blow with tremendous power, but leaves Tsukiko very open after being used. Has room to be improved...

Twist Counter - A very basic counter done off of an enemy's punching attack. Running beside them, Tsukiko pulls on their arm and sweeps a leg out from under them at the same time, simply tripping them. Most effective on skilless human opponents.

Palm of Pure Violence * Prototype - When her health is critical, Tsukiko becomes attuned with her combat instincts once again. When an enemy unleashes an attack, she may skillfully and instinctively weave past it and deliver a blow that is beyond strength in return. This is achieved by observing and conceptualizing the motions of their attack and acting to strike the most vulnerable part of their core with the most force humanly possible.

God-Erasing Tri-Point Execution * Prototype - When her health is critical, Tsukiko remembers one of her youkai combat techniques by heart. Grinding her knuckles against their head when they're weak, she kneels down and smashes their head against her knee. Meanwhile, she creates a barrier box around their head, and at the point of impact, her knee and fists all crush it, instantly killing the youkai targeted. One of the favorite attacks of Tsukiko Hakurei.

Paradise * REBORN - When her health is critical, Tsukiko borrows techniques from her past life that she hasn't fully remembered yet- but only if the need, mental pressure, and her adrenaline is great enough. Most of her personal realizations came through fighting, after all.

Double Finisher - Shrine Maiden of Paradise style has inherited Double Finisher from Youkai Style. Applies to each of Tsukiko's combo finishers instead of just providing Mokou's flip-kick, but each individual Double Finisher must be learned.

Re-Guard - Inherited from Youkai Style.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

this chapter turned out to be a big one…! and most of it's fighting, even!

the encounter that's been somewhat built up throughout a large chunk of the story so far…!

although for its length it is really varied and has a lot of different imagery, as well as big tone shifts every so and so throughout

this chapter doesn't mark a speedup/expediting of the plot of any particular sort, but it does benchmark the end of the tsuruko arc

it also marks the real beginning of tsukiko actualizing her previous style, and not just getting little teaser previews of what it used to be

it probably also marks the end of true threats born from the village, 'cause tsuruko was pretty much the big goon queen by this point

so it's gonna mark some big changes in how things feel! i think the payoff and declining action from this whole scenario's gonna feel really good to just kinda _experience_. personally i kinda wanna see how tsukiko rides the sorta high of coming off from a battle like that victorious, and how she adjusts after the big priority switch

that, and now she can focus on _the main plot again_

i do wonder how the seinarubeki teaser is going to play out, and if i should've shelved that for next chapter

it makes a good cliffhanger here though, and i think readers coming into a new chapter next update might be put off if they're presented with it first thing instead of shown it after that really punchy climax

so in retrospect i guess it works out

anyway

i kinda never got much of a moment to write this author's note so uh

not sure what else to say now!

although, i've been waiting to write tsuruko's own styles for some time, they're all really fun in their own ways, and have distinctly different movesets and combo strings from tsukiko's

although i did base the concept of the fight off of kiryu vs shibusawa, the context is a lot different, and i think this fight's aided by the lack of surrounding intricate setup you end up going through in the yakuza games

although if i did make some kinda intricate crime mystery i think the text format lends itself better to that; a problem i personally have in the yakuza games is that long spoken exposition can feel unnatural, and also just kinda loses me sometimes

with tsuruko i feel like it worked because tsuruko was being a big cunt and hamming it up, and i don't think her monologuing even went on that long compared to a yakuza script's explanation of 4D chess

although i suppose it'd be realistic, 'cause technically that 4D chess could loosely happen in real life, even if i feel as though there was probably some way to offset the presentation, to give that complex feeling with less time; i probably have to look through the story of those games more to actually get a feel for the pace

the lead-in dialogue between the two shares some similarities (there's some _really good lines_ there!) but i made sure to only borrow inspiration from what i felt really added to the scene

i really like interpreting and adapting things in creative ways that i don't think anyone else can see, but i also always try and be careful not to just steal things; i wanna capture the essences of what makes these things work thematically, and i wanna adapt concepts across artistic mediums meaningfully, not just take blindly

the mid-combat dialogue was fun and kinda just me winging it though. you don't get enough mid-combat dialogue in yakuza now that i think about it; and often voice clips aren't translated...

the whole scene with the naginata and the wings was added after the fact, and i don't think it added that many words to the scene, but i think it helped frame the two halves of the fight better (or would it be like the two fourths, considering)

hoh

anyway…

as always, see you all next time!


	28. Fleeting Winds amidst the Bamboo

Tsukiko awoke to faint, blue rays cast upon her blanket, and the whole upper-story room.

It was a bright, sunny morning. Given the lighting, Tsukiko figured it was about seven or eight AM. Morning never quite changed in timing too much; it was evening time which fluctuated through winter.

' _I feel better than last night, for sure.'_

She spread out on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Her mind drifted over different parts of her body; her shoulders, her muscles, her arms and her legs…

' _I should take it easy today.'_

There was some stiffness, some aches. Joint lock, products of artificial healing and extraneous exertion.

But, this vague tinge of weakness in her muscles was also a good feeling. _'I'm getting stronger.'_

' _Yes. Good fights are what I need. Good fights are what I live for.'_

' _In a good fight…'_

One could learn so much about another person, through how they acted. Their decisions in combat, their ideal strategies...

This sort of thinking admittedly applied more to youkai than humans, because humans often had the fear of lasting injury. Even a brave young man, without physical strength, had a probability of showing strategic cowardice, for his own sake.

Tsukiko couldn't blame such men, either. She healed faster than any human, aside from perhaps her own daughter. Healing potions and spells and other such effects had vague but tangible drawbacks on one's health, even if they were far superior to scarring, permanent injury or death.

' _On that note, I have seven Toughness energy drinks left. Just reminding myself…'_

Last evening, Tsukiko felt like she learned a lot about Tsuruko. While the fixations on anger and joyful, speedy combat were quite surface-level similarities between them, Tsuruko's obsession was something unique to herself.

Tsukiko could call herself obsessed with combat, nuanced technique and the simple nature of fighting, but Tsuruko had fought for a different reason.

Conquest and dominance. Superiority, and control. These things came to Tsukiko naturally in clumps throughout her life, but weren't ever what she really wanted- outside of a little control over her own life, and those she loved.

Tsuruko wanted to control _all._ Everything. Everyone within grasp- and everything under the sun. The Hakurei god, the native gods, the monsters, the plants, the very notion of flesh and blood.

It was almost hilarious how ambitious she was. It was also so terribly juvenile.

Tsukiko stood from the bed, and beheld her own pale skin in the sunlight.

Stretching her arms some, she shut her eyes.

' _In the end, we really weren't- that- similar. We had a lot of overlap in our methodology, but when push came to shove, she fought exclusively against everything that was not hers.'_

' _When I fight, it's for myself, and by extension, my family. To defend them, and defend concepts.'_

' _Not to take. Not to steal. Not to break, and not to fuel a petty desire to destroy.'_

' _I can only hope, in time, Tsuruko will come to the same revelations.'_

With that, any misgivings Tsukiko had could be set aside.

' _I have a new life to live.'_

Black leotard on, Tsukiko Hakurei donned her red hakama. She slid her sleeves on, and ran a hand through her messy black hair. Maybe she'd comb it at least a _little,_ before leaving this room.

SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO MODE

Fleeting Winds Amidst the Bamboo

28

Shuffling down the stairs, Tsukiko felt alive. _'It's a cold but sunny day outside. I really want to run around… but I should also focus myself.'_

She still had her own mystery to solve. _'Why am I alive again? Who- or what- is to blame? What precisely killed me to begin with?'_

She knew _how_ she died; it had something to do with poisoning, she imagined.

As she turned off the stairs, and saw Keine and Reimu at the central couches in the midst of Keine's home, she pushed those thoughts down for now. _'I don't need to jump into them right now. It can wait until after breakfast.'_

"Hey." Tsukiko came up next to Reimu, and easily sat down. "Nnh."

Reimu snorted. "Hey."

"Good morning, Tsukiko." Keine pushed a plate of food across the now-clean table. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah." Tsukiko briefly paused to think of some typical phrase that'd describe a sound sleep, before letting the thought go when it eluded her. "Better than usual, perhaps."

The morning began slowly.

"...So." Reimu slowly looked her mother over.

Noticing her stare, Tsukiko looked towards her, as she picked at her mixed meal. _'Keine probably figured I'd need more than meat to recoup after that. She's probably right, but I'm gonna see myself needing a beef bowl in a few hours.'_

"That happened." Reimu monotoned.

Tsukiko snorted. "What happened?"

Reimu fidgeted awkwardly at the need to elaborate, because it caught her off-guard. "I mean-... the fight."

Tsukiko nodded. "Yeah. It happened."

...Slowly, Reimu began to grin. "Is- is that all you have to say about it…?"

Tsukiko gave her daughter a rowdier grin back. "Huh…? If you've got a question, ask it."

"I- I don't know!" Reimu felt socially awkward, in this moment. "I'm used to encounters passing without fanfare- but after last night, it just feels… _weird."_

...Swallowing her food, Tsukiko held a hand up and monotoned something celebratory. "Woo~. Fanfare."

Keine had to interject on Reimu's logic. "It- can't be more than thirty minutes since she's waken up."

Tsukiko nodded slowly. "I'm sure the village is going to be a fun place to be, for the next few days."

' _Everything corrupt put their entire stock in Tsuruko. Just another reason she had to get the hell out. Do you think- any- of them would be happy after all of that?'_

' _On that note, I'm sure nothing will try and stand against the village's order now. What could? It all leaned up against Tsuruko. It all banked on her reign, and to ride her coattails. I've swept the rug out from under all of them.'_

' _The law's back in town, and she's not taking shit from anyone, man or beast, saint or youkai.'_

Keine smiled widely. "I'm sure. The council will still be rigid, but at least they only have politics to stand on. No more thugs or enlisted guardsmen."

"No more assassin shrine maidens." Tsukiko wasn't going to get over the other evening, where she got jumped while going to bed. "No more megalomaniacal maidens, either."

' _Wonder what happened to that Rio bitch. ...On a semi-related note, I hope Keiko's doing well at that job of her's. Tadiyuki, I wonder what she'll do from now on too...'_

Keiko was the seemingly eternally depressed shrine maiden who controlled water and wielded katanas. Tadiyuki was a rowdy outcast, exiled from her own family because of her innate affinity with dark magic.

"That reminds me…" One question stood at the forefront of Tsukiko's mind. "Some chicks might need to get checked out. See-... _someone_ did operations on a number of notable village maidens- giving them prototypes of what Tsuruko used to fight me, except focused on single emotions."

"I know." Keine nodded already. "I've been talking with Marcus and Kasen about it. We'll be getting help from Eientei, in divining _how_ those devices were installed so carefully."

' _Eientei…'_

' _I'll think about that place later today. It's the last loose-end I can think of… and, if I remember right, I was told they could help explain some things about my new life to me. It's apparently a seriously sophisticated hospital… yet, it's not in the bounds of the village.'_

' _I have so many questions, and I understand so little about it.'_

' _Maybe I'll just run off into the bamboo, take on the youkai I find out there, and try to find that clinic.'_

"Good." Tsukiko stared at the table, her thinking visible on her face.

The bright, sunny day visible through the near windows, and from the sun cast inside, filled Tsukiko with vigor. _'I can't wait to get out there, even if it's a little chilly.'_

"...If you were wondering…" Keine looked more pensive now. "Kasen-... she's still upset with you."

Reimu interjected. _"What_ is with that? I'm not being told something. I let it go last night- but I'm not backing down now. _Tell me."_

Tsukiko chuckled. "Geez, Reimu. Fi~ne. Forgive me. It's just-... hard. It's hard to get the image of you being my little girl out of my head. You're already grown up, so… it's hard for me to adjust, you know? I have to remember that-... you're basically in my shoes, for better or worse."

Reimu swallowed, but wasn't sure what to say. Somehow, it hit her in her chest harder than she expected…

"I spared Tsuruko intentionally." Tsukiko revealed. "I thought it was worth letting her live. I wasn't a good person when I was your age, or her age. I thought she deserved another shot at life."

...Reimu blinked. Then, when Tsukiko didn't follow up, she furrowed her brows. "That-... is that it?"

Tsukiko snorted. "Hmm?"

"Is that why Kasen's being an idiot?" Reimu began to scoff. "That's-... _really weird._ Kinda hypocritical, even."

"She said I disgraced those Tsuruko hurt." Tsukiko mentioned. "...Myself, I don't think so. I don't think death would have been vengeance. I think the life I've left her to live, and the realizations she _may_ have- those are vengeance enough. She's obviously compromised emotionally; and she was always loose socially, I'd bet.

"Now she's in turmoil. She said she wanted to kill herself- so I'm betting she wishes she was dead, but doesn't have the courage to do it herself."

Then, Tsukiko stared at the air. "If I didn't think she'd have any chance of being turned around or forced to think hard… then, I'd have been all for killing her. Things that simple deserve to be ended simply."

' _Although, if she killed Reimu, I would not have been so nice as to let her brew in her own thoughts and inferiorities.'_

' _The ones she has to answer to are those she wronged. That didn't entirely include me. That's why I didn't kill her. If it included me, it would've been too late for her.'_

' _If those parents want to kill her, or if those maidens want to kill her, then that's her problem to deal with. Not mine.'_

With that, Tsukiko's food was done.

Leaning back, satisfied, Tsukiko nodded once. "That was delicious, Keine."

"Oo- oh?" Keine blinked a bunch. "It was nothing. You probably wanted something more filling, though…"

' _How the hell's she know.'_ Tsukiko pursed her lips, searching for an answer…

"Um. Nn- nah, it was fine. Besides, it was tasty either way." Tsukiko smiled awkwardly at first, but then it grew more warm.

Keine gave her a knowing smirk, but relaxed regardless. "Well. _Alright._ I know you can take care of yourself, so…"

 _Knock, knock._ There was a knock at the door.

Tsukiko raised a brow, and began to stand. "I'll get that."

Keine stood too. "Um-..."

Browsing up to the door, Tsukiko swung it open plainly.

A tubby village guardsman was there, clad in official but un-armored garb. ...When he saw Tsukiko, his eyes widened. "Uu- um…"

Tsukiko's brows furrowed slightly.

He bowed deeply immediately. _"Ha- Hakurei miko!_ La- lady Hakurei- I mean!"

Satisfaction. Tsukiko smiled some. _'Even if it's ingenuine… and, even if being feared doesn't mean being accepted…'_

' _It feels good to be feared again.'_ Tsukiko didn't want random villagers like these in her life, after all.

"What's up?" With that, she plainly questioned him. "...You can stop bowing."

"I-" Standing up straight, he stood at attention. "On behalf of the village guard-... I- I came to- offer an apology, to Kamishirasawa."

"Oh?" Keine slid up aside Tsukiko. "What for?"

"I, ah…" He swallowed, face flushed. "We- we haven't been treatin' ya right, basically… and, um…" He drew a scroll from a pouch he had, and opened it. "The de- details… um…"

Tsukiko took the scroll from him. "Let me see." She didn't want to be mean, but she also didn't want to hear him stutter out the whole official document.

It was indeed a formal apology to Keine, as well as a money sum and a list of negotiation proposals.

"This is-..." Looking over Tsukiko's shoulder, Keine smiled. "This is great."

Tsukiko nodded. "As long as you don't go back on your word. I hear the guard these days has a history in unfair deals. If I hear your captain's giving Keine any more trouble-"

"He- he's not!" The guardsman shook his head fervently. "We, um… well, _he,_ and some others- things haven't been entirely up to regulation, to say the least, but-... mmh…"

"Oh, don't bully _him,_ Tsukiko." Keine gently chopped Tsukiko on the head. "He's not to blame for anything."

Tsukiko took that with a grain of salt. "If the town guard was still confident, this guy'd be here to arrest you. I don't know _how_ he would, with me here, but…"

"I- I wouldn't have accepted this job if I had to fight you." The guardsman admitted. "I mean-... what'm I gonna do, that _Tsuruko_ couldn't do? I'd die, or something."

' _At least he has a brain.'_

Keine smiled awkwardly. "Yeah, um… basically. Anyway…" Gently, she took the scroll from Tsukiko's hands, and tucked it away. "Thank you! And, um… are- are you here for anything else?"

"Nah- I'm, um… see ya."

With that, the large man began to browse off.

...Keine used her new scroll to gently whap Tsukiko on the head.

Tsukiko chuckled under her breath, making sure not to smile too much.

"You're awful, Tsukiko." Keine jestingly chastised her. "You scared that man to death."

"Mmn." Tsukiko simply hummed back. "...Anyway."

Idling in the doorway, she turned back to face the inside of the house. "I think it's time for me to head out."

Keine took pause. "...Ah. Gonna eat and run, huh. Do you have any plans?"

...Tsukiko looked away. "Not really. Unless, visiting the bamboo woods counts as a plan."

Moving for her chair in the room's back, Keine parted some of her own blue hair with an idle hand. "Aah… you could talk to Mokou at some point. She knows the layout the best of anyone, besides the rabbits, but you know…"

"They're no help." Tsukiko knew. "...I think I'll talk to her."

' _Being made of bamboo, there's pretty much no chance the trees themselves are as I remember them. Then again, if there's a huge clinic there… perhaps most of the bamboo is gone. I'll see.'_

Reimu got over the couch simply by floating over it, then landing, before coming up to her mother. "I've always gotten through on my own intuition, myself…"

Keine smiled patiently. "Yes, well, you're _Reimu._ Flying helps with the brush, too."

' _...Flying, hmm.'_

Tsukiko thought about it. Flying was always something she had a degree of reverence for; if largely because mages that gave her a lot of trouble usually flew. Yet…

' _The problem with flying is that you're not firmly on the ground. Aerial kicks are possible, but punches? Not even half as powerful. You can't leverage your body into it. Everything changes.'_

' _I can't just lob fireballs or mortars or whatever like mages can. I can toss my random crappy abilities at youkai, but…'_

She thought back to Reimu's _Fantasy Seal. 'Now, if I could do that, then I might have a reason to keep out of range.'_

"Exactly." Reimu agreed with Keine. "So _I_ can probably help you with navigating."

Tsukiko took pause, smiling slightly awkwardly. "Don't you… have peacekeeping to do, or something?"

Reimu snorted. "Pft. Not right now, no. Trust me, we'll know. ...Don't give me that look. I'll tell you more about incidents later."

' _...Incidents? Nnn. Well, I'm sure Reimu knows what she's doing… somewhat.'_

"Stories for the road, then." Tsukiko mused idly. "Alright. ...Thank you for everything, Keine."

"Ah…" Keine took pause again. "Nn- no, thank you. You're the one who made everything possible…"

With that, Tsukiko turned outside.

The sun in the sky filled it with blue, airy warmth, and the world all around Tsukiko was still and receiving.

Taking a deep breath of the village's somewhat cramped air, and the fresh air that blew in from over the walls, she steeled herself for a full day of wandering.

' _Here we are. Something feels different about the village already.'_

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

"Um…" Immediately, Reimu was having a hard time explaining what incidents were, in a way that wouldn't seem awkward to her mother.

They were now on west main street, just outside of the most commonly used alley to and from Keine's home.

Tsukiko stared at a rack of newspapers, in idle musing.

' _Each copy has a picture of me trading the final blow with Tsuruko. I-... honestly don't know how to feel about that.'_

"Well… the first incident I had to resolve involved that one mansion we visited." Reimu began. "They'd just arrived, and I didn't know 'cause I never screened them or anything. I- I don't really _screen_ newcomers- well, anyway…"

Tsukiko snorted. "What? Did they just, teleport their entire mansion into Gensokyo?"

"...Ye- yeah, they _did,_ actually." Reimu affirmed. "...Don't look at me like that. It was that mage's doing."

"Oh, of course." Tsukiko cast her gaze at the blue sky. There was something natural yet bitter about it to her- that the _mage_ was the one to pull off a spectacularly bullshit feat, and not the vampiric mistress.

"So, they wanted to blot out the sun in Gensokyo, and make it an eternally scarlet overcast." Reimu continued. "After a few weeks of that and some crops dying, me and Marisa ran up to them and made them stop."

"I'm sorry they did what?" Tsukiko actually wasn't sure if she heard right.

Reimu pursed her lips. "...Tried to make it overcast forever?"

Tsukiko nodded. "And you _didn't_ kill them?"

Reimu beamed intensely. "Why didn't you kill _Tsuruko_ then…!?"

"I don't think Tsuruko _blotted out the sun,_ nor could have even done so if she tried." Tsukiko returned. "...That, and Tsuruko at least had a shitty reason for wanting to murder everyone. What was _their_ reason for it?"

...Reimu blinked, before smiling. "Oh. Well, you see… the vampire, she couldn't walk around in the sun without taking serious damage. In the end, she just really wasn't thinking about anyone other than herself. ...I mean, she may've done it _in part_ to spite the humans nearby, but still."

Tsukiko nodded some. "Hmh. I was more thinking about how their dog of a maid nearly minced me the last time we were there."

Reimu snorted. "And _you_ were the one who defended her logic. It was because it was a familial, albeit stupid, sort of gut reaction."

' _Shit, that's right.'_ Tsukiko began to remember that other day well now. _'Reimu was the one who wanted to go nuclear on them over that.'_

' _...Wait- so me getting injured was more serious than the time they nearly blotted out the sun?'_

Tsukiko had to bring it up. "How angry were you when they almost took away the sun?"

"Well, some." Reimu shrugged. "It was whatever. They put it back like we asked them to. They've never done it again. We fought with danmaku, so everyone was only mildly hurt."

' _Again with this danmaku…!? Wait- you fought a vampire with danmaku and won? What?'_

Tsukiko shook her head. "I keep hearing about this-... _danmaku_ thing. Is this some kind of running gag? I- I know you and Marisa talk about using it seriously- but… come on, now…"

Reimu sighed. "That's gonna take so much explaining. Although, putting it this way, if I fought you last time with my actual spell cards, it would've been seriously unfair. And- not in the rules, either, 'cause you not only don't have any cards- you don't know how to _play danmaku_ to begin with."

"Wha~t." Tsukiko felt like they were on entirely different pages. "Sure I can. See?"

She idly cast an arm at Reimu, and monotone red slits- meant to be talismans, but only made of one polygon and no textures- came at Reimu.

 _ti- tick, tick._ Reimu blinked, as the talismans harmlessly pittered against her, not even dealing the modern danmaku damage she'd instated into the play bullet formula.

It was both seriously nostalgic, but also incredibly pitiful, somehow. "Um…" Reimu smiled awkwardly. "We don't make danmaku like that anymore, mom."

Tsukiko placed her arms on her hips, facing away from the newspaper rack fully now. "What do you mean…? Show me."

Reimu cast her arm out, and gold-red talismans shot to Tsukiko's face in just a couple frames.

 _ti- tick, tick._ They made similar, piddly sounds on impact with her face.

" _Aa-"_ Tsukiko gasped. They _hurt._ "Ah…" They were like little jolts of pain, which wracked upon her body and stacked onto her current pain, pulsing in waves.

Feeling at her face, she felt the strange, nuanced form of magic stuck there, spreading through her entire system.

"If I keep hitting you, you'll lock up and fall over." Reimu provided. "No matter how tough you are, or how good your magic is, or _what_ you are… about the same amount will take you down either way."

Then, Reimu puffed out her cheeks. "Even though gods and other things _really really really_ don't make it easy enough to get up to them to fairly duel them, but whatever… and, healing magic has a weird relationship with danmaku that I'm still trying to iron out."

Unsure of how to exactly parse the mechanics of 'danmaku', Tsukiko nodded idly. "I'll be honest- the only way I'm going to understand this in any timely manner is a duel. The history of- whatever _this is,_ is just going over me."

' _How-... gods? What. How would-... and why even would they-... the fuck.'_

Reimu clicked her tongue. "Well. Maybe later. When we head back to the shrine, perhaps."

Tsukiko shook her head. "I feel like we've had at least three of these talks about danmaku, and every time, I feel like I understand _less_ than when we began."

Reimu began to grin. "...I mean, I've always told people I'm bad at explaining things…"

' _Maybe you are…'_

' _Although, perhaps it's like me and trying to explain martial fighting to newcomers. I couldn't explain that shit to Keisuke to save my life. ...To save- his- life. Ahah.'_

" _Hu- hey!"_ Suddenly, yelling louder than the white noise around the village was heard. "Kid! _Wait!"_

A guardsman was running after a brown-haired boy with a blue hoodie on, and a big, rusty broadsword.

' _Is that…'_ Tsukiko looked vexed. _'Oh.'_

That was Wave, the outsider she clobbered with an entire bicycle the other day. He was running straight towards her, his broadsword overhead.

" _You!"_ He yelled at Tsukiko. _"I saw- what you di~d!"_

-+- _Vs. Outsiders._ -+-

The moment Wave was in range, ready to sling his broadsword down like a big rock-

 _BAM- CRUNCH._ Tsukiko snapped from casual standing, into planting a hook directly into his gut in almost the next frame.

 _Thu- thud!_ Wave did a backflip into a faceplant with frighteningly fast speed. Not even a grunt of pain emitted from him as his whole body laid face-down on the ground in the next second.

...Reimu blinked. "Wh- wait, what?"

 _Tsukiko found pocket lint._

 _Cr- crack._ Cracking her neck some, working out that morning stiffness, Tsukiko returned to staring down the newspaper rack.

Reimu looked between Wave and Tsukiko, having not even actually watched the exchange. "Did-... what even _happened._ I wasn't paying enough attention…"

"Ah. Nothing." Tsukiko grinned. "Nothing important, anyway."

The guardsman who watched the encounter swallowed, deciding not to get closer. "Ho-... holy _shit…"_

Something about starry-eyed idiots with weapons they couldn't use irritated Tsukiko. It reminded her of Keisuke, except more stupid and less knowing.

' _Keisuke was an average-ish person… except, you know, in a way I liked. Kids like these… are too damn dense for their own good. Living in their own damn worlds.'_

On that note, Tsukiko idly turned to her daughter. "Have you thought about getting a boyfriend?"

Reimu blinked and wore a dry expression almost instantly. "Where'd that come from. Aa-..." She wanted to say, 'what's it matter to you', but since she was talking to her own mother, that didn't really work…

' _I'm gonna make you fidget awkwardly, Reimu. It's cute when you do that.'_

"Hh-" Wave gasped from the floor, slowly pushing at least his head off the ground with his arms, "yh- yhou-..."

Tsukiko decided to regard him simply. Stepping up, she tapped his now-abandoned sword with the tip of her sandal. "I don't even know how you got this sword _that_ rusty. Did you leave it in a bowl of water overnight?"

Wave glared up at her, and fought just slightly harder to not faceplant the semi-dirt, semi-snowy stone road again. "I- _kah-..._ I- I'm a water- mage-..."

' _...Seriously? Wait-... and your focus is an iron weapon?'_

"Okay." Tsukiko had nothing else to say to him.

"Wa- wait-...!" He wasn't about to let Tsukiko go, however. "You-... be- beat up- that girl-..."

"And then I beat you up." Tsukiko began to grin. "What?"

Reimu came around her mother's side. "...My mom was _defending me,_ and a bunch of other people, _from her._ Idiot. She might come off as spooky- but that's mostly because she thinks you're dumb."

"Your-" Wave held his stomach, as he finally struggled onto just his knees, body still wracked with pain from the unreal counter hook he endured. "Your-... mo- mom…? She-..."

Reimu rolled her eyes. _"Yes,_ she's my mom. What's it _look like?_ If you actually hit her with that thing, you'd be hanging by the nearest balcony in your underwear."

...Wave turned to flee from the awkward conversation-

 _thud._ But, all he managed to do was faceplant into the snow again. _"Ghk-..."_

Reimu half wanted to ask if he was okay, but Tsukiko turned away and began to march off. Eventually, she shrugged and followed. The town guard would probably make sure he didn't pass out in the snow or something.

As Tsukiko meandered into the village square, she passed the village job board.

The guardsmen there bowed deeply as she passed, in response to her idle staring.

' _Admittedly, this is the first time in awhile they've been like that. The reverence goes away in a month or so, or with the change of captains, but it's still cool while it lasts.'_

' _Regardless, you get less idiots trying to confront you. It's a sign that they know to be afraid of me again.'_

Taking pause, Tsukiko waited for Reimu to catch up. "Hey. Where do you think we'd find Mokou? I'm thinking of hitting that bamboo forest now." She figured she might as well jump into it while the day was young.

' _...Random thought, but I wonder how those girls we rehabilitated from that one stone house in the village are doing at the Hieda manor.'_

Reimu pursed her lips. "Maybe we'd best look _in_ the bamboo. I got no idea what she does, but I know she lives out there."

' _One would think she'd be nearby in the village or something, especially after-... wait, she was with us last night. Surely she couldn't have gone too far.'_

Looking around the square, Tsukiko saw Reisen's medicine stall. _'...Well, there's her, and she apparently works for Eientei.'_

Doing a U-turn, Tsukiko power-walked straight up to the stall.

"Ah." Reisen was ready for her, having noticed her approach when it'd began. "You're pretty lively already, for someone who was three-quarters dead last night…"

"A good night's sleep does wonders." Tsukiko returned. "For me, at least."

Reisen snorted. "I feel like that's a very youkai-like thing to say."

That wasn't the first time Tsukiko heard that joke, so she had an automated reply to it. "Takes one to fight one."

"So…" Reisen looked over the medicine counter. "I'm gonna guess you're not here for meds."

"I want to see Eientei." Tsukiko decided.

"Aah." Reisen tilted her head back. "...Normally, I run escorts there for villagers who can't defend themselves-... but, um, yeah." She dug through her pockets. "I should have-... ah, here."

She gave Tsukiko a flat pane of glass of some description.

"What the fuck is this." Tsukiko felt like it was so fragile, she could break it by looking at it funny.

"It's a BunnyPad." Reisen declared. "Our rip-off of the iPad."

"This is a pane of glass." Tsukiko affirmed.

Reisen smiled awkwardly. "Well-... yes, that's what it looks like."

"I feel like if I take my eyes off of it, I'm going to accidentally explode it into a million pieces." Tsukiko warned her. "How much force is required to break these…?"

Reisen looked worried. "Please don't. They're kinda expensive."

Tsukiko felt like she heard that one before. "...Are you seriously trying to scam me right now?"

"What?" Reisen jerked her head back. "Well- no, but-" she took the BunnyPad back. "These things really _are_ expensive…! I mean- the person who'd foot the bill would _probably be me,_ but still…!"

"...Oh." Tsukiko shook her head. "Can- can you just give me like, a paper map? What the hell'd you just try and give me?"

Reisen held onto her own head. "A- a paper map, of the bamboo? I- uh… gods…"

...When Tsukiko faced Reimu again, Reimu was palming her face idly. "Um…"

Reimu held her arms out. _"I'll_ hold the BunnyPad."

Reisen looked drained. "You've broken _ten."_

Reimu's expression flared. "Stop making them out of _panes of glass then…!"_

' _Sometimes- I feel like technology is taking us backwards…'_

On that note, Reimu doubled-down on her mother's idea. "Can you-... wait, _do_ paper maps exist? To Eientei?"

"Well, for one thing, that's _not even possible."_ Reisen delivered firmly. "Second, we don't have a printer here."

Reisen awaited the inevitable 'who doesn't have a printer' response, but neither Tsukiko nor Reimu were technologically literate enough to even think of that.

The sheer reality of that sentiment somehow awed Reisen in that moment.

"...A printer?" Tsukiko had to question. "What's that?"

"Oh!" Reimu knew what it _was,_ at least. "It's like this-... box, that prints paper with words and images- so you don't have to write them down or draw them yourself."

"No shit…" Tsukiko held her own chin. "That'd be a good way around my shitty penmanship…"

Reisen had a flat face. "Ho- how often do you even have to _write_ anything…?"

Tsukiko snapped her fingers. _"Exactly._ So the few times I _did_ have to write anything, everyone would think I had really good handwriting."

Reimu looked weirded out. "Mom- when were you bad at writing…? Nn- not that I'm really any good at it either, but..."

Tsukiko snorted. "I learned when I was twenty-something. My mom held off until I was in my teens- and even though I read a whole lot, I never had a need to write, with the clan dying out and everything. And then she died, so I had to restart way later, after I had my husband-... or, well, your father."

Reisen chuckled incredulously. "Ho- how are you people _alive…?"_

...After a brief pause, Tsukiko began to grin. "I don't think that's a fair question to ask at this point."

Grinning, Reimu huffed. "Where the he- heck's Mokou?"

Reisen clicked her tongue. "Left to the bamboo forest, the other day, right after helping Tsukiko. Probably to kill Kaguya again, or something. She's at Eientei right now."

Reimu rolled her eyes. "Oh, of course. Whatever. Let's go, mom. I'll lead the way."

"...Sure." Tsukiko wasn't really sure where that discussion went, but it left her feeling better overall, so she guessed it was fine. "See ya, Reisen."

"Ye- yeah…" Reisen wasn't sure what just happened either. "Good luck."

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Standing in the center of the village square, Tsukiko beheld the broken fountain from the other evening.

Reimu stared at it too, giving it a look Tsukiko could only describe as 'awkwardly adorable'.

"Yes." Tsukiko held her arms out. "This feels _right."_

Reimu snorted. "What does…?"

"This village feels like it did before." Tsukiko felt. "At least, a little."

' _I came to care more about some people here than I should have… but, damn it, if my friends have to fuck with this place, it's high time I got my hands dirty and made sure it's a good place to live.'_

"Is that a good thing?" Reimu wondered.

Tsukiko grinned. _"Well._ Compared to being Tsuruko's sex-and-crime sandbox, probably."

' _I feel powerful again. I might not quite be like I used to be… but, when push comes to shove, I can scramble together an offense.'_

' _I still have very much to master again.'_

Gazing around at the sunny village, and its people, she let her head lean back, and took in the sun herself.

' _Nnnh. How I wish I could simply spend today wandering around, familiarizing myself with these streets again. To feel… something similar to when I was younger.'_

' _That's enough of being full of myself, however. I have responsibilities. Reimu's here, and… this Eientei place can't be left alone, considering how damn important it is.'_

Villagers were staring at her, most recognizing her as the victorious maiden from the other evening.

"Uu-" A meek voice came from behind.

Tsukiko turned, and saw a black-haired maiden clad in red and white. She was obviously just some teenage girl dressed up as Reimu.

"Umh- um…" She flinched back when she met Tsukiko's gaze.

Tsukiko simply stared at her, expression neutral.

The girl swallowed. "...What-..." Then, her arms propped up at her sides, as she became determined. "What did you do-... with lady Tsuruko? And-... wh- what will become of us?"

Tsukiko's posture laxed. "I don't know. That's for other people to decide."

"As for Tsuruko… she escaped. I don't plan on chasing her down."

"The real question is," Tsukiko stood firmly before her, "what will _you_ do?"

"Um…?" The girl's eyes widened. "Mm- me? My-... my- leader-... maiden?"

"Yes. You." Tsukiko affirmed. "You and nobody else."

"...What do you mean?" The girl shifted anxiously, uncomfortable more than fearful.

"The culmination of the Artificial Hakurei Project was a bust. Though it had… promising results, in the tangible outcome department, those it turned out were not healthy. The faith wasn't natural, either. I don't know what those faith catalyzer things _were,_ but I don't believe they were deserved. Not for anybody. Though what's done is done… it's not the same as your own strength."

Tsukiko held an arm up, as if to exemplify logic with a gesture. "Tsuruko was immature. She was ready to childishly flail her power, to plunge this village into chaos as a means to her own end. Something she'd surely regret in time, if she ever grew as a person."

"You should not look up to someone like that, even if dreams of power are close to all of us."

Tsukiko stepped forward, and laid a hand on the maiden's shoulder. "You can be _more._ As can others, shrine maiden or farmer… warrior or wife. Internal, emotional wealth is something you may have easier than even Tsuruko, and is something she yearns for, but does not know how to grasp."

"So, I ask you again." Tsukiko stepped back. "You may not know the answer, but dwelling will do you good. What will you do?"

The girl's mouth hung open.

' _...I should know better.'_ Tsukiko turned away. _'Villagers always look too closely to themselves. She's probably still thinking about how to satisfy the whims of her superiors to save herself, and in the face of that, my words are wasted.'_

' _Wisdom comes cheap.'_

"I," the girl opened her mouth, "I- I wanna… I wanna be a scientist…"

Reimu snorted. Tsukiko took pause, now faced completely away.

"My friends-... always told me, that science and stuff-... while it was interesting, it um… ne- never went anywhere. I joined this… social thing instead. Supported by the guard, and as an actual occupation. Our families are rewarded for this… weirdness."

' _How awkward. Especially now. Another candidate like Tsuruko won't come again for a long time. Tsuruko had the capacity to be a brutal legend. All the other girls… not so much.'_

Tsukiko however, was still done talking with her. She returned to staring at the dry, broken fountain.

"Why'd the guard do it?" Reimu had forgotten, if she ever knew. "This stupid Hakurei thing. We got me."

"I think the- the village guard wanted their own." The girl supposed. "There has always been skepticism… about the Hakurei, and whether they were deceiving us, or like… were youkai too, or not. I'm not sure what to believe… bu- but… you two- don't seem like… bad people."

"Tell your superiors to close up shop." Tsukiko recommended. "Those who want to continue their duties at their familial shrines, can keep doing so, without the pseudo-Hakurei flavor. Everyone else, if they don't feel like becoming youkai exterminators, better find a new occupation."

"I- I'll try." The girl frowned. "...They won't listen to me. I'm no one."

"Sucks to be them." Tsukiko figured. "Such is why I ask what _you_ will do. Those with any sense would get out, unless they truly have the drive and ambition- and the desperation- to feel the need to fight."

"As for me, I don't care." Tsukiko's arms went onto her own hips. "I want to see you young people do right. To become wiser, and kinder. But, I'm not wasting time on losers. I have my own life." Her own daughter to look after, too.

' _I'm not afraid of pushing losers out of my way when it matters, either.'_

Silence fell over them.

Reimu seemed to stare into the distance, taking in her mother's words now. She seemed to follow her example, turning away from the younger girl.

Awkwardly, the younger girl began to back away…

The younger girl jumped. A hand laid on her shoulder, and she froze.

Tatsuako stood next to her. When their gazes met, Tatsuako grinned.

"Yh- ou- you're- aa-" The girl broke from Tatsuako's gentle grasp, scrambling back. "Don't-..." She scrambled to defend herself, arms up in a feeble defense, eyes shut.

"Hey." Tatsuako held her arms out. "It's all over, baby."

The girl blinked.

Then, Tatsuako pulled her into a hug. "C'mon-... hug me."

"Aa-" The girl's face went between Tatsuako's breasts. "Mmh…"

In the still morning sun, Tsukiko idly turned, recognizing the voice.

' _...Tatsuako.'_

Beaming, Tatsuako faced Tsukiko. "Hey…"

Tsukiko wasn't sure what to say, actually, so she simply tilted her head back.

"Tsukiko." Tatsuako addressed her. "...That was crazy."

' _She means the fight.'_

"Yeah." Tsukiko nodded once.

They stared one another down, for a good few moments.

Tatsuako bowed. "I'm… sorry."

Tsukiko raised a brow.

"I couldn't control my… _sister in law,_ before she became a problem for you." Tatsuako affirmed. "I'm so sorry."

Tsukiko could see the logic in that. However… "Don't be."

At the questioning gaze she received in return, Tsukiko continued. "You're still young. That aside… you may have beaten her, if you were both even. You weren't. Her obsession was forged through years of single-track minded resolve. You, even with your strength training, were emotionally compromised."

"You're angry at her, and over what happened, but you don't share her unhealthy fixation." Tsukiko summarized. "That alone would have been why she won."

"I mean-..." Tatsuako looked down, her right arm holding her left unsurely. "I know I wouldn't have won. That's why… I didn't do anything. I couldn't. It wasn't long until I realized she'd become something beyond the village entirely."

"But-..." Tatsuako met Tsukiko's gaze firmly. "If you can just- come back to life, kick my ass, kick her ass, and then ascend _beyond even her_ in just a week or two- why do I still feel so fucking weak!? Especially compared to you?"

...Tsukiko smiled. "I don't know."

Tatsuako blinked. "Aa-... ah." She was expecting a longer answer.

"I don't know how you train. I don't know what challenges you've been overcoming. I don't know how developed you are. If you live for fighting, if you're in search for your identity-... anything, really. We hardly know each other. All I can tell is that you're angry."

Tsukiko shrugged. "We probably have totally different stances on learning and skill acquisition. Don't forget I'm still _forty_ , now. If you're under twenty, I've lived twice as long as you."

When that was put into perspective, Tatsuako supposed it was only natural.

"Keiko, Tadiyuki, Aina and you… you all fixate on particular things, but you do not obsess." Tsukiko took note. "You move on with your lives, as you should. But… if you want to look for power, and to fuel your native faith… you need challenges. Physically, and emotionally."

"I can't decide what path you take. Nor can I give you anything easy to follow. Just advice… once in a while."

Reimu grinned, looking slightly displaced as she interjected. "How many people've you _met_ in the past like, _four_ days?"

Tsukiko panned her gaze up. "...Too~ many."

' _All I wanted was to go fucking drinking with Keine and Kourin like we did back in the day. Instead I steered the human village away from an inevitable crash-course with a wannabe ruler.'_

' _...Not ultimately unpleasant, but could I have had that damn drinking session without all the fuss? This better not happen next time I gather them up to drink, or I'm gonna be pissed.'_

With that, Tatsuako gave Tsukiko a salute. "I'll remember what you've said! ...I know, if both of us were at our bests, you would be better. But-..."

Making a fist, Tatsuako held it up. "That's gonna change, if you don't keep improving yourself."

Tsukiko smiled. "Heh. We'll see about that."

...Tatsuako shook her fist some. "Do, um… do you know what a fist bump is?"

"...Oh- that's what we're doing?" Tsukiko did, but only vaguely. "I've- very rarely actually-... done that, myself."

Tatsuako had a snarky smile. "Just click your knuckles against mine…"

"I know _how_ it works, I just didn't expect to have to do it, ever."

Tsukiko fistbumped Tatsuako. It was slightly awkward due to the dialogue required to bring it about, but it happened.

With that, Tatsuako turned away, and wrapped her arms around that smaller generic maiden. "As fer _you…_ I got a few ideas. About the remnants of all this Hakurei crap…"

' _...I suppose Tatsuako and the others will probably manage to handle clean-up duty themselves.'_

' _Regardless… I won't let all of that be my concern today.'_

Since Tatsuako was grazing off, Tsukiko decided she was done here too.

' _That's that.'_

...Reimu had a dull look. "You didn't fist bump people often, huh. Never thought I'd really be thinking about _fist bumps."_

Tsukiko already knew her train of thought. "I didn't have a Marisa, or any real partner in crime, and Marcus was too much of a dick back then to be about buddy-buddy shit. Those days, it was all business."

"Thought as much…" Reimu returned to staring at the full sky.

-+- Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-

Slowly, Reimu and Tsukiko came up to the southern gate of the human village…

' _I never got that beef bowl, actually. Oh well.'_ Tsukiko was slightly remiss, but the beef bowl was just a dream she'd let expire, she supposed. _'I wonder if Eientei has food.'_

The day was still bright, and the sky was full and blue. _'I keep forgetting there's snow on the ground. It's so… temperate, today.'_

She stared at the snowy plain past the village's gate, and at all the melting snow therein.

' _I almost wish it were spring, so the plains could look almost golden. Golden plains…'_

Some might wonder what she thought of, when she was beginning expeditions or hunts, but more often than not, if she wasn't thinking about fighting, it was either about food or the scenery. Or, when it was relevant, Keisuke.

"Hey." Reimu addressed the guardsman there. "Open up."

...The kid there looked a little short to be a guardsman. He wore a helmet that didn't fit, which covered his eyes, and had a big dull katana poised in his arms like a musket.

"Um…" Reimu smiled awkwardly when she focused on him. "Who the heck're _you."_

"I-" The youngster sniffed, their nose running. "I've- been given _orders,_ to turn you both- around…"

...Tsukiko smiled awkwardly. "Um. Orders… from who?"

"Wait…" He saw Reimu, but had to tilt his visor up some to see Tsukiko standing there. "Oh- _crap!_ You're already here…!"

Tsukiko simply blinked.

" _Um!"_ The kid awkwardly raised his voice. _"She's the one who's gonna flush our homewo~rk!"_

...Slowly, a bunch of other around twelve year-olds jogged forward from around nearby corners. There was only three of them total.

"We-" A lanky kid swallowed. "We're gonna get revenge- for what you did to Jun!"

"Yeah!" A different, blond-haired kid held up a broom. "And you're gonna _give our homework back!"_

Tsukiko simply looked confused. _'How did this happen…?'_

-+- _Vs. Village Guardsmen? -+-_

Reimu pushed the tubby armored kid, by pressing her palm against his forehead.

 _thud._ He fell over, onto his butt. "Wh- _ow…!"_

The blond kid swung his broom at Tsukiko.

She grabbed it with one hand, and chucked it into the aether.

"What- _no!"_ He ran off to get it. "Dang it…"

The lanky kid had his fists up, his gaze drained. He was shivering, because he only had a plain shirt and some pants on…

 _pap._ He punched Tsukiko in the thigh.

Tsukiko did nothing but stand there, receiving no damage. "...Where's the _actual_ guy who's supposed to be guarding the gate?"

" _He~lp!"_ The tubby kid called out. "We're _losi~ng!"_

"Fear not- dear _citizen!"_

That's when Tsukiko and Reimu looked up, atop the village's gate.

Marisa Kirisame leered down, clad in full guardsmen armor, a broadsword over one shoulder, and a broom in the other.

"I ain't 'boutta let no _shrine maidens_ jeopardize the foundation of this very city!"

"Goddammit." Tsukiko monotoned.

Marisa heard her swear in front of the kids. "Or _corrupt the youth,_ either!"

 _Woosh!_ Leaping down from above-

 _Crunch!_ Marisa touched down onto a suspiciously in-the-way pile of snow laid before the gate itself, causing a splash all around herself.

" _Heyahaha~h!"_ Cackling, she spun around on the heel of her boot, catching both her broom and broadsword in a twirling motion.

-+- _Vs. Famous Youkai Exterminator, Secondary Primary Incident Resolver, Ordinary Magician Marisa Kirisame * Bold Adventurer Style -+-_

" _Marisa~..."_ Reimu growled, gohei held tight. "If you wanna fight- it's gonna be with _me!"_

"Ooh!?"Marisa beamed. "I'm man enough ta take on _both of ya-_ and I ain't even a man!"

' _...She's changed her strategy. She's wielding her broom- as well as a sword. And…'_

In the center of her guardsman armor- instead of the sigil guardsmen wore, Marisa seemed to have blown a hole into it and fixed the mini-hakkero there. _'Three weapons at once.'_

"Stand back, mom!" Reimu got in the way, and steeled herself. "I'll take care of Marisa in no time!"

"Mmm…" Tsukiko hummed. "You know-"

Before she could say anything more, Reimu charged straight at Marisa.

 _WOOSH!_ Marisa slung her broadsword out- and Reimu weaved under it-

 _WHUNK!_ However, Marisa's broom came from along her side on its own- and met Reimu right in the gut, tip-first. _"Uhu-"_

Then, letting go of her broadsword, Marisa arched her whole body back. _"Yeah!"_

 _FWABOOM!_ A massive, yellow explosion burst out of the mini-hakkero in her chest, sending Reimu flying. _"Wh- oah-"_

Before she could really sail off, Tsukiko caught her by the waist with both arms. "Wh- what was the plan _there…?"_

She planted Reimu on her sandals again. Mentally catching up with what happened, Reimu shook her head some. "Damn-... I- I didn't think she'd have her defense so put-together…"

 _woo- woo- woo- woosh._ Meanwhile, Marisa showed off how noodly her arms were by randomly flailing her broadsword around in one hand, about to drop it the entire time.

' _Judging by how it flew out of her hand a second ago- she's not using her arms to swing it. She's using telekinesis instead- and pretending to swing it with her actual arm.'_

"Don't you, like, duel with _danmaku?"_ Tsukiko brought up. "Or did you both arbitrarily decide this'd be a bloodbath instead?"

Expression neutral, Marisa spoke up in dead-certain affirmation. "We decided to arbitrarily make it a bloodbath instead."

Reimu shook her head. "No- mom's right, this is stupid. Marisa, what're you _wearing?_ Why a _sword?"_

"You're the one who went chargin' at me, ready to get all handsy wit' me like usual!" Marisa leered. "Well, not _today!_ I'm 'boutta fuck the both of you up- _melee style!"_

...Reimu realized immediately, this called for a change in tactics.

"So…" Stepping back, Reimu realized the correct way of explaining some ideas. "Me and Marisa- and most others… well, we do most of our fighting with danmaku, but we _do_ exercise some light melee play. Just bashing and launching and stuff. Nothing as serious as what you're used to."

' _After all, what's play without a little excitement?'_ Tsukiko could see the logic there. _'So…'_

Marisa grinned. "Ya say that Reimu- but Youmu almost fuckin' shishkebobbed us the first time we fought her!"

Reimu smiled harder. "Yeah- well, the rules have received _revisions_ over time. Freaking- all sword skills and cutting blows must be _danmaku only_. No _real freaking cutting people._ Onis get their strength divided some, stuff like that."

' _How-... how are these rules enforced? How do you just divide the strength of oni?'_

"That, and y'know, healing potions are for when _booboos_ do happen." Marisa noted. "An' I _think_ you put some safety measures into the system too, ta try and protect people who almost die in danmaku duels."

"Ah, yeah. The near-death clause, or whatever I wanted to call it." Reimu gazed into the air for a moment. "I don't think that's ever come into play…"

Marisa snorted. "Except for that time Yuyuko tried to kill you, but your clause saved yer ass."

Reimu chuckled back. "Oo- oh, right-"

"An' that time we were fighting, and you accidentally fell on your neck the wrong way." Marisa cringed just remembering that. "Even gave _me_ a spook…! Yu- Yukari had a fuckin' heart attack- pfthahaha~!"

"Alright- you can stop." Reimu requested.

"Ooh! Remember the first time we fought Meiling!?" Marisa beamed wider. _"Dude._ I think the whole mansion thing was the reason ya like _wrote_ the death-prevention clause. The amount a' times I had to pour potions into yer bloodstream ta save yer sorry ass…!"

"Shush."

"Ooh!" Marisa clapped her hands, broom and broadsword now gently twirling around her in the air. "Du~de. The time we fought _Utsuho._ God, radiation poisoning is the _worst_ status, _bar none."_

Reimu fluffed up. "Marisa-"

"Sanae gave us a real bitch of a time too, didn' she?" Marisa recalled… "There _was_ that time Koakuma tried ta rape us. We need to get nearly-raped more often, honestly."

" _Marisa-"_

"Oh- oh- wait!" Marisa held up her hands, face flaring in excitement. "...The fuckin' _edgelords_ we fought recently! They, uh, weren't _super deadly-_ but now that I'm on a roll, I 'unno-"

"Marisa I'm gonna clobber you." Reimu decided, after she was talked over enough.

Marisa tilted her head back. "Sorry, Reims. Today I'm _clobber-proof._ That's just how it be, ze."

...Reimu looked back at her mother, and then took a deep breath. "Since Marisa's too much trouble to fight head-on like this, I'm gonna show you a thing or two about danmaku."

 _woo- woo- woosh._ Marisa tried to do some fancy motions with her broom and broadsword, pursing her lips as she focused.

"Convenient…" Tsukiko supposed. "Are we just going to throw random garbage at her from a distance, then?"

"Maybe." Reimu considered that… "Well, no, we gotta be smart about it. Marisa's gonna move when we shoot, and even if she's slowed down by all her crap, she's probably still pretty good about it."

 _fwish._ Reimu spun around in a dangerously fluffy motion, casting an ever-shooting line of talismans at Marisa.

 _ti- ti- ti- tick._ It was a cheap, easy attack, and was deflected just as easily.

 _WooWooWooWoosh._ Marisa's broom spun before herself, whirring insanely fast, eating all the oncoming danmaku bullets.

Slinging her broadsword over one shoulder again, Marisa began to leer and strafe around, protected by her broom. "Hehehe~... I dare ya ta land _one_ clean hit on me, ze."

Tsukiko stared at the small river of danmaku talismans being gently expelled from Reimu's hands.

' _These bullets have different properties than I expected. They… call on the barrier itself, in some way. A lot of the specific magic that goes into making the bullet is likely done by the barrier. The caster simply shapes it and invokes the barrier's procedure.'_

' _Clever… but, that begs the question of who realized this design. Does Reimu really know that much more about the barrier than me?'_

Holding up her hands, Tsukiko tried to intuitively copy the method Reimu used to create talismans.

 _ti- ti- ti- tick._ Like so, she fired a stream of identical talismans from the palm of her left hand, straight into Marisa's whirling broom shield.

"...Oh!" Reimu beamed at her. "You're getting it!"

"I get the feeling this isn't working." Tsukiko monotoned.

Reimu gained a more begrudging look. "Nnh. Well-..."

Then, Reimu vanished.

Now ten meters in the air over Marisa, Reimu thrust both arms down. _"Hyah!"_

 _Woosh!_ An ethereal yin-yang descended like a meteor, to slam straight down on Marisa.

"Oh!"Perking up, Marisa slung her broadsword around, and _hurled_ it upward-

 _CLA~CK…!_ She sluggishly pairried the oncoming yin-yang with the flat of her broadsword, sending it flying away. _"Woo~...!"_

Now in front of Tsukiko, just beside her plain talisman stream, Reimu shot another yin-yang. _"Go!"_

It soared straight up into the whirling broom shield. Marisa turned to face it-

 _KLACK!_ The broom was blown aside, flying away.

 _CLACK!_ Marisa swung the broadsword like a bat, parrying this second orb. _"Hoo~...!"_

Tsukiko saw it roar back at them, and steeled herself. _'Here it comes…'_

 _Woosh!_ She threw a palm to stop it-

 _fwish._ It dissipated into electricity-esque energy upon meeting her arm.

Tsukiko had expected it to rebound, and for her hand to receive a jolt of force. Instead, it received a jolt of danmaku magic.

' _Wh-... ow.'_ Her arm spasmed in pain. _'Fuck…'_

"Ah…" Reimu clicked her tongue. "Yeah- uh, yeah, you're not really gonna wanna touch danmaku _directly._ And-... usually, blunt instruments eat it and don't send it back or deflect stuff. Marisa's broom's an exception; she's good with enchanting things to work like that."

"Hehehe~!" Giggling, leering, Marisa slung her broadsword over her shoulder again, as her broom rejoined her. "I'm gonna _level ya!"_

"Um…" Reimu swallowed, and raised her gohei. "Remember to get creative. I don't-... _know_ if you could beat her like this, without using _some_ danmaku."

"How do I make objects that _aren't_ talismans?" Tsukiko wondered…

Reimu gave her a blunt look. "...Just, do it, I guess. Imagine them? As danmaku, I mean."

' _...I guess I'll try.'_

Marisa was getting impatient. "Are we gonna spend all day givin' yer mom a tutorial…!? Am I gonna have to come over there an' bulldoze the both of ya!?"

Reimu spun her gohei around in her left hand. "Let's see you try."

' _Does the real fight begin now, then? ...I suppose so.'_

Tsukiko wasn't sure what to think about this whole 'danmaku' thing. _'So far, danmaku sounds like a weird alternative to my sub-weapon situation…'_

' _Ah. My sub-weapons. I could try making danmaku of them. Why did I call them sub-weapons, again? ...Perhaps because it was a better name than 'random crap I like to throw at people'.'_

With that, Reimu was gone. Tsukiko could see Marisa tense up visibly.

 _Clack!_ Reimu came from above, intent on planting a dive-kick straight into the back of Marisa's head. Marisa had used both arms to thrust the broadsword on her shoulders up, pushing against the strike.

' _Holy shit.'_ Tsukiko grinned at the exchange.

Strolling up, Tsukiko closed the distance. _'Myself, I probably stand a better chance of getting a word in edgewise if I'm actually… involved, at all.'_

Reimu vanished after her failed attack. Marisa turned to Tsukiko-

Reimu roared up along the village ground from behind Marisa, appearing out of nowhere, gohei held out like a sword.

 _CLACK!_ Turning to her, Marisa let her guardsman armor tank the gohei thrust.

 _WHACK!_ Whipping her broadsword out, Marisa cleaved Reimu across the face with the flat-

 _WHA- WHA- WHACK!_ Her broom worked under Reimu's legs and spun rapidly, juggling her by her back and ass. _"Whu- ghk- aa-"_

Slowly, Marisa heaved the whole broadsword up, magic and meager muscles combining to give the now golden, glowing sword visible weight. _"Hee-"_

 _Fwish._ Tsukiko summoned a danmaku version of a large, origami talisman axe. It glowed like a lightbulb, and had none of the weight. _'Ooh…'_

 _Fwam!_ She effortlessly slapped it into Marisa's stomach, and the huge danmaku object evaporated instantly, the magic trailing into Marisa's form.

" _Uu-"_ Marisa flinched out of her attack attempt, never making good on her downward cleave. "Ow- ow-..."

' _...This seems slightly-...'_ Pursing her lips, Tsukiko held out a hand towards Marisa.

 _Shing- shing- shing- shing!_ She shot a stream of huge, origami axes at Marisa. A blue magic sigil lit up before Marisa however, to simply erase them.

"Hey…" Tsukiko's slightly smiley gaze became neutral again.

"Barriers an' shit're fair game if I can throw 'em up!" Marisa gave her a big thumbs-up.

' _So that's how you guard against danmaku attacks.'_

' _That's why Reimu's trying to get in close. It's not just about dodging- it's a game of strategic attack and defense, and danmaku doesn't apply any tactical pressure, even if you can throw it everywhere.'_

' _...And, right now, Marisa's all defense.'_

Floating into the air, free of the broom's painful vortex, Reimu immediately kicked back down.

 _Shi- ing!_ Marisa used the blue sigil barrier to block this attack too- but had to bring up her own arm to actually outright push away Reimu's oncoming sandal.

Doing a backflip in the air, Reimu accidentally flashed her mother. _'At least she has enough sense to wear bloomers when doing this.'_

Coming up, Tsukiko marched right up into Marisa's personal space.

Marisa twirled to face her.

' _Now…'_ Tsukiko felt her body pump into action.

 _WOOSH!_ Wind crept up Tsukiko's features, as she weaved under a swipe of Marisa's broadsword.

 _Woo- WOOSH!_ Marisa instantly swung it inward again, and her broom arced around her in a half-crescent to try and nail Tsukiko's midsection mid-weave.

Ducking under even that, Tsukiko weaved extremely awkwardly around Marisa's right ankle, pushing a palm against the snowy stone floor to keep from skidding onto her own side.

' _This is- more well defended than I thought!'_ It helped that Marisa could just use her magic. She basically had as many arms as she needed- all stronger than her own physical arms.

Noticing she'd somehow snaked away, Marisa turned to look for Tsukiko-

 _WHACK!_ Reimu's gohei stroked across Marisa's face head on. _"Guhu- aah!"_ Marisa almost jumped out of her armor from the sudden ferocity, having lost track of Reimu.

' _I see it…'_

While Marisa stumbled back- and into Tsukiko, Tsukiko leapt back a small distance.

" _Hrah!"_ Then Tsukiko thrust a palm forward, for Marisa's gut.

 _FWA- KRING!_ On the impact of her palm, an echoing, resounding _pulse_ of red-white danmaku energy exploded from the point of impact. It was like a shockwave, but more stylized, the impact artificial.

The pain that resulted, however, was not. _"Ghk- uu-"_ Marisa keeled over, onto her side.

 _whu- whump, whu- whump._ Reimu and Tsukiko gently battered her together. Tsukiko lightly punted her repeatedly, while Reimu superficially whalloped her with her gohei.

"Wh- hey- ah…" Marisa tried to push herself off the snowy floor, but between the armor and the snow, and the gentle beat-down, it was just too difficult. "Damn…"

 _crunch._ Marisa gave up, faceplanting the snow, her samurai helmet obscuring the rest of her head.

' _...I feel as though Marisa was better suited for her typical strategy of overwhelming me. rather than whatever this was. Though, Reimu may've made this impossible for her anyway. You shouldn't underestimate group fights.'_

 _Tsukiko learned Danmaku Play Basics._

"Oo- okay…" Marisa smiled awkwardly as she stood, scratching the back of her head beneath her helmet. "Maybe I bit off more than I could chew, fightin' the both of ya at once…"

Reimu snorted. "You really were more of a duelist. Your crowd control's better when cleaning up trash like fairies or lesser youkai. A two-on-one against well-balanced people is seriously biased against you."

"Man-..." Marisa shook her head harder. "Now what will the fair citizens of the human village do- with you two running around? I can't just let dangerous people like you roam around the town, ze!"

Reimu rolled her eyes. "Let's get going, mom. We killed enough time goofing off as it is."

Tsukiko snorted. "I guess. Catch you around, Marisa."

At that, Marisa perked up and leered. "Oo- hohoho… if anything- s'gonna me be catchin' _you!"_

' _...Between you and me, I think you're more dangerous.'_

The gate to the village still wasn't open.

Reimu just teleported to the other side. Tsukiko's expression faltered, before she moved to find a way around- preferably using some rooftops or something. _'Nice.'_

...As they both left using different means, this left Marisa there. Claiming her broadsword and her broom, she began to stroll away.

"Hh- hey…" The tubby kid came out from around some cover nearby. "Wh- wha' 'bout my homework…?"

"Oh?" Marisa smirked at him. "...Hm, hm. Check the garbage can behind ya. Answers all filled out and everything. You got like half the questions wrong, kiddo. I left ya some freakin'... notes."

"Oh…" He stared off into the void for a moment. "Tha-... thank you…"

When he turned to look for her, Marisa was already gone.

-+- _Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-_

' _I'm half-happy that I didn't seriously fight Marisa, because after last night, I'm not in the mood for anything really serious.'_

' _On the other hand… I kind of wanted to try some of my new skills out on her. Ironically, she works as a good benchmark.'_

"So, um…" While they were on the snowy trail away from the village, Reimu gave the air some big nods. "Yeah. That's _kinda_ danmaku. The only other thing to tell you about is, like, spell cards, which work like special attacks, basically."

"How… juvenile." Tsukiko decided.

Reimu froze in place, as if struck. Then, she huffed. "Nnh. I don't know about _that._ You're telling me you haven't ever named an attack?"

...Tsukiko unsurely held a hand to her own chin. "I~... hmm. Well. I _have._ I just don't yell them out loud."

Reimu shook her head. "No, that's a lie. You've done it before. I know you've had to."

"Well-" Tsukiko fluffed up in turn. "You're eighteen, you've got an excuse…"

Reimu suddenly recalled something Tsukiko didn't.

Stopping on the path ahead, Reimu stood in Tsukiko's way, hands on her own hips.

"Does the name _Divine Fantasy Seal_ ring any bells?"

...Tsukiko gave her an uncertain look.

"It-..." She shook her head. "It… doesn't."

Reimu sighed, and closed her eyes. "I see." Opening them again, she began to move. "Well… in time, maybe…"

' _Damn it.'_ Tsukiko felt like she should have remembered that. _'Divine Fantasy Seal…? It sure sounds like one of our techniques, yet-... nothing is coming to mind.'_

"Having trouble remembering things?"

All of a sudden, Byakuren was strolling along with them.

"Wha-" Reimu twirled back around, and practically squaked. "Where- where were _you-_ where'd you-"

"Hello, Reimu." Byakuren interjected with the broadest smile.

In truth, Tsukiko had noticed her approach, but just didn't care. "...Ah, you. You're that buddhist nun."

"Is- is that all you remember me as…?" Byakuren smiled awkwardly. "We met a few days ago. You twisted my head in sparring."

"...Since I've met you, a lot's happened." Tsukiko argued. "Forgive me. That, and, I've only met you once."

Byakuren nodded slowly. "Provided, you _are_ having trouble remembering things, aren't you? It was mean of me to assume."

' _For- some reason, that comment feels meaner than the last.'_

"No~..." Tsukiko had a begrudged smile. "That aside, I didn't _forget you._ I just don't really _know you."_

"Fair enough." Byakuren had a vague smile, her eyes seemingly eternally shut.

' _Ah, right. She used magic to keep vague awareness of her surroundings. Probably helps with all this sun.'_

' _That said, she tries almost too hard to come off as easy and free. It's really easy to see through, I'll give it that.'_

"I heard what you did in the village, yesterday. Last night, even." Byakuren mused… "And, over the past week."

Tsukiko snorted. "Yeah?"

Byakuren slowly panned towards her as they walked along. "Are you sure it's the right thing?"

...Tsukiko nodded vaguely. "Be more specific."

Byakuren paused for a moment, before rephrasing. "To handle the villagers so directly. It seems… dangerously direct even. There's something lost in such exact intervention."

Tsukiko began to smile. "The hell're you talking about? Do you even know what was going on? Where were _you?"_

Byakuren's smile shifted awkwardly. "Well… I know you've decided to right some of the wrongs of the Human Village. I just think it might not be what they need, to stir the pot like so. I can forsee you being harassed because of it. People don't like change, and wrongdoers even more so."

Tsukiko didn't care. "Let them come to me, then. I'll fight them anytime. Every challenge makes me stronger."

"You are only human." Byakuren affirmed. "Your strength will run out."

Tsukiko smiled. Pausing in the midst of the path, she faced Byakuren fully.

"To fight youkai like a maiden, you must be beyond strength. In both matters of spirit and technique. The prerequisite of physical mastery may be achieved through discipline and time. With that, and with proper judgment, you will stand over the rest."

Byakuren's eternal smile and casual gaze didn't falter. Reimu stopped too, turning back to them, mouth ajar.

And, Byakuren wasn't going to back down so easily. "And how did you fall before, then? Old age?"

Tsukiko smirked. "Sure as hell wasn't a fight. Riddle me how Reimu hasn't been murdered the same. She was _sleeping next to me_ when I was-... attacked." Tsukiko wanted to use a different word, but figured 'attacked' wouldn't require explanation. "They had all too much opportunity to finish my daughter off too- but _they did not._ Got any answer for that?"

Byakuren was stumped. "...Well. No." She wasn't there, after all.

"So." Tsukiko propped her arms onto her own hips. "This all 'cause you actually care about me for some reason- or did I step on your toes somehow?"

"That's awfully presumptuous." Byakuren furrowed her brows slightly.

When she didn't say more, Tsukiko snorted and grinned. "Forgive me, then."

"It's just that…" Byakuren searched for more words, thinking carefully. "I feel as though individual problems that crop up amongst the village… are better left to the village itself, and to the native faiths. You'll run yourself ragged directly intervening on every little thing at some point."

Tsukiko smiled wider. "That's good, because shit's gonna be on the low for awhile. I've already _dealt_ with the hairy part. You can clean up there too, if you want. It ain't too late."

In the end, the village really wasn't a big place, so it really couldn't _have_ much of an 'underground'. It mostly had notable offenders and single, really ambitious actors.

' _As such, I was eventually able to corner the ones responsible. Basically just Tsuruko and Dieter. I'm sure, after all of that, no one else there will be brave enough to try me in some time.'_

Byakuren sighed. "You don't seem to understand. I-"

Reimu spun around to face them fully, slouching. "Will you _buzz off._ If you're trying to scare her, it's really not working."

"I just believe more articulate social problems of the village are best left for the _faiths_ to decide upon and guide them." Byakuren affirmed. "Not… your mother Tsukiko. Especially where it pertains to youths."

Tsukiko tilted her head back. "Ah. I see. Well, if you wanted to fix the problems yourself, _you shoulda said somethin'._ Maybe even _did_ somethin'. Don't go blaming me for your lack of know-how."

Byakuren's smile became more strained. "Tsukiko- I… nnh. I just-... I'm no stranger to directly intervening for the sake of good either. But, in this era, to do so without extraordinary caution and knowledge-"

"Caution, shmaution." Tsukiko waved her off. "Let's go, Reimu."

"Aye." Reimu smirked, and began to walk again.

Byakuren was left awkwardly standing there on the snowy path between the village and the bamboo woods, expression mixed.

-+- _Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-_

The bamboo canopy was thick, snow only lining the insides of the woods in dustings and awkward clumps.

' _I forgot how much of a hellscape the bamboo is when there's also snow.'_

For a moment, she thought she'd bit off more than she could chew, but when she and Reimu went un-assaulted by youkai even ten-twenty minutes into the brush, and the uneven pathways within, she became less anxious.

A normally difficult-to-navigate hell of green and lush and youkai became a frigid, fatal death trap in the midst of winter.

Passing an array of strange, spike-shaped icicles alongside the path on the left, Tsukiko idly kicked one.

 _Chink._ It broke in two, although there were thirty more to this strange clump.

' _These spikes are formed by dripping water from the bamboo above, and then they freeze like so.'_

The easy-to-snap bamboo became more brittle in this weather, although some of it had a crystal sheen of frozen armor, which was abrasive and difficult to deal with.

Ahead, Tsukiko saw a section of path that was obscured with the thinnest layer of dusted snow.

Expanding a yin-yang orb, she walked up just before the obscured section of path, and dropped the orb onto it.

 _shoof._ It was consumed whole, detailing a quick descent into an ice-water reservoir below.

 _cr- crack._ With that, the pathway dirt beneath Tsukiko's feet began to shift. _'Ah- shit, right-'_

 _Woosh!_ Wind creeping up her limbs, she leapt from where she stood.

 _crcrack, crack._ The dirt two-three meters in either direction from the new hole caved in, revealing the width of the reservoir. Those sections of path were actually very, very thin ledges over the water, which became brittle and broke from the cold. They were likely shaped from mud and kept packed against the more settled dirt on either side, so as to not demand a bridge be put up.

' _Normally, kind of a sound idea. I imagine the rabbits of the woods did that, because it'd be easy to short-jump over it, even if it's still a falling hazard. Turns out to be a shitty idea in the winter.'_

Landing again, Tsukiko looked up, and saw Reimu gently floating ahead, eyes focused on the bamboo.

' _Taking such floaty leaps still feels weird, when I think about it. But, it's very… fun, too, I guess.'_

Tsukiko felt very strange. _'Between all this brush, and how cold it is-... right. I'd have warmed up more if I had things to fight, or moved more actively.'_

' _Nothing's come out at us yet.'_

"...For the clinic supposedly being so _big,"_ Tsukiko had a mixed expression, as she marched along on the chilly path, "how haven't we seen _anything_ yet?"

Reimu paused in the air, but didn't face away from where she stared. "Um-... it's-... hard to explain. You know how the woods are, right? You could be lost for _days,_ without any idea of how to go through it. Thankfully, I've-... already been lost here more than once. So I know what to do."

' _Days? That's-... not-...'_

Tsukiko thought about it. _'Maybe a day. It took me a while to get used to it myself. But…'_

"If this clinic's so huge, won't it take up a lot of the woods?" Tsukiko supposed. "I know this place is bigger on the inside, but I feel as though a large structure might… offset that?"

"You would _think that."_ Reimu grinned as she kept flying along. "Doesn't work that way, mom. If anything, the woods are _harder_ to navigate now."

' _What…? What the fuck. How do these woods even work?'_

Keeping a good eye on Reimu, Tsukiko strolled along the floor of the bamboo woods, occasionally looking up at the sunny sky barely visible through the thick canopy.

' _I can't keep my gaze off the ground for too long, however. There could be a trap or a pitfall anywhere.'_

Tsukiko glanced over the floor, then back up.

Reimu was gone.

' _...Wait.'_

...For some reason, some ice cracked in the background. Tsukiko gave the noise an untrusting look, before relaxing.

' _Tch. Damn it.'_ She had to admit, she didn't expect the woods to pull a fast one on her like this...

"Well. I'll fuckin' be."

Tewi Inaba hung upside down from a rope, speaking from just behind Tsukiko's head. "So the gossip rags _were_ true. Thought it'd be tasteless to lie about something like that."

Tsukiko half-twisted her head towards her. "Tewi. That's you, right?"

"Nah, I'm the queen a' England." Tewi slowly retracted into the air.

... _Fwish!_ Tsukiko abruptly slid back, wind swirling off of her sudden motion.

Tewi landed shoes-first where Tsukiko was standing, feet together. "...Oh, so you haven't lost your reflexes."

"I'm surprised something hasn't gobbled you up yet." Tsukiko gave her an easy smile. "You're over a thousand now, right?"

"I _am…"_ Tewi nodded plainly, leaning back some. "And you're still forty, ain't 'cha!?"

Tsukiko grinned. "It's a long story."

"I'll bet!" Tewi became slightly incredulous. "This kinda shit don't even happen to normal humans. Let alone _Hakurei._ Y'know, I really wonder, if the whole thing about hiding Eientei from you still even applies…"

Tsukiko blinked. "Hiding it? From me? Why?"

Tewi held a hand over her own lips. "...Ooh. I dunno~. Maybe 'cause it was the _most biggest youkai den ever."_

Tsukiko had a plain look. "Don't bullshit me. I didn't come back to life just to flip you my middle finger and saunter off like I usually do."

"Y'say that like I was trying." Tewi waved her off. "You're too difficult ta trick in a big way like that. Too~ difficult."

Which was to say, Eientei had nothing to do with youkai. Or did it? Tsukiko's brows twitched...

She stepped closer to Tewi. "Will you help us find this Eientei?"

Tewi's expression was, at first, sly and cute. After processing Tsukiko's request however, she jerked her head back, eyes wide. "Wait- hol' on, you retarded? Askin' _me_ for directions?"

"You didn't say 'yes' then proceed to mislead me, so I already have more hope than I usually do." Tsukiko took note. "If you said yes outright, then I would've just left."

Tewi smirked. "Fucker. Alright, since you're so smart, how about _you_ lead me ta Eientei? I'm lost, see."

"Sure thing."

With that, Tsukiko brushed past her, and began walking down the path ahead. "On that note… did you see where Reimu went?"

"Home." Tewi delivered confidently.

...Tsukiko gave her a dull look.

"Yep." Tewi grinned big. "Got bored and left. Sucks, huh. Can't believe she'd do that to her own _mom._ "

"Is there any reason you decided to… do this?" Tsukiko was curious. "Accost me like this, that is."

"Thought I'd catch up with my ol' buddy ol' pal, _Unnamed Hakurei Miko number twenty-somethin'."_ Tewi jeered. "When'd you people start namin' your kids, anyway?" This was a jest towards how Tsukiko preferred to refer to herself as 'Hakurei miko' back in her time, and not as 'Tsukiko'.

"Never." Tsukiko returned. "Reimu named herself, obviously."

"Ooh. Makes sense."

Tewi had her arms behind her head as she followed Tsukiko along on the cold bamboo trail.

"So." Tsukiko's curiosity took her in a different direction. "How many kids you have? Grandkids?"

Tewi grinned. "Wh- what kinda question's _that._ It was too many ta count last time- it's too many to count now! Not like I can go around gettin' pregnant every ten seconds anyway. Even if I'm a rabbit, y'know, I'm kinda _the_ rabbit."

"I thought we could have some mom-to-mom talks." Tsukiko jested. "What kind of diapers did you use?"

"Shut the fuck up." Tewi beamed. "...We make- or, well, _used to make_ our own diapers. From bamboo leaf and roughage, crafted down inta softer forms by the handymen."

"Used to?" Tsukiko faced her. "And now?"

"Eientei provides us wit' replacements." Tewi informed her. "Shit that looks like the kind we make, but is kinda just better. Y'see- it had to _look_ like the kind we made, so people like you never got any funny ideas to sniff around for this Eientei place. They were _that_ calculated 'bout it."

' _Eientei, huh. Perhaps she'll have some casual answers.'_

"No shit…" Tsukiko pursed her lips. "How long was this Eientei here, then?"

Tewi snorted. "Before your momma was born, honey. Or something like that. It's been such a long ass time, even _I_ hardly remember."

' _And, this is literally the first I've- ever- heard of it? Damn. Either there's a big lie going around- or these people were true masters of stealth. Hiding an entire clinic for decades? Maybe even centuries?'_

' _I know Gensokyo can be crazy… but that's beyond crazy.'_

Tsukiko supposed she'd have to see this mythical hospital to believe it.

"On that note, predators are way down." Tewi remarked. "Now that Eientei's gone public, there's regular patrols across the woods. Lunar bunnies got our back, see?"

' _Lunar bunnies…'_

Tsukiko could see that. They were a force to be reckoned with, almost on par with the tengu. Where they lacked in physical mastery and arcane technique, they made up with modern marvels, technology far surpassing even the kappa, and new techniques that incorporated such advanced weaponry.

' _I'm sure I've yet to see the bounds of their technology. Those suits of armor at the Golden Grin, their guns… Reisen's weaponry. It's somewhat disconcerting, but it's not necessarily a bad-to-worse type development… yet.'_

' _On that note, I kinda wanna see a tengu fight a bunny now.'_

 _Slap._ Suddenly, Tewi slapped Tsukiko's ass.

"Wanna die?" Tsukiko smiled.

Tewi had the hugest of grins. "...I was gonna say somethin' 'bout watchin' yourself, but I gotta say it: you've got a great ass."

"So, you choose death, then." Tsukiko monotoned back.

"Anyway!" Tewi continued with her original point, "y'see, us- or rather, _those_ lunar bunnies…" She spoke over her own tongue a little, and shook her head. "Them lunar bunnies, they're 'bout as horny as us. And, honestly? If I put a pair a' bunny ears on _you,_ I think absolutely no one would be surprised. Hell, you're beyond fit, even for the _buns."_

"You're telling me to watch out for perverts, then." Tsukiko figured. "Didn't need you to warn me."

"Well…" Tewi brought her hands behind her own back. "I say that usually 'cause most human girls- or human _dudes-_ if a bunny guy or girl fucked 'em, they could get hurt. You, though? ...I think you could take it."

"Now, the real question." Tsukiko held an arm up. "Why? ...Why would I do that? Why even?"

Tewi rolled her eyes. "Aah. Yeah- you became kinda purist after your hubby went, huh. I'd say I understand, but that'd go against my existence as a rabbit."

Tsukiko cast her gaze up as well. "Do~n't get me started. Sex addicts don't typically understand my sentiment, so my words would be wasted."

"Yeah, pretty much."

The frozen bamboo world around them was pristine. _'Something about the bamboo always left me reverent.'_

' _Of the overworld, it felt like such a fitting battleground.'_

' _So many days where I'd come here, and get into a fight with some horny rabbits, or some mantis thing, or some kind of horrorshow made of dead rabbits and flesh, or what-have-you. Or just beasts.'_

' _Some of the scariest overworld youkai live here in these woods. Or… had lived in these woods.'_

It was partly nostalgia, but she also thought back with relief.

' _I certainly feel like it's a decade into the future. ...I sort of miss my time. If only because-... it was back then. It was my time.'_

' _Yet, the future… also holds so much potential.'_

"So." Tsukiko wanted to talk about the past; to look back, but also to learn. "Where's all the things I used to fight?"

"Under control." Tewi elaborated. "It's, eh… it's a long story. But basically, come the _Reimu Era_ , as I'd like ta dub it, lotta that edgy shit went out the window. Basically overnight."

' _No shit?'_

"Probably when she was like, five." Tewi figured. "Or six. One of the two. With a snap a' the fingers, it felt like Gensokyo stopped. ...Of course, once Eientei was revealed, even the few predators who _were_ around kinda got beaten into submission, or fed like, people food."

' _If it was when she was five or six, it was literally… about when I had died.'_

Tsukiko masked her thinking with a joke. "Food meant for people, or people as food?"

...Tewi gained a wicked smile. "Even _I_ didn't think a' that one, damn. Sure you're not a youkai maiden after all? Revival, jokin' about death, using dark magic- it's all there!"

"You got me." Tsukiko gave up. "I'm actually the super secret youkai. Now that you have figured out my plot, what will you do?"

Tewi gently laid a hand on Tsukiko's ass again. "Get you laid?"

"Alright, that does it." Tsukiko turned to her. "I'm gonna embed you into the earth."

Tewi leered. "I'd like to see you try, slowpoke."

Stillness. Both froze completely still.

 _WOOSH._ Tsukiko gripped where Tewi was within two frames.

Tewi, however, had left in one. _"Nehehe- hehe~!"_ Bounding off the bamboo, she left off.

Tsukiko doubled around, and spun up-

 _FWABOOM!_ Dashing off, she leapt into the bamboo after Tewi, practically flying.

-+- _Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-_

The chase went on for ten-twenty some minutes, with Tsukiko always keeping a close but somewhat clumsy lead on Tewi's tail.

"Ahh- nnh-" Tewi landed into a cartwheel, just touching down from the canopy above- _"Yup!"_

 _WOOSH!_ Tsukiko shot towards her like a bullet, but Tewi snapped into a backflip. It was so precise, the edge of Tewi's spine kissed the very tip of Tsukiko's scalp in grazing, just enough for both to feel the brush.

Tsukiko was actually faster than Tewi remembered- but didn't quite have eyes on the back of her head like she used to. She also, ironically enough, had less force, and seemed to only use the wind to get around.

Now that was an important note. _No force_ to get around, and only a partially graceful, impossible lightweightedness to her form. Reviving must have done funny things, Tewi figured.

" _Can't catch me~!"_ Tewi taunted her, skipping backwards. She held a hand out intentionally, knowing it'd be a vulnerable limb.

Tsukiko saw it: opportunity.

 _Fwish!_ An aura of pink bloomed from Tsukiko's core as she aggressively roared up, and threw an arm to lock her palm against Tewi's. If she could hold onto her _at all,_ that'd be a good start-

 _BZZT- ZZT!_ _"Eh- ha- uu- nnh!"_ Tsukiko was jolted, her hair flaring out cartoonishly.

" _Hehaha~h!"_ Tewi danced back and away from her, pointing the palm at her. "Fell fer the ol' _joy-buzzer trick!_ We got new tech now, _bitch!"_ Then, she looked thoughtful. "Guess I should say, the _new_ joy-buzzer trick- _woohoho-"_

 _WOOSH!_ She ducked, as Tsukiko leapt and kneed the air over her.

' _Um-... oh no.'_ Tsukiko lost control of the momentum she used, and so her knee carried her across the whole clearing.

... _pap._ Gently, her knee met a bundle of bamboo, twenty meters beyond Tewi. She gingerly bounced off of it, before gravity finally slowly reclaimed her.

' _That's what it's like. Being enchanted by the wind makes me feel like I'm fighting in zero gravity…'_

 _Clack!_ Kicking against the bamboo, Tsukiko took off into the air. Normally, being suspended in the air was a bad idea in almost any scenario, but…

 _Clack- clack!_ Nearing more bamboo, Tsukiko kicked a leg against a wall to her left, then a wall to her right, shooting across the path.

It was a basic lesson in fighting. When in the air, one had less bodily control, meaning they were predictable. However, that rule could be broken if one actually _could_ maintain aerial control.

Eyes sharp, Tsukiko used her light weight and speed to practically walk along the bamboo walls. Maintaining control never felt so strange.

' _I feel like-... I'm dreaming.'_ The purple-pink aura from her body brightened, as she beheld the weird winter visual. _'What the hell…'_

Tewi was already gone, however.

' _I can't lose her.'_ Tsukiko focused despite the surreality. The unexpected was typical for the bamboo.

She latched onto the edge of a thin tuft amidst a clearing ahead.

After a single spin, as if it were a pole, Tsukiko dug a heel into it, hunkering down. _'Now…'_

As the wind left her, and the dark crept from her skin, her eyes became cast in shade. Holy energy bloomed out from her, in trace amounts, her form flaring white for a moment.

The sun was gone, the green, white and brown of the deadly ice forest obscured.

Tewi's magic signature could be seen, now leisurely strolling a vague distance away.

In the brush below, Tsukiko could see many things.

The figures of bunnies observing them, as well as strange and large invisible devices in the air overhead. Strange talismans and statues placed among the inaccessible bamboo depths, facing inner-forestry, impossible to see without tearing through the bamboo… or looking right through it.

' _Damn.'_ The bamboo itself was faintly magical, as nature could tend to be, giving her a vague idea of where the nearest trees were. _'There's so much more shit here than I had expected.'_

...Experimentally, without wind wrapped around her limbs, she allowed herself to slide down the bamboo stalk.

"Nnh-"She grit her teeth, and took pause- "Ah-"

She slipped from the bamboo, and fell. _'...Yeah, that did take some getting used to. Fucking- bamboo climbing.'_

 _Woosh._ When she began to grin dryly, calling on the wind, her body hit the air like the surface of a lake, immediately halving her falling speed and then some.

' _Tewi was-... that way.'_

As she slowly touched down on the forest floor, feeling graceful and needlessly fancy about her landing-

 _Woosh!_ She leapt instantly into the more integrated, tangled bamboo brush, the force she used to drive her body having taken her back off her feet.

' _Why am I so light… I mean- I know why I am, but it's still so jarring…'_

 _Fwish- clack- fwish- cla- clack._ Snaking around a windy, mid-tree height corridor of tightly packed bamboo, Tsukiko bounded through what almost felt like a pre-made shortcut.

 _Fwish!_ Coming out on the other side, Tsukiko was overhead of Tewi.

Tewi's eyes widened. "Oh- _shit-"_

 _Fwi- fwish!_ Tewi took off when Tsukiko hit the ground, but Tsukiko jerked her muscles and slid after her, moving just as fast-

 _Pap!_ Tsukiko palmed Tewi in the back of her waist.

" _Ah-"_ Tewi fell forward into a faceplant.

 _Woosh!_ However, before it could get messy, Tewi immediately turned it into a handstand.

" _Hyah!"_ Tsukiko threw a sudden, playful high kick, meant to clip Tewi's legs.

Tewi spread her legs into a complete split, evading the entire high kick like that.

' _Fucking- rabbits…!'_

Tsukiko looked down, and bent down to pick up Tewi entirely-

Tewi's thighs snapped up around Tsukiko's head.

 _WOOSH!_ Tewi threw herself into a forward roll- and since Tsukiko was so lightweight like this, she was outright flung along with her. _"Wh- ah-"_

 _WHAM!_ Despite her weight, Tsukiko met that ground super hard. _"Hfuh…"_ She exhaled hard on impact, her back against the forest floor.

"This rabbit's learned some new tricks, usa…" Tewi leered as she darted back, away from Tsukiko's head. "We gotta prank _military-grade assholes_ now. And, no offense, but anime martial artists are like, a grade below."

' _First time-... a rabbit's ever done a counter-attack like that.'_

Throwing her legs into the air, Tsukiko rammed her elbows into the dirt floor.

 _Woo- woo- woosh!_ With a twisting motion, she rolled on her side then onto her legs, twirling into standing posture with a left hook. _"Hah!"_

"And…" Tewi suddenly leaned down from somewhere unknown, her face upside-down and peering right into Tsukiko's. "Yer strategy's different now, isn't it? But I think I got it figured out."

"Do you…?" Tsukiko wondered.

Tewi was gone when Tsukiko looked up.

"It's centered on speed, and ya sacrifice all your weight."

Tewi now sat on some horizontally bent bamboo, up and to the right. When Tsukiko looked at her, she saw Tewi slowly sliding down the vague slope the broken bamboo made. "A sound strategy, but…"

Her butt met an awkward kink in the bamboo, and she stopped. Shrugging, she became smug. "At the end of the day, you still ain't a rabbit. Y'won't be as small, and I don't think you've ever practiced _yoga._ Not in a way that matters, I'm sure."

Tsukiko had a brow raised. "...I kept myself flexible, some."

Tewi snorted. "Uh huh. _Some._ Alright, do an evasive backward cartwheel."

Tsukiko blinked. _'Um-'_

Tewi was suddenly on the ground, running at Tsukiko.

 _Pap._ Tewi threw a simple kick when she arrived, before Tsukiko could even think of the motions.

 _THUD!_ Tsukiko crumpled back and bounced off the floor super hard. _"Uhf-_ fuck…"

Tewi beamed, jerking her head back. "Fuckin'- I didn't kick ya that hard!"

Slowly standing again, Tsukiko sighed. "...Try that again."

Tewi tilted her head. "Hoh? Alright…"

 _Fwish!_ Tewi snapped towards her faster, seemingly slighting straight up to Tsukiko.

 _woosh._ Tsukiko weaved, brushing aside the thrusting kick.

Tewi's eyes sharpened. "That- _wasn't the motion-"_

 _WOOSH!_ Tewi snapped into a more fierce, backward hooking kick. Tsukiko ducked down, out of the way.

 _WOOSH!_ Tewi seemingly chained it effortlessly into a backflip-driving kick. That is to say, a kick so fierce that Tewi took off from the floor, halfway into a backflip.

Tsukiko leaned back, the tip of Tewi's shoe grazing her chin-

 _WOOSH!_ In a scary motion, Tewi accelerated her backflip into a full, near instant rotation once it was past the halfway point. From there, she _thrust_ her leg right down. She came at Tsukiko diagonally.

 _woosh._ Tsukiko threw herself back, and trusted her flightiness.

Bending backwards, Tsukiko stood on her hands and cast her legs into the air, spreading them out to weave them around Tewi's entire body.

 _PAP!_ Tewi touched down hard, heel meeting soil and grass.

"Aah…" Tewi looked up from the floor as Tsukiko backflipped back into standing.

"Nh." Tsukiko landed on both sandals. "...Like that?"

Tewi rolled the answer around in her mouth. "Mmh… kinda. It's a _start._ Only reason that worked was 'cause you're stupid light for no reason. If you weren't relying on the wind, you'd have fallen flat on your ass."

"...Probably." Tsukiko had to admit.

Tewi folded her arms. "Though… I'll tell ya what. You might have a thing're two to learn from the lunar bunnies, t'be honest. _But..._ "

Tewi held up a finger. "This beatin' 'round the bush shit ain't you. It ain't the way you used to do things. Not even close. It might play on the nuance you mastered after yer force addiction- but it's… just, _wrong,_ on its own."

Exhaling, letting her body unwind some, Tsukiko prepared for a debate. "Is experimenting with different strategies in this new era really so wrong?"

"Seeing you commit to somethin' so-... random, but extreme, as a _forty year old_ is like…" Tewi shook her head. "Admittedly, I'm _like a thousand,_ but… no jokin', it's just plain damn weird."

Smiling, Tsukiko let her vision take in the straw-green and white winterscape. She met Tewi's gaze after brief thinking. "Who are you to evaluate my fighting like so? I know we used to talk, but…"

Tewi took pause, mouth open as her expression became somewhat vague.

"Remember what I taught you, when you first roved through these woods?"

Tsukiko focused on Tewi's now sharpened gaze.

' _Do I remember-...'_

-+- _34 Years Ago -+-_

It was a warm summer evening in Gensokyo.

Tsukiko was eighteen years old, perhaps closer to nineteen now. Slim, yet muscular from her daily managing of the now-defunct Hakurei Shrine, and from her new attempts to master the land.

Though she kept clear and far from the Human Village, she'd met some village guards on the trail between the Bamboo Forest of the Lost and the village itself.

They tried very hard to express peaceful intent. They gave her some rations, and gave her a job, with the promise of more provisions- even gold- as reward.

That job would take her somewhere she'd never been before- but they had assumed she knew it well, as she was assumed to be more beast than woman.

Under the bamboo forest's shade, she knelt down before a fire.

The bamboo forest in summer was a hellish mixture of hot and cold in strange places, as opposed to the constant, unearthly cold it experienced in winter. That, and summer also unleashed the might of a world of strange lush, plants that were partially volatile, and many youkai.

This was Tsukiko's first adventure into the bamboo, and she was partly lost, partly stuck.

Meat cooked on a skewer, which Tsukiko slowly rotated, lips pursed.

To Tsukiko's left, a mantis head stood on a bamboo pike, green-brown blood pooled under it. To its right, a dead, stripped-clean rabbit boy laid impaled across three bamboo poles.

Tsukiko had accented her tattered shrine maiden outfit with the boy's clothing. Idly, she looked over a blade the mantis had used as a hand.

' _Boomerang shaped.'_ The strange nature of the metal-like sickle hand interested her.

She wasn't sure when she last slept. This forest wasn't safe anywhere. Only after being stuck in this one clearing for an extended period of time did she find rest, having cleaned it of bamboo, plant and living being alike.

The meat came from some supplies the boy rabbit had on him. They were likely harvested from some wildlife, ready to cook already, which was supremely convenient.

' _I wonder…'_ Tsukiko stared down his bleeding corpse. _'Rabbits must have families. Do they have families like humans?'_

' _Sure doesn't seem like it. If they do… it's way different. Either way…'_

Tsukiko didn't feel like putting thought into it. In these woods, it was kill or be killed. She'd been harassed non-stop by predators and scavengers alike since she came in here. She was ready to kill on sight.

Then, suddenly, her skewer was lifted off the fire.

"Ooh." A pink-dressed rabbit girl held it up innocently. "Nice job…"

Tsukiko flung her arm.

 _CLING!_ The rabbit girl parried the oncoming mantis sickle that Tsukiko had tossed, using the metal skewer. "So, what's the occasion? It some kinda holiday?"

' _She's going to take my food.'_

 _FWIFWIFWIFWIFWISH!_ Twenty talismans boomed from Tsukiko's sleeve, pointed straight at the rabbit girl, flaring out shotgun style.

She was behind Tsukiko. Using the tip of the skewer, she gently poked Tsukiko on the back of the neck.

' _They missed!?'_

Eyes wide, Tsukiko whirled around-

 _thump- thud._ The rabbit girl swept her heel under Tsukiko's, sending her to the floor.

" _Rrgh-"_ Roaring off the floor, Tsukiko ran towards her-

"Not _another_ step!" The rabbit girl beamed. "Or the food goes in my tummy." She held the skewer up to her face…

Tsukiko glared daggers. "Stupid _fucking bunny._ You'll put that down if you know what's fucking good for you. Do you not see your friend there?" She gestured to the skewered rabbit boy. "That's going to be you."

The rabbit girl stared at the dead boy, and smiled. "Aah. He was gonna die one of these days. Dude always got drunk at all the worst times."

"That all said," she pointed the skewer at Tsukiko again, "what, uh… like, are humans _evolving again?_ The fuck're you doin' out here?"

Tsukiko clenched her fists. "...It's none of your business why I'm here. You'll be dead soon as it is."

The rabbit girl shrugged. "I mean- I guess it ain't any of your business where this meat goes, then." The pink-clad bunny girl slowly raised the skewer to her mouth…

 _FWI- FWI- FWISH!_ Tsukiko tossed more talismans.

' _I can't afford to waste these- but I need food! My rations-... I should've asked for more fucking rations. I didn't know the woods would be this bad…'_

The rabbit girl was gone, seemingly.

' _I fucking missed again!'_

Though she roared in her mind, she glared around at the clearing, face contorted in parts despair and rage.

" _...Hey!"_ Tsukiko yelled.

"Hey, shush." The rabbit girl was now leaned up against a pile of wood and leaves and other crap that Tsukiko had amassed in the midst of the manmade clearing.

On sight, Tsukiko ran towards her-

 _Twing! Thud!_ She tripped on something invisible, faceplanting. _"Fh- ghk…"_

"Pft- nhk…" The rabbit girl suppressed some chuckles. "Walk much?"

Tsukiko began climbing into standing, with such ferocity it looked like she was trying to kill the floor.

"I'll snap your little fucking neck." Tsukiko growled. "And shove that skewer- up your _ass-..._ the tip straight up- _where you piss-"_

She ran at the rabbit girl again, arms spread to grapple her-

 _thunk._ The rabbit girl casually poked the tip of her shoe into Tsukiko's cunt, with a slow punting motion.

... _thud._ Tsukiko fell back onto her butt, eyes shut. _"Fh- fuck…"_ Her voice was higher, eyes tearing up. "Da- damn it…!"

As she held herself, the rabbit girl leaned up against the purposeless pile of crap Tsukiko had arranged.

' _I'm-... I'm going to die here…'_

' _Fuck this…'_ She glared up at the rabbit girl. _'Fuck…!'_

"Man." The rabbit girl half-smiled. "I almost feel _bad._ _This_ is the last Hakurei? Shi~t."

Tsukiko took pause, focusing on her.

"I'm like, half-tempted to see ya get knocked up by those like, fifteen other dudes who wanted to bone ya- but I don't think you'd even _survive long enough_ ta give birth." The rabbit girl rolled her eyes. "Fuckin'... _humans."_

"What- do you know…" Tsukiko slowly fought back into standing, "about the Hakurei clan? You stupid fucking rabbit..."

"A good question!" She had to admit. "Y'see, for most rabbits, that'd be like, nothing. Bu~t-"

Suddenly, she stepped up to Tsukiko, and leaned towards her. _"Tewi Inaba!_ ...I knew yer mom!" She held a hand out, to shake Tsukiko's, in a distinctly western motion. "Pleased to meet ya."

Tsukiko smiled slightly. She'd crush Tewi's hand.

Swinging her palm in, she planned to grab Tewi's hand so hard it'd break it entirely.

 _BAZAP._ When their palms connected, a flash of light flared out between them, and it felt like something tiny- and electric- exploded against Tsukiko's palm.

" _Ee- hnh- zzah-"_ Her body locked up, and she leapt back, hair flaring out cartoonishly. _"Fuck-...!"_

...Smiling strangely, Tewi looked at the smouldering glove she wore. "Still, uh, haven't perfected that design, huh. Least it ain't shootin' fuckin' lasers at me…"

Shaking the numbness from her hand, Tsukiko glared back at her. "You- fucking-... you tricked me."

Tewi sighed. "...Yeah, not the first time someone's thought of that, dumbass. Crushing my hand, that is. Show a little courtesy, 'kay?"

"You stole my fucking food." Tsukiko growled back. "I'll fucking kill you."

Tewi grinned. "You that damn hungry? Take the fuckin' food." She tossed the skewer at Tsukiko's face.

It bounced off, the meaty midst of the skewer clumsily rebounding off the bridge of her nose. She fumbled to catch it with both arms, her good arm barely latching onto the very edge.

 _Crunch._ Immediately, Tsukiko chomped on the slab of meat. "Mmh…"

"I've been watching you." Tewi remarked. "You've been trapped in this clearing for the last ten goddamn hours."

It was because Tsukiko couldn't _actually_ climb out of where she'd fallen into. The bamboo walls were too steep, the cliff faces at an impossible incline. She had leapt into here from atop the bamboo stalks, confident there would be some way back out, but she was wrong.

 _Crunch._ She continued to consume the unknown, cooked meat. It tasted like deer, however, so she had some idea.

"Ain't that embarrassing?" Tewi smirked at her. "Trapped here only ta eventually waste away and get fucked by something when you're too weak?" 'Fucked' could be either literal or figurative here, but both were worse fates than death.

Tsukiko licked her lips. Though the meat was unspiced, nearly tasteless food matter, she cherished the feeling of rejuvenation.

"Not anymore." Tsukiko remarked.

Tewi raised a brow. "Mmm?"

"Because I've found my hit job..." Tsukiko remarked. With a hand, she pulled the meat from the skewer.

" _You."_

 _whish._ She snapped her arm to chuck the skewer at one of Tewi's eyes.

Tewi caught it between two fingers casually. "...Cute. How much's that for?"

"Two hundred thousand yen." Tsukiko affirmed. "But more than that… this is the first time I've come to these woods, ever. I've heard all about its horrors, and the mysteries that surround it."

"The youkai regard this place with respect…"

Tsukiko stuffed her meat between her teeth, and cracked her knuckles, before taking the slab back out. She took a bite at the same time. "Onh- dhay, I'll _cu' the whole damn thing down..."_

...Expression slightly dry at Tsukiko's mid-chew declaration, Tewi shook her head. "Oh… so, you're planning on starting a lumberjack company."

Tsukiko blinked, and swallowed. "...No. Myself. With my bare hands."

Tewi pursed her lips. "Y'can't cut trees with your fists. Even if you got strong punches, you'll break the bones eventually…"

Tsukiko blinked again. "Wa- wait, that stress would-...?" She hadn't thought that the bones would wear down so easy. "No, my skin would abrade far earlier."

"You should hire a team." Tewi recommended. "You could become a lumberjack maiden!"

Tsukiko's eyes hardened, and she shook her head. "Nn- no-... more importantly, youkai. The youkai who live here… I'm sure some of them helped kill my mother. If I conquer this place, it will send a message. It will be the Hakurei's first push, past the human village and back against the wild."

Tewi beamed. "Oh… a clan of one?"

Tsukiko nodded. "A clan of one. I'm as strong as a clan, too."

Tewi leaned her head to the side. "If you had a clan, you could start a lumberjack company inside the clan."

Tsukiko's gaze became flat. "Can you fucking shut up about the stupid lumberjack thing."

"Pft- hehehe…" Tewi giggled. "So how're you plannin' on getting out of here!? Unless, you'd like to start a lumberjack company with some cute bunny boys."

"I'll punch the trees." Tsukiko figured. "Or… die, I guess." She had that mantis's blade, but without a handle, it was difficult to use.

Tewi sighed. "No, _no…_ you're lookin' at it all wrong. In this forest, brute force'll get you nowhere. You might be hot shit on the plains, but here, you can't run. You can't hide either. We all know these woods. Y'can't run and hide unless you're us."

"But." Tewi held a finger up. "You also gotta know the ways of the woods. You ain't native here, so you gotta respect the basics of even moving around."

Tsukiko glared back. "Fuck that. It's just a fucking forest."

"Pftk-" Tewi withheld a chuckle. "Aah… well, if you could _jump like a rabbit,_ maybe you'd have some kinda place to start. It'd be a start, I'll give it that."

Then, she gave Tsukiko a vicious smile. "But, no human could ever jump like a rabbit can."

...At that, Tsukiko frowned. "Is that a bet?"

Tewi's leer deepened. "You wanna make a _bet?_ With _me?_ Are you retarded?"

"If I have to be, then I am." Tsukiko glared harder. "I'll say it now. I can jump like a rabbit."

...Looking away, Tewi wiped her forehead with her palm. "I- I think she's actually retarded…"

"Teach me how." Tsukiko asserted herself. "What are the physics behind it? If you're so smart?"

Tewi had a drained look, focusing on her again. "Wh-... okay, _sure._ C'mere."

She lead Tsukiko over to _the ledge._ The moniker of 'the ledge' was earned, this being the ledge Tsukiko entered this clearing from; the last passage she took before she was well and truly stuck. It was way, way high up; thirty meters in the air.

"Alright." Tewi clapped her hands together, twirling around to face Tsukiko. "Let's bet."

Tsukiko nodded. "Give me your terms."

"If you _succeed,_ hmm…" Tewi thought hard. "If you succeed, whenever ya come to these woods, I'll give you a hand with gettin' around."

Tsukiko nodded. "Fair, if you keep your word. And, if I lose?"

Tewi shrugged. "Mmh… y'can come live at our village with us, maybe?"

"...Is that a bad thing?" Tsukiko wondered.

Tewi beamed. "For you, maybe? Look, 'tween you and me, I'm _really curious_ what a half-youkai, half-rabbit Hakurei kid would be like. Oh- right, you'd have to get hitched to a bunny guy too. Or more, if you were into that sort of thing."

Tsukiko huffed. "Are you all obsessed with sex?"

Tewi held her arms out. "You're talking to _actually rabbits,_ toots! Hell yeah we are!"

"Let's get started, then." Tsukiko walked up to the bamboo wall in the night's darkness.

The bamboo wall was earth green in the black night, cast in the orange shade of the dim fire behind them.

Tewi squatted down. "It's actually damn simple. We put crazy strength in our hind legs. It's not even often we do a full-on _bunny hop,_ but if we ever got to…"

She began to focus, as Tsukiko watched her. Tewi's gaze slowly crept up to the ledge she had to reach…

Then, soundlessly, Tewi leapt.

Brush and dirt spread out gently, rocked by the sizable but subtle force Tewi's legs pushed into the floor.

With that, the leap itself was demonstrably plain and effective. Straight up to the ledge. Tewi even cleared it, obtaining height with no struggle and no fuss.

Tsukiko had that one example, having stared at it from a slight angle.

' _...The legs. They pulsed strangely. She has muscles down there that I don't.'_

Tewi leaned over the ledge. "...He~y!"

Tsukiko looked up.

" _So!"_ Tewi called out to her. "...I guess keep tryin' 'till ya give up or drop!"

... _Crunch._ Tsukiko took another bite of her meat, before looking around.

Setting it on a nearby stump, she came up to the wall, and squatted down, akin to Tewi…

' _It doesn't fucking matter.'_

' _Rabbit muscles or not… I don't know my own strength.'_

' _Let's see if I can find out this way.'_

She'd been working on her muscles. Every human she'd ever met had called her a youkai- and under that moniker, she set out to prove them right.

In anticipation for the day more humans came to ruin her, take her shrine and finally end the Hakurei clan. In anticipation for the youkai who'd do the same, in their eagerness to destroy. The wry ones who'd pummel her, and the beasts who'd crush her.

Black began to creep through her legs. Youkai-like dark magic, bleeding out from her otherwise holy core, infecting her legs with unnatural energy that strengthened the skin.

Whatever that black shit was, it was pure power, and she couldn't get enough of it. A number of times it spelled the difference between do and die, life and death, and proved her resolve.

As far as she was concerned, this black was her. She'd feed her dark thoughts for survival, a shield against the ravaging maelstrom that was this era's Gensokyo.

' _If you can't do this, you're as good as dead.'_ She meant this jump, but it also applied to her affinity.

' _You might as well have died when mom died.'_

' _Show that little shit what for…'_

The image of Tewi's smug grin, as she casually proposed the idea of her dying or being raped here in the woods.

Tsukiko focused, remaining squatted there for awhile.

Eventually, Tewi stopped staring down at her from the upper ledge, deciding to wait up there past the lip instead.

' _Rabbits put it all in the hind legs.'_ She wanted to plant her hands against the ground like a frog, but decided against it. _'All or nothing. One jolt of power. One push. One jump…'_

She inhaled. Her legs became immeasurably tense, the black in them now creeping up her lower torso.

' _If I could jump like them- it'd be that much easier to kill them. To kill the other shit that resides here, too…'_

' _Yes. I need to be able to move vertically in these damned woods.'_

Tsukiko glared up.

' _I can be as youkai as you- you fucking rabbit!'_

Her legs shook. She inhaled again, focusing hard.

Her anger and fixation built internally. _'Mom-...'_

She was the only one who'd remember her mom. Once she was gone, everything her mother stood for, and everything she herself had fun with, believed in and loved would be gone.

All those books. All the naive dreams of knowing people, making friends, becoming a shrine maiden under her mother, and finding out more about her long-gone clan… it would be less than dust. Completely, irreversibly erased from the world.

That was outright horrifying to a woman who was barely an adult.

The only alternative was conquest- in the name of defiance and defense.

' _I'll make it to the top.'_

 _Fwish._ Red energy flared out from her core.

 _BOOM!_ A shockwave of black was made along the floor. Tsukiko had leapt, a small crater made in the floor from the force she exerted.

...Scratching her arms against the bamboo, she clawed and flailed at it as she got two-thirds of the way, but slowly slid back down.

" _Fhu~ck!"_

What a kick in the cunt.

-+- _Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-_

Tewi had her lips pursed, a small look on her face as she stared down the ledge again.

 _BOOM!_ The crater in the floor had grown five meters deep, now marking the whole ground beneath the wall.

Battered, bloody, scraped up and burning with bright red energy, Tsukiko bounced against the wall beneath her, tossing herself against it again.

 _Thud!_ Landing down there again, Tsukiko rolled down the slope between the crater and the bamboo. _"Rrgh- nnh…"_

Then, at the bottom, she slowly prepared herself again.

 _...BOOM!_ She exploded up again, and reached her arms out.

More than two-thirds. She was a _grasp_ too far.

If that crater hadn't been there, she would have already cleared the ledge with the same grace Tewi had exercised earlier. Now she had that much more to go, and the ledge would only get higher as the hole grew deeper.

Tewi thought she'd give up a lot earlier. She didn't think the first jump would be possible to begin with- but apparently Tsukiko had a trick up her sleeve that Tewi hadn't yet observed.

That darkness along her skin and veins. A strangely youkai-like quality for a Hakurei, but seemingly quite useful here.

Tewi supposed it was appropriate. This was now the era of youkai, after all. It was only fit that the now-essentially-defunct Hakurei family reflect that in some way.

"When y'can't beat 'em… join 'em, huh." Tewi muttered to herself. "Speakin' of…" When was she going to give up?

 _BOOM!_ Tsukiko rose again, clasping at the now-bloody bamboo wall.

This time, she retained a hold on the well-abraded bamboo wall, but only superficially.

Two-three meters from the ledge, her arms and legs shook as she held onto the bamboo, slowly sliding away some every other second.

Tewi was gazing down at her, expression vague. ...Then, she smiled. "Why not give up, usa?"

Tsukiko glared back up.

"We got _food._ We got _water._ Safety, even. Boys too." Tewi proposed. "If life outta the forest's so hell-... if bein' a human's so hellish, why not just give up humanity?"

Tsukiko met Tewi's gaze firmly, teeth braced as she held onto the wall.

Tewi reached an arm out.

"C'mon. This is stupid." Tewi decided. "Come live with us." She couldn't see Tsukiko uselessly throw herself against this bamboo wall any further.

Tsukiko's breathing tightened, as she glared at the soft, gloveless, extended hand.

Tsukiko reached out for it.

Tewi began to beam. The boys would be awfully excited, to see-

 _SHINK!_ Tsukiko stabbed Tewi's hand with the mantis's scythe hand.

" _Ffh-"_ Tewi's eyes widened. "Wh- _aa-"_

With that, Tsukiko let go of the wall, sliding back down to the bottom.

... _Shunk._ Pulling her hand from the wall, tossing the blade back down, Tewi stared at the wound straight through it. It hurt, but she simply seethed the pain away.

A few more hours then, she decided. Tsukiko would give up before the sun came up.

-+- _Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-_

 _BOOM!_ Tsukiko ascended again, head airy.

' _Just-... fuck, fuck- fuck…'_

The hole was eight meters deep. If she'd fallen into that hole one day ago, she'd have died in it, because she couldn't have jumped high enough to get out of it.

Again, two-three meters off. Tsukiko's eyes died a little as she skidded back down the wall.

' _I- I don't want to fucking-... live with the rabbits.'_

' _I don't want to give up my humanity.'_

' _I am-... I am the Hakurei Shrine Maiden.'_

Tsukiko's stomach growled again. She'd eaten all the meat earlier.

' _I'd rather die than give up.'_

Squatting down again, she glared up at the ledge. Her legs ached, her muscles screaming at her, red pulsing from her with every heartbeat.

' _My mother had to have faced worse.'_

Every little thought she used to feed her drive had long since paled in comparison to the challenge.

 _BOOM!_ She leapt again, a shockwave of black shaking the distilled dirt of the pit.

' _Not this one.'_ She already knew.

 _Shi~ff._ She slid back down, down the side of the bamboo.

At the bottom, she slid into the midst of the pit, and inhaled, squatting again.

"...Yo." Tewi stood over the eight meter pit. "Um…"

"Fuck off." Tsukiko stopped focusing, and waved her away. "I'm not coming to live with your shitty rabbit people. I'd sooner- kill myself…"

Tewi propped her arms onto her own hips. "Come _on,_ kid. This is hardly a deal in my favor, even. I'm givin' you a _life._ What life do you live outside here?"

Tsukiko didn't immediately have an answer. _'...None. My stupid scramble for survival…'_

Tewi held her arms out. "Okay-... admittedly, not many rabbits are faithful hubbies. But, we make up for it in numbers, and we all take care of each other."

Tsukiko snorted. "As if you have a village, or something…"

Tewi raised a brow. "...Well, we _do._ Everyone knows that. No one knows _where,_ 'cept for us."

Tsukiko glared up at the ledge again.

"This is _stupid."_ Tewi reiterated. "Look-... I'll break it to you. I can't bear to see you fuck around. You're gonna get yourself killed, bein' so hotheaded. Hardheaded. ...Both. You'd _unironically_ be way happier with us."

Tsukiko's posture in the pit faltered, as she leaned to the side idly, staring at the rich dirt all around…

"There was no challenge to begin with." Tewi admitted. "You-... you weren't even supposed to even _come close_ to succeeding. Just fuckin'-... come with me. I'll show you a different way out. It's a damn forest- there's more than one way."

Tsukiko slowly stared up at the ledge again, and all her blood along the beaten bamboo along it.

Tewi sighed. "And- honestly, I think the unwinding with the guys'd be good for you. You'd hardly have to worry 'bout shit again. We'd teach you how to survive with us."

' _...You just want my lineage.'_

Tsukiko felt her eyes become raw again. _'That generosity is misplaced. You- and all of yours… you'd destroy my mother's love. You don't understand-...'_

Tewi reached down into the pit. "Come, _on._ Stop killing yourself. Give up."

Tsukiko took posture again, black racing through her legs hard enough to make it bleed from them as mist.

Her red aura burned stale and static. She was, undeniably, running out of strength.

Tewi's face softened. "Kid… come on. You might be dead in sixty years- but you got shit to live for."

Tsukiko closed her eyes.

' _Why-... why was I born a human?'_

' _I feel so fucking weak…'_

' _I exercise everyday. I hunt for my food, because I need to eat-... it feels like those are all I do.'_

' _My books are almost all gone, lost from stupid shit. The rain, snow. Youkai idiots…'_

' _My own rage.'_ Some months ago, she ripped one of her favorites apart, angry at the unobtainable dream within. She wanted to destroy it- the same way one would go on to try at hers.

' _Books all feel so-... worthless, now. What's the point? Life's so fragile. Who can focus on that stupid shit- if any one of us could just… die?'_

' _Why read about happy memories- if I'm going to lose them all when I die anyway? And, if I'm not really living them? Who had the time to write them down?'_

' _Mom…'_

Tsukiko remembered her mother's crying face, and quiet demeanor.

' _...I see.'_

It all clicked.

Tewi reached her hand out harder, as if trying to grab Tsukiko from those eight meters away. "Kid. _Kid."_

Tsukiko looked up at her.

"Come be a rabbit." Tewi tried to give her the most genuine smile she could muster. "Life's about living. Havin' fun, and enjoying yourself. So come on and _start doing that."_

Tsukiko closed her eyes.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and she shivered.

"No…" She shook her head. "No, Te- Tewi. That… that isn't life."

Tewi blinked. "...Ha- hah?"

"Being human-" she inhaled, "is to suffer. Humanity-... is the emotional suffering. The prices we pay, day to day, to even _survive…"_

' _I wouldn't have been happy, for those years, if mom didn't suffer for me. Though I was worse off for her hiding me...'_

' _There is happiness in my reach. Beyond the ledge. At the end of all this suffering…'_

' _And it will be so much fucking richer. Sweeter than chocolate, and brighter than gold.'_

 _Fwish!_ Tsukiko's aura of red lit up the whole pit.

" _I am the Hakurei Shrine Maiden!"_ She roared.

 _BOOM!_ When she leapt, wind and black wrapped her, as she took off, a flush of red smoke filling the pit below.

Tewi leapt back from the pit, staring up.

Tsukiko's legs bled, a shower of blood flecking across the bamboo woods below.

She cleared the bamboo canopy. Achieving far more than passing the ledge, she soared across the canopy itself, drawing a red meteor in the sky.

...Tewi's jaw dropped, as red dotted her face.

It was like a drizzle of rain, for just a moment, rich red dotting Tewi and the brush before quickly dimming.

Tewi swallowed, and leapt up to the ledge herself. Tsukiko's landing probably wasn't going to be easy- and seldom did she feel as driven to make sure someone didn't hurt themselves with their idiocy.

Never before did Tewi give two shits about the Hakurei name, even knowing the legacy of Tsukiko's predecessors. It meant little to her, and she was used to the tall tales and bragging rights waved around the world over. A fancy title or reverent stories meant little to her, even though she was familiar with legends herself.

This was because she, being a long-lived rabbit girl, saw legends born first-hand.

Though very seldom did she, the times she did were more memorable than any retold tale. It meant very little to _hear_ of legends, when you experienced them.

Meeting princess Kaguya in person, speaking with the lunarian bunny people and meeting the brain of the moon was hard to top. The technology and new sights, the strange machines and concepts she didn't understand… it was more real than any big-name god or religion.

But, this? It was on the leaderboard, she had to admit.

-+- _Present_ -+-

"I-" Tsukiko stumbled back, holding her head. "...I- I do."

Tewi had a brow raised. "...You okay? I know s'probably a painful memory- but physically painful, I dunno!"

Tsukiko had forgotten all about it until now. "...You'd be surprised." She sniffed the air, and braced her teeth. "I was such an edgy brat."

Tewi chuckled. "Eheh. Oh, by the way, turn around."

...Tsukiko turned around.

Two glass doors stood before her, guarding two more behind them.

Tewi patted her on the ass, because of their height disparity. "Didn't let'cha down this time, did I? ...And, if ya dunno what you're lookin' at, this's _Eientei."_

Tsukiko was tempted to speak out, but wasn't in the mood anymore. "...Thank you, Tewi."

Standing there, they took in the grand front exterior wall of the clinic.

The glass doors had an urban energy unknown to Tsukiko. It was something completely, entirely new to her.

After this pause, Tewi nodded. "Ah, lighten up. Least you won't hafta jump outta no _holes."_

"What makes you think I'm in a bad mood?" Tsukiko wondered.

Tewi started to box Tsukiko's ass. "'Cause you literally don't give a shit that I'm sexually harassing you! Unh, unh-"

The sensation was weird, Tsukiko had to admit. "Aa- alright- stop that."

Tewi ducked out of the way of a dismissive hand that seemed more ready to rustle her hair than hit her. "Neheh…"

' _I wish I knew just how much else I'd forgotten.'_

She twisted to face Eientei…

A massive clinic, outwardly styled like the most expensive of the Human Village's structures and then some. The ceiling was so tall that it was impossible to make out the scale of the massive building, and either side seemingly stretched far off into the bamboo, too far for Tsukiko to readily see.

' _And, now…'_

She made for the glass doors. _'The inevitable jungle of its own design. This structure… it doesn't speak to this being a simple in-and-out check-up.'_

 _Tsukiko remembered High Jump * Essence of Jump Good_.

-+- _Sendai Hakurei no Miko Mode -+-_

NEW SKILLS:

 _x Youkai Style_

High Jump * Essence of Jump Good - Channeling dark magic into her legs, accenting and enhancing her muscles, Tsukiko explodes off the floor and way into the air. Also inherited by Shrine Maiden of Paradise Style.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

a long-ish chapter that does a little victorious basking off the conclusion of the last arc without spending too much time meandering or wandering

after finishing the last ordeal, tsukiko pretty much changed gears to the main conflict at hand instantly, and eientei's where she's planning on getting some answers

also gave me an excuse to do a really cool flashback segment

there's not many characters you'd give a hakurei some backstory with, but tewi's an unorthodox pick that also kinda makes sense 'cause it's not like the earth rabbits went anywhere for like a million zillion years… or, to be more accurate, a thousand years

though eientei was hidden for that time

in post/editing i might make the victorious basking part of the chapter slightly more reverent 'cause yeah, i really wanna sell the sensation in a satisfying way

yeah ultimately what i did in post was extend the village segment a little, to help tie up some of the loose end-ness of the tsuruko arc's conclusion

there's still a lot of potential to go back and tread some of that ground later, but that'll come when it comes

we're gonna feel the echoes of tsukiko's victory here going forward to varying degrees though, it's an event that's made a pretty substantial impact on the village's atmosphere

eientei's gonna be really fun, i can feel it

...oh, before anyone asks, yeah i updated chapter 4

nothing that necessitates going back and looking through it, i just made dieter a little more antagonistic to make him a little more initially threatening, to set that first impression, and to give the chapter a little more identity

outside of that it was just some small line edits and fight prose edits for any newcomers, nothing major enough to warrant big notice

as always, see you all next time!


End file.
